• Welcome to SportsJournalists.com, a friendly forum for discussing all things sports and journalism.

    Your voice is missing! You will need to register for a free account to get access to the following site features:
    • Reply to discussions and create your own threads.
    • Access to private conversations with other members.
    • Fewer ads.

    We hope to see you as a part of our community soon!

Young people have no idea …

"No, officer, I don't know how fast I was going because…I DIDN'T WANT TO RUN OFF THE gosh darn ROAD BECAUSE THE SPEEDOMETER IS WHERE THE gosh darn HULA DANCING LADY SHOULD BE!"

I think about newer automobiles with touch screen control of everything. You have to look at it to make sure you are hitting the right icon or whatever. In my truck, I have full control of the radio and climate control through tactile feel. I never have to look away from the road.
 
On one hand, I'm conditioned to look for my speedo and tach in the dash. OTOH, given where I position my steering wheel – which sometimes ends up partially blocking a full view of the key gauges – I wonder if a true HUD would be more of a help than hindrance.

In the middle, between the driver and passenger? No. Just no. That's where more the gauges that have much less to do with the direct driving experience should be. Problem is, with some manufacturers offering fewer gauges – meaning we troubleshoot ourselves less and less before going to a mechanic – what's left to put there? Sorry if I don't really give a crap how big the touchscreen in the middle of the dash is.
 
On one hand, I'm conditioned to look for my speedo and tach in the dash. OTOH, given where I position my steering wheel – which sometimes ends up partially blocking a full view of the key gauges – I wonder if a true HUD would be more of a help than hindrance.

In the middle, between the driver and passenger? No. Just no. That's where more the gauges that have much less to do with the direct driving experience should be. Problem is, with some manufacturers offering fewer gauges – meaning we troubleshoot ourselves less and less before going to a mechanic – what's left to put there? Sorry if I don't really give a crap how big the touchscreen in the middle of the dash is.

I have a Mazda, and it seems to be a happy medium. The important gauges are in their normal location. The infotainment screen in the middle is controlled by a knob in the console — it's not a touchscreen — and gives provides secondary information like tire pressure, maintenance info and warning lights.
It's a nice mix of getting more information with the tactile feel of button controls.
 
My Lacrosse had the heads up display, which is a heck of a game-changer if you can get used to it being in your line of sight.
 
My first new car was a 2004 Saturn Ion, which had the instrument cluster centered on the dash. Took some getting to used to, both when I got the car and after I got rid of it a few years later and got a car with a normal set-up.

View attachment 16019
No self-respecting Jeep CJ owner sees a problem with this.

upload_2023-7-11_11-8-40.jpeg
 
They should make more speedometers with the 5-15-25-35... intervals.

Seems as though speed limits are more often on those intervals.
 
Pizza Hut buffet was the best.

Seemed like when I went, all the good options were gone so you ended up trying the green pepper and mushroom combo (and others like it) until a fresh pizza or two with the better toppings came out.
 
When I was young and could handle any amount of grease the American food service industry could throw at me, nothing on earth tasted better than a fresh thin crust pepperoni pizza from Pizza Hut, although the garlic cheesy bread came damn close. But something about their food doesn't hold up well. After about 15 minutes away from the oven, the quality plummets and no amount of specialized reheating can properly revive it.

That was never a problem on Friday nights out with the family, because the slices were gone by then. But when everything became pickup or delivery, there was no more eating it fresh from the oven.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top