Note that in the photo above, "The Hummer EV has a 13.4-inch display in the center of the cockpit and another 12.3-inch pane in front of the driver."
Fast forward a decade and touch screens are no longer a reluctant add-on or an innovative auto perk; they’re table stakes. Some 97% of new cars globally have at least one touch screen, and they are metastasizing quickly. Almost a quarter of US cars and trucks now have command displays spanning 11 inches or more, according to S&P Global Mobility; luxury brands are now normalizing a separate screen for passengers. And nowhere is this arms race more evident than in electric vehicles. As battery-powered motors commodify driving — giving sports car-level superpower to giant pickups and tiny hatchbacks alike — the center-stack display offers the biggest, brightest space to stand out. The only question is, at what cost?
S&P analyst Anna Buettner says the future of car cockpits is most evident in China, where Byton, a startup, has essentially built a 48-inch wide computer on top of the dashboard. “They have all kinds of stuff we’re not seeing here yet — rotatable screens, pillar-to-pillar screens across the whole car,” Buettner says. “All of that is definitely coming.” The Han, an electric sedan made by Shenzhen-based BYD, even comes with a microphone for karaoke. Forget the destination; focus on the Journey.
The costs/risks are discussed at length at Bloomberg. If all drivers were as intelligent, skilled, courteous, and sensible as you and me, then there would be no problem. But...
My friend's Tesla 3 has a 19 inch screen!
ReplyDeleteI loathe touch screens in cars as much as internet connected appliances. In the 90s, my New Yorker had a joystick that allowed me to move the sound to any group of speakers in my car, it was the most intuitive interface I ever had in a car, I never had to look away from the road to use it. I'm all for innovation and technology, but it has to improve the thing it is replacing.
ReplyDeleteThat touchscreen, along with the hardware and software are not repairable, and must be replaced. First you need the diagnostic equipment to analyze the problem with that PROPRIETARY system which probably means authorized dealer only.. Ask a farmer what happens when his John Deere quits in the middle of harvest. First make sure their are no children within earshot. This is why home appliances are unreliable and expensive to repair.
ReplyDeletexoxoxoBruce
so much for NOT driving distracted
ReplyDeleteThe HEV weighs 5 to 6 tons (depending on the options chosen, and the battery is only 1/3 of that total weight), has 1,000 hp, goes 0 to 60 mph in 3 seconds (a Formula 1 race car does that in 2.6 seconds), and is 7 feet wide, 18 feet long, Charging it at home on a Level 2 home charger will take a GMC-estimated 16.5 hours at 48 amps to charge from 20% to 100%. And then there is the massive touchscreens. Memo to HEV owners: Don't worry about those pedestrians and cyclists and compact car drivers you "share" the road with. They will not cause you any harm.
ReplyDeleteFrom an article in The Atlantic:
The vehicle achieves its acceleration using a feature called “Watts to Freedom,”
a “launch-control mode” designed to propel the car forward from a stop. The Hummer’s owners manual warns drivers that “Watts to Freedom is intended for use only on a closed course and should not be used on public roads, The fact alone that Watts to Freedom is shipped with street-legal cars reveals the unusually lax regulatory environment that cars face. Ebikes, for instance, are physically restricted by federal law from exceeding a maximum speed by motor alone; cars, meanwhile, can include a dangerous acceleration mode as long as the owners manual warns drivers to “make sure there are no people or objects around” before you activate it.
The article is worth a read: https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2022/10/hummer-ev-hybrid-electric-super-trucks-safety/671708/
To paraphrase Mr. Biden, "Why on earth does anyone need a Hummer EV?"
How is that not like watching TV while driving?
ReplyDeleteI believe that 2013 is the terminal year of manufacture for my future auto purchases. multicolor screens - passive or touch sensitive - became dominant shortly after that model year. in my current fleet,the newest is a '13 Base level MINI Clubman. It has an interior with switches, buttons, knobs, gauges, indicator lights and a clutch. And no touch screen (there is a 3 line monochrome dot matrix style text display as part of the audio system. that text field blanks when audio system is off, & dims with the main dash illumination level when on.). i can manage 40mpg on a tankful (nearly 500 miles) in moderate distance driving, and 33 in town. my hometown has significant hills, too. almost feel obligated to say "Now, get off my lawn"
ReplyDeleteThis?
Deletehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mini_Clubman_(2007)