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I wasn't too fond of the gear shift knob on the steering wheel but as long as Mercedes doesn't transition to the even worse possible scenario: console buttons.
Have to admit I'm a convert as well. Initially I thought it was stupid, but now love it. Very convenient when reversing in or out of somewhere.
BTW, what's the norm in the UK over there.. do you guys have the indicator stalk in the right generally?
Not to date myself but, ....
My first car was a brand new 1987 mustang. It had a console shift. However, when I learned how to drive in 1983, I used my fathers 1979 Dodge Aspen ... which had the gear selector on the steering column.
BTW, my fraternity brother's dad had an old Chevy that had a manual transmission shift on the steering column! It was an ancient pick-up from the 1960s, I believe.
And to all who are in disbelief that there were automobiles in 1979 ... quiet down, and get off my lawn, you whippersnappers!
I've adjusted to it quite nicely. In fact I had a chance to drive my old Lexus and the first thing I did was turn on the wipers, thinking I was putting it in reverse.
It becomes second nature and I like not having to take my hands off the steering wheel.
Reversed position of the multi-task stalk and the cruise-control stalk for 2015
Originally Posted by PeteInGilroy
I've adjusted to it quite nicely. In fact I had a chance to drive my old Lexus and the first thing I did was turn on the wipers, thinking I was putting it in reverse.
It becomes second nature and I like not having to take my hands off the steering wheel.
I still do that, only it's that I often turn on a direction signal when i mean to use the cruise-control stalk. And I use the cruise control a lot. I had 8 1/2 years to get used to the cruise-control stalk being above the multi-task stalk and now it's below it. I fear that it will be a long time before I get used to it.
I do support the shifter on the column. What I also have trouble with is that for some reason I expect reverse to be down, not up.
My old 1963 Vauxhall FB had manual shift on the column, 3 on the tree as it was known, my late dads Ford Cortina 1964 had 4 speed manual on the column.
But I agree with PeteInGilroy, when I get into my wifes car I turn on the wipers!!
My old 1963 Vauxhall FB had manual shift on the column, 3 on the tree as it was known, my late dads Ford Cortina 1964 had 4 speed manual on the column.
But I agree with PeteInGilroy, when I get into my wifes car I turn on the wipers!!
Wipers go on every time I get into my daughter's TL as well.
I agree it's something I now prefer once I got used to it. It really does make more sense considering how much room it takes up when it's on the center console.
Just take a look at a W205 that is a manual and see how much worse the car looks when it has the shifter in the center console.
A vehicle with an automatic transmission & paddle shifters on the steering wheel does not need a gear selector on the center console.
....
The big gear selector on the center console is indeed nothing but tradition. Originally, "four-on-the-floor" indicated a car that was a chick-magnet (or so the usually young owners often hoped). Here, I have to choose my words carefully: the image of an object longer than it was wide with a knob on top, controlling a high-powered machine, attracted a LOT of pop psychology! Now, I have read that the console shifter is nothing but a big, heavy switch. It is not connected to the transmission mechanically.
As for adapting to changes in controls, a lot more can go wrong than merely accidentally turning on the windshield wipers or the directional signals. When I took delivery of my 2007 C280 in Sindelfingen, all of my previous cars had had manual transmissions. Afterwards, we stayed for several days in the southwest section of Stuttgart. I was familiar with the area from previous visits, but I had always been driving rental cars, also with manual transmissions. Unlike American limited access highways, German expressways can have steep hills and sharp turns. So when I came out of a local tunnel at about 40 mph, I knew that after a short distance, the highway turned sharply left, as it climbed a short, but steep hill. In mid-afternoon, there was no traffic at all, no traffic, that is, except for the 18-wheeler just starting to climb the hill ahead of me at about 20 mph!
My previous car with its manual transmission and 92 horsepower would have needed a downshift to take that hill. So that's what I did - I TRIED TO DOWNSHIFT AN AUTOMATIC! My backwards pull shifted the automatic into neutral, and the engine revved. Now I had no power, and I didn't know if I could shift back into Drive at highway speed (or whether trying would destroy my transmission).
As I stabbed at the hazard flashers button, another car emerged from the tunnel behind me, and he was flying. (I had done one thing right; I had already marked the location of that button.) With no other cars appearing, I came to a full stop behind the 18-wheeler and got back into Drive. My wife was terrified, but I could point out that there had never been any real danger. Both the 18-wheeler and I had had our flashers on. Like the truck, I was covered by German law, and the following car had had plenty of time to react. She knew that because of her countrymen's superior training, they can usually be depended upon to be alert and do the right thing. It was no harm, no foul, but it could have been otherwise.
06-18-2015, 03:19 PM
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Reversed position of the multi-task stalk and the cruise-control stalk for 2015
Adapting to a new car the hard way
