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Nobody wants touch-screen glove box latches

theautopian.com

241–250 of 392 posts

Re: Nobody wants touch-screen glove box latches

#241

I hate a lot of the touch screen controls in the Tesla - like AC controls. But the glovebox is actually pretty nice. Being software controlled means I can require a PIN to open it. Also, there's no handle so it doesn't even look like a glovebox is there. If someone breaks in they probably aren't getting to any valuables in the glovebox.

My car is 22 years old and has a key lock on the glovebox. It even rejects the valet key in case I wanted to give someone access to my car without giving them access to the glove box. This is a solved problem.

Re: Nobody wants touch-screen glove box latches

#242

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The glove box is where I keep my safety hammer.

Time to put a safety glovebox crowbar in your center console.

No good, the button to open the center console is located on a touchscreen inside the glovebox.

Re: Nobody wants touch-screen glove box latches

#243

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The average thief is a lot smarter, stronger and good with tools than you think. They also network and know a lot of stuff.

They know that people rarely put anything more valuable than a few coins in glove boxes and so rarely bother opening them.

Seen a lot of cars that have been broken into, seen a lot of open glove boxes too.

Re: Nobody wants touch-screen glove box latches

#244
post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What a fantasy scenario. In what world can someone force their way into to your locked car but can't force their way into the glove box?

Most glove boxes don't have large panes of glass? The sound of a broken window to get in will also motivate a thief to not stick around messing with a glovebox very long. Maybe leave something worth running off with in the center console as a deflection.

You seem unaware that a car's glovebox door is made out of plastic and usually has just a single "hook" style latch?

Thief's who break windows to get into cars carry tools.. your glovebox is NOT secure.

Lastly, you seem unaware that most car thief's don't break the windows because this often leads to their capture.

Re: Nobody wants touch-screen glove box latches

#245
The reason they do this is simple, money. It is much easier for a manufacturer to produce a single screen that contains all the functionality that can be adjusted on the fly using software. The alternative (and the way it has always been) is early in a car conception, to design the cabin with the buttons layout, design the switches, find a manufacturer, test the switches, test the layout, repeat, etc… Plus if they find a flaw in the cars button design / layout late in the process, it becomes even more expensive to fix. Nowadays, car companies have an excuse to use screens, not only does it save them money, but they can disguise it under « modernism ».

Disclaimer, this is from what I heard and using common sense, but in might be completely wrong.

Re: Nobody wants touch-screen glove box latches

#246

I don't want touch screens in cars period and I can't stand this trend of using them. I'm finally starting to understand the feelings my grandfather had for anything thing he considered superfluous or inconvenient in a car.

Sadly it's only going to get worse. Companies left and right are seeing the light so to speak (i.e. how much money can be saved by using touchscreens) and putting them in everything in tandem with switching over to being electric. Doesn't help that countries everywhere are demanding that ICEs be phased out despite EVs having a host of problems and having nowhere near the amount of reliability.

But there's no way that a manually-operated latch is more expensive than a latch that is controlled by an electronic component, and that's leaving aside any time spent by developers and product managers to design the look, location, and functionality of the button in the software itself.

Re: Nobody wants touch-screen glove box latches

#247
post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is no world where wiring, relays and motorized latches are cheaper than a button latch.

This. It's a very different situations from touch screens being cheaper than physical controls, since in this case the latch is already necessary.

Its possible. Injection molding is cheaper when the part has less precise features.

Re: Nobody wants touch-screen glove box latches

#248

Most product decisions represent a tradeoff. The tradeoff the author doesn't mention is one of a clean look versus ease of use. The author also doesn't mention how frequently they actually open their glovebox. From my personal experience I probably open my glovebox four times a year. How many times do I look at my glovebox? That's much harder to estimate but I'd guess dozens. Do I like a clean looking dashboard? It w…

Your argument basically boils down to you don’t really use your glove box and prefer the slightly cleaner aesthetics. In your case you might argue for a car that doesn’t have a glove box. But if the glove box is included it should be intended for use. To not be able to access it by the passenger while driving, or while the car is off can be very frustrating for people who like to have a glove box.

All the comments on this thread seem to ignore a basic simple truth.

On long road trips with passengers, they often use the glovebox to store things.

When we go on road trips the kids rotate sitting in the passenger seat. They store their books, kindle, phone, etc there as it is a very convenient storage space easily accessible to them.

Re: Nobody wants touch-screen glove box latches

#249

The reason they do this is simple, money. It is much easier for a manufacturer to produce a single screen that contains all the functionality that can be adjusted on the fly using software. The alternative (and the way it has always been) is early in a car conception, to design the cabin with the buttons layout, design the switches, find a manufacturer, test the switches, test the layout, repeat, etc… Plus if they fi…

[deleted]

Re: Nobody wants touch-screen glove box latches

#250

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Remember curved TVs? Remember 3D for TVs? That was essentially technology bullet-point features, but since they flopped hard you can no longer buy curved TVs or 3D TVs. Turns out if people really don't want shit, it disappears again, no matter how hard various corporations push the shit.

Curiously, I can still buy a TV that puts ads in its UI. Nobody wanted that…

Sadly the TV makers only wanted 3D TVs or curved TVs so they had a marketing bullet point, so they lost interest when consumers didn't want them that much.

The makers also want ads in TVs for additional revenue streams, so customer wants can go jump off a cliff for all they care.

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