I see it as 'Don't make me think!' (Steve Krug) applied to a fresh redesign of what is really needed and where.
This is the Google home page compared to Alta Vista. The absence of dials, switches, knobs, hidden buttons, things you have to twist in their own special way, it is all good.
Clearly there are some situations where the buttons have to exist, e.g. for seat adjustment, as you wouldn't want to be doing that whilst leaning for the screen. However, the minimal approach and a clear, easy to use console is way ahead of what other cars are doing for their interiors.
Without the clutter of an existing car interior I am sure that big flashing lights on the centre console about exceeding the speed limit will be perfectly visible to all occupants of the car.
This latter point is important, routinely my brother in law drives at speeds that are faster than what he tells my sister. She is sat next to him but can't see the speedometer, so if he says one speed then she has to believe him, even if it is just slightly fast rather than the true excessively fast figure. Having a centre console is a bit more fair to passengers wanting to know that information too. If it is the car rather than the driver that is driving I guess this is no different - everyone including the driver is a passenger.
> The absence of dials, switches, knobs, hidden buttons, things you have to twist in their own special way, it is all good.
In it's place are things you have to touch and slide without the tacticle feedback and consistency of controls.
> This latter point is important, routinely my brother in law drives at speeds that are faster than what he tells my sister. She is sat next to him but can't see the speedometer, so if he says one speed then she has to believe him, even if it is just slightly fast rather than the true excessively fast figure. Having a centre console is a bit more fair to passengers wanting to know that information too
SO this car is gonna be mentioned in divorce proceedings /s
This is the Google home page compared to Alta Vista. The absence of dials, switches, knobs, hidden buttons, things you have to twist in their own special way, it is all good.
Clearly there are some situations where the buttons have to exist, e.g. for seat adjustment, as you wouldn't want to be doing that whilst leaning for the screen. However, the minimal approach and a clear, easy to use console is way ahead of what other cars are doing for their interiors.
Without the clutter of an existing car interior I am sure that big flashing lights on the centre console about exceeding the speed limit will be perfectly visible to all occupants of the car.
This latter point is important, routinely my brother in law drives at speeds that are faster than what he tells my sister. She is sat next to him but can't see the speedometer, so if he says one speed then she has to believe him, even if it is just slightly fast rather than the true excessively fast figure. Having a centre console is a bit more fair to passengers wanting to know that information too. If it is the car rather than the driver that is driving I guess this is no different - everyone including the driver is a passenger.