Model S options

[AnOutsider]

To counter that, what's wrong with *not* having the center console given no drive shaft? I liked all that room in front! Folks have mentioned a variety of reasons to have that room:

- to give the right foot a rest to the right if on cruise control on the highway

- for the driver and passenger to easily swap, if need be

- play footsie with the passenger ;-)

At the expense of such an archaic-feeling shifter though? Maybe they'll come up with something cool that'll surprise us all

 

[vfx]

Not the clearest, but that stalk I circled in the picture, otherwise known as the gear selector/gear stick. Gear stick - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Thought I was pretty clear actually.

-Shark2k

Since no gears are actually shifting, that term belongs in the rubbish bin with "gas pedal".
IMHO

 

[Doug_G]

To counter that, what's wrong with *not* having the center console given no drive shaft?

My parents' old 1978 Caprice had no center console, and you could actually seat three in the front if you flipped up the plush center armrests. Or snuggle with your girlfriend. :wink:

I guess that's why people are saying "retro". But the Model S doesn't have a drive shaft, so why not move away from the now-conventional console layout and try something different?

 

[TEG]

Old Ford Ranger EV (pickup) has 3 across bench seats with a column "gear selector".
The middle seat was really only suitable for a child though.

 

[gg_got_a_tesla]

Another reason not to have a "shifter" in the middle is to avoid any sort of obstruction to the (bottom of the) touchscreen. It's also a clear view - of YouTube or whatever - to the person (kid) seated in the center in the back!

 

[DaveVa]

The current gear stick is a stock Mecedes part. I read that it will be replaced with a Tesla designed part for the final, but I think it will still be on the column though it might function differently.

 

[Mycroft]

This whole shifter topic should probably be moved to a different thread, but since it's here... I think they should engineer outside the box and use buttons for shifting. Except instead four buttons, like they use on the Roadster, they should use two.

The first button should be about the size of modern "Start" buttons and located where the key would normally be entered. Since the car has to be completely stopped anyway, you can get away with having a single button and it would alternate between Drive, Park, and Reverse. So if it's in Park, pressing it would place the car in Drive and pressing it again would place the car in Reverse. If the foot was still on the brake, then pressing it again would put it back in Park; if the car had been moved, then pressing it again would put it in Drive and again into Park. Of course it would only function if the brake was engaged and it would change colors depending on the mode and the dash indicator would change.

The second button would be to move the transmission to neutral; it could be smaller and it would be somewhere near the first button.

 

[bonnie]

This whole shifter topic should probably be moved to a different thread, but since it's here... I think they should engineer outside the box and use buttons for shifting. Except instead four buttons, like they use on the Roadster, they should use two.

The first button should be about the size of modern "Start" buttons and located where the key would normally be entered. Since the car has to be completely stopped anyway, you can get away with having a single button and it would alternate between Drive, Park, and Reverse. So if it's in Park, pressing it would place the car in Drive and pressing it again would place the car in Reverse. If the foot was still on the brake, then pressing it again would put it back in Park; if the car had been moved, then pressing it again would put it in Drive and again into Park. Of course it would only function if the brake was engaged and it would change colors depending on the mode and the dash indicator would change.

The second button would be to move the transmission to neutral; it could be smaller and it would be somewhere near the first button.

Simple (and I always like simple) - but I'd vote no. The designers also have to factor in user expectations, for safety reasons (even with the brake requirement). When drivers are attempting to switch direction, they shouldn't have to change the way they think. The less we require users to change how they do things, the more satisfied users are with the product (and safer, and less complaints, and and and).

A non-automotive example: We all expect that when we highlight text and press ctrl c, ctrl v, that the text will copy and paste. We'd be annoyed if we had to learn to do it a different way for a different product (even if in the manual). There might be a better more efficient way to do it, but that's immaterial.

In theory, I agree with you. I've always thought that elevators in 2-story buildings should have only one button ('change floor'), rather than a button for the first floor and a button for the second floor. But that's because of the number of times I've pressed the wrong button and just sat there. Hahah. Yeah, okay, you'd think I'd learn.

 

[EV_de]

I do like to have the prototype version ...

 

[vfx]

The current gear stick is a stock Mecedes part. I read that it will be replaced with a Tesla designed part for the final, but I think it will still be on the column though it might function differently.

Then it could be the regen amount control!

 

[vfx]

Simple (and I always like simple) - but I'd vote no. The designers also have to factor in user expectations,....

Can anyone think back to their first drive in a Prius? That was disconcerting. And they have sold 2 million of them.

Push buttons are all the rage these days.

