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European crash tester says carmakers must bring back physical controls

arstechnica.com

471–480 of 660 posts

Re: European crash tester says carmakers must bring back physical controls

#471

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I really miss the feel of a physical throttle linkage on the snow and ice, I feel it's much more difficult to judge grip. The throttle is separated from the wheels/ground by the transmission and the whole engine, which makes me wonder if the response you felt probably was a combination of eg rpm/physical vibration and a few other factors. It should be possible to recreate these even in an EV, then.

There is a noticeable difference in feel between ICE cars with physical throttle cables and those with electronic throttles…the drive-by-wire models have a very small amount of lag between pedal input and engine response. If you’re attuned to it, or drive “spiritedly”, the effect is quite noticeable. I think mainstream cars mostly switched over around 20 years ago, I remember learning about it when I googled for why…

Many modern cars have a turbo that makes this almost impossible to tell. It almost feels irrelevant, compared to planning ahead for the inevitable wait for the turbo to build pressure.

Re: European crash tester says carmakers must bring back physical controls

#472
I have a 2021 Ram Classic 1500 "plain Jane" truck. The only option it has is the tow package and the medium size touch screen. To adjust the HVAC air flow, you have to go to the touch screen! (you can adjust the fan speed with a dial.) The cab on this truck is pretty large, so adjusting from the lower vent to the defroster vent is quite risky while going down the road.

On my wife's Pacifica, the fan speed dial is also a button that can be used to change the vent settings, which is much more safer. Why Mopar didn't include this on my truck is anybodies guess.

Re: European crash tester says carmakers must bring back physical controls

#473

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> …Teslas. Or at least it was, until they removed the physical turn signal controls. The turn signals wasn’t removed, they moved them to the steering wheel as physical buttons. Which ofc isn’t optimal, because you turn it…

I would call them virtual buttons rather than true physical buttons, as they are capacitive touch buttons that don't depress and are missing a defined physical boundary. Granted, they are fixed in place and don't move. Except that, as you point out, they do move...

"Designed for California" nonsense. It's pretty common to wear gloves while driving in the winter in Canada. Now you have to make sure your gloves are compatible with your car.

Re: European crash tester says carmakers must bring back physical controls

#474

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Volume is on the steering wheel. A/C is automatic and I don't need to touch it the vast majority of the time. While driving the most I might want to do is adjust the temperature, and since it's not safety critical I can choose a convenient time. It's at the bottom of the screen so it is easy to do by grabbing behind the bezel and only requires a quick glance to align your thumb. In practice I glance at physical A/C c…

It seems like you have a more sensible car than many. I was recently in one with really dumb automatic AC that needed adjustment very often, the AC settings were in a menu behing two clicks, there was no convenient landmark to orient my hand without looking, the temperature slider was very small and dense needing high precision and the temperature text was rather small. And the steering wheel buttons are, of course,…

What is carsharing, and how does it work insurance-wise?

Re: European crash tester says carmakers must bring back physical controls

#475

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> …Teslas. Or at least it was, until they removed the physical turn signal controls. The turn signals wasn’t removed, they moved them to the steering wheel as physical buttons. Which ofc isn’t optimal, because you turn it…

You’re supposed to signal before you turn the wheel. Way too often I see people signaling as they turn, not because they are trying to communicate with other road users but because it’s the law. Indicate your intent first and then take the indicated action.

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Re: European crash tester says carmakers must bring back physical controls

#476
post #189

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You mean you don't press the left one to stop, and the right one to go?

Around here the middle one is to stop, left is to switch gears. Except in go-karts, those only have 2 pedals.

Except DD2 and KZ, well true, they only have 2 pedals, but they also have a hand operated clutch. But you only need it to start the kart. You shift without the clutch, and for starting you can have it in neutral and just push it in first when you have build a little speed and sit in the kart. I suppose if you have one with an electronic starter you need it.

Re: European crash tester says carmakers must bring back physical controls

#478

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why even put it on the bus? Adding a couple of meters of cable per critical system like steering or even 10 for braking couldn't offset the complexity of bus steering.

On the contrary, adding just "a few meters of cable" per each critical system, and adding separate sensors instead of using the same critical sensors would greatly increase complexity. Also so really underestimate the cabling and sensor needs for modern requirements. Having redundant bus and redundant sensors usable by multiple subsystems is a better way. Well, I have heard of power assist using a single simple poten…

Compared to classic hydraulic lines everywhere dedicated cables seem easy.

Having to account for a DOS attack from a compromised head unit or some such just seems like a nightmare.

Re: European crash tester says carmakers must bring back physical controls

#479
post #465

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Then it’s likely you don’t have a significant commute to work in a city with heavy traffic.

How's honking helping the commute?

Using the horn to prevent myself from being squashed by yank tanks with a hood and tailgate height significantly taller than my car (and most adults) helps the commute. They'd have to shut down part of the road to clean the car bits and the red goo off the road otherwise. If my country legislated those absurd vehicles out of existence I wouldn't need to lay on the horn to make my existence known.

Re: European crash tester says carmakers must bring back physical controls

#480
post #424

> Now, Euro NCAP is not insisting on everything being its own button or switch. But the organization wants to see physical controls for turn signals, hazard lights, windshield wipers, the horn, and any SOS features This is much more reasonable than I assumed. Unlike seemingly most people here I have no problem whatsoever with fan controls or audio controls or whatever on the touchscreen, as long as it is responsive (…

What's the difference between "physical turn signal controls" and "physical buttons with haptic feedback"?

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