[cmos]

Great.

But make climate control 3 knobs: Fan speed + off, temperature and output ports. Put the AC button inside the temperature knob, and the 'recirculate' button inside the output ports knob.

With the radio have a push on/off volume knob that starts up at the SAME volume as always (i.e. relative, not absolute) and NOT the previous volume. The volume knob should have some resistance to it. Opposite that have a tune knob for precise tuning, and pressing that gets you into setup and navigates you through it. This should have the same resistance, but the outside has some indents so you know it's not the volume knob. Have 6 preset buttons and 3 'banks' with a single 'next bank' button. pressing and holding a preset will save it with a beep for confirmation. On the steering wheel: up/dn for radio should be seek, not next/previous preset. There are 6 nice big buttons for presets but when traveling seek up/dn is the main way we change music.

On the door have the rear view mirror controls, and above that have a knob for dashboard light brightness.

2008 Honda Fit was close to a perfect car. https://www.carsdirect.com/honda/fit/2008/pictures/interior

[aeonfox]

While we're dreaming, just have an interchangeable panel. Allow 3rd parties to make whatever dials etc. the customer wants. And if it were up to me I'd also get rid of the screen entirely and only have a HUD for navigation. It will never happen, let alone become mainstream, but dreaming is nice sometimes.

[dzhiurgis]

Basically what Tesla does - near perfect touchscreen, but also easy to add third party buttons.

[aeonfox]

I was imagining a console that's at easy arms reach that's fixed into interior and don't require taking eyes of the road. The S3XY buttons look pretty cool, but they don't seem to be able to give you the resistive feel of something fastened to the interior. The Knob provides something like a console, but it seems pretty limited in how many tactile options it provides and you still need to take your eyes of the road. A number of simple dials with tactile clicks and fixed positions provide a user interface that don't require visual confirmation.

And touchscreens are another visual distraction. I think they're a contributor to the increasing vehicle accident and mortality rates. Ideally, nothing should take your mind/eyes off the road. A HUD for navigation and dashboard guages/alerts is about all anyone 'needs' in terms of display, but in the end it's about what individuals want, human lives be damned.

[dzhiurgis]

> increasing vehicle accident and mortality rates

Except they are decreasing...

> HUD

Except HUD is kinda worse than center console: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S13698...

(I say kinda because you still get a bit of peripheral vision from HUD. Traditional dash behind steering wheel is undoubtedly worse - this has been proven decades ago).

[aeonfox]

> Except they are decreasing...

This data says otherwise. I'm certain pedestrian mortality has been increasing, and by the looks of this graph it looks like 'other road user' deaths are trending up too. If you have data to support your claim, keen to see it.

https://injuryfacts.nsc.org/motor-vehicle/road-users/pedestr...

> Except HUD is kinda worse than center console

The glance time might be affected by a lack of contrast? Or perhaps the novelty of using a HUD? It's possibly right, but I'd want to see more study on the 'why' it's worse and whether that's a technical thing.

[dzhiurgis]

US seems outlier while rest of the world fatalities are decreasing - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motor_vehicle_fatality_rate_in...

This also needs to be divided per miles driven as those are constantly increasing.

Finally, my guess pedestrians are disproportionately more at fault here - mostly impairment (meth, fentanyl), but also smartphones and headphones in particular. Drivers are mostly distracted by phones mostly, not by adjusting climate controls for 2-3 seconds.

[The_President]

Excellent vehicle but feels like driving an empty beer can at speeds over 80 mph.

[beAbU]

> have a tune knob for precise tuning

Who the hell still tunes a radio in 2026.

[catlikesshrimp]

Third world countries. We do.

I know first world countries come first, but you asked.