Ford's New Dashboard Design

1. AJ
   January 13th, 2009 at 3:02 pm

   For the speedometer, let me specify a target speed, say 65mph because I routinely drive on a highway. Then denote that speed with a notch on the dial, or change the color of the indicator when I'm above the target speed.

   For the fuel indicator, tell me how many gallons are remaining and make an informed guess about how many miles I can drive before running out of fuel (a city estimate, highway estimate, mountain estimate and an estimate based on historical use that factors in my location via GPS).

2. dev
   January 13th, 2009 at 3:14 pm

   If you find a dealership car on the side of the road from a test drive, it's probably due to the fact the test drivers and dealer employees like to run the cars until the tank is empty (or just siphon it). Eventually someone ends up on the side of the road because they thought they could make a quick trip without filling up again.

   Having done third party work on dealer cars, I've had the experience of riding many miles on fumes.

3. Queen B
   January 13th, 2009 at 3:19 pm

   Fix Or Repair Daily

4. jepzilla
   January 13th, 2009 at 3:40 pm

   Driving carefully to save gas, cuts CO2 emissions and the dashboard displays green plants. But plants thrive on CO2, and one of the consequences of rising CO2 levels in the atmosphere is that the world is getting greener.

   How ironic.

5. Craig
   January 13th, 2009 at 3:56 pm

   That's awesome. Which means there's NO WAY it will ever go into production in an American car.

6. Craig
   January 13th, 2009 at 3:58 pm

   AJ: that feature you describe that tells you how many more miles you can go... that's been around for years in minivans and such.

7. Gauldar
   January 13th, 2009 at 4:01 pm

   I like my Honda Civic '06 display /w digital speedometer.

8. Dan0
   January 13th, 2009 at 4:04 pm

   I agree that Fords (and American cars in general) have been crap for a long time, but I applaud their efforts of green innovation. Hopefully this will continue.

   On an unrelated note, I had to rent a car and I got stuck with the Saturn Aura. I actually liked it, camry be damned.

9. Cupelix
   January 13th, 2009 at 4:09 pm

   This becomes potentially dangerous if they find that "obsessed" drivers spend more time than they should glancing down at the MPG rating instead of looking at the road.

10. seriously jepzilla
    January 13th, 2009 at 4:43 pm

    seriously?

    where in the world do you see getting greener as a result of more CO2 AND pollutants?

    i would buy that nonsense you call irony only if you bike to commute.

11. SenorMysterioso
    January 13th, 2009 at 5:13 pm

    looks pretty cool. I still prefer the old gauges, the kind I could replace myself if they broke, over the computerized display.

    My Dads truck has a complicated display that frustrates me because I have never borrowed it for long enough to figure out. I think its neat when the car can tell you information on mileage and such but its nothing that someone with a 3rd grade education cant figure out on their own in about 10 seconds.

12. WaitWhat
    January 13th, 2009 at 5:29 pm

    My wife has a car that will tell you what your miles per gallon are for a given trip, and we both are always trying to "beat each other's score". All we need now is a digital display in the windshield that will allow me to "shoot other cars with a laser beam" while I'm driving. Seriously. I've always wanted that.

13. RJ
    January 13th, 2009 at 5:37 pm

    It's not a prototype - it's the actual instrument cluster for the 2010 Ford Hybrid Fusion.

    http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/comparison_test/sedans/2010_ford_f usion_hybrid_vs_camry_hybrid_altima_hybrid_and_malibu_hybrid_compariso n_test+page-5.html

14. Doug
    January 13th, 2009 at 5:45 pm

    @ Craig,

    This is the "exact" dashboard interface that is going into the 2010 Fusion Hybrid. So if never means end of the year you are spot on.

15. Croccydile
    January 13th, 2009 at 7:38 pm

    Really cool idea, but I cringe at the thought of how long these devices will last.

    Remember when every other car of the 80s came with vacuum fluorescent displays for the entire instrument cluster? Those were not cheap to replace (especially now). I pray that fixing just your petrol gauge in cars like this wont be a $2000+ expense!

