Why do cars these days have screens that stick up past the dash? They look stupid and are distracting.

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kmbxyz@reddit

Manufacturers are required to include a backup camera in cars now, which basically means every car must have a screen. Also, cars have a lot more features than they used to have, so it’s not super reasonable to always have physical buttons for everything because there would be too many buttons.

That said, I hate car screens.

I have always driven old cars because I have never had much money, but lately I’ve been thinking that even if I could reasonably buy a newer car, I might still just buy old cars because I don’t like all the things that come with owning a new car.

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7-Inches@reddit

Also, CarPlay and android auto are soooooo much better than any integrated systems cars have had. You would need a screen for these as they change too rapidly to do physical button layouts for them

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Simoxs7@reddit

Why do cars these days have screens ~~that stick up past the dash~~? They look stupid and are distracting.

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7-Inches@reddit

The infotainment system should ideally have a screen (as well as being the only screen with a physical volume knob) that integrates with CarPlay and android auto. It only needs to be 7in, so not massive, but you cannot guarantee feature configurations like Spotify, Apple/amazon music, maps, or other providers enough to make a physical button layout (as well as not tying to a particular provider, which would also make the physical feature a subscription service), but you can guarantee CarPlay compatibility for at least the next 7 years (I say 7 as that’s the longest common warranty length).

If you’re happy with an infotainment system that only does sound, and has no integrations with maps or anything like that, then no screens would be doable.

If you use maps on your phone when driving, then you are putting a screen in your car and nullifying your argument

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ohnomoto450@reddit

I don't want a screen for a gauge cluster. I don't want a screen in my dash. God damn it just give me a late 90s early 00s car with modern ergonomic seats.

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cshmn@reddit

Seats were better back then too. A 90s Mercedes is about perfect all the way around. Supremely comfortable, powerful enough with the 5.0 V8 and comfier seats/ride than most anything being built today.

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FredThePlumber@reddit

Well typically your head is above the dash. The idea is to put it as high in your sightline as possible without it blocking anything ahead of you. So you can look at your radio/gps without having to look way down in the dash and then back up.

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i_like_pretzels@reddit

This. If you can’t have muscle memory or haptic feedback, at least you have your peripheral vision.

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mytyan@reddit

IDK, I like my little screen embedded in the dash like it belongs there. I am used to looking there because that's where radio and ac controls always are in cars. It's not a big screen but it's uncluttered and easy to see what's going on with a glance. It has a touchscreen but just about everything can be done by voice or buttons on the dash and the steering wheel controls.

I have zero interest in cars with a big screen sticking into my field of vision demanding my attention when I am trying to drive.

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7-Inches@reddit

How does it demand your attention?

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Huge_Fig_5940@reddit

Luckily an HUD is not big and not a screen so there’s no reason for you to pretend that it’s more distracting than actually looking away from the road onto an actual screen and not being able to see what’s happening in front of you. If you’re so old school then fucking walk wherever you’re going cuz ain’t nobody need a stinking dirty car if good old feet do the same job.

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f1_stig@reddit

But why does it have to stick out of the dash? They can create a more elegant design if they raised trim pieces to be aligned with it. Like, the cluster is raised, and the screen is raised. Why not have the dash connect at the top of the two instead of dropping down. I’m not sure if that makes sense.

I’m just tired of all new cars having a screen placed in like an afterthought. Just stuck on top of the dash.

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FredThePlumber@reddit

So you want the entire dash to be taller?

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f1_stig@reddit

I just want it to feel more integrated.

Good examples are the ford f150, previous gen Escalade (2021-2024?), Subaru WRX/crosstrek/impreza.

Just make it feel like the screen is a part of the dash, not sticking out of it, like OP said.

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Bigbadbrindledog@reddit

I use my screen primarily for navigation and it is 100% better above the dash. I can glance at it and my eyes are never entirely off the road.

The only way I can stand a screen in the dash now is if I have a heads up display and digital dash that puts the map between the gauges.