Though it is clear the Tesla is dancing that line of what is possible and traditional car familiarity (like the uneeded aerodynamically retarded nosecone)

 

[bonnie]

Can anyone think back to their first drive in a Prius? That was disconcerting. And they have sold 2 million of them.

Push buttons are all the rage these days.

Though it is clear the Tesla is dancing that line of what is possible and traditional car familiarity (like the uneeded aerodynamically retarded nosecone)

But that was just the 'how do I start this damn thing' confusion, not confusion while driving. It still drove the same & there were buttons that corresponded with what we knew.

 

[AnOutsider]

I do like to have the prototype version ...

View attachment 2983

Yeah, I liked that too. I suppose you could put that on the wheel (or some sort of paddle controls like DSG cars have), but that would again make things complicated for someone not used to driving a Tesla vehicle

 

[ljbad4life]

But that was just the 'how do I start this damn thing' confusion, not confusion while driving. It still drove the same & there were buttons that corresponded with what we knew.

I would have to disagree. The drive selector even to this day have people confounded. The shifter doesn't stick and shifting into neutral has puzzled many car wash attendants. Then added in the ICE shutting down and the cvt, it operates and sounds nothing like a traditional car at all.

People will get used to how the model s operates and it's not the huge of a leap. I would go for push button with dedicated buttons for each function (PRDL) like in the roadster

I will say you can't do something different just to be different, but you can do something that is intuitive (like push button ignition)

 

[gg_got_a_tesla]

Another analogy is that of the iPad vs traditional keyboard-laden laptops or the iPhone vs BlackBerry-style phones. Folks thought a keyless computer or phone wouldn't work! But, Apple has sold millions of iPads/iPhones!

As the late Steve Jobs said, most of the time, people don't know what they need or what they'd come to love until you give it to them!

 

[bonnie]

Right. But you're not driving an iPad.

Some of you may remember the incident at the Santa Monica Farmer's Market in 2003, where an elderly man became (perhaps) confused between the accelerator and the brake. (I remember it well. I was there that day and witnessed it.) What if the car manufacturer had switched position because they thought it more efficient or because it contributed to a more elegant design? Would you feel the same way?

When introducing change in an area that may contribute to risk, you have to do it in measured amounts or ensure a fail-safe that addresses the new risks you may be introducing. We are a litigous society.

 

[ljbad4life]

Right. But you're not driving an iPad.

Some of you may remember the incident at the Santa Monica Farmer's Market in 2003, where an elderly man became (perhaps) confused between the accelerator and the brake. (I remember it well. I was there that day and witnessed it.) What if the car manufacturer had switched position because they thought it more efficient or because it contributed to a more elegant design? Would you feel the same way?

When introducing change in an area that may contribute to risk, you have to do it in measured amounts or ensure a fail-safe that addresses the new risks you may be introducing. We are a litigous society.

Every change to a car that a driver can interact with can contribute to risk. Every car has a different radio/navigation/dash board layout. Each driver must learn them. For a time it will distract them, that will/could cause a car crash. each car handles differently in different situations, that could cause a crash? so basically what you're saying is every car should be designed the same? We are in a litigous society right?? Stop trying to attribute someone who was not fit to drive, to car design. That's equivalent to someone saying a book is too hard to read because someone is illiterate.

 

[bonnie]

Every change to a car that a driver can interact with can contribute to risk. Every car has a different radio/navigation/dash board layout. Each driver must learn them. For a time it will distract them, that will/could cause a car crash. each car handles differently in different situations, that could cause a crash? so basically what you're saying is every car should be designed the same? We are in a litigous society right?? Stop trying to attribute someone who was not fit to drive, to car design. That's equivalent to someone saying a book is too hard to read because someone is illiterate.

Wow. No. I'm not saying that. And I'm positive that I didn't imply that either.

My point is that when you're changing the action of the brake pedal by using it as part of the action that results in changing direction, you will have users that accelerate opposite of the direction they were planning on going. That's what I was commenting upon. Not that I thought every car should be designed the same way going forward. Apologies if that wasn't clear to you.

 

[kgb]

If you want to do the "Apple-like" one button design, you could try this:

Have the start button actually be a 3 way joystick. Press in (or down - depending on how you think of it) to start. Tilt it forward for "D- Drive", tilt it back for "R - Reverse", tilt it down for "P - Park." You could have a 4 - way joystick if you insist on having Neutral in the mix, or you can have a smaller secondary button for that.

 

[vfx]

Aren't we just talking about moving forward(D) and backward(R)? And not moving at all (N)?

Since you have to have the brake depressed and be at a full stop to change direction does that not pretty much eliminate any significant safety issues?