Buttons in cars better than touch screen

[Fritzo]

Switches are better than buttons.

My Mini had aircraft switches and I loved them Badass and when you flicked them it felt like something was going to happen!

 

[lxskllr]

In general, what I've come to learn is that people either don't consider how their actions affect others while driving, they just don't care, or both.

People are inconsiderate fuckwits. You see it everywhere. This weekend, I turned the corner in the grocery store, and there's a cart sideways is the aisle, and two dumbasses in front of the cart blocking the whole aisle. I physically picked up the back of the cart, and swung it out of my way. I got an apology, but I wasn't in the mood to be pleasant, and I just kept walking. The correct way to make an apology is not needing to make one in the first place. Cart goes right up against the shelf, facing straight down the aisle. That minimizes the affect on anyone else, and if bad luck determines that someone needs something directly behind the cart, it's trivially pushed forward.

Might seem like I'm making a big deal of almost nothing, but this shit is constant, and a symptom of people not putting any thought or consideration into anything but themselves. There's waaaay too many people around for this to be acceptable, and if everyone even tried, it would make the planet more bearable for everyone.

 

[Captante]

In general, what I've come to learn is that people either don't consider how their actions affect others while driving, they just don't care, or both.

IMO it's mainly apathy.

Driving for many is a stressful nuisance they would prefer to avoid altogether and despite it being BY FAR the most dangerous thing most folks will ever do day-to-day they just can't be bothered to pay full attention or be good at it.

 

[Captante]

People are inconsiderate fuckwits

I'm not saying you have to like or approve of this sort of behavior but allowing it to upset you when you already know it's coming is pointless.

For example when I drive I ASSUME utter and complete stupidity, un-coordinated manouver's and lack of judgement from EVERY other driver on the road and take it as a pleasant surprise when I see the opposite!

As for the silly twit in the supermarket.... people WALK the same way they drive! (it's just less life-threatening!)

 

[Red Squirrel]

My Mini had aircraft switches and I loved them Badass and when you flicked them it felt like something was going to happen!

I always thought it would be cool to setup an array of aircraft style switches with random acronym labels that don't really mean anything. When you have a passenger just start flipping them randomly. "is your seat belt on? Ok good". *flips bunch of switches* Then just start driving like a grandma.

 

[MrSquished]

We are finally getting some needed rain up here in NNJ. I was driving home from the vet and it was a solid rain, but on the ride home changed to lighter and then to medium, etc...

I could change my intermittent wiper speed without taking my eyes off the road. Anybody with a Tesla can tell me what the process is to turn on intermittent wiping and adjust the speed?

 

[MrSquished]

People are inconsiderate fuckwits. You see it everywhere. This weekend, I turned the corner in the grocery store, and there's a cart sideways is the aisle, and two dumbasses in front of the cart blocking the whole aisle. I physically picked up the back of the cart, and swung it out of my way. I got an apology, but I wasn't in the mood to be pleasant, and I just kept walking. The correct way to make an apology is not needing to make one in the first place. Cart goes right up against the shelf, facing straight down the aisle. That minimizes the affect on anyone else, and if bad luck determines that someone needs something directly behind the cart, it's trivially pushed forward.

Might seem like I'm making a big deal of almost nothing, but this shit is constant, and a symptom of people not putting any thought or consideration into anything but themselves. There's waaaay too many people around for this to be acceptable, and if everyone even tried, it would make the planet more bearable for everyone.

Oh it's constant, that is the problem. People not returning their carts to a cart depository like 30 feet away, and often leaving them in the way of either a spot or the sidewalk leading up to Costco. Or as you said, blocking aisles. I was at the Costco pharmacy waiting on a script. This fat lady on the phone with a car sits in a waiting chair, and proceeds to leave her cart next to her where it's in the way. But she doesn't even pull it flush to the wall behind her, she leaves it at an angle further sticking into the walkway. She could have pulled the cart with her into the seating area so it all sucked. Anyway I simply went to the cart and grabbed it, she said 'that's my cart', I said I know, but you are blocking the walkway I'm at least going to straighten it out. She just said 'oh'.

