Sometimes, automakers can’t help but try to reinvent the wheel, and that’s exactly what is happening with gear shifters these days. The fact there aren’t any mechanical linkages between shifters and the physical gearbox means car companies can get — let’s say — creative with their shifters. Gone are the days of conventional PRNDL shifters on the column or in the center console. In their place are knobs, balls, joysticks and even touchscreen controls. People aren’t thrilled.
On the face of it, that makes sense. Smaller shifters that are placed out of the way make more room for stuff like phone chargers and cupholders, but customers aren’t too happy with the changes that can be very confusing if you don’t know how these cars work since they’re all so different, according to The Wall Street Journal:
On a trip to California, Linda Hoff, 65, rented a Nissan Rogue SUV that had a joystick-like gear selector. Hoff frequently rents different car brands but nonetheless couldn’t figure out how to reverse the car out of its spot.
“I didn’t even know how to drive this damn car,” she said. “So I had to go back to the rental agency and say, ‘Is there a trick here?'” She was soon on her way after a tutorial.
The Michigan resident said she understands that automakers are trying to come up with creative designs to stand out. But she said the lack of standardization complicates things.
A design mistake
Whether it’s the Chrysler Pacifica’s gear knob or Genesis’ wild Crystal Sphere in its GV60 electric crossover, folks are none too pleased — even though it does rotate 180 degrees upside down to reveal the shifter. While it may look very cool in a brochure or in a showroom, it has proven to be very confusing for customers. Genesis’ European division actually had to put out a nearly four-minute-long video last year to explain how it works, according to WSJ. That doesn’t sound like a good design to me. It also may inadvertently suck your belongings into the car’s console.
One driver said they’d put a reminder on a Post-it note to run an errand and stuck it in the console, partly touching the Crystal Sphere.
“When I turned off the car, it grabbed the paper and pulled it inside,” they wrote in an online forum last summer. “Now when I turn on or off the car, I can hear the paper. Can’t really see it anymore.”
This would be enough to drive me to commit a crime.
Oopsie Daisy
Some folks aren’t as adverse to changing shifters — Tesla owners specifically — but it’s hard to tell if that’s because they really don’t mind them, or they just won’t say anything bad about Elon’s precious car. Here’s what one Model S owner who spoke to the Journal said:
Jeff Tropeano, a 43-year-old Colorado resident, said the touch screen shifter on his Model S Plaid took some getting used to, but now he rarely thinks about it. Tropeano’s wife doesn’t have as easy of a go on the rare occasion she uses the car.
“When she gets into my car she’s like, ‘I just don’t know what to do,'” he said.
Some folks are also running into issues with the fact some gear shifters do more than just shift the car from gear to gear. In Rivian’s case, the R1’s column-mounted shifter is also used to engage and disengage the car’s adaptive cruise control. WSJ says that during Consumer Reports’ testing of the R1S, a driver accidentally engaged reverse when they were trying to turn off ACC. Rivian has apparently fixed the issue with a software update.
I’m a fairly tech-forward type of guy, so odd shifters aren’t really an issue for me, but given the fact the general car-buying public is a bit — uh — older and less technologically inclined than young, hip folks like you and me, it makes sense that some people would be dismayed by these changes. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but as I’ve said before, car interiors aren’t really getting more distracting, you’re just getting old.
