Big recall of Maserati Ghiblis and Quattroportes

Totally agree. The design is just terrible.

 

Absolutely.

Why the heck are we making such conceptually simple designs complicated just because we can. FNCK, the way Park was selected and worked in automatics for the last 50 years was perfect.

Same with the "Start" button stupidity ... where is the "Stop" or "Off" button!!!!!!!!
Pete

 

Don't know about the Masers but the Start button on my Mazda is also the Stop button.

 

Amen. BMW's current automatic shifter could use some massaging also. Pretty sure PRNDL didn't need reinvention.

But, I'm a guy that hates automatic HVAC in cars and long for the good old 3 dial HVAC (Fan/Direction of air flow/Temp)

Now, get off my lawn.

Jimmy

 

I think it should be made illegal not to have a mechanical linkage directly to the transmission be it cable or rod. There is no explainable reason why this mechanism should ever be played with. Never in my automotive career have I ever seen more issue with transmission selectors then I have in the last few years because of the rediculose stupid unneeded electronics.

Customer spilled a cup of coffee on his jag XF console. 5k later his car will now go into drive. Needed to replace the entire console switching center which includes that stuipd gear selection knob that "majestically" rises out of the console. Just stupid junk that doesn't need to be there at all. It's like engineers are coming up with stupid garbage just to keep their jobs.

 

BMW's shifter is plain stupid nonsense, and so is Mercedes. Trash..all of it.

 

My 2002 Spyder is a Ferrari (just don't ask someone who paid $200k for their Ferrari), the new cars seem to be Chryslers. Not a good change.

 

The 458 is quite the machine. I think it will turn out to be one of the most reliable ferraris they have built. Baring the early gearbox issues which most have had replaced under warrenty.

The California is another ball of wax altogether. It's just junk (sorry to the owners out there). It seems to be or is trying to be Ferrari's cash cow. Just the blatant Chrysler minivan switches and nav units make me sick when ever one rolls in the shop. Interior materials are subpar even for a Chrysler, and the roof rattles and malfunctions are completely unacceptable in a car of its price range. It too bad, because the over all platform is quite good.

 

Nope. It will just continue to get worse. Today's automobiles are a competitive rolling platform for demonstrations of how "clever" manufacturers can be. Younger drivers seem to crave all of it too. My last car rental was a nice car, Lincoln MKZ, but that center console control was such a PITA and complex. It took us 10 day to learn how to turn the radio on and off. Touch screens on roads with bumps suck. Period.

Much of the newer technology will, like automatic braking, will become mandatory at some point.

I just don't see them returning to simpler to operate vehicles so they will continue to reinvent and thus ignore what many had thought would become de facto standards. IMHO the added complexity can at times be distracting not to mention frustrating.

 

Do you have to press the "Start" button in for 3 seconds to stop the engine in an emergency (while the car is moving) like with Toyotas/Lexus'?

That is where I consider the Start button to be completely stupid. Nobody would think naturally of pushing a "Start" button in an emergency when they are panicking and then having to hold it in for 3 very long seconds. This design fault has already cost lives.

I used to ride a motorcycle and they all have a "kill" switch. Perfect and the rider remains in control!

I will never own a car with a Start button, unless there is a logical and simple way to kill the engine.
Pete

 

I agree with the general consensus here. My parent's key fob for their Lexus throws them off all the time for whatever reason...regarding a key you turn to start and stop, and a normal pattern shift lever- IF IT AIN'T BROKEN DON'T FIX IT!

For ferrari, I always thought the start button on the wheel that started around the 430 was gimmicky and silly, and the 458's steering wheel is I believe the only thing I don't like about that car- the overly busy wheel is just so annoying (to me, and in my opinion). I'd love a 360 wheel on the 458 (and my 355 for that matter!)

 

I guess having an option would be the best of both worlds...I'm sure I'd get used to the keyless, but my parents are in their mid-late 70's and set in their ways I do recall a couple of years ago, my friend leaving his house in PA and about 1/2 hour into the trip gets a call from his wife saying he left the key to his car in the house...he had to turn around, drive 1/2 hour to get the key and then start the trip all over again. He had the car for a while at that point too (Audi S4), although I guess he can be a little absent minded- good thing he didn't turn off the car to talk on the phone on the PA turnpike when his wife called


On another point, didn't some young actor just get killed by his Jeep running him over? The car company's should be recalling these things, and the designers demoted to office gophers. These shifters are the dumbest thing since Bangle messed up BMW the same time the idrive came out.

 

Absent mindedness? How about obviously, if you start the car, then remove the key and attempt to drive you will receive a warning of keyfob not present.

 

Im glad they recalled the shifter. I couldn't seem to get used to it when I rented the Ghibli in Miami and found it could use a big improvement.

What's even more astonishing is the freshly re-styled Quattroporte has the same shifter.

 

true! His key was in the house, which was close enough for the car to start in his driveway...then he drove away.

 

On my Jag, you have to be like within 2 feet of the car for the Fob to work or you get an out of range statement. It won't start with the key on my desk (10 feet away from garage).

 

Maserati's (Jeep, FCA etc) shift pattern is the standard PRND. The real issue is that people tend to shift the car using traditional quick arm movement of pulling the car into gear. The Maserati unit works better as simple slow wrist movement going through each selection before reaching the direction you want.

 

It is quite possible he did something odd- friend from college, and he was a little absent minded even back then Possible the Key Not Detected message was on his dash and he didn't look down once at it

This is my whole issue with the shifters that are the focus of this thread (my own pet peeves on the millions of buttons on steering wheels and fobs nothwithstanding). How far Mercedes/BMW etc have gone...in the wrong direction! Perhaps the whole market has too, but when I was impressed with Mercedes in the 80's they were built like tanks, had a great cockpit- the shifter on the benz had a gate so you could manually move it between gears with certainty- an intelligent and simple engineering design/solution--- the complete opposite of what they are doing with the shifter now! (another small example of their design greatness was Mercedes had the power seat buttons shaped like the seats so you could intuitively move the seat).

Now they go for the cheaper build, more gimmicky stuff. BMW too- I guess they had to for competitive reasons (to build a Mercedes/BMW the "right way" would cost a lot more money). I do still like the Mercedes product (and want to like the BMW, but just find it tough)- but they are more of a disposable luxury item- car is leased 3 years, turned in to a CPO car for 3-4, then crushed. I couldn't see many modern Mercedes being driven 15-20 years from now, yet I'm still perfectly happy with my 16+ year old 540i sport stick sedan. No way would I get a 2016 BMW and expect to be driving it in 2032 and beyond.

Anyway, I still think the designers of these shifters should be demoted out of design. I'm sure the parents of this actor agree (they might even claim punishable negligence). This is what happens when you try to fix something that ain't broke.

Anton Yelchin: Jeep that killed Star Trek actor was recalled for ?rollaway risk?