mjeds

push button transmissions..

Went to the L.A. Auto show and noticed the latest and greatest gimmick by the Vehicle Manufactures.. push button or dial transmission shifters..

have love the comeback gimmicks of 70 years ago.

hopefully they will work better than they did back then: and yes I know our shifters are nothing more than a lever doing the same thing, call me old, but I prefer the feel of a shifter, over push buttons.

mmarshall

It's not necessarily a fad. The idea is to get the bulky shifter and its associated linkage off (or under) the console to free up room for other things. The same general line of thinking was used to remove the old pull-up levers for the parking brake and replace them with foot-pedals or electronic push-buttons (I prefer the buttons myself). Vehicles so-equipped not only have more free space on the console, but often, an added storage compartment underneath the console where the former shift-linkage would have gone....I use the added space in my Lacrosse to stick my Owners' Manual for quick reference.





Oh.....and also, so Bitkahuna won't have to look at any more of those leather shift-boots LOL

mjeds

shifters have not had any linkage to the transmission in them since around 2004/2005. they are electronic, nothing more than switches themselves, only using a lever over a push button.. the ignition and brake lock out "linkages" are still present in these push button units. only a bit smaller and on electric actuators vs. a manual "link" for those things. Shifters be it a lever or a button since the early 2000s have been nothing more than an electronic connection to an actuator in the transmission. There is no physical linkage from the lever to the transmission.

and it's all fine and dandy they want to add more crap holders to the car, as I said, I prefer a shift lever, Don't even care for the paddle shifters on my RC-F, I like to use the shift gate when in manual mode, which is 85% of the time,... Sadly in a world of let the computer do it for me, things like manual shifting are disappearing.. It is in fact one of the reasons I bought the '38 Ford to work on, I wanted something that wasn't a robot on wheels.

Aron9000

I don't mind the push buttons or dial shifters, as they are pretty easy to use IMO. Its when you have nonsense like Mercedes stupid "stalk" where if you quickly tap park, it won't engage, thus you think its in park then the car rolls forward when you let your foot of the brake. Or that nonsense shifter Chrysler used on the Grand Cherokee a couple years ago, killed a famous actor(and who knows how many other people that didn't get the press). That Grand Cherokee shifter, it was very easy to confuse which gear you were in. Pushing it forward to select park got you reverse or neutral a lot of times, very easy to get it wrong if you were in a hurry/not paying attention.

Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

Which car is that with the L gear selector and the + and - above and below it? Talk about distracting if I’m trying to upshift or downshift and keep my eyes on the road. What a terrible design. Just put some paddles on it.

Fizzboy7

Not new at all. This has been happening now for about five years. And it's a HORRIBLE idea. Dangerous, as it is less intuitive and takes longer to find the fussy buttons, compared to feeling a larger shifter that falls into one's hand. This is no different than the distractions of onboard media, where one must take eyes off road to search.
And I agree with Hoovey, the upshift/downshift buttons surrounding the manual button are an absolute joke. Who's going to sit there and type on small keys to come to an aggressive downshifting stop. Same with an aggressive acceleration. No one is going to lean over to hit small buttons to get moving quickly.

pman6

i think the buttons are a better packaging of space.

I'd rather have something else there instead of a shifter.

gimme the ferrari controls.

Aron9000

That has to be one of the busiest and ugliest dash designs I've ever seen.

Fizzboy7

^
Agreed. Looks like it has a 1990's Pep Boys dash cover.

Johnhav430

One gimmick which is widespread now, was one that I noticed with a rental in Chicago in 2015....I had a Caddy XTS and the rearview although electronic, had no frame. It reminded me of Eric Clapton and BB King in their Riding with the King video, and the way mirrors were back then in Caddys. To contrast, envision a 2006 Lexus LS430 mirror with the huge plastic frame and a exposed wire running into it. The new way was not only retro but clean, while maintaining the electronics...

Toys4RJill

Is absence of a linkage now for all cars? Or almost all new cars in existence? I can't imagine very many cars that still have a mechanical link, perhaps some of the Toyota trucks or SUVs that date back to 03 powertrains like the 4.0 in the 4Runner. I do know that the Wrangler and the 4Runner off-road package can be ordered with the mechanical linking 4WD shift lever, but otherwise the 4Runner limited has an electric shift lever.

We test drove a Dodge Ram at Rogers Hometown Hockey a few months ago. I found the dial shifting device to be really nice, easy to use and convenient,

wasjr

My 17 MDX has the push button shifter. Took a little time to get used to, plus no where to rest my hand. I do find I have to look when I shift, as opposed to the feel of a lever.
One result of the push buttons in the 17 MDX vs the lever in the 11 MDX I had is that the console compartment is larger in the 17.

Johnhav430

I envy how much hockey you guys have access to. We have a rink walking distance run by our township, but all the local high schools have it booked solid. Even prep schools. Should be a sport as common as basketball or soccer, but never is due to ice time...

I noticed the X1 loaner does have a tranny where the entire shift moves like an older car would. Haven't seen that in a BMW for a while (maybe 2012?)....

Toys4RJill

Yeah hockey is everywhere but it is overdone in Southwest Ontario. I like AHL hockey and some junior hockey but NHL in Toronto is prohibitively too expensive to attend. I find hockey in Rochester and upper New York state to be more interesting. We have been going to see the Rochester Americans for almost 30 years. Its really a great time. Been to a few Sabres hockey games but AHL is more fun IMO, you can get closer to the action and prices are so much cheaper. What is interesting is that in Ontario hockey has become very, very expensive to play for young kids. There actually was a drop in attendance or enrollment. They now have a number of programs designed to help make the enrollement much cheaper and easier.

JDR76

Believe that's the new GMC Terrain.