Center console and "gear shifter"

[LakeLeaf]

There has been some discussion about changes in the design of the center console which got me thinking -

Of what value is a "gear shifter" and does it's location take away premium space from other things.

In an older car, you had it there because it was connected to the transmission. With this being all electric, is there really a need for that oversized shifter - especially when you really don't shift at all? Maybe it's a comfort to have your electric car feel like your old ICE car, but a couple of push buttons would seem to be able to do the job adequately and free up that area for other things - pretzels, peanuts, and ipods!

What do you think - like the shifter or would you rather see that space used for something else?

 

[trentr]

yeah, they can put a bench in there like my grandma's station wagon. makes the leaf a six seater in the process..sweet! :lol:

 

[IceRaven]

I completely agree, 3 buttons (D, R, P) ought to be enough and provide a little more space for storage or whatever. I guess they can think about it for an eventual subsequent model.

 

[jgrode1]

I agree. Why not push buttons? Somewhere at the top centerof the nav screen?

 

[sjfotos]

The decision not to go with buttons may be an institutional memory of the Renaults of the 1960s, as in the ill fated Dauphin. (If anyone is old enough to remember them!)

I agree, it would have been more logical, but the mass market residual expectation of where the 'transmission' input should be probably was the deciding factor. (Note: the last push button transmission I remember was in my father's Rambler sedan. Yet another bad precedent!)

 

[LTLFTcomposite]

For a better understanding of this topic take a look at the following commercial and notice what happens at the 25 second mark:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHF9WcqxFcc&feature=channel

The gearshift lever is an integral part of the consumer's expectation, a symbol of the car's power. Note in the case of the Cadillac just giving it a flick actually takes you into hyperspace.

 

[garygid]

I think that area could be better used for something other than the shifter, but the D-to-R functions need to be easily available to the driver.

This control does not need to be reachable by a child in the front passenger seat.

I also object to the "wall" (that is currently so common) between the driver and passenger footspace (and seats).

 

[EVDRIVER]

The original Think had a paddle on the dash and it was very easy to use and out of the way.

 

[evnow]

I think that area could be better used for something other than the shifter

Cup holders !

One thing about buttons on the dash (I think this was discussed in a different thread earlier) - is that they can be pressed accidentally. If that can be avoided somehow, that would be great.

Aptera's door opening accidentally is a good example ....

 

[EVDRIVER]

I think that area could be better used for something other than the shifter

Cup holders !

One thing about buttons on the dash (I think this was discussed in a different thread earlier) - is that they can be pressed accidentally. If that can be avoided somehow, that would be great.

Aptera's door opening accidentally is a good example ....

Companies with real marketing and product development people like Nissan don't usually design in a bubble. On the Think you can't push the wrong button while driving and while stopped you could slap the paddle up and down with no ramification. Did any of the brilliant minds at Aptera who were delaying production per Paul to "make safety a number one priority" consider a simple circuit that would not allow the door button to be active while the car is moving? I suppose that would have been a complex concept for their product people to make that spec. Regardless of a button, a recessed button, etc, having a release interlock at speed seems as common sense as it can get, if you have competent product people with their eyes open. I hope we give Nissan far more credit than the blind product people at Aptera and try and avoid making comparisons to companies with serious differences in expertise and competence, not to mention the presence of customer focus.

 

[evnow]

I hope we give Nissan far more credit than the blind product people at Aptera and try and avoid making comparisons to companies with serious differences in expertise and competence, not to mention the presence of customer focus.

Not comparing Nissan people to Aptera's. This is a guess as to why they don't want to put buttons ...

May be the buttons can be on the left.

 

[EVDRIVER]

I hope we give Nissan far more credit than the blind product people at Aptera and try and avoid making comparisons to companies with serious differences in expertise and competence, not to mention the presence of customer focus.

Not comparing Nissan people to Aptera's. This is a guess as to why they don't want to put buttons ...

May be the buttons can be on the left.

There is no issue with buttons or their location, it was more likely a design choice and a familiar one. The Leaf is very on par with traditional design, look at other EV prototypes and there are examples of departure from traditional control placement dictated by past mechanical restrictions. Think has gone back to the shifter in the center, having the buttons off the dash also frees up dash space, at least the Leaf does not use a large, traditional shift lever like Think has now returned to use.

 

[garygid]

The important (needed quickly while driving) controls should be reachable with either arm, for those with only one working arm.

