Computer screens on car dashboards.

[mtt.tr]

Ergonomics. You don't have to route a thick cable to a large lever somewhere near the driver.

Also it can serve two purposes, on the Range Rovers supposedly if you pull it while moving it tells the car you need to do an emergency stop so it slams on all the brakes to stop as quickly as it can. Not just a simple handbrake.

Youve got to try it now!!

 

[Kayos]

I will say I hate hill assist and electronic handbrakes.

You only notice hill assist when it's badly implemented, I rarely use the handbrake while driving, only had 1 car with electric and didn't like it

 

[DAPPH]

About time . All we need now is a few extra Laybys to enable drivers to pull over .

Around here they get filled with the travelling people as they are usually nice & clean to start with or just after first school run they get filled up with school buses that are only minimally fueled up & left locked up till the minibuses stuffed with part time drivers arrive to do the afternoon school runs . In this area there must have been at least six truck sized /style lay-byes closed . One even had a toilet set , but as ever things got abused so it was taken out .

 

[Wozzaaah]

You only notice hill assist when it's badly implemented, I rarely use the handbrake while driving, only had 1 car with electric and didn't like it

I have an electric handbrake and find it fine but in my opinion hill assist is not much more than a useless gimmick.
Fwiw, I'm all for progress but I do feel that many of these new features are dumbing down driving though there will come a time when learners learn to drive in cars with all these features fitted and the cars they then go on to buy will also have them. We have two choices which are to accept change if you want to drive a modern car or drive old cars without them fitted.

 

[DAPPH]

Having a bust problematic left shoulder & a painful replacement left knee I'm chuffed to goolies with the automatic's hill assist . That couple of seconds of being held till the engine takes the strain & drive up is invaluable to me .

 

[Kayos]

I have an electric handbrake and find it fine but in my opinion hill assist is not much more than a useless gimmick.
Fwiw, I'm all for progress but I do feel that many of these new features are dumbing down driving though there will come a time when learners learn to drive in cars with all these features fitted and the cars they then go on to buy will also have them. We have two choices which are to accept change if you want to drive a modern car or drive old cars without them fitted.

What I mean with hill assist, I had it in a van and it was slow, clunky and unreliable. I had it in another car and didn't even realise it had it until I was on a really steep hill. Done well it shouldn't be intrusive

 

[mtt.tr]

You only notice hill assist when it's badly implemented, I rarely use the handbrake while driving, only had 1 car with electric and didn't like it

This one drags the brakes, feels like it wants to stall grrhhh,!!!

I agree if it was smooth I'd always use it.

 

[DAPPH]

This one drags the brakes, feels like it wants to stall grrhhh,!!!

I agree if it was smooth I'd always use it.

Is your bus a pudding stick and stir gear box or an automatic . On manual boxes they were indeed prone to giving you a sticking feeling .

 

[mtt.tr]

Is your bus a pudding stick and stir gear box or an automatic . On manual boxes they were indeed prone to giving you a sticking feeling .

Yeah manual, hopefully next van will be an auto

 

[redlig]

I have an electric handbrake and find it fine but in my opinion hill assist is not much more than a useless gimmick.
Fwiw, I'm all for progress but I do feel that many of these new features are dumbing down driving though there will come a time when learners learn to drive in cars with all these features fitted and the cars they then go on to buy will also have them. We have two choices which are to accept change if you want to drive a modern car or drive old cars without them fitted.

You mention dumbing down . It's not just the drivers that are being detrained but also the fitters that maintain the cars. I grant you that there a a good few that could be called mechanics but I'm afraid that in 30 years of dealer visits I met many more that could not be called that. Thus to make the cars etc easy to maintain the ethos of "replace" was been introduced . This is not just in UK ,which lead the world in the industrial revolution ,but in countries that not long ago were using horse and cart technology. Actually if you watch the 3rd world guys making stuff with hands you will realise that they are far ahead of the uk equivalent. Necessity is the mother of invention if not lateral thinking.
I can remember a mainline franchised dealer with a ,supposedly, fully trained mechanic spending 6 separate visits over a period of 6 months trying to cure a fault that spuriously lock itself after the owner got out. He never noticed that the locking mechanism had no solenoid that could activate the lock and could only be locked by use of the key OR the pop up thingy inside the door ' . He never put 2 and 2 together and realised that the customer ,being well in excess of 6 feet tall , was locking the door as he levered himself out of the car. And they got p****d off when I rejected the warranty claim.

 

[redlig]

An acknowledgement click or chime over the speakers would do.

people would soon get sick of that and ignore it.

 

[bigegg]

people would soon get sick of that and ignore it.

Do you ignore the "click" of a "real" button?

Seriously: I think you're being argumentative for the sake of it, now - you've got yourself entrenched in the idea that "touchscreens are bad", and are just changing goalposts to support that position.

 

[redlig]

Ergonomics. You don't have to route a thick cable to a large lever somewhere near the driver.

Also it can serve two purposes, on the Range Rovers supposedly if you pull it while moving it tells the car you need to do an emergency stop so it slams on all the brakes to stop as quickly as it can. Not just a simple handbrake.

