Ferrari Mailing List: Re: Replacing the BMW - result: Infiniti M45 (2 of 2)

[Rick Lindsay (rolindsay]

My '62 Triumph TR3b has an ignition switch, a starter button AND a lighting 
switch!  Top that Mr. FBI Special Agent Dude! :-P

John Smith (I'm now in hiding...

--- On Tue, 4/14/09, Dennis Liu <bigheaddennis [at] gmail.com> wrote:

> From: Dennis Liu <bigheaddennis [at] gmail.com>
> Subject: Re: [Ferrari] Replacing the BMW - result: Infiniti M45 (2 of 2)
> To: "rolindsay" <rolindsay [at] yahoo.com>
> Cc: "'The FerrariList'" <ferrari [at] ferrarilist.com>
> Date: Tuesday, April 14, 2009, 9:07 AM
> Fellippe wrote:
>  
> >If I recall correctly, the M has the console with a
> billion buttons on
> it... I've never seen so many buttons on a dash/console
> like this car.
> Surprised you didn't include that in your report, and
> how you felt about it.
> 
>  
> Well, I did mention this:
>  
> >The Infiniti does have a circular, iDrive resembling
> controller, but it's
> only visual. There are plenty of buttons too - a little
> cluttered, but makes
> it very easy to get to the controls you want, immediately.
> And the climate
> controls have their own dedicated buttons, while you can
> change radio
> stations/discs/volume with the lower audio buttons, or use
> the steering
> wheel controls.
> ---------------
>  
> To expand:
>  
> So, if you're the interior designer, and you need to
> enable the driver to
> control the (a) climate system, including heated and cooled
> seats, (b)
> am/fm/xm/sirius radio, (c) 6-CD/MP3 changer, (d) DVD
> player, (e) navigation
> system, (f) Bluetooth phone integration (hence all sorts of
> phone
> functions), (g) computer (settings, trip info, fuel
> economy, tire pressures,
> comfort settings, etc.) and (h) all the other gadgets, like
> AFS, LDW, VDC
> and other TLA.
>  
> Well, in the 1st gen iDrive, BMW said, screw it, we'll
> stuff it all into the
> computer and give the driver a mouse-like controller and
> run EVERYTHING
> through the screen/controller.  This caused perhaps the
> single biggest
> uproar in automotive interior design in living memory.  The
> upside of which
> is only that given the limits of page space, magazine
> editors had to choose
> between complaints about the iDrive and complaints about
> the Chris Bangle
> styling.  :-)
>  
> BMW wised up over the years and simplified iDrive and ADDED
> MORE BUTTONS, so
> that more functions can be accessed directly.  Which is
> what MB and Audi did
> when they introduced their own versions of iDrive, after
> watching BMW get
> scorched.  
>  
> When we first picked up the car, we left immediately for a
> road trip down to
> PA.  It took a few hundred miles to acquaint ourselves with
> all the
> functionality, but now it's utterly second nature.  All
> of the important
> stuff can be operated directly, like changing radio
> stations, turning up the
> A/C, turning on the defrost, etc.  The nav system is pretty
> intuitive.  All
> of the settings can be accessed with just 3-4 clicks.  
>  
> Bottom line, I much prefer MORE buttons than fewer.  And I
> think that
> Infiniti (and, for the record, AUDI) have hit the right
> balance between
> simplicity and complexity.
>  
> vty,
>  
> --Dennis
>  
> 
> 
>   _____  
> 
> From: Fellippe Galletta
> [mailto:fellippe.galletta [at] gmail.com] 
> Sent: Tuesday, April 14, 2009 12:52 AM
> To: BigHeadDennis [at] gmail.com
> Cc: The FerrariList
> Subject: Re: [Ferrari] Replacing the BMW - result: Infiniti
> M45 (2 of 2)
> 
> 
> Dennis,
> 
> Congrats on the new Infiniti M! My friends just got an M35
> not too long ago
> and they seem very content with it...also former BMW people
> as well....an
> E46 M3. 
> 
> If I recall correctly, the M has the console with a billion
> buttons on it...
> I've never seen so many buttons on a dash/console like
> this car. 
> 
> Surprised you didn't include that in your report, and
> how you felt about it.
> 
> 
> I'll be at the NY Auto Show this week and will check
> out your car a little
> more closely for kicks. :)
> 
> FG
> 
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