There is something to be said for old-school mechanical mechanisms and feedback.

rslifkin wrote: Many of those designs are just an up/down thing though. For that, it's fine. Tap one way to go up, one way to go down. But they way they're being implemented in cars is a totally different story. If it only had 2 positions other than the center one and you just clicked through the PRNDL sequence 1 step at a time, it would be more intuitive (although still awkward to use, as it would take 3 clicks to get from Park to Drive).

If you're going to complain, you can't complain about that. 3 clicks from P to D is...normal. B&M Pro Stick works exactly like this, everyone needs one of those. Plus, you know, every column and floor shifted automatic of the 70s, 80s and 90s has that order, even if you can move to it in one motion.

RedGT wrote:

rslifkin wrote: Many of those designs are just an up/down thing though. For that, it's fine. Tap one way to go up, one way to go down. But they way they're being implemented in cars is a totally different story. If it only had 2 positions other than the center one and you just clicked through the PRNDL sequence 1 step at a time, it would be more intuitive (although still awkward to use, as it would take 3 clicks to get from Park to Drive).

If you're going to complain, you can't complain about that. 3 clicks from P to D is...normal. B&M Pro Stick works exactly like this, everyone needs one of those. Plus, you know, every column and floor shifted automatic of the 70s, 80s and 90s has that order, even if you can move to it in one motion.

It requires three separate presses. A traditional automatic requires one movement. Yes, three detents are felt on the way, but it's still one movement.

Any way you slice it I think that interface is a fail. Don't use a familiar interface (shift lever sticking up out of the console) if you're going to have it work differently. Use a button, a dial, something - anything - to show you that it does not work the way you expect.

The Prius only requires one movement, over and up, to go to park. One move to the "P" and it's in park. These require three movements toward the "P." That's bad.

On a ZF monostable shifter, the shift motion is completely normal while your hand is on it. From P, step on the brake, push the button, and pull the lever back one, two, or three notches for R, N, or D. Let go, and the lever moves back to a neutral position. When shifting from D to R, push the button and push the lever two notches forward, then release.

The differences are that the lever will move back to a neutral position between inputs and the travel is much shorter than a traditional lever.

It's SAE J915-compliant.