Most Obscure Prime Facts (Way Out There)

But quite natural for those of us who learned to drive with a "3 on the tree" manual transmission.

 

I thought the primary thing those people learned was how to break off their windshield wiper/cruise control stalk, and slam on the emergency brake while driving.

 

I'm quite familiar with the part about manual transmission drivers hitting the clutch while driving automatic transmission cars (e.g. in rentals). The spouse has never owned an automatic (the Prius is mine, and I also had a real automatic 35-40 years ago), so her clutch reflex is much more ingrained than mine. Highly effective emergency stop.

But we never had the stalk problem. I guess there was a big enough gap from 3-on-tree until I had cruise control, and the spouse's DD still lacks cruise.

 

This is actually the near universal layout of automatic shifters; P, R, N, D. With the Park being a separate button, the Prius shifter just starts at Neutral.

Unrelated memory, I once helped a lady with a burrowed VW at a gas station. We couldn't find any of the normal ways to open the filler cover; had to read the manual. While turning the key in the driver's door operated the lock, turning back opened the cover.

 

Hey last week I couldn't spell it, this week I are an injuneer!! The auto industry is in dire need of REAL engineers, who create sensible, useful, easy to understand controls for our very expensive cars! As of now, they're abdicating this responsibility for stupid touch screens; please, keep those in the banks, or on cellphones, not in my car! Yes, I have an Advanced, in spite of the screen! You put up with the bad because there is so much useful good!

Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
AChoiredTaste.com

 

Well said!!

 

As a retired "REAL engineer" myself, I must dispute this. In my time and place, only an idiot manager (unfortunately quite common) would ask us to make the user interface. The industrial designers could do a much better job of designing something that non-engineers could reasonably and intuitively operate. Nowadays, there are human factors folks that can do a great job of it, but the overlap between them and the real engineers is not large.

 

The lack of this adequate "interface" is the problem? In my limited experience with how they design user interfaces, I only react to the end result which shows a lack of "empathy" for many end users like myself. Real world dynamics (angled sunlight, poor street markings, many distractions, comfortable access) just don't seem to have been properly considered in many of these designs. I still stand by my motto, "Keep It Simple Stupid" (KISS). I think many design elements like the 11" screen on my Advanced were put there by sales people, who may have overoad the sensible design folks purely for marketing hype. Also it's probably cheaper to build than using manual controls for HVA.

Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
AChoiredTaste.com

 

All that, including knobs vs screens, falls under the purview of the human factors folks. They are not limited to just how to format a computer screen.

 

I get it; I wish they would

Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
AChoiredTaste.com

 

You wanted KISS (Keep it Simple, Stupid) & goe KIS&S (Keep it Simple & Stupid)

Big difference.

 

Me, posting this, 5 years in the future from now...

 

"They" should mean project and upper managements who obtain and allocate resources and assign work, not the engineers and industrial designers and human factor folks doing the actual work.

 

You 'dug' through the manual to find it, right?

 

I wish I could get the solar roof

I'm so tempted to get one shipped from Japan and figure out the wiring myself

 

I never figured out the logic to why it wasn't always this way. I know why you'd want to be able to disable the other windows, but never understood why that had to disable them for the driver.