More generally: I want to be able to feel the state something is in. Whether it is push/pull, turn, or flip doesn't matter, but it has to physically maintain the state I put it in.
An exception to this of course are functions that are used temporarily, like the horn, and the wipers swipe-once. And if direction indicators turn off automatically, the input device has to change its state accordingly.
I’m a flight sim nerd and it’s immediately clear when you have to keep track of more states than your are used to how much attention is needed and how much is freed up if you can reach over and feel the state of the switch.
I would love that for many functions in a car. And a knob with some bump or whatever at the ac temp setting, so I can adjust its position based on feel alone as well.
On a modern keyboard the caps-lock key would probably benefit from one too =)
I think switches that can set themselves to current state (flip back) are a bit pricey but can be had from $12 or so (iirc).
My car has a quiet indicator tick, it's so frustrating not being able to hear if the indicator is on. Particularly because they (Vauxhall/Opel) butchered the indicator stem switch meaning it doesn't click, which would be fine, except it returns to middle, which would be fine, except the dashboard indicator lights are hidden by the steering wheel, which would be fine ... if the indicator tick wasn't too quite.
Honestly it makes driving a real chore and is a huge safety problem; just that one little anti-feature ruins driving.
I completely agree with this.
I never understood how this became the new normal and mostly acceptable in the new generation vehicles (especially the EVs) in the name of progressive/futuristic design.
I hope the automobile manufacturers take a note of this, and bring back some of it that’s worked for decades. I believe few German manufacturers like the Mercedes-Benz to have a sense of this, hope they don’t get along with this trend too.
It's just cheaper to design and certificate one part and put it on multiple models than making dedicated analog controls for every new design. Touchscreens are just cost cutting measure. I wonder how many people died fiddling with car radios so one pencil pusher could get a bonus for skimming $10 off manufacturing cost.
If a function can be controlled from more than one place (such as power windows or locks that can also be controlled from the driver’s seat or key fob, or anything controllable by software via central control panel) then you can’t really have a manual, state-full control for any of it since it can go out of sync with the state of the function.
The exception would be to put a tiny motor on each control to keep it synced up, but the cost to reliability (not to mention just money) would be unacceptably high.
As substitute for physical state inputs I could accept separate inputs for different states (this excludes off/on toggle buttons, but could be satisfied e.g. by separate off and on buttons) and a state indicator in a visible location, preferably close to the input.
Power windows are close to fulfilling this (up/down separated, and it might be argued that the state is sufficiently obvious, though questionable for the rear windows). A central lock controlled through a common lock/unlock button does not satisfy this.
Yeah and I guess some things, like door locks, are actual mechanical things that involve having a motor there anyway so it shouldn't be too hard to just expose some part of that mechanism in a way that indicates the state. This is done now with that little nubbin that sticks up, but I think can be made more obvious.
I think the big sticking point is usually climate control and radio since that's what people fiddle with most while driving. Maybe little things like the ride mode selector (but I'm not sure how many people actually fiddle with those sorts of things in practice). But nowadays the "radio" is rarely just radio or disc/cassette player. It's music, audiobooks, or podcasts off a phone. I don't really know how you do that with integrated controls that aren't screen based, like most luxury cars already have the little control wheel and also controls on the steering wheel. So what more would you need? Maybe some haptics on the control wheel to give you more feedback?
Joking about the price aside I always loved that the original design goals for the F1 included that if someone found one in a barn in 50 years time they should be able to repair it.
I think that leads to quality, simple, tactile controls.
It is no co-incidence that the book "The Field Guide to Understanding 'Human Error'" By Sidney Dekker contains case studies mostly drawn from aircraft incidents. They're less numerous than car crashes, but more impactful and better understood.
More generally: I want to be able to feel the state something is in. Whether it is push/pull, turn, or flip doesn't matter, but it has to physically maintain the state I put it in.
An exception to this of course are functions that are used temporarily, like the horn, and the wipers swipe-once. And if direction indicators turn off automatically, the input device has to change its state accordingly.