Agreed no cable required just another sensor a bit of wire to ECU another bit of wire to hydraulic pump plus a connection to the infotainment system ( or whatever that is called ) some more hydraulic piping to the brake system . I'm afraid I probably missed another 20 micro chips/ sensors etc . what could possibly go wrong.
If pulling on the handbrake when moving activates an emergency stop that opens a whole new aspect to the drunk mates in the back who think it's a bit of a laugh to do just that.

 

[redlig]

Do you ignore the "click" of a "real" button?

Seriously: I think you're being argumentative for the sake of it, now - you've got yourself entrenched in the idea that "touchscreens are bad", and are just changing goalposts to support that position.

Not at all, I really believe that the majority of gizmo's are not fitted solely for the benefit of the driver .

 

[bigegg]

Not at all, I really believe that the majority of gizmo's are not fitted solely for the benefit of the driver .

I cannot argue with that.

 

[bigegg]

If pulling on the handbrake when moving activates an emergency stop that opens a whole new aspect to the drunk mates in the back who think it's a bit of a laugh to do just that.

I find kicking them out of the car and making them make their own way home at a first offence soons hammers the message home.
Or maybe get better "mates" to start with.

Saying that: the Lexus has a foot operated "hand brake", so maybe that's the way to go?

 

[mtt.tr]

You mention dumbing down . It's not just the drivers that are being detrained but also the fitters that maintain the cars. I grant you that there a a good few that could be called mechanics but I'm afraid that in 30 years of dealer visits I met many more that could not be called that. Thus to make the cars etc easy to maintain the ethos of "replace" was been introduced . This is not just in UK ,which lead the world in the industrial revolution ,but in countries that not long ago were using horse and cart technology. Actually if you watch the 3rd world guys making stuff with hands you will realise that they are far ahead of the uk equivalent. Necessity is the mother of invention if not lateral thinking.
I can remember a mainline franchised dealer with a ,supposedly, fully trained mechanic spending 6 separate visits over a period of 6 months trying to cure a fault that spuriously lock itself after the owner got out. He never noticed that the locking mechanism had no solenoid that could activate the lock and could only be locked by use of the key OR the pop up thingy inside the door ' . He never put 2 and 2 together and realised that the customer ,being well in excess of 6 feet tall , was locking the door as he levered himself out of the car. And they got p****d off when I rejected the warranty claim.

This is wrong, the "replace parts until it works" came from the devaluing trades we told people with slightest amount of intelligence that they are worth more than getting Thier hands dirty, we dumbed ourselves down

I now turn spanners full time, I have a penchant for troubleshooting using a whole host of test kit not all that complicated but requires genuine passion to get good with,sadly we've made it so poisoned no one starts to learn at the age passion is created.

 

[redlig]

This is wrong, the "replace parts until it works" came from the devaluing trades we told people with slightest amount of intelligence that they are worth more than getting Thier hands dirty, we dumbed ourselves down

I now turn spanners full time, I have a penchant for troubleshooting using a whole host of test kit not all that complicated but requires genuine passion to get good with,sadly we've made it so poisoned no one starts to learn at the age passion is created.

I think the loss of enthusiastic service staff seemed to become more evident in the late 70's when the better guys were enticed out of the trade by better wages and conditions. This left the dealers with basically less able staff. It took a few years for the trade to become a viable employment option for youngsters. Many of the dealers I visited would consist of "Old Arry" who had been there for years and was assisted by a couple of lads. When O.H. retired or was enticed somewhere else then the quality of workmanship fell. A good technician is worth his weight in gold but unfortunately is still very seldom appreciated .

 

[redlig]

I find kicking them out of the car and making them make their own way home at a first offence soons hammers the message home.
Or maybe get better "mates" to start with.

Saying that: the Lexus has a foot operated "hand brake", so maybe that's the way to go?

Only if you know it's there . Just after being transferred to the car dept. I had to diagnose a "noise" in a Top of Range car . Never driven one or even sat in one before . Got into car with dealers technician and customer and had to ask how to release foot operated handbrake . RedFace . Luckily guessed wheel bearing noise was correct .

 

[sako243]

Youve got to try it now!!

Apparently those that have tried it up to 30mph reckon being fired into a brick wall naked at 30mph is more pleasant.

Agreed no cable required just another sensor a bit of wire to ECU another bit of wire to hydraulic pump plus a connection to the infotainment system ( or whatever that is called ) some more hydraulic piping to the brake system . I'm afraid I probably missed another 20 micro chips/ sensors etc . what could possibly go wrong.
If pulling on the handbrake when moving activates an emergency stop that opens a whole new aspect to the drunk mates in the back who think it's a bit of a laugh to do just that.

Um the ABS already controls all of that so all you have is a switch and a wire to the ECU that already controls all of that, the rest of it is software, no need for hydraulic pipes that don't already exist.

On all electric handbrake I've seen it's an electric actuator so no need for hydraulic pipes for that unless I've misunderstood you.