Yeah, my old Integra had a manual transmission and was fun to drive, even in city traffic. Never felt like work.

Meh, I miss driving stick on highways and more quiet suburban roads but living in a more urban area it's just annoying as fook. Stick is super fun to drive, just not so much when you are hitting traffic and stop signs and lights all the time. My buddy bought one of the nicer Golf's the other year and got a manual and he lived in a more urban area. After a few months he said he didn't know what he was thinking.

 

[Captante]

Meh, I miss driving stick on highways and more quiet suburban roads but living in a more urban area it's just annoying as fook. Stick is super fun to drive, just not so much when you are hitting traffic and stop signs and lights all the time. My buddy bought one of the nicer Golf's the other year and got a manual and he lived in a more urban area. After a few months he said he didn't know what he was thinking.

If you have to drive constantly in stop & go traffic especially if you have a car with a "heavy" clutch you can run into the "rusty-hinge" factor wearing out your left knee.

That happened to me when I was a courier in NYC driving all day making deliveries in heavy traffic but it's not an issue during normal driving or even a twice-a-day commute in car with an "easy" clutch.

Of course the above depends a lot on the car itself.... try driving something like an old Porsche 911SC in NYC traffic if you want to be miserable real quick!

 

[Motostu]

Meh, I miss driving stick on highways and more quiet suburban roads but living in a more urban area it's just annoying as fook. Stick is super fun to drive, just not so much when you are hitting traffic and stop signs and lights all the time. My buddy bought one of the nicer Golf's the other year and got a manual and he lived in a more urban area. After a few months he said he didn't know what he was thinking.

I don't miss it as much as I used to. The car I have now has a auto transmission with a triple clutch setup that works really well for my driving style. It's more common these days, but when I first got it I was impressed with the way the engine and transmission worked together, with the engine automatically backing off slightly with each shift; almost like driving a manual but not having to do the work.

I'm actually done with manuals unless I decide to get a sports car again someday.

edit: was wrong on the clutch setup after looking for more info. Wish I could remember where I thought I heard that.

 

[Captante]

I don't miss it as much as I used to. The car I have now has a auto transmission with a triple clutch setup that works really well for my driving style. It's more common these days, but when I first got it I was impressed with the way the engine and transmission worked together, with the engine automatically backing off slightly with each shift; almost like driving a manual but not having to do the work.

I'm actually done with manuals unless I decide to get a sports car again someday.

The best dual-clutch paddle shifter automatics are actually a bit faster and substantially more consistent in acceleration-tests vs a manual even with a true-expert driver at the helm.

Problem is in most "space-normal" cars that regular folks drive they're not what you get... more likely they throw in a crappy CVT with simulated "shift-points".

 

[Red Squirrel]

Always thought it would be fun to learn manual just because as a guy, it's just something I should know, but at the same time I don't really want to buy a manual car as my primary and jump in without even knowing how. If I ever was in a position where I had a secondary car or got a project car or something, then I'd maybe get it in manual, tow it on a flatbed, bring it on private property, then learn.

 

[IronWing]

My Mini had aircraft switches and I loved them Badass and when you flicked them it felt like something was going to happen!

I was looking at the Mini Clubman a few years ago and I realized the main reasons I wanted one were the turbo and those switches. I didn't even care what the switches did; flip, flip, flip.

 

[lxskllr]

Always thought it would be fun to learn manual just because as a guy, it's just something I should know, but at the same time I don't really want to buy a manual car as my primary and jump in without even knowing how. If I ever was in a position where I had a secondary car or got a project car or something, then I'd maybe get it in manual, tow it on a flatbed, bring it on private property, then learn.

It's not hard. You'd just have to figure it out like everyone else did. Bumpy start, and you'd get better with time.

