I really do not see the difference, if you dont use a touchscreen or if you do, you still have to press/touch a button whether you look at it or not?

and if you do look it takes no longer than looking at a mechanical switch, if tech replaces all buttons which I think it will, like dash units, or they have speech recognition which I am not that keen on...

RobJP

"The frightening ones (to me) are the 'social media' apps which some cars are advertised with - especially those aiming at the 'hip' car buyers/leasers in their early 20s, who've not yet learned that they're mortal."

The most frightening thing is that they don't seem to realise that other people are mortal. Imagine one of them looking for Pokemons while driving !!

The front page headline of the Daily Mail, issue dated 16th Sept, complains that so many people are now using their mobiles while driving that the police have given up prosecuting them. How many are using their 'Infotainment' screen to keep in touch with their friends via F/B and Twitter ?

I read a comment by a young person recently that before mobiles were available people were 'out of touch' for like, hours.

Many thanks for the comments.

I was interested today to hear a debate about ;hands free' phones. It was suggested that the concentration needed on a hands-free call was as dangerous as using a non-hands free phone.

I'm not sure how modern police comms work, but I;m fairly sure that messages are received and transmitted while driving. Technically no different from hands-free phones.

Many years ago, as a dibble driving a sector car, I had two radios to monitor - the local UHF 'personal radio' and the VHF 'force network'. This was before the days of built-in microphones, TX buttons on gear lever or steering wheel, etc.

correct me if I'm wrong, don't many cars come with "one touch" buttons to activate the windscreen demister fan at high speed - my Primera has this, confounded thing also activates the aircon and maximum heat (but that's a different dicusssion)

And you can find it by touch without looking.

It's a rapid demist function so of course it wants drier, warmer air - many modern cars incorporate PTC 12v heaters in the heater - LR Freelander 2 and Hyundai Santa Fe are two that I know of.

"(It'll probably be a Dacia)."

Excellent cars.

Renault Dacia have the optional 7" MediaNav Evo sat-nav radio. It's got lots of convenient features, but it's a touch-screen which requires looking directly at it to touch the correct bit, and it's mounted low down under the airvents.

They are extremely popular but so distracting to use while driving I've taken mine out. They sell on Ebay for high prices, which is the upside.

Edited by Bracket on 29/09/2016 at 08:44

Are they unable to work out how to pair their phone with the car

Yes, some people have no idea how to use them, and some do not want to use them, similar to those that have no idea how to switch there lights on at night

I know of one person that refuses to use one because he doesnt want his phone numbers stored on the hands free (a garage told him you cannot delete them once stored) he was told wrong but believed it?

>>Are they unable to work out how to pair their phone with the car?

Pairing a new phone with an old car can sometimes be a bit of hit & miss.

Just this week

My car is a 2012 Honda which came out in 2007 as a model.

Pairing it with a Blackberry 4 years ago was fine. 2016 I-phone was more than just reading the car manual and hitting 2/3 buttons.

I read lots of car sites to no avail. Looked at an Apple site, 5 minutes later it had paired- an extra step made the difference.

We are talking Apple here, they are supposedly easier to use, but I know of no one that has not had problems with them. so much for making life simples

The problem with inbuilt or so called professional hands free kits in cars is background noise coupled with the microphone too far from the person speaking, you know the deafening tyre noise from all those elastic bands makers insist motorway and family cars need or they apparently fall of the road? yes that noise, and engine noise in vans and lorries.

I've used all sorts of hands free kits for years, from inbuilt to the stupid looking things that people wear whilst grocery shopping in the supermarket like some wannabe secret service agent waiting for a life or death call to save the once free world.

By far the best ones for clear calls, both ends, are the McDonalds drive thru style over the headphone with mike on a flexi stalk close to the mouth, these things priced between £10 and £40 knock £200+ pro kits into a cocked hat.

Oh, and by the way where did that strange expression knocking something into a cocked hat come from?

I agree. Apart from the reliability issue the shift in design of cars has only suited the motor car industry. Where one used to 'tinker' with one's car at idle moments only the very brave do this now. However, HUDs should be restricted to vital infomation. Anything that draws attention from the road ahead should be only momentary. Having to go through the menu of the modern 'Infotainment' screen to chose something means either stopping the car or an accident for someone else.

I really do not get where 'modern' vehicles are going, I feel there is evidence cars reached the peak in the late 90's for durability, ease of repair without not needed complication. Complication is fine if it adds value but only where it is useful to the core purpose.

Rather than huge screens a more useful feature is all new cars with factory fitted HUD units so the drivers eyes do not leave the road. I HUD unit that has settings in which it can be configured in a way that the driver wishes.

Cars peaked for 'ease of repair' well before the '90's', probably during the 1930's!

Car technology is developing rapidly at the moment but there's also a kind of wait and see going on. The future of diesel engines is uncertain. And what about petrol engines - will they survive merely to drive generators in hybrids? And what about hybrids themselves now they look increasingly like they might just be a stop-gap on the way to fully electric cars?

Digital displays are obviously here to stay, but how best to make use of them? One big infotainment screen in the middle of the dash or a smaller one plus another screen in front of the driver to display essentials like speed and warnings?

One way in which modern cars have lost direction is styling, which is getting over fussy with blade edges and illogical creases and bulges. The new Tesla Model 3 has gone against this trend with a simple and elegant design which could be a major selling point for it.

Edited by Sofa Spud on 20/09/2017 at 21:52