16. Brachinus
    January 13th, 2009 at 8:31 pm

    Does it come with a matching wristwatch?

17. TRO
    January 13th, 2009 at 8:34 pm

    Ugh, more nonsense trash sold to people who will buy anything if they believe it is "green." It just makes me want to drive my SUV even more.

18. Christophe
    January 13th, 2009 at 8:46 pm

    Then you plug your car on the interweb and upload your scores...

19. AJ
    January 13th, 2009 at 10:06 pm

    Craig, so do I need to buy a guzzling minivan to get a miles-left readout? Of course, I buy a new car once a decade, so what do I know?

20. Nathan Miller
    January 13th, 2009 at 11:30 pm

    Should Ford really be working so hard on making the "coolest" dashboard display? Shouldn't they instead be working on something more important, like, I don't know, a new business plan so as not to go bankrupt in a couple months?

    Just a thought. TARP money will run out eventually.

21. PNutts
    January 13th, 2009 at 11:43 pm

    Off topic, but why do the speedometers still go above 100? I would be surprised if an owner of this car will often go above 60 MPH, so half of the speedometer is wasted. That space could be used for something else.

22. Fantomas
    January 14th, 2009 at 12:05 am

    Would it be improved if the various sub-panels were not all in the same color theme? Also, symmetry is nice but clarity is the best in design. Perhaps the gear selector, MPH, ACC and MPG should be merged into a central main "guage" and then fuel, temp and power levels off to the left. The leafy zone would still be to the right but a bit bigger and with no distracting elements up against it.

    In summary, this looks line a design by Microsoft and it would be more appealing and easier to use if it looked like it came out of Apple's design studio.

23. DaveL
    January 14th, 2009 at 1:06 am

    It's LCD... why not have themes? Dash hacks start in 3... 2... 1...

24. Ashley
    January 14th, 2009 at 1:11 am

    AJ: I've seen several cars that have "miles to go" on them. But I'm still buying old crappy cars, so I can't give you any specifics. I'm sure BMW's and such do it. This Ford has a "miles to E" note near the leaves.

    Croccydile also has a good point. Digital displays seem much easier to break and much more expensive to repair when they do.

25. padieg
    January 14th, 2009 at 7:19 am

    @PNutts

    Car indicators still go above 100 to give a sense of power to the potential buyer. Few people will probably buy a car with a "top-speed" of 60 or 80 (even if it is the real top speed) because it gives an idea of "crappy". I own a Rover which indicates a top speed of 130, I doubt it ever reached that speed, even when it was new (small engine).

26. Doug
    January 14th, 2009 at 12:27 pm

    @ Nathan,

    One Ford did not take any Tarp money and two the reason they spent the time on the dashboard is called aesthetics. People want cars that run well AND look good. The dashboard is also an effective way to help people become more engaged with being economical with how they drive. Once again anyone that is expecting ANY car company to produce a 100mpg car anytime soon is smoking way too much weed. Also Ford is the only one of the big 3 that had this plan of action in place BEFORE the trip to D.C. .

27. David Govett
    January 14th, 2009 at 1:48 pm

    A vine? Why not dollar bills? Or a shrinking Saudi?

28. Scooter
    January 14th, 2009 at 3:29 pm

    I have a 50cc Moped and get 100mpg. (Yes I'm bragging) Why is it that people think 35mpg is a GOOD ratio?

    My speedometer goes up to 45 mph my actual top speed down hill is 42ish.

29. Neddo
    January 14th, 2009 at 8:19 pm

    I had a "miles remaining" indicator on a 1993 Oldsmobile, with a fully digital dashboard and readouts. Of course, this is the same digital dashboard that told me I still had a quarter of a tank of gas when in actuality it was completely empty, leaving me stranded... so it may not be the best example.

30. Rocky Rook
    January 15th, 2009 at 10:49 am

    I'll concede the new Fords look better, but it will be a long time before I buy Ford again. We got my parent's 92 Taurus and it nickle and dimed us poor college students to death. We got rid of it as soon as we landed a job. Our Mitsubishi has not given us one problem since we traded in the Ford (8 years ago and 130,000 miles later).

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