 

[sdifox]

Stick shift is waaay past its useful life. Hell so should self driving, but whatever.

 

[Denly]

Stick shift is waaay past its useful life. Hell so should self driving, but whatever.

life long stick shifter and I have yet owned a car that can not beat EPA by at least 10% so there is that. Stick drivers are also more skilled/aware on average, I have frds that retire from stick and they all seen lost the edge after a yr.

 

[sdifox]

life long stick shifter and I have yet owned a car that can not beat EPA by at least 10% so there is that. Stick drivers are also more skilled/aware on average, I have frds that retire from stick and they all seen lost the edge after a yr.

Go to drive on a track if you want to enjoy stick shift. On the public road it is just a chore. Like I said, I would rather hand over commuting to a central computer system.

<--- Learned to shift on a Peugeot 505

 

[repoman0]

life long stick shifter and I have yet owned a car that can not beat EPA by at least 10% so there is that. Stick drivers are also more skilled/aware on average, I have frds that retire from stick and they all seen lost the edge after a yr.

Can't stare at your phone like every other asshole on the road if you're using both hands and feet to operate the vehicle.

 

[repoman0]

Go to drive on a track if you want to enjoy stick shift.

Thanks, I do that and also enjoy it on public roads.

 

[purbeast0]

Still love my manual G37S. I'm driving that thing into the ground.

And there is absolutely zero "thought" put into driving it at this point and has been that way for years. It's not a chore at all, whether in traffic or not, and I've been in some really bad traffic living in the DMV area.

 

[dlerious]

Don't know what it's like now, but one of the things I used to like about manual was the ability to push start it.

 

[Commodus]

I'm of the mind that touchscreens are increasingly important in cars, but that we do need physical controls for a few common tasks (typically volume and AC), at least for a while.

And while I appreciate manual enthusiasts, we do have to accept that stick shifting is going away, and that it's not necessarily a bad thing. To me, the joy of driving comes from seeing the sights and spending time with loved ones; I don't need to row through gears. And the benefits of an EV easily outweigh the visceral thrill of a manual, as far as I'm concerned.

 

[Captante]

I'm of the mind that touchscreens are increasingly important in cars, but that we do need physical controls for a few common tasks (typically volume and AC), at least for a while.

And while I appreciate manual enthusiasts, we do have to accept that stick shifting is going away, and that it's not necessarily a bad thing. To me, the joy of driving comes from seeing the sights and spending time with loved ones; I don't need to row through gears. And the benefits of an EV easily outweigh the visceral thrill of a manual, as far as I'm concerned.

Yeah I don't think a manual would work out in an EV!

 

[MrSquished]

I'm of the mind that touchscreens are increasingly important in cars, but that we do need physical controls for a few common tasks (typically volume and AC), at least for a while.

And while I appreciate manual enthusiasts, we do have to accept that stick shifting is going away, and that it's not necessarily a bad thing. To me, the joy of driving comes from seeing the sights and spending time with loved ones; I don't need to row through gears. And the benefits of an EV easily outweigh the visceral thrill of a manual, as far as I'm concerned.

The manual shift discussion is completely separate from the stupidity of trying to make virtually all interaction with the car into touchscreen. Right now touchscreens and tech are not nearly there to do as much elimination of physical controls as some companies are going for.

 

[Commodus]

Yeah I don't think a manual would work out in an EV!

Ford actually cobbled together a manual shifter for a one-off Mustang concept, but yeah... a lack of gears is somewhat problematic for stick shifting!

 

[Commodus]

The manual shift discussion is completely separate from the stupidity of trying to make virtually all interaction with the car into touchscreen. Right now touchscreens and tech are not nearly there to do as much elimination of physical controls as some companies are going for.

Yes and no. It depends on the argument. If you're mainly concerned about practical ease of use, certainly. However, folks who completely balk at touchscreens (and digital gauges, for that matter) are arguably similar to those who cling to manuals; they're largely arguing for analog familiarity.