I highly approve of changing the terminology from “designer” to “stylist,” as I think it more accurately describes the paradigm shift the role has experienced from considering form and function to purely form.

I suspect you’ll see a pretty big aftermarket for touch screens. That’s all just packaging, the screens themselves are pretty cheap.

When a car is moving and bouncing, your finger can wobble on its way to a touch screen target and land on an unintended button. This usually leads to some sub-menu you then have to back out of (by hitting other buttons on a touch screen...)

I completely agree and I work in the industry. This is a hard fought battle as many OEM stylists think the screens are clean looking while some others think touch screens are cool and the “future”. Usability and eyes on the road aren’t a concern! 

Agreed, the screens are cheap, look at the awful slab they put in the Mercedes these days. Looks cheap, is cheap.

I think screens are still relatively expensive. The difference, though, is one screen can replace a dozen or more switches, along with their wiring harness and connector. Instead, you have the screen with a single connector. So while the screen may be expensive, the total cost of the system may be lower. 

It’s not. In 10 years when all these screens have gone dark and the replacement cost is prohibitive, we’re going to have a whole new class of used car.

This. designing and molding new buttons, knobs, etc, adding backlighting, screen printing etc all costs money. Designing a UI to throw in a screen is comparatively inexpensive.

It’s all about the profit margin. Screens are cheap.

Hi welcome to the BMV how may I help you? I'm here to register my microwave it has an electric motor

🙄

Damn. I don’t need a frickin car that I can’t drive when it’s cold. Jesus H. Christ.

This is my thing. These people here are like “its 10 miles to work” and I’m wondering what big city they live in. It’s 10 miles to the nearest Publix for me my guy. Don’t ask me about my commute either.

DailyCommute = 130 miles

Yay!

Pushing the envelope but legally a bicycle.

E-bikes make perfect sense for commuting, but we should really just call them what they are, mopeds. (Definition: Low powered motorized bicycle.)

It’s really not that hard to differentiate between the an e-bike and an motorcycle. Does it have pedals? Do you have to pedal to ride it? It’s an e-bike. If it doesn’t have…

Agreed. I purchased a Bafang BBSHD kit (like pictured above) and commuted on nice days. 10 miles each way to work, and on days with heavy traffic I know I’m quicker than driving.

I ride an ebike. Home built using an old specialized trail bike. I love it. Ride it every day, use it for commuting. 30mph, 15-20 mile range (I live 2.5 miles from work). It saves a ton of money, and is really enjoyable. I have a regular bike too, but almost never ride it anymore.

Come on Mini, er I mean BMW. Just admit you don’t really want to sell an electric Mini. You ‘leased’ the Mini E in 2009 and it had a 100 mile range.