I remember those gooseneck radios well. They were considered state of the art at the time and rather expensive. Kind of the ultimate accessory for the ultimate driving machine (BMWs were all the rage at that time). I seem to recall someone on Xweb once posted pics with one in his X.
Yes, quite the little rocket... 315HP, about 800 lbs less than a 3 series convertible...
Yes, that is my conclusion after suffering through many rental car radios. It's done now because they can, not because it is a good thing to do. A lot of non-automotive software is like that. Maybe someday we will get over the fascination with what we can do with electronics and just do what we need to do instead. Until then, we all will suffer bad software, many little menus, and strange menu item names that are not what we would call that particular function. I am looking at you GIS software people!
HVAC got all luxurious on cars with multi-zone control and automation, and now when you remote start a modern car it gets to your desired climate.
Yup, never replace a control that gives you good tactile feedback with a slide bar on a flat screen, you always need to take your eye of the road and consitart on hitting the right picture on the screen.
Completely agree. I hate "automatic climate control systems". Not only are they more difficult to set up, but you tend to lose many functional options. For example on the daily driver that I'm currently using I cannot open the "vent" without activating the AC and heater at the same time. And it is constantly hunting around trying to satisfy all of the temp sensors throughout the cars interior. But it never seems to be just right. Likewise I cannot change the air outlet locations (e.g. defrost level, feet level, mid level) without other functions automatically coming on. I much prefer true mechanical controls where I can have it do exactly what I want and nothing more. Not to mention when any of the controls or functions on a automated system go bad it becomes a nightmare to repair.
Yah true, climate control would definitely be very different depending on the climates where a person lives.
Wow, that's pretty bad. And a printed on display? Ha. I hate to say it but this looks a lot like the crappy ones I tried a few years ago. I went to the extent of actually connecting and trying them out just to see how they functioned. Some were flawed from the start, and the rest soon after.
I have to disagree!
, the heated steering wheel is very nice not sure I could cope without it now!
Definitely the effectiveness and functionality of a automatic climate control system differs greatly from car to car. The vehicle I'm currently using (for the most part) as a daily driver isn't mine; it belongs to my elderly mother whom I am taking care of full time (she's 98 and completely dependant). Therefore she insists I use it instead of my own vehicles. Apparently she feels she is doing me a favor. But it is also the car she is used to getting in and out of. In the beginning I hated driving it....an American midsize sedan. But in time I've found it kind of nice to drive something I don't feel the need to constantly protect from the carelessness of others. I can park in the closest spot in the lot, don't cringe every time I hear rocks chipping the paint, not overly concerned about it getting hit, don't care if it gets dirty, don't mind loading it with supplies from the hardware or home improvement stores, etc. And truthfully it is a decent city vehicle; comfortable, easy to maneuver, has all of the modern amenities, and such. But the automatic climate control system is horrible in this car. I much prefer the ones in Mercedes, BMWs, and other cars (pre touchscreen era).I have to disagree!
My daily driver is set at 19 degrees and forget.
If I feel the need can override and have air fresh or conditioned to any vent either side or zone.
Fresh air or recirculating is automatic and also available on a manual option if I desire.
Auto defrost does bring on other functions automatically but all separately over ridden if desired.
Only functions which are not adjustable are the heated wing mirrors and wiper washers which are controlled via CAN and not selectable.
As I’m in a desert climate it works flawlessly in either season.
If “I’m” feeling cold I can either select seat heaters and steering wheel heater.
Its very good and never given any issues
The “X” has A/C (now) and heated seats but would have to fit a “clock spring” somehow to steering assembly if I wanted a heated wheel which I think is a step too far!
I second always driving with windows up
There's a multitude of choices and they are constantly changing. But the general type I played with were not a regular DIN size, they were smaller. I was not looking to fill the stock radio hole and wanted something as small as possible to try and hide it as much as possible. Maybe a third the size of a DIN? Some didn't even have an enclosure per see, just a exposed circuit board on the back of the face panel (which is pretty much what all of them have inside the case). So they were very basic (that was my goal, keep it to a minimum); MP3 player with a couple of connection options (USB, mini plug, card slot), a FM tuner, and the necessary controls (on/off-volume, play/pause, FF/RW, a few radio station memory buttons, etc...similar to the one you show). The display window was small with very basic info shown. Most had a onboard amp (although of limited output), and RCA jacks to connect an external amp. Then a plug with the harness for power and speaker connections. And they were very inexpensive.
Not surprisingly all of those inexpensive units were complete garbage.