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Tesla Model 3 Owners Share More Info On Model (arstechnica.com)
Owners at the Model 3 Owners Club compiled a list of over 80 different features of the Model 3 they're curious about, including questions about how the car operates (does the card unlock all the doors, where does the UI show you that your turn signals are active), physical aspects of the car (what does the tow hitch attachment look like, how much stuff can you fit in the front and rear cargo areas), and subjective details (how aggressive is the energy regeneration, does that wood trim cause glare). Ars Technica reports: So far, we've learned a few interesting facts. For instance, the windshield wipers are turned on and off by a stalk like just about every other car on the market, but changing the speed (slow/fast/intermittent) is handled by a menu on the touchscreen. The stalk also does double duty turning on the headlights, and there are no rain sensors for the wipers. The touchscreen UI really is the only way to interact with every other function, according to owners, even the rear air vents are controlled from up front (although there are USB ports in the back). Rear seat passengers also won't get seat heaters from what we gather -- unless Tesla plans to activate them in a later software update -- and the steering wheel is not heated either. The two buttons on the steering wheel do not appear to be user-configurable. Instead, the left button primarily deals with audio functions (scroll up and down for volume, left and right to change track) while the other one is for adjusting the mirrors and steering wheel position while in those menus in the UI. Additionally it appears that as of now, there's no way to tab through a different part of the UI without taking your hands off the steering wheel.
So one of the problems that any car attempting to integrate technology could face is a poor user interface. There's a video on an older Maserati on Youtube where the reviewer comments about flaws in the interface, including issues where some features require use of both the physical button and the on-screen controls, and in a nutshell, too much time has to be taken off paying attention to the road in order to operate these features.
Personally I think that touchscreens are a horrible way to control a car. There's no tactile feedback on a touchscreen. One cannot tell for certain without taking one's eyes from the road what one is doing with the interface. Its bad enough for optional things like the radio and cell phone interaction, but it's a real problem for things that are mandatory when driving. The article summary's comment on the windshield wipers is a case in point, if most of the time I just need a light intermittent wiper setting I probably will leave my wipers set that way. If I drive into a thunderstorm on the highwayay I might immediately need fast-speed wipers. It's bad enough to not have an immediate way to turn up the speed without thinking, but if I have to hunt through menus to find the setting then that could be disastrous.
Do not look into laser with remaining eye.
While driving, there are a lot of functions that are needed without taking your eyes off the road. Touch Screens you need your eyes to help target where you are going to press. For adjusting the wiper speed, the Touch Screen will cause you take your eyes off the road, to deal with a low visibility problem is just a bad idea.
If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
" For instance, the windshield wipers are turned on and off by a stalk like just about every other car on the market, but changing the speed (slow/fast/intermittent) is handled by a menu on the touchscreen. "
So you can't see well because it's suddenly raining harder, so you need to adjust your wiper speed... and now you have to play with a touch screen app, instead of simply pushing the wiper stalk up higher?
That doesn't sound like a good idea to me.
If the person who uses the Tesla 3 to tow is on Slashdot, could you please message me? I need to know what the fuck you're thinking.
NOTE: Never mind, I found the guy. He's exactly what I expected, and he's even wearing a fedora.
https://youtu.be/fQFQMaMsXS0
You are welcome on my lawn.
The principle is that any essential and/or frequently performed task should be accessible by a control that does not require drivers to take their eye off the road
The touchscreen UI really is the only way to interact with every other function
Not only just because its a massive single point of failure that sounds like it could even prevent you from operating the vehicle, but also because its more dangerous.
A touch screen is multifunctional so you can't just know what it is currently controlling. Also there is no tactile feedback. So unlike physical buttons (at least once you're used to them) you invariably have to take your eyes off the road for the duration of what may even be a multi-touch operation to get to the right screen first, which is downright dangerous.
Even cheap cars have simple array microphones in the headliner that work pretty well for voice recognition. On my car the built-in microphones work better than holding the phone to your face and talking.
My Other Computer Is A Data General Nova III.
This times 1000. The radio in my car doesn't have volume or tuning knobs. Every time I have to adjust the volume I want to punch the touchscreen back into the firewall of the dashboard.
Every radio needs two knobs and, at least, a row of physical buttons along the bottom of the touch screen so I can use the thing without looking at it.
I had a Sunbird in the early 90's and, as lousy a "sports car" as it was, it had one of the greatest dash layouts ever. You could control nearly everything without taking your hands off of the steering wheel. It had two control sticks, one was ONLY for cruise control, and the other was ONLY for the turn signal. Every control did one thing. They all had different ridges and bumps on them so you could tell them apart by feel. The radio was mounted high and just to the right of the steering wheel so you only had to move your hand a few inches to get to it. Also, every button only did one thing, and they were all different shapes so you could find them by touch. Climate control was the furthest away from the steering wheel, but it only had three levers - fan, vent, temperature, so you didn't need to look at it to control it, either. This is what we need more of.
