Automotive

Ferrari offers Retrofit Buttons

Ferrari has announced that they are offering a new physical buttons can be retrofitted onto existing cars across the lineup, by replacing the center of the steering wheel. Local dealers can perform the installation, followed by a brief test drive to ensure the calibration is correct. Not free, there is a cost not announced yet, but at least it's going to be available.

VW Brings Back Physical Buttons After Admitting Touchscreens Are A Disaster

Next-gen VW models will come with physical buttons for the five most important functions: volume, seat heating, fan controls, and hazard lights. No more swiping through menus just to turn on the heat. In a refreshingly candid moment, VW’s design boss openly admitted that the strategy followed by his predecessor wasn’t the right one: “We will never make this mistake again. On the steering wheel, we will have physical buttons. No guessing any more. There’s feedback, it’s real, and people love this. Honestly, it’s a car. It’s not a phone: it’s a car.”  VW will ditch the haptic sliders currently being used to control the media volume, navigation zoom, and A/C temperature, beginning with 2026 models.

Hyundai has admitted that it made a mistake by going all-in on touchscreens

“As we were adding integrated [infotainment] screens in our vehicles, we also tried out putting touchscreen-based controls, and people didn’t prefer that,” said HDNA Vice President Ha Hak-soo. "When we tested with our focus group, we realized that people get stressed, annoyed and steamed when they want to control something in a pinch but are unable to do so."

Touchscreen tech has allowed design teams to create clean, uncluttered cabins and to make more functions available to the driver than possible using physical buttons. When parked, using those touchscreens feels natural.. But what’s frustrating is making a vehicle command via screen while moving takes more time and effort than it did when controls were dials or buttons. The Hyundai design team suggests (unhelpfully?) "Maybe when self-driving takes over, drivers will be happier with touchscreens for everything."

Rivian says buttons are a Bug, not a Feature; everything should be done by voice activation or screen

Software director Wassym Bensaid predicts that crappy analog controls will be eliminated soon. Your car should be able to understand you when you ask it to turn the climate control down a couple of degrees or adjust the infotainment system. Rivian’s goal is to make every feature currently operated via a touchscreen to be available by voice. But what if the music is playing? Or the person next to you is sleeping? Or the ambient noise levels are high due to road surfaces? Etc.

Euro New Car Assessment Program says in order to get top marks on its safety test, automakers will have to allow drivers to use stalks or buttons 

to complete at least these five critical tasks: indicating directions, turning on the hazard lights, blowing the horn, operating the windshield wipers, and activating the eCall SOS function. 

Swedish Testing Shows Screens Take Longer

Drivers were asked to activate the heated seat, increase the temperature in the cabin by two degrees, start the defroster; turn on the radio and adjust it to a specific station; reset the trip computer; and lower the instrument lighting. These tasks can be done in 10 seconds on an old Volvo versus 30 seconds in a new BMW iX

Perhaps you can sense I am a touch-screen critic. Each car we've had with a screen operates differently and the Honda is always infuriating -- as is the Chevy. Consequently I don't do anything but drive the darn things. Honda's only solution is "Buy a new one, we put the buttons back in."

Cazalea

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