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Of all the goofy old manual transmissions where every model puts reverse some place different or requires you to pull up on a shifter or didn’t have synchros or something and you people can’t figure out how to select the gear you want with a push button or rotary knob?
It’s not the technology that’s confusing, y’all are just getting old and can’t learn new tricks.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ziggy100
Of all the goofy old manual transmissions where every model puts
reverse some place different or requires you to pull up on a shifter or
didn’t have synchros or something and you people can’t figure out how
to select the gear you want with a push button or rotary knob?
It’s not the technology that’s confusing, y’all are just getting old and
can’t learn new tricks.
Perhaps it is you who could learn a thing or two from us 'older folks'
Of all the goofy old manual transmissions where every model puts reverse some place different or requires you to pull up on a shifter or didn’t have synchros or something and you people can’t figure out how to select the gear you want with a push button or rotary knob?
It’s not the technology that’s confusing, y’all are just getting old and can’t learn new tricks.
I understand your point, but don't agree, 100%. Several years ago, after just a brief test drive, I bought a 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee. Regretfully, I didn't pay all that much attention to the whacked out shifter, otherwise I wouldn't have purchased the vehicle....seriously.
It's hard to describe, other than to say that it is EXTREMELY vague, in it's action, with no real "detents" that give you a feel of the change of gears. Although this is not my only vehicle, I thought that over time I'd "get used to it", but I find that after 5 years of ownership, I still haven't. Sometimes, a bad design is truly a bad design, and there's no way to sugar coat it, and make it "user friendly". It's too bad, as otherwise, it's been a pretty good vehicle, and with the proper tires, it's an absolute BEAR in the snow, which is primarily why I bought it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by easy62
Us older folks made it possible for you to have what you’re driving today, we've been there, done that, but younger people seem to forget that.
My response was for the original poster the Grand K-Man the one who wants to be like us old folks because he loves our vehicles us old folks grew up with in the 60’s and 70’s lol.
... The shifter is more of a digital joystick so you can't rely on that to visually tell you what gear you're in. You have to look at the dashboard and the LED on the park button.
... You can't just rely on looking on position of the gear selector to tell you're in park because it's in the same position it is for drive and reverse and neutral. ....
That's bad design.
The old straight line shift patterns for automatics, whether column or console, allow you to do all common shifting functions without looking at anything, purely by the location and strength of the detents. That's good ergonomic design. Bad ergonomic design is where tactile feedback does not give you any idea where the control is located. Not so important to a radio volume control; can result in property damage, personal injury or death in the case of a transmission shifter.
The principles of human factors engineering have largely been lost over the last 20 years or so of automotive design. The basic principle of automotive driver controls from sometime in the 1930s through the 1990s was that the driver should be able to keep his eyes on the road and surroundings at all times and access all controls without having to look or search. That basic, safety-driven principle has been thrown out the window with the plethora of touchscreens and other matters like the anti-ergonomic shift controls being discussed here.
Even in the old days, transmission indicators were not always perfect. I had a 1978 Chevrolet Malibu where putting it in drive had the column indicator between D and N. When the indicator was on D, it was actually in 2nd gear. I don't know if this was poor quality control, or if the column indicator was designed for the Turbo-Hydramatic 350 instead of the Turbo-Hydramatic 200 that this car was equipped with. The car certainly had its share of quality control issues. I traded it before the Turbo-Hydramatic 200 could fail. This transmission was not suitable with a V8 engine.
Even in the old days, transmission indicators were not always perfect. I had a 1978 Chevrolet Malibu where putting it in drive had the column indicator between D and N. When the indicator was on D, it was actually in 2nd gear. I don't know if this was poor quality control, or if the column indicator was designed for the Turbo-Hydramatic 350 instead of the Turbo-Hydramatic 200 that this car was equipped with. The car certainly had its share of quality control issues. I traded it before the Turbo-Hydramatic 200 could fail. This transmission was not suitable with a V8 engine.
The only accurate automatic transmission indicator was my 1964 Dodge Polara it had a push button automatic transmission on the left side of the dashboard. If you could drive when you were in D than you were good lol. I liked the parking lever you just pulled it down and you were in park. Only problem was the Chrysler play in the steering wheel. Those old enough on here and had a Chrysler vehicle back then will know what I’m talking about.
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