now that i've got your attention (because, of course, there ARE computers in cars and trucks), my question is why don't they have more features?

for example, what if you have a little card slot that would allow you to input a card when you got in the car - the memory card would contain your seat position, temperature preferences, favorite stations, all that jazz...the card could also act as your key...you could drive different cars and those equipped with the card slot and software would automatically adjust themselves to your preferences

additionally, why do we still have analog gauges? i realize that there is an aesthetic (as well as nostalgic) quality associated with good old fashioned analog dials, but why don't we digitize the whole thing? you could have two major readouts that wouldn't change (say, speed and tach) and then have 2 others that would rotate through several different informative numbers (temperature, odometer, whatever)

perhaps (and probably) these features already exist, i am just unaware of them...seriously, though, why don't we do this? there's a whole host of features you could add to this, and all it would take is some software, a small bit of hardware, and some cajones to change things

feel free to flame me, i'm ready for it!

3/14/2006 6:40:48 PM

a) because you dont want your car to run windows
b) memory presets for 1-2-3 drivers already exist
c) because digital gauges suck

3/14/2006 6:43:17 PM

http://mp3car.com/vbulletin/

people have been doing what you are talking about for years - on a different scale and in a different way than you are referring to though i believe

Quote :

"additionally, why do we still have analog gauges? i realize that there is an aesthetic (as well as nostalgic) quality associated with good old fashioned analog dials, but why don't we digitize the whole thing? you could have two major readouts that wouldn't change (say, speed and tach) and then have 2 others that would rotate through several different informative numbers (temperature, odometer, whatever)"

humans can tell relative change (accelaration for example) better with analog gauges - do some research in industrial design/ergonomics/human factors

[Edited on March 14, 2006 at 6:44 PM. Reason : .]

3/14/2006 6:43:20 PM

^^ current uses aren't nearly as complete as they could be

^ yeah...i meant more as a factory standard (and i did not know that about the gauges)

[Edited on March 14, 2006 at 6:45 PM. Reason : penis.]

3/14/2006 6:45:06 PM

as for the guages, they tried it in the 80's and they failed miserably.

Analog gauges are MUCH better for many reasons, it has a lot to do with human factors, interface design and psychology. Now, digital analog guages might be interesting, but all that shit gets real expensive real quick.

And a lot of the mid and high end sedans now have hybrid style instrument clusters to do pretty much what you are suggesting.

There are some fucking AMAZING things being done in hardware, factory standard. Look at the volvo S80, and new high end Mercedes models. It's getting crazy.

[Edited on March 14, 2006 at 6:47 PM. Reason : .]

3/14/2006 6:46:51 PM

some cars did have digital gauges...they're called early 90's minivans and they're annoying as hell. i think i've seen a couple of new cars with em, but its like watching an alarm clock cycle through the day in fast forward. it just doesnt look good

3/14/2006 6:48:58 PM

shwing

3/14/2006 6:54:48 PM

completely worthless concept rendering, but still sweet as shit looking... schwing

3/14/2006 6:56:37 PM

^^^early 90's minivans?...what about datsun 280zx's...awful idea

3/14/2006 7:20:25 PM

the S2000 has mostly all digital gauges, right?

3/14/2006 7:38:25 PM

^the digital tach is kind of analog.. it's like the one in GT4 from 3rd person view

3/14/2006 7:43:56 PM

^^^ yeah, my mom's old ford aerostar and dodge caravan both had em. nasty neon green lcd displays

[Edited on March 14, 2006 at 10:54 PM. Reason : sp]

3/14/2006 10:53:52 PM

i think newer sport bikes have them. i dont like that, all i like is a digital speedo.

3/14/2006 11:11:35 PM

s-class

3/14/2006 11:16:31 PM

the nissan nx2000 had digital gauges in some models too I believe...

3/15/2006 1:11:55 AM

oh....this is why i don't post in the garage all that often

3/15/2006 9:25:57 AM

The S2000 dash is all digital, but as stated above the tachometer is an "analog" digital gauge. I loved it right from the start, it's huge and colorful and easy to see even if you're not looking down at your gauges. I like it way better than the analog tachs on my older cars. It also flashes at you when you're about to hit that lovely 9200RPM redline

The digital speedometer took some getting used to though, and I'm still not sure it's a good idea. It's easy to see and updates really fast, but the lack of rate of change information can be annoying. I've seen it jump over 5mph at a time on onramps.

Of course, as my HPDE instructor told me when I asked about the broken speedometer in his RX-7, he replied "Speed doesn't matter in racing because there's only two speeds: Faster than the other guy and slower than the other guy." So I guess that was probably part of Honda's thinking when they made the Tach take up the vast majority of the gauge area.

3/15/2006 10:01:34 AM

yea i bet..

3/15/2006 12:12:37 PM

Quote :

"i think newer sport bikes have them. i dont like that, all i like is a digital speedo"

my '83 virago xv920m had a digital gauge cluster, till i swapped it out for an analog one from an 82, its hard to read in the daytime

3/15/2006 12:58:43 PM

Most, if not all, of the features in the original post are already done.

My roomates newer chevy truck had two keyless entry remotes and if the truck was unlock by one, it would adjust the seat, change the radio stations, etc.

3/15/2006 3:38:34 PM

06 civics have a digital speedometer with an analog tach

3/15/2006 11:07:24 PM

Quote :

"s-class"

the shit that car has is insane

you can set cruise control to follow a car (i.e. DONT DO THIS but if you're drunk you can follow a car on the beltline then follow a car the rest of the way home, it can know when to stop at lights and go when its green and maintain a reasonable distance on its own)

3/15/2006 11:20:31 PM

this stuff isn't even all that high-tech...but i'll bet i won't see it in a saturn in the next 10 years

3/16/2006 12:08:26 AM

my voice is my passport, verify me

3/16/2006 12:12:45 AM

Quote :

"you can set cruise control to follow a car (i.e. DONT DO THIS but if you're drunk you can follow a car on the beltline then follow a car the rest of the way home, it can know when to stop at lights and go when its green and maintain a reasonable distance on its own)"

not sure if its the same car or not, but some old episode of top gear showed a video of mercedes demonstrating this cruise control that would automatically slow you down when cars in front of you slowed down.

the car rear ended the one in front of it.

3/16/2006 1:19:16 AM

^lexus has that now, too

3/16/2006 1:24:35 AM

i would hope it works better

3/16/2006 1:28:13 AM

I guess I would trust the japs with that kind of thing before the nazis

[Edited on March 16, 2006 at 1:53 AM. Reason : sdfsdf]

3/16/2006 1:53:39 AM

dad's infiniti has it. pretty cool when it applies the brakes and all

3/16/2006 4:02:45 AM

caddy's (for the geriatrics) have had the distance maintaining cruise for quite some time now

3/16/2006 9:28:32 AM

cars are overpriced enough and have way too much expensive stuff to tear up as it is.

3/16/2006 9:44:21 PM

I kind of used to enjoy watching my odometer role over when I hit a milestone like 100,000 miles on my old car. My new car has a digital one, and while the multiple trip odometers are nice, it doesn't interest me at all to watch it change.

3/20/2006 5:42:59 PM