Cogito Ergo Nomics [The Truth About Cars]
How easy is your car to use, asks Josh Brannon in an interesting but somewhat older editorial on the automobile blog “The Truth About Cars”.
“I’m not talking about acceleration, steering or cornering. I’m talking about the mental effort required to successfully interact with your car’s secondary features, such as in-car entertainment or the trip computer. While controls like steering (the brilliant simplicity of a wheel), throttle (foot pedal farthest to the right) and braking (second-to-right pedal) are standardized for most vehicles certified for use on a public road, the majority of other controls are confusing enough to plunge an automotive reviewer (or a Hertz Platinum Club member) into RTFM rage.
Sometimes it’s a simple matter of old habits dying hard: in many ways the best interface is one you don’t have to re-learn. If you’re used to having to jab at a button several times to adjust the temperature several degrees while surveying the change on a display that’s located on the opposite hemisphere of the dash, that may be the best user interface—for you.
But that’s not the whole story when something as basic as starting the car has now taken on innumerous forms. Do you A) insert the key in a slot (to the right or left of the steering wheel or in the center console) and turn it or B) insert the key in a hole and push it or C) insert the key into a slot and push a start button or D) ignore the key altogether as long as it’s on your person and then either push a button or twist a piece of plastic adjacent to the steering wheel? Each of these methods are used by at least one current production car—and I’m sure I’ve missed at least one type of ignition sequence.
Changing gears is a similar issue.”
[…] All’interno del blog The Truth About Cars si indaga il tema della facilità d’uso dell’auto, in termini di sforzo richiesto nell’interazione con l’automobile e le sue funzioni “secondarie”, come quelle inerenti il divertimento o il computer di viaggio. Molti prodotti del settore automobilistico risultano inefficaci da questo punto di vista e necessitano di una rivisitazione. […]