Ok, so back in the 50s and 60s Dodge had a pretty cool little gimmick with their push button automatics. But lately, it seems every other newer car I get into has some rejected idea from before auto design became standardized with the PRNDL pattern and a "shifter" they thought of during the 50s when "rocket science" and Buck Rogers was the happening new thing. We've got Dodges with the stupid shift knob. When I put it into "P", I'm always apprehensive about letting my foot off the brake since I didn't feel anything actually happen. Cadillac has a stupid lever that you have to push some button on the top of it to get it to "Park", despite the fact that the shift lever has the "P" over to the side, so you sit trying to slide the shifter over, but it won't, then you see the stupid little button with "P" on it, which is a different button then the one on the side for putting it into gear, which you naturally push when trying to shift it into park. So the "P" indicator actually has nothing to do with the actions you must take to put it into Park. Jeep has a lovely design, that got recalled, because it doesn't just go into "P" when you're in park, so people were running themselves over when they got out to open the gate, put the groceries in the back, etc. The one that got me miffed enough to start this post: Chevrolet has a new push/pull shift button system in their new Traverses on the freaking center stack. It's like 5 power window switches in a row, but you pull them instead of push like you normally would think in your common sense operating little brain...and the kicker. IF you try to drive with the door open (we do this quite a bit moving from stall to stall in the shop), the car stuffs it into park immediately and sets the e-brake. Can't wait for some poor woman or family to have a door ajar switch go bad while in the woods, so the car thinks the door is open, so it won't go into gear. REAL smart thinking, there, GM....... Even when they use the PRNDL system, they can't get it right. When you get in a new Malibu or Cruze, you'll notice the "PRNDL" pattern to the left of the shifter, but where the shifter is actually at has nothing to do with what is indicated on the PRNDL. (See the last picture I posted, the shifter is actually in "Park" even though it's next to the "D" on the shift pattern). When you pull it to shift back to Drive, the shifter is actually a couple inches behind the PRNDL indicator. Common sense and details, car makers, details...............It's things like this that still make me feel like I'm in an inferior piece of equipment every time I drive one. The engineer they hired to make them doesn't even realize what position the shifter is in physically should coincide with what gear the car is actually in. Those dang PRNDL column shifters and floor shifters that we were using that worked great for the last 80+ years were just too "antiquated", I guess.
Our 15 Grand Cherokee has a shifter like the second row..Took awhile to get used to it too..Only moves an inch..
Took me about a week to get used to the Ram knob. Now I love it and find column shifters almost awkward and gangly comparitively speaking. Seeing as how most column/console shifters for some time now just control an electric solenoid, it's no more or less reliable from a mechanical standpoint. It's like anything else, different at first, then you learn it, adapt, and it becomes second nature. But people are often times just inherently resistant to change. I do understand that it does seem the auto makers are using "gimmicky" shifters though, just to seem fancy or "cutting edge". Still, once I got used to the knob, I personally really like it.
Another fun “improvement” is the way they put the windshield wiper controls on the right side of the steering column. When I drive my Buick, I use the motion we’re all used to to put it in gear. When I put the Buick away, and move my other cars back into their “usual” positions, the first thing I do is try to rip that control off the column. Every. Damn. Time.
That one drives me nuts, too. Even within the same brand, the wipers could be on the left stalk, right stalk, or on the center stack somewhere. Emergency flashers are the same way, Chevy pickups still have the emergency flasher button on the steering column, but most is a scavenger hunt to find it.
And most, if not all of the shifters nowadays are electronic. Chrysler already has at least one lawsuit regarding it rotary shifter.
New Lincoln Navigator has a piano key deal in the center of the dash. It’s hell to find half the time. Fords dial shifter sucks. Especially when you are trying to loading or unloading them in a semi trailer. Crack the door open and automatically shifts into park.
Exactly. That's the way the new Traverses are too. Slams into park with the door open and nothing you can do........And we've never seen "door ajar" issues before, especially on Fords I suppose if you own ONE of these new style things, it wouldn't be a big deal. But when your job has you driving up to 100 different cars a day, spending 5 minutes deciphering just how to get the dam*** thing into gear and out of the stall it's in gets a little frustrating, and you begin to notice the stupidity of redesigning something that works perfectly.
It seems like the manufacturers are all trying to out-gizmo one another. I've had the displeasure of driving a couple of the cars with those types of shifters and I hated them both. My daughters '14 Grand Cherokee had that "killer" shifter in it. Thankfully, her new '17 GC has gone back to a more traditional type of shifter. And don't get me started on that idiotic start/stop B.S. Speaking of shifters, the one in my '13 Lacrosse is awesome. PRND...Press the button and slide all the way down for drive, to shift manually just tap it to the left and use up/down button on the side of the knob. SIMPLE!!
I guess I am immune to these world stopping problems, I drive more new cars a year than most and can't say I am swayed very often. Once in a while I have to stop and think a bit to figure something different out, but don't find it annoying but stimulating. Of course I like tech and gadgets. Such problems, hard to live.
Ever since my parents ‘86 Continental I’ve been wary and frustrated by the combination of ‘nanny’ and ‘gizmo’ tech that seems to be aimed at the stupid and easily amused. That car locked itself every time you put it in gear. It wouldn’t unlock, though, when put back into park. Which meant simple things like turning it around in the driveway to vacuum it out meant three of the damn doors were locked for no good reason. Likewise, I hate having to ‘brake’ to get the shifter out of park. I’m not a moron; don’t inconvenience me like I’m some damage case that needs a helmet to go outdoors. A car you can’t drive with the door open? That’s stupid. What’s next? A waiver button before rolling down the windows? I don’t want this much nannying. I don’t want to spend time learning how to defeat it. As for the funky new shifters and such, I CAN figure this crap out, I just don’t want to waste my time remembering it. Patrick
Problem is Patrick, much of the general automobile operating public is indeed made up of morons. We all see it everyday on the news and in real life. Everytime they make something idiot proof, somebody builds a bigger idiot. So the lowest common denominator gets pandered to. Hence why we have such seemingly ridiculous warning labels on just about everything now.
Ah Luke, Luke, Luke... Welcome to our "Brave New World". It looks like you have assimilated into the dreaded "Pre-AWARE Society". Watch this if you have a while, or read it if they still teach basic "Cartouche-Figure Brain-Thought Comprehension Graphic Analysis" also know in our time period as reading. The BIG plan is for it to Improve Greatly in the next millennium. Why have a windshield wiper switch at all when you can use "thought" to provide a clear sunny day. I just took an overdue 4 hour nap and feel compelled to rejoin society! ws https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brave_New_World
Darwinism is the solution, not pandering. The world needs more lions, tigers, bears, and trains. It’s been well established in the legal system that victims can’t sue (or will have a very hard time of it) the above. The really dumb get removed from the gene pool while the observers either go next or smarten up. Patrick
I bet for many people here it's been all downhill since they took the spark advance lever away from the steering wheel
