[afp14]

It's a matter of scale as far as expense. If my company produces 100,000 cars, and the stalk assembly/parts cost $50, now I've saved 50*100000=5 million dollars a year. To me it's clever in the same way that all-wheel drive users existing brakes to manipulate wheel-power delivery versus a complicated (and expensive) 4WD transmission. Clever, yes, but impossible to use in a tactile manner and thus dangerous because it forces eyes-off-road ( a simple steering wheel button might save money and still afford tactile aspects)