memes

I'm dying for good windshield HUDs

The two-tiered cluster of my Civic really grew on me. The speedometer is up really high so it's almost always in your line of sight.

Also, make the text bigger.

So many displays have tiny, hard to read text that could easily be twice as tall and wide without even impacting the blank space that separates them.

Lmao, high beams, no seatbelt at 108kph for a 30kph speed limit. Ooof.

It’s a screenshot from MKBHD’s latest video.

Chevy 15-seaters from 2012+ you can turn the status screen on the dash and display numerical rpms. They are a bit slow to update but it’s kinda cool.

An advantage of a proper dial is that you can instinctively see the change in speed by how quickly the needle moves.

Renault have been doing this for ages. I had a 2009 Mégane which gave the speed as a digital number. Fuel and oil temps were bars to either side. Revs was a physical dial.

It was such a great car, just a shame about the engineering...

Someone speeding that much won't be having much time left in general.

Marques Brownlee?

If dial gauges weren't what you chuckleheads grew up with (I'm 38 so I understand the nostalgia) you'd realize they aren't really all that well designed.

That's not actually true, studies show that analog dials (or digital imitations) are better than regular numbers or bars as speed displays.

The thing about analog dials is that they offer a lower mental load than a simple number. Seeing the dial move is a better indication of speed change than a number changing, and the "wasted" space in the dial offers a comparative idea of how fast you're going.

The human brain is just much better at perceiving relative changes than absolute ones. Seeing a 20 rise to 80 doesn't convey as much info as seeing a dial in the bottom rise to the middle.

I want my average speed, instantaneous speed, average miles per gallon, instantaneous miles per gallon, range, engine temperature, music track, outside temperature, inside temperature, tire pressure, time, vehicle orientation, all at once. They're normally all available, but hidden in different menus and screens.

The reason this information isn't readily available is probably because putting more information only serves to increase the mental load on the driver which might cause distractions, and consequently, more accidents.

A dial gauge can impart certain information that other ways cannot. I can notice a sudden change in movement without looking directly down, or see certain patterns of movement that simple numbers won't. An old example of the loss of that was found in some classic luxury cars (my grandmother had a Cadillac that I noticed it in). The speedometer wasn't a dial, it was an analog bar that would go right to left as your speed increased. It was very hard to judge change of speed by this, much like it's hard to see from a few digital numbers that rapidly change. I've also noticed that even digital dial gauges can suffer from this if their refresh isn't fast enough to simulate an analog accurately.

Doesn't mean you can't get used to a display or find other ways to get the same input, but dials aren't just old nostalgia, they do have advantages. I would bet for some measurements an analog multimeter is preferred over a digital, and vise versa.