Steering wheel controls

Still... as a child of the 70's, I love steering wheel controls... since I can press them and imagine saw blades coming out of the front of the car, or jump-jacks propelling me over some obstruction ahead of me.

On the drive to work this AM I turned the radio off once, and changed channel once.

Maybe you gots big thumbs

My wife's new car has about a billion buttons on the steering wheel. I still use the buttons on the dash.

z31maniac wrote:

novaderrik wrote:

z31maniac wrote: It allows me to change the volume, radio station, CD in the changer or song on the changer, WITHOUT TAKING MY EYES OFF THE ROAD. Yeah, that seems pretty stupid.

but you have to take your eyes off the road when you are first learning where everything is on the steering wheel- and you can do things on a stereo in a car that you've had for a while without taking your eyes off the road..

And you had to take your eyes off when learning it in the car you've had awhile, you see the parallel, right?

Absolutely. Which is why neither way has any advantages.

I simply prefer an uncluttered wheel.

I also hate buttons in general.

Oh... and i want a volume KNOB.

A friggin' KNOB.

Steering Wheel buttons don't bother me, I only have cruise on the wheel and can tell from the location or feel what they are for.

The touch screen on the headunit is more fun. One day the wife was trying to change from my music on the thumbdrive to a radio station and ended up calling me on the phone. She has also ended up in the navigation system by mistake.

Getting better. Only changed track once on the drive home.

I like steering wheel buttons, but only if they are logically and ergonomically laid out. For example, I use the buttons on my Mazdaspeed3 all the time for changing the radio station or for cruise control. They are raised, which I'm used to, and there aren't a ton of them anyway. On the other hand, I hardly ever use the steering wheel controls on my dad's Rendezvous. The steering wheel itself is a nasty, plasticky thing and the buttons are recessed and oddly laid out. I can only imagine how much time it would take to get used to, say, the Ferrari Italia's steering wheel:

Then again, I'm younger than most GRMers and I grew up with video game controllers covered with buttons, so maybe I'm just used to it?

Wow. I'd be honking all the time with that wheel.

Why did I think this was going to involve the ADA and old people?

Does that Ferrari have an ejector seat button? I'm pretty sure that dial at the bottom right, when turned fully to the left, puts the thing in "Space Invader" mode!

RexSeven wrote: I like steering wheel buttons, but only if they are logically and ergonomically laid out. For example, I use the buttons on my Mazdaspeed3 all the time for changing the radio station or for cruise control. They are raised, which I'm used to, and there aren't a ton of them anyway. On the other hand, I hardly ever use the steering wheel controls on my dad's Rendezvous. The steering wheel itself is a nasty, plasticky thing and the buttons are recessed and oddly laid out. I can only imagine how much time it would take to get used to, say, the Ferrari Italia's steering wheel: Then again, I'm younger than most GRMers and I grew up with video game controllers covered with buttons, so maybe I'm just used to it?

back in my day, a video game controller only had one button..