Comments on: Ford SmartGauge

By: Tom OKeefe

Tom OKeefe — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 19:36:16 +0000

Thanks Rob. Its nice to get feed back from someone that's been behind the wheel of one. Thx

By: Rob - Texas

Rob - Texas — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 18:20:26 +0000

I drove one of these yesterday, and it wasn't distracting at all. I didn't even notice the changing information until the salesman pointed it out to me. And after that, with it being something new and different for me to look at it, my habit of looking at the road while I drive was still greater than my curiosity to look at the LCD's.

I would say for good drivers, this is nothing different than any other distraction on the road or in the car (e.g. GPS screens, traffic accidents, billboards, etc.)

Easily distracted drivers are probably already distracted by the many other things surrounding them, so yes, this would just add to their negligence...

BTW - if you haven't gotten behind the wheel of one of these, I highly recommend it! No, I didn't buy one, but I didn't feel like I could honestly comment on it without first driving it.

By: ??????????

?????????? — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 14:10:02 +0000

Ford is a good car

By: andre

andre — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 10:26:34 +0000

Ford the best car

By: Aaron Irizarry

Aaron Irizarry — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 23:42:17 +0000

Yeah I am gonna have to say that considering the arena in which this would be used it is not the right solution (IMO).
I Think it looks nice, but as far as usability, it is too distracting which interferes with the highest level function of it’s greater part(the car)… Driving!

I truly think this will be distracting to most people (or at least my wife). There are some valuable uses, and information provided… but I don’t think this is the right place for them.

By: Moah

Moah — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 22:24:08 +0000

ohh my comment got cut off.
regarding digital vs. analog displays, I know most people are used to and love analog displays for car dashboards. I believe the current temperature & current speed at the very least should be digital. I do not need to know the bounds of these measurements cause I already know them. I know how fast my car could go. 120 MPH max? 67′ F matters more to me than some thermometer like display. What’s important to me is it’s absolute value, not where it lies in the range.

By: Moah

Moah — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 22:07:37 +0000

I agree with you this is doing too much in such a small space. And yes, it needs to be unobtrusive.

I love any designs that encourage people to be more green and more aware of their driving behaviors. But it can’t annoy me. If the dashboard is annoying me or if I am playing a game to have more green leaves, that clearly means I am distracted and not paying attention to the road. Quote from original business week post “Our big finding was that drivers interested in fuel efficiency were playing a game. They want a high score,” says Steve Bishop, IDEO’s global lead of sustainability.”

By: Tom Okeefe

Tom Okeefe — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 20:17:27 +0000

even if you take the safety factor away. The visual/user experience seem poor.

By: Tom Okeefe

Tom Okeefe — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 20:11:35 +0000

I get what you’re saying but the thing is it’s right in front of you and movement and color and images can make a driver look down and at the dashboard. Some people can handle multi-tasking better than others. I can drive while having a conversation on a cell phone either while holding my hand held or on my command unit in my car. (S-Class MBenz) while playing with my navigation without a problem. Some people can’t even hold a phone and drive without causing road rage. LOL with today’s technologies playing a big role into our everyday lives and the increasing accident rate from drivers while talking on phones, TXTn etc having something that could cause some people (not all) to get distracted is not a good thing.

Your dashboard is just that… a place to view at glance to see important information without being distracted. Even large monitors / navs could cause just the same problems. Oh well

By: Sean Gallagher

Sean Gallagher — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 20:03:33 +0000

It would seem that “people screwing around” causes accidents.

I suppose we should cover up cathedrals and landmarks, as people tend to look at those in awe, as they drive by. that we, we are all now SAFE, there is no more distraction.
I’m sure we could find some data to support corporations and the feds thinking for me, so i don’t hurt myself / take responsibility for my own actions in areas of beauty / scenery.

For those who are reading this: When you drive you car. you look at the road.
You glance at mirrors regularly, and check your speed and other gauges, by glancing, regularly.

You do not WATCH you fuel gauge instead of the road.
this just seems like common sense.

If a leaf growing on a dash, is so amazing to you that you cannot look away from it while you are driving… you shouldnt be in a car.
period.

If that is SO distracting and SO amazing, you will never make it down the street, because you will never be able to look away form all the other AMAZING MOVING things around you.

Other things that may also distract you:
birds.
Sky / clouds.
Street Signs.
Dogs
Other vehicles.
Stripes painted on road look like video game, may give impression of ability to crash car and just “use another man”.
iPhone
iPod
Blackberry
Twitter
Facebook status updates

By: Michael Imhoff

Michael Imhoff — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 19:48:52 +0000

They definitely need to work on the contrast, as I agree it might be hard to view. Also, they could probably improve it by cutting the size of the speedometer…

By: Joseph Maguire

Joseph Maguire — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 19:32:36 +0000

Hope they took out insurance because ford will need it after a few people will complain they looked at their dashboard too long lol.