If you need to adjust something every time you drive, then there should be a dedicated control for it. Put it up close to the steering wheel so you don't have to move your hands around to get to it. And don't jam all of them on the steering wheel or on control sticks, you can mount them on the dashboard as well.
My Other Computer Is A Data General Nova III.
There have been numerous cars that have the speed and other info in the center rather than behind the steering wheel. Minis for example. Toyota Platz (also known as Yaris and Echo) models also have central digital displays.
Seriously, we have a number of obvious astroturfers that are constantly ripping Tesla, SpaceX, solar City, etc and thing that Musk starts.
Now, the current BS in here is about the touch screen vs buttons.
I drive a highlander as my car, and then will drive my wife's car, a Tesla MS.
I regularly have to look at the highlander's buttons on the radio because there are SO many. In addition, the same is true of the heating system. Otherwise, I will hit the wrong ones.
BUT, with the tesla, nearly all of the HVAC controls are on the bottom of the touch screen. The only one that I really have to fiddle with is fan, which happens to be right on my steering wheel as well.
Then across the top, we have a number of buttons, which basically act like a file folder management for the 2 main windows. We have both found that the ONLY 3 that we use are Radio, Rear View Camera, and map. Since we only use the map for long distance driving, it rarely is used. So, the top one is the Rear View Cam, and the bottom view is the radio. My wife has a number of internet stations that she listens to, which she will simply tell Tesla which one to play. Once it is on, she uses the steering wheel to control skipping the song, as well as volume.
All in all, this touch screen and UI is the best AND SAFEST thing going. Buttons? Not only a thing of the 19th century, but also dangerous and wasteful. It is why Tesla has so few accidents vs crappy ICE cars. And once the MY is out, we will give the highlander to my now 13 y.o. and switch to MY.
Now, I have seen many many 'experts' on here who obviously do not have a single fucking clue of what they are talking about. They love to ignore facts and stats. These are the same far right assholes who will push fake news and actually believe some of that shit.
There is very little doubt that more than a few of you are on the kock bros payrolls. Very sad.
I prefer the "u" in honour as it seems to be missing these days.
relax. The model 3 has both automatic lights AND wipers. This posting is total BS.
I prefer the "u" in honour as it seems to be missing these days.
Really? My Volt gets me to and from work just fine. I bought used so no direct tax incentive for me. Cost about the same as any other 2 year old used car of similar size and miles. I spend less than 10 dollars a month charging it, compared to 45 a month for gas for the Accord it replaced. The touch screen controls take a bit of getting used to, but once set up, I can control most stuff from the steering wheel and the control stalks are like 95 percent of any car I have ever driven. Keep saying EV's are not ready for prime time. I'll keep driving mine, laughing at you.
Speak for yourself. Comes with more standard features and better performance than a comparable BMW 3-Series, at a lower price without taking into account energy cost and maintenance savings or tax credits. Now, if you're in the market for an econobox, this is not for you. Econoboxes don't come with 12 cameras, 8 ultrasonic sensors, radar, a 15" touchscreen, massive expanses of glass, automatic emergency braking, a 5,6 second base model 0-60, etc, etc.
Also, don't assume that everyone lives where you do. Where I live, electricity is cheap, but gasoline is almost $8/gallon.
If you mean "they really don't", you're correct, at least in comparison to gasoline cars. They have about 15% higher manufacturing CO2 emissions, but emissions from lifetime operation are much higher than manufacturing emissions, for both gasoline and electric cars - and the latter has far less than gasoline, even on a mixed grid containing fossil fuels as part of the mix. Namely because gasoline engines generally operate at 20-25% average efficiency (peak ~35%, but you have to be in just the right torque / rpm combination for that). A modern combined cycle baseload natural gas plant can approach 60% efficiency.
All we want to do is eat your brains.
Good luck getting out of thing after you roll it.
Wanna buy a shirt?
https://www.redbubble.com/people/stealthfinger/shop?asc=u
that is the same issue on regular cars as well. The only way to get out, is taking out the window.
Besides, in a unibody, and some trucks, it is very disastrous to actually open the door when you are upside doown, or if you have a heavy weight on you (like say a semi-truck), esp. on Tesla. Tesla BROKE the crush machine that they were using, which is the same one that feds and insurance companies use. So, very strong. But, with Tesla, ALL OF THE DEATHS, have been BIZARRE accidents. One from up north was a truck, possibly a semi truck, actually drove on top of the car and the car HELD IT. Then the driver opened the car door, and it came crushing down. Had he broken the window, he would STILL be alive today.
I prefer the "u" in honour as it seems to be missing these days.