1 of 1- RadioActive
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Have Car Touchscreens Gone Too Far?
Somewhere along the way, car makers decided everything in your vehicle should be controlled by a touchscreen. I used to love the simple tactile function of reaching down to the preset on your car radio or manually tuning the station you wanted.
Now you have to deal with menus, sometimes endless, just to go from CHFI to CHUM-FM. Taking your eyes off the road to find what you want to hear shouldn't put your life at risk. No station is that good!
"Technology isn’t the enemy. Overcomplication is.
Somewhere along the line, automakers confused “minimalist” with “remove every physical control and bury it in software.” That’s not innovation. That’s punishment."
Amen, brother!
Have Touchscreens Officially Gone Too Far?
- Shorty Wave
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Re: Have Car Touchscreens Gone Too Far?
I dread the day that I have to get a new car for this very reason. My car was manufactured right before touchscreens became the norm and like RA, I miss the simple tactile functions of old school car radios.
My wife’s car has a touchscreen and it drives me nuts, I often just leave it on whichever station it is on and avoid mucking about while trying to drive, especially in Toronto!
- bmaudioworks
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Re: Have Car Touchscreens Gone Too Far?
We have a 2019 GMC Terrain, and while there are still physical dials for audio volume and tuning the radio, the touchscreen isn't all that daunting once you have it set up the way you want and have the radio presets saved and labelled... and yes, you can put the names of the stations on the presets! 
Presets are along the top of the screen, and when we want to switch between the radio and my Spotify-equipped phone or a USB stick loaded with MP3s, that's on the very left. The driver can also do some of the basic controls, including volume and switching between presets, using buttons on the back of the steering wheel.
Here's a peek at our screen, with our first five presets all being Ottawa stations.
- g121
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Re: Have Car Touchscreens Gone Too Far?
RadioActive wrote:
.. Somewhere along the line, automakers confused “minimalist” with “remove every physical control and bury it in software.” That’s not innovation. That’s punishment." ..
*chuckles* my 2013 Mazda5 .. no complaints : )) ..
- RadioActive
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Re: Have Car Touchscreens Gone Too Far?
.. Somewhere along the line, automakers confused “minimalist” with “remove every physical control and bury it in software.” That’s not innovation. That’s punishment." ..
*chuckles* my 2013 Mazda5 .. no complaints : )) ..
As a 2024 Mazda 3 owner, I envy you. My old one finally fell apart and I was forced to get a new one. The old car had a very simple interface - 6 AMs and 12 FM presets (which I could never fill up), plus a dial if you wanted to occasionally tune in a station you didn't listen to often. It was easy to use, completely intuitive, but the best part was you never, ever, had to take your eyes off the road to tune it or turn it up.
The new model has a screen, endless menus, including separate screens for AM, FM and manual tuning, all of which you need to look at to choose. Not a great idea while tooling down the 401 or even Yonge St. And we all know how important it is to easily tune out when Tom Mihalik or a Spence Diamonds spot comes on.
And yes, there's a volume control and a station selection on the steering wheel, but for some reason, I can't get used to them, forget that they're there and I almost never use either one.
On top of all that, the actual volume control and a "joystick"-like circular control button to choose a favourite is in the same spot as the gear shift, which is a horrible design.
Hang onto that Mazda. I wish I had my old one back. And if they offered the screen-less old style car radio as an option, I would have gladly paid extra for it.
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Thread Starter- mace
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Re: Have Car Touchscreens Gone Too Far?
Now I have two reasos not to give up my 2006 Toyota Camry. 1. I won't have to put up with an entertainment system and 2. I recently learned that in 2024, Toyota decided to discontinue the 6 cylinder engine on Camrys. Now only a 4 cylinder model is available. IMO the Camry is too heavy a vehicle for a 4 cyliner engine and my mechanic agreed. My 2006 Camry has lots of life remaining. Only 116,000 km on it.