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Comment by bdcravens | Hacker News Reader

It's almost as funny as the Dodge Charger EV that little makes vroom vroom sounds. Then again, most gear shift columns, wheels, etc on EVs are just another form of skeumorphism, just not as pronounced.

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There is a lot of risk in changing interface standards when dealing with 2+ ton mobile vehicles. Shifting “gears” has been taught to generations of drivers, even just from reverse to park to drive with a shifter.

Jeep tried to switch to a paddle interface, and it was left in neutral rather than park

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/w...

I teach my kids to always engage hand brake/parking brake, which reduces risk but some of those are “smart” too — so you can inadvertently leave your car in neutral (such as when it needs to be towed) while thinking you set park because interface has altered from learned rote method.

My EV6, and I presume others, makes it tricky to even leave your car in neutral

Or the software “shifting” added to cars with a CVT. Typically, they would increase reliability since the engine rpms would fluctuate less, and the transmission would move fairly slowly making minor adjustments. But, since you the acceleration is too smooth and doesn’t have the jerks of typical automatic transmissions, people reportedly didn’t like it so a simulated shifting was added at the expense of efficiency and reliability.

I hope it's a toggle available to the user. I had an early CVT that did not "shift", and it was great.

Nope. Returned my Subaru after the lease because of that "stepped program": CVT emulated slushbox shifting instead of keeping optimal RPM. Stupid.

Toyota hybrid works like a proper CVT and is not infuriating.

One-pedal driving EVs make perfect sense too.

There are practical off roading implications, where you want to control the “gear” you’re in because you want to provide more power to the wheels without necessarily speeding up.

Of course - that mechanism could happen in any way, though letting people use their muscle memory is probably best.

"It starts with a simple joystick and a simpler pedal, both connected to a whole lot of very clever software written by one man with a strong passion for making cars more engaging."

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