Yes, broken, paralized, etc. ... it happens, even to me.

Driving with only one foot is a real blessing to others.

 

[Jimmydreams]

For a better understanding of this topic take a look at the following commercial and notice what happens at the 25 second mark:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHF9WcqxFcc&feature=channel

The gearshift lever is an integral part of the consumer's expectation, a symbol of the car's power. Note in the case of the Cadillac just giving it a flick actually takes you into hyperspace.

Not for me. My BMW has the same techtronic-shifting ability and I've used it less than a dozen times in the 5 years I've had the car. It's not quite as intuitive as you might think. You're either driving a stick shift or not. Adding the ability to force the automatic transmission into a specific gear is more novelty than not. In my car, once you use the manual-shift, you're in manual shift from that point onward unless you readjust the shifter back into full automatic. It's annoying.

 

[Yanquetino]

I also agree with this suggestion. When you think about it, since the shifter is electronic, and not mechanically linked to a transmission under the tunnel, there is no need for it to be located in that area.

Years ago I had a Rambler with a push button transmission on the dash. I also had a Dodge with push buttons. And I had a Corvair with a small up-down lever on the dash, similar to the older Prius's shifter. It is no big deal for consumers to adapt to such a "non-traditional" location, believe me.

However... I suspect that the suggestion will only fall on deaf ears. Nissan appears to have already made that decision for the Leaf --at least for the first generation. My guess is that they stuck with the "traditional" location because one of their prime goals was to make the Leaf seem as "normal" as an ICE vehicle to woo wary consumers into the driver's seat. And having the shifter between the front seats is considered "normal" nowadays --for good or evil.

 

[LakeLeaf]

However... I suspect that the suggestion will only fall on deaf ears. Nissan appears to have already made that decision for the Leaf --at least for the first generation. My guess is that they stuck with the "traditional" location because one of their prime goals was to make the Leaf seem as "normal" as an ICE vehicle to woo wary consumers into the driver's seat. And having the shifter between the front seats is considered "normal" nowadays --for good or evil.

No doubt.

Those push buttons on the dash may date the car a bit, but it hasn't been all that long since we had cars with the shift level on the steering wheel column. While I always liked the manual cars with the shift on the column, it certainly is a pretty ordinary feeling a column shifter to just have Eco/Drive, Neutral, and Reverse. So it doesn't have to be buttons - even if they are the most logical.

 

[LTLFTcomposite]

Here is the styling cue:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rehvonwald/312450971/

Never mind that most people use the volume control on the radio a lot more than the shift control on an automatic transmission car, the center console is a critical styling element, and it needs a focal point. Even the Prius moved the "shifter" down onto the console in the last redesign. The parking brake lever is the counterpart to the landing gear, or maybe the ejection seat... I'm not completely certain.

 

[garygid]

Moving the mechanical shifter off the steering column allowed steering wheel "adjustments" (in/out, up,down) to be implemented easier.

Shifting buttons in the dash are often too far to reach conveniently while driving.

ECO mode should be a high-economy mode (giving free-wheel coasting when off-pedals), not be a renamed "B" (strong engine-braking) mode mixed with "ECO" things.

In fact, in "B" mode is possibly a time when one would want the heater AND A/C both on MAX (to burn off more energy for greater Regen Braking).

 

[planet4ever]

I completely agree, 3 buttons (D, R, P) ought to be enough and provide a little more space for storage or whatever. I guess they can think about it for an eventual subsequent model.

I, too, have negative memories of a push-button Rambler shift from fifty years ago. However, I do remember being quite comfortable with a number of cars I drove that had a shift stalk on the steering column. And the dash mounted shifter that the Prius uses doesn't seem to have stopped people from buying that car.

For me, shifters on a mid-cabin hump remind me of rear-wheel drive vehicles with a transmission right there, and "four-on-the-floor" located on top of the transmission to minimize sloppy linkages, even though it wasn't really a very convenient location.

 

[Nubo]

The decision not to go with buttons may be an institutional memory of the Renaults of the 1960s, as in the ill fated Dauphin. (If anyone is old enough to remember them!)

I agree, it would have been more logical, but the mass market residual expectation of where the 'transmission' input should be probably was the deciding factor. (Note: the last push button transmission I remember was in my father's Rambler sedan. Yet another bad precedent!)

Not to mention the Edsel

There's something to be said for the positive kinetic feedback and muscle memory involved in finding the gear with a lever.