Date: Thu, 21 Feb 2002 23:13:35 +0100 From: "Jan van Oort" <janvanoortnopsamdoo.fr> Subject: Re: BMW goes wacky ! Have you seen this ?
Makes me thinks of something well-known in today's automated jet plane cockpit: "mode confusion" (has provoked at least 4 major crashes in the 90's): the pilot gets confused at what "mode" the plane is running in, cannot react properly anymore - if this takes too long, you have an accident. We'll see if mode confusion provokes accidents rising above an average in the new BMW 7 series.... Jan van Oort "Bob" <uctraingNOSPAMnopsamanet.com> a Ècrit dans le message news: kmv97ucsfln1jli1lm90ejm66qfhsm5k3bnopsamcom... > On Wed, 20 Feb 2002 21:42:18 -0800, "Brian" > <Witch*Drnopsamnojunkemail.net.ru> wrote: > > > > > >With that being said, I can't understand why more car companies aren't > >putting controls on the steering wheel. I have a 99 Pontiac and absolutely > >love steering wheel controls. Not hard at all to adapt to. Plus with a HUD, > >you really never have to look down. > > Funny thing with car companies and trends (or the lack thereof)... > > I had an 1988 Nissan that put the major dash controls (not the climate > or entertainment) on pods that stuck out from the dash. You could > switch an item on or off without moving your hands from the wheel. > Good idea, didn't catch on. > > I also had a 1977 Celica that had an electronic display that told you > if the washer fluid was low, radiator was low, brake lights were out, > pads were worn, etc. Funny, that never caught on either and I didn't > see it again until I started looking at Saabs. > > But, I still don't see an advantage to the "stalk" in an auto > environment. I can see it in a military situation where you expect > to be at the peak of mental attention, sweating your 'nads off as > you go through an operation. You are doing one thing, and just one > thing, mentally and physically. OTOH, when you are in a car > driving through traffic, chatting with friends, listening to the > radio, I think something like large buttons for each pre-tuned > station on the radio, and simple one op per button climate controls, > are a must. > > Bob >
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