Touch-screen Auto Controls

Discussion in 'Automotive' started by Hal Pollner, Feb 19, 2021.

  1. Hal Pollner

    Hal Pollner Veteran Member
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    I have owned 27 automobiles, and have always depended on a Switch, a Knob, a Lever, a Foot-Pedal, or a Push-Button to control them.

    Harold
     
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  2. Peter Renfro

    Peter Renfro Veteran Member
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    My daughter just got a brand new Subaru.
    Blind Spot Warning
    forward braking collision avoidance
    rear cross traffic alert
    headlights that turn into the steer
    remote start
    adaptive cruise control
    lane keeping assistance.
    plus an entertainment center a navigation center a communications center and a satellite link to emergency services.
     
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  3. John Brunner

    John Brunner Senior Staff
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    I hear ya, Hal. I hated losing stick shift and manual windows when I couldn't find a suitable vehicle that still had them.

    2 years ago I bought a new Mazda that has all of the features Peter's daughter's Subaru has.

    It all takes some getting used to. They have all these safety devices, and they turn off the touch screen so you cannot use it while in motion (you gotta use control knobs), but then they aggregate everything into a computer screen that requires you to look at it to scroll through stuff as you're driving (although my Mazda does have Voice Command.)

    I have never rear-ended another car in my life, but the first week I had the Mazda the "forward braking collision avoidance" saved me from doing exactly that because I was messing with the unfamiliar computer screen. Thank goodness that feature was enabled. I miss things like instinctively reaching out to my radio presets without taking my eyes off of the road. All of that kind of stuff is computerized in my new car.

    I do like the Heads-Up Display, though. It projects my speed, the current speed limit, the navigation directions and a whole bunch of stuff onto the windshield so I don't even have to look at the dashboard.
    [​IMG]


    And Adaptive Cruise Control is great, once you understand its limitations. So there are good enhancements.

    The trick to safety is in learning how to use Voice Commands. But the thing has a 700 page Owner's Manual...
     
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    Last edited: Feb 19, 2021
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  4. Susan Paynter

    Susan Paynter Very Well-Known Member
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    I wonder how many of these features we use in our cars. Also, with no intent of negativity, I believe it's really more expensive to fix these electronics in case of errors.
     
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  5. John Brunner

    John Brunner Senior Staff
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    I have to agree with you. That not negativity, that's pretty much a factual statement. As I said, I'd prefer a manual transmission and hand-crank windows.

    These days, it's tough to find anything that has not been all teched-out. I bought this model because it has the engine I wanted, and you cannot get this engine without all of the other stuff piled on. But even the basic models of most cars (even Kias) run everything through a computer screen in the dashboard.

    That being said, there's a lot of the bells & whistles I really love now that I have them. I would not have paid separately to add the things like Blind Spot Monitor and Adaptive Cruise Control and Collision Avoidance, but I really like them now that I have them. The headlights that steer into the direction of travel as you go around curves and make hard turns are really nice to have, especially in my winding backwoods area...they don't just shoot off into space.

    I think "cheap maintenance" kinda went away some time ago. My brother owned his own car repair shop, and every bit of 20 years ago told me of cars that required him to unbolt the engine from the frame and jack the engine up so he could replace one inconveniently-located spark plug. Makes for an expensive tune-up. But costs are certainly commensurate with degrees of complexity, ain't no doubt.
     
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    Last edited: Feb 20, 2021
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  6. Susan Paynter

    Susan Paynter Very Well-Known Member
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    Oh yes, I am happy with the auto transmission n windows, I would make do with cruiser, but the other bells and whistles, I just dont get.
    Someone like me who has no clue about all these functions n finds it essential for the car to take me from point A to point B is what I need it for.! I think the important function for an experienced driver is to be able to find blind spots and collision distance come automatically to him/her. ??? It's an added bonus in this day when people who are driving are so preoccupied in their thoughts that these accessories do come in handy.

    But the older cars were much easier to fix. Some of my friends dads who were not mechanics would be able to fix their family car when something happened to it without resorting to a mechanic all the time. With the newer models any little thing you gotta take it to the dealer or garage n without opening the hood, they had it hooked on to the diagnostic machine and voila ...problem detected.

    Yes, it does help to keep up maintenance on the newer vehicles and you are right nothing comes cheap. I am glad you like your Mazda, the engine n the functions it has. For me, it would be just another car.
     
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  7. John Brunner

    John Brunner Senior Staff
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    You raise valid points that are oft discussed on the car forums. The bells & whistles are great when they supplement but not supplant. I like putting on my turn signal to change lanes and having the car warn me when there's a car there I might not have seen. It's a great second set of eyes. But I retain my own awareness and responsibility. The concern arises when folks think that the technology is there instead of the driver rather than in addition to.

    I used to work on my own cars before things got so complex. I had an old Austin Healey and swapped out the engine and transmission with one from a later year I got at a junkyard. I also changed the front drum brakes to disc brakes. Did lots of work on lots of other cars. But then things changed.

    With the new vehicles, I pop the hood, stare at the mess, then take it to a mechanic.
     
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  8. Susan Paynter

    Susan Paynter Very Well-Known Member
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    I would hv loved to have kept my old 17 year old Toyota, it served me well. But even my mechanic, in a very nice way told me he liked to work on newer models
     
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  9. Cody Fousnaugh

    Cody Fousnaugh Supreme Member
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    For me, I don't miss at all: standard steering, standard brakes, hand roll-up windows and a regular AM radio. But, I could be a "backyard mechanic" when I had some of my older vehicles. Oil-belt changes, replacing a starter-generator-water pump and a few other things. Not on our Durango would I try these tasks. However, I can still add fluids, change air filter and replace a blown brake/turn signal light.
    One time, I put a new battery in the Durango, but didn't reset the Check Engine Light (I have an electronic tool for that). This next morning, after having breakfast, turned on the engine on and started driving. Wife and I noticed our speedometer was going wacky and so was some other dash panel lights/gauges. Immediately took down the street to the Dealer and he reset the Check Engine Light. Everything went fine after.

    On certain things, I like all of the "bells and whistles". Our 2005 Dodge Durango SLT has a few, but one thing we don't have, and wished we did, is a back-up camera. It would come in really handy when backing our boat down a ramp or backing it up anywhere.

    Our digital camera has numerous "bells and whistles", but I hardly ever put it on Manual. Don't know enough of manual settings, to use them. But, to get "fast action" photos, I must use a manual setting. Basically, I only use Automatic and a video on/off button.

    On old tv's, there was very little-to-no picture or volume settings. Our big-screen/HD has these settings and they are very useful.
     
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