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IntheOlympicMTs@reddit

Because a focus group was asked and they liked it. As far as screens it’s a lot cheaper to program a touch screen than design bottoms and knobs.

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ohnomoto450@reddit

I'd like to know where they are finding these focus groups. I bet the majority of them struggle to use an iPhone. The rest never put theirs down.

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firstLOL@reddit

They’re finding them in the accounting department - screens are far cheaper than buttons.

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ccarr313@reddit

My Mazda has a touchscreen, but I have button controls and a joystick next to my shifter, which work even at speed.

It has grown on me. The physical buttons always work.

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firstLOL@reddit

Touchscreens are fine for some things - navigation systems being the obvious ones, and most general vehicle information pages live best within a bright screen (I’m personally not averse to digital dashboards, for example, though do have nostalgia for proper dials).

But they’re terrible for things that need to be accessed and adjusted along the way - climate controls especially. And I haven’t driven a Tesla, but I understand the latest versions have their P/N/D/R selector in a screen, which sounds quite annoying.

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ConfusedTapeworm@reddit

Yet people love em.

I am friends with people who run a quite successful garage that specializes in electrical work on VAG group cars. One of the things they do is retrofits using original parts. Apparently, a ton of people who own cars like the Golf 7 bring their cars in to have the original physical A/C control panel "upgraded" to the touch control panel that VW installed on the later production cars.

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ohnomoto450@reddit

We've investigated ourselves and found we've done no wrong

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Cleets11@reddit

Plus they can market it as fancy and an upgrade even though it’s the cheaper option.

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Dramatic-Season-2959@reddit

So you haven’t seen a car from the last 10 years until recently?

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MinniePearl@reddit (OP)

Of course I have. But I'm in the market now and decided to complain. OK?

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fangelo2@reddit

I hate those dashes that look like someone duct taped an IPad to the dashboard

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throwaway007676@reddit

It is so your neighbor can see it in your car. Yours is bigger than his so he has to go out and buy a newer car.

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soopastar@reddit

The G35 was the first one I remember seeing and I think it even came up out of the dash. Thought it was dumb then and I still do.

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Imoldok@reddit

All I see is something that my head would hit in an accident. The engineers wanted it easy. To hard to design it in the dash like the Focus did.

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FrostyVariation9798@reddit

I disagree strongly. The higher the screen, the less the driver has to take their eyes off of the road to see the screen. That's pretty common sense I would have thought... but it isn't.

You can test this out for yourself by driving and looking down - you really can't see much in your peripheral vision.

With the screen is high, even though you are looking at the screen when brake lights come on up ahead of you your peripheral vision will catch it.

I mean, if the OP is just a passenger then I fully understand them not understanding. Good drivers will understand.

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Gunorgunorg@reddit

It's not that the screen is taller, the dash is shorter. The dash is now flat instead of arching to fit the gauge clusters inside of it and there is a net gain in forward visibility

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dumpin-on-time@reddit

it's function over form. it's a better user experience to have the screen closer to eye level

integrating a screen into the dash at eye level so it doesn't look bolted on requires expensive styling. if you haven't seen them, then you're too poor

but in reality, thinking it's so terrible is a knee jerk reaction. it almost never looks weird in person. and after a few minutes of driving you don't even think about it

there are plenty stupider trends that actually cause problems

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not_sick_not_well@reddit

Don't text and drive. BTW, here's a giant tablet to control everything. Analog is so much better.

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benz58@reddit

It's the "bigger is better" way of thinking.

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Falloutvictim@reddit

Some current gen Cadillacs and BMW do screens the best IMO, wide and low wrap-around screens that look 100x better than a big rectangle sticking up in the middle. But pictures of the newest BMWs shows them going backwards, to a big trapezoid screen tacked on to the console.

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Left4DayZGone@reddit

“Don’t you dare look at your phone while you drive, screens are distracting!”

“Look at this giant ass screen we put in the middle of your dash that has most if not all of your basic features on it!”

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Bubbafett33@reddit

Buyers used to prioritize things like power, torque, reliability and ride comfort. Now buyers just want to see their Carplay interface as large as possible.