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Sedans Luxury Lounge
21520 messages, Last post on Dec 08, 2009 at 10:26 AM
You are in the Sedans Forum. Your Hosts are pat & karens
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Replying to: dewey (Mar 26, 2009 8:10 pm) |
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Replying to: tagman (Mar 26, 2009 11:32 am) |
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Replying to: lexusguy (Mar 26, 2009 4:58 pm) You're right! Anytime something doesn't catch-on the first time it's tried on a mass market scale, that idea should be abandoned forever!! Good thing innovative people don't actually think like that, though. Otherwise, there'd be no computers, ipods, digital cameras, plasma TVs, etc. The reason digital dashes didn't catch-on is because of a few things; 1) They were ahead of their time, which leads to #2. 2) The technology and manufacturing wasn't quite what it needed to be at the time. 3) It was prohibitively expensive if even a single diode failed since the entire assembly had to be replaced (a flaw still in place today) and dealers would come up with any excuse possible not to replace one. Personally, I loved the digital dashes! My uncle had a Buick Sumerset that had an all digital display. I loved it when he'd let me drive it around, so much so that I let the coolness of the digital display outshine the crudeness of that Quad-4 engine!  Anyway, so what if they jacked Audi for design and (maybe) a part or two?? Isn't Audi considered the industry standard of design and put-togetherness with regards to interiors?
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Replying to: ljflx (Mar 26, 2009 5:12 pm) The auto industry follows energy. Period. regards, OW |
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Replying to: cyclone4 (Mar 26, 2009 6:26 pm) Alas, beauty and high maintenance go hand in hand with the XF at the moment! Regards, OW |
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Like the iPhone, second will be better. Also I just got 20 inch custom rims for my Maybach. I got them gold to match the Crystal I keep in the back seat. |
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Toyota planning on a cheaper old version of the Prius to fight the Honda Insight, while also introducing the new Prius. I don't think this is a smart strategy though. http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/content/mar2009/gb20090327_626019.htm?camp- aign_id=yhoo
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Replying to: ljflx (Mar 27, 2009 7:01 am) Len, This is old news... even if recently reported. And you are right that it isn't good strategy... and apparently Toyota now thinks so, too. Their U.S. approach to the Insight will now be to add a new hybrid, rather than re-introducing the old one... which is indeed a better strategy. Toyota's latest U.S. strategy is to offer a hybrid Yaris or equivalent, which would be a cheaper alternative. That would give them the cheap hybrid as well as the premium hybrid... therefore theoretically putting a little more squeeze on Honda. Unfortunately for Toyota, however, Honda's Insight will still be perceived as a less costly Prius-fighter, and Honda will also introduce a hybrid version of their very successful Fit model. That's the one that will likely give Toyota a big headache. And, of course, there's still the Civic hybrid to contend with. At this point, I see this vehicle category heating up in a big way and getting ultra competitive... it will ultimately benefit the hybrid consumer in spades. TM |
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Replying to: tayl0rd (Mar 27, 2009 4:08 am) I don't think that's really the same idea. The '80s digital dash was purely an aesthetic, it served no function that analog gauges did not. '80s designers were obsessed with straight angles and robots, so the digital dash replaced '50s fins as the design excess of the decade. The iPod simply copied something that already existed (what Apple always does), and made it easier to use/shinier. The equivalent of dangling car keys in front of a baby. Early digital cameras and plasma TVs were very successful, despite serious flaws and enormous price tags. In my opinion, digital dashes didn't catch on because they were hideous. The '80s were the absolute nadir of car design world over, and I'm glad those days (and those dashes) are gone. Putting every secondary control on a single screen just isn't smart. If the wrong sunlight hits it, or you're wearing the wrong sunglasses, essentially all the controls are rendered invisible. Even if you can see it, it will constantly be covered in dust and finger prints. How attractive. Let me demonstrate the point. No car embodied the digital dash more than the Aston Martin Lagonda, both in Series 1 LED form, and Series 2 CRT form. LED technology in the late '70s was a big deal and Aston really broke new ground. Should they have? No.   Now here's a modern Aston flagship with proper needles and dials.  Audi's driver information display is sort of the modern interpretation of the digital dash, and it makes sense to have a digital readout of things like music info, temperature, miles remaining in the tank etc. However, when it comes to the tach and speedo, I want needles and dials, and on the center stack I want knobs and buttons.
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Replying to: ljflx (Mar 27, 2009 7:01 am) I really didn't know any of this was happening. I like wars that benefit the consumer. |
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