redesign the shifter

My Nissan Leaf Forum

Help Support My Nissan Leaf Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
CeeDub said:
the only cars where reverse was not backwards was VW from the 1980s, every other car out there practically has reverse backwards..... especially Japanese cars. It just makes sense, push it forward, go forward. Human nature.
That may be true for most modern cars, but back in my day most cars had three-speed transmissions, and reverse was at the top left of the H.
Code:
R   2
|___|
|   |
1   3
Ray
 
Revel in the standardization..... :lol:

http://augerresources.com/shiftpattern.php" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
 
planet4ever said:
CeeDub said:
the only cars where reverse was not backwards was VW from the 1980s, every other car out there practically has reverse backwards..... especially Japanese cars. It just makes sense, push it forward, go forward. Human nature.
That may be true for most modern cars, but back in my day most cars had three-speed transmissions, and reverse was at the top left of the H.
Code:
R   2
|___|
|   |
1   3
Ray

wow, that is going back a lil ways. lol!
 
Nubo said:
Revel in the standardization..... :lol:

http://augerresources.com/shiftpattern.php" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

haha! good stuff, but my original point was why even do the side action and not the standard back n forth
P R N D pattern like most every other automatic on the road. And you can't look at the shifter to see where the
gear selector is. Folks already feel uneasy in new cars, let alone an electric, so why add to it with a shifter you gotta learn? What benefit is there to making the shifter "different" and "odd"?
 
CeeDub said:
What benefit is there to making the shifter "different" and "odd"?
Back in the twentieth century I used all kinds of shifters, some automatic, some manual, some buttons, some on a steering column stalk, some on the floor. For most of the twenty first century I have used one pattern and one pattern only - the one found on the Prius and the LEAF. Anything else seems "different", "odd", and very old-fashioned.

Ray
 
CeeDub said:
haha! good stuff, but my original point was why even do the side action and not the standard back n forth
P R N D pattern like most every other automatic on the road. And you can't look at the shifter to see where the
gear selector is. Folks already feel uneasy in new cars, let alone an electric, so why add to it with a shifter you gotta learn? What benefit is there to making the shifter "different" and "odd"?
Why not? There's a diagram behind it. There's a light that shows you which is position is selected. It also shows you on the dash. Zoom in on the shifter at http://www.nissanusa.com/electric-cars/leaf/colors-photos/#_interior" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;.

As for "different" and "odd", more than 3 million Priuses have been sold worldwide (http://pressroom.toyota.com/releases/worldwide+prius+sales+3+million.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;), most of which use a similar shifter and pattern.

As for the above vs. P R N D, well, if you're in Drive, you push forward to go in Reverse. When in Reverse, you pull back to go into Drive.

I'll repeat what I said earlier. Leave the shifter the way it is.
 
CeeDub said:
Nubo said:
Revel in the standardization..... :lol:

http://augerresources.com/shiftpattern.php" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

haha! good stuff, but my original point was why even do the side action and not the standard back n forth
P R N D pattern like most every other automatic on the road. And you can't look at the shifter to see where the
gear selector is. Folks already feel uneasy in new cars, let alone an electric, so why add to it with a shifter you gotta learn? What benefit is there to making the shifter "different" and "odd"?

Well I guess there's a fine line between "distinctive" and "odd". :)

DSC_0216small.jpg

DSC_0019a.jpg

DSC_0080.JPG

DSC_0075.JPG

DSCN3785.jpg
 
LeftieBiker said:
Some people can't relearn basic skills, I'm afraid. If you see a Leaf barreling down the road in Reverse, you'll know who it is... ;-)

ha! they can go in reverse as fast as they can in drive ya know! Nissan governs it to about 20 mph, but it can be disabeled.... like they did on the most recent episode of Top Gear.... They got it to 57 mph in reverse.
 
Nubo said:
CeeDub said:
Nubo said:
Revel in the standardization..... :lol:

http://augerresources.com/shiftpattern.php" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Well I guess there's a fine line between "distinctive" and "odd". :)

cool pics. I've never seen the buttons in the middle of the steering wheel like that. But it seems most folks don't like buttons cuz these designs pictured never caught on. I think buttons for the leaf would be better then the current design, like the Fiat electric did.
 
CeeDub said:
cool pics. I've never seen the buttons in the middle of the steering wheel like that. But it seems most folks don't like buttons cuz these designs pictured never caught on.

Quite correct. There is some formidable history there for any manufacturer:

Edsel-Teletouch-Drive.jpg
 
Love the historical, hysterical in some cases photos...

For me... I have gotten used to the mouse/puck shifter... what I would love is a B/HiRegen button or paddle on the wheel.

I found that as I started switching to B to slow that my old manual transmission habits started kicking in... and confusing the issue.

so... another ergonomically different button... so I can Id it by touch as is the case with the wheel buttons.. that toggles B mode on and off

In that same vein... the indicator of the drive mode is a little low for some of us tall folks and is obscured by the wheel... moving it up the the high display or something would help... I find myself occasionally leaving it in B after descending a hill... would be nice to have an indicator up near windshield.

Love my LEAF!

Jeff
 
cwerdna said:
As for the above vs. P R N D, well, if you're in Drive, you push forward to go in Reverse. When in Reverse, you pull back to go into Drive.

I'll repeat what I said earlier. Leave the shifter the way it is.

+1 - Absolutely. The shifter is positioned similarly to that of my former 2001 Suzuki Grand Vitara LTD. Its emergency brake also pulled up in the same area as the electronic brake lever on my 2012 LEAF SL. Pretty handy; comfortable, too. I don't get why everybody's having such a problem with the shifter and brake. It didn't tax my brain when I switched to the LEAF. Just sayin'... :roll:
 
I remember the first time I drove the Hertz LEAF in April 2011. I did have to think about what I'd just done with the shifter and verify it by the dashboard display before taking my foot off the brake. But after I got my LEAF, I got used to it. Now I like it a lot, better than previous cars.
 
GIBBER said:
Redesign the shifter indeed. I do like the look and the function is simple but I think it's a waste of space. The shift functions could be better served by buttons on the dash leaving the console area (already quite tight on space) free for real cup holders, coin holders, deeper under armrest storage etcetera.
Personally, I don't think this would be a good idea; it did however make me think of the dashboard in my families station wagon, a 1962 Rambler American. Here's a picture of the dash; to the left of the instrument panel is your suggestion, embodied:
96420_Interior_Web.jpg

I loved the fact that, as a kid, I could walk around the car without stepping on the roof! Aaaaah, to be young again!
 
planet4ever said:
That may be true for most modern cars, but back in my day most cars had three-speed transmissions, and reverse was at the top left of the H.
Code:
R   2
|___|
|   |
1   3
Ray
You must have had a fancy car with a floor shifter. Pull toward you and down was my low gear. (no syncro on low gear)

'65 4D Coronet
 
Back
Top