We have a car made in 2000, it has knobs and dials for everything, you can configure the AC/heat completely without looking at it after some familiarity with the controls. The radio you can configure the station and volume without looking.
We also own a Prius made in 2014. They've either turned everything into a flat button, or worse it requires the touch screen to configure. And while the Prius does many more things than the 2000 car, the 2000 remains more configurable while driving by a mile.
The Prius largely tries to not have you configure the AC/heat at all while driving by having an automatic mode and you can set the target temp', but this completely ignores other scenarios where people want to be hit with hot/cold and don't care what the actual temp is, or that the temp doesn't measure the sun hitting you on your bare arm constantly making you feel hotter than you actually are.
Ultimately cars were better ergonomically designed pre-touchscreen, when they did less. Maybe in a few years I'll be able to voice control the AC/heat, but until then it is a step backwards.
Exactly! I hate the ubiquity of automatic climate control systems these days. Everyone that has a car equipped with one just uses the "set point" knob like regular manual controls. It's full cold, full hot, or off with "in-between" settings managed via fan speed. They don't work for the reason you've stated even when used "properly".
I've also noticed that most systems refuse to switch off the A/C compressor unless you choose a set point several degrees above ambient. It's a waste of gas, especially when it's 68-70F with low humidity outside.
They're worse, for sure, but they've actually tried to minimize the problems, contrast ratio is high, buttons are clear, and feedback is as good as it gets without being tactile. Some buttons are also located on the edges, which allows you to feel out their position.
One could probably have integrated this into Glass as well, but given the snail's pace of Android Auto (and the raging quality issues of Android in general), no yet again.
I would have loved a HUD manipulated through steering wheel controls. From what I've heard, this was too overwhelming for the previous generation of American drivers. I wonder if the next generation would fare better.
... which is why the HUD (for velocity, navigation) in my 6 years old BMW is my favourite feature. I don't understand why so few manufacturers offer one.
I can see that a HUD for showing animals detected by infrared is something you can't show on a dashboard.
Touchscreens, on the other hand, are just bad for this. You have to look at them the entire time you're operating them, or else your hand might change position and not press what you intended to press. You also need to look at the screen to see that your press registered what you wanted to do. All of this looking at the screen means your eyes aren't on the road where they belong.