For those that complain about the dial shifter...

[Ryom]

but for the last 30/40 years have drove vehicles with a shifter always had a place to hang my hand, I find myself not knowing what to do with it now.

There's a poster here that made a faux-shifter that folds down out of the way of the dial to rest his hand on.

https://www.mavericktruckclub.com/forum/threads/gear-shift-hand-rest-diy.70714/

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[MaverickDragon]

Then you might be shocked to know that pushing the center of the airbag in your Maverick activates the horn.

Perhaps almost as much as you might be to discover that a gentle push with a finger on either side of the center of the wheel where the little horn icons are, is just as effective to create a honk with a lot less effort than a center press, which takes your entire hand.
Perhaps these are the intended activation locations.
In an accident, it might be more comfortable to have the air bag brush by than to have your hand smash into your face when the air bag explodes. But then either option is viable.

 

[MaverickDragon]

There's a poster here that made a faux-shifter that folds down out of the way of the dial to rest his hand on.
https://www.mavericktruckclub.com/forum/threads/gear-shift-hand-rest-diy.70714/

An interesting fabrication...
I would think that the center arm rest might do that job as well...
Perhaps if you were used to a bench seat pickup, the tree shifter might have been used.
There is also a steering wheel to hold onto...
But hey, to each their own.

 

[fuego]

Wtf

 

[Tbone289]

Perhaps almost as much as you might be to discover that a gentle push with a finger on either side of the center of the wheel where the little horn icons are, is just as effective to create a honk with a lot less effort than a center press, which takes your entire hand.
Perhaps these are the intended activation locations.
In an accident, it might be more comfortable to have the air bag brush by than to have your hand smash into your face when the air bag explodes. But then either option is viable.

It's no surprise to me at all. I just found your comment about the center push on recent horns odd when I haven't experienced a horn that required a side button push since the early airbags of the 90s. Ease of operation really isn't a consideration to me, as I don't find it difficult to push the center.

 

[DaddyDan]

I'm reminded of two things. The only thing that annoys me about the dial is the lack of stops. I expect I should be able to spin it left until it stops and spin it back right until it stops, not just around an around and around.

The other thing that I recall is being a teenager and Dad giving me the family 1982 Chevy for my first car. Console shifter 3 speed auto. He had just picked up an Oldsmobile with a column shift automatic. A few years later I got the Olds and he moved on to a Bonneville. Sister started to drive the old Chevy. The Chevy needed repair and Dad had me drive over with him in the Olds. He gives me the keys and says: You drive the Chevy home.

I get in the Chevy crank the ignition go to grab the non-existent column shift and WHAM slam my hand into my own leg trying to drop it into gear with a transmission lever that doesn't exist.

 

[AzCruizer]

For those that wrap their phone cords around the dial shifter. These work great. No issues here

 

[Glen Baker LLC]

I'm reminded of two things......
...The other thing that I recall is being a teenager and Dad giving me the family 1982 Chevy for my first car. Console shifter 3 speed auto. He had just picked up an Oldsmobile with a column shift automatic. A few years later I got the Olds and he moved on to a Bonneville. Sister started to drive the old Chevy. The Chevy needed repair and Dad had me drive over with him in the Olds. He gives me the keys and says: You drive the Chevy home.

I get in the Chevy crank the ignition go to grab the non-existent column shift and WHAM slam my hand into my own leg trying to drop it into gear with a transmission lever that doesn't exist.

Grabbing Air behind the steering wheel. Been there done that.

 

[V-blue Mav]

For those that complain about the dial shifter... I present to you the 2024 GMC Terrain- What a nightmare design.

Looks like a throwback to Chrysler push button shifter....crap!

 

[Kenv24]

For those that wrap their phone cords around the dial shifter. These work great. No issues here

Yep...that's fine...with the exception being EVERY cord that my family has used that is NOT Apple has been shit......

 

[dochawk]

This seems to be a combination of push IN and push DOWN

The original Hydramatic, the granddaddy of automatics, didn't have a park position or lever.

However, when in reverse, stopping the engine would drop a pin disabling the shaft from rotating. It did not do this if you powered down in neutral or a forward gear.

(it also didn't have a torque converter, so it had four gears instead of three so as to get moving in a reasonable amount of time.

What happened when you REALLY needed to honk the Edsel's horn...

After driving nothing but an '83 cougar for several months, I drove something else and found myself trying to honk my turn signal at someone.

Yes, Ford actually made a vehicle where the horn could only be activated py pushing the turn signal stalk in!

 

[Darryl]

The original Hydramatic, the granddaddy of automatics, didn't have a park position or lever.

However, when in reverse, stopping the engine would drop a pin disabling the shaft from rotating. It did not do this if you powered down in neutral or a forward gear.

(it also didn't have a torque converter, so it had four gears instead of three so as to get moving in a reasonable amount of time.



After driving nothing but an '83 cougar for several months, I drove something else and found myself trying to honk my turn signal at someone.

Yes, Ford actually made a vehicle where the horn could only be activated py pushing the turn signal stalk in!

I do remember my dad working on an old car with an automatic that did not have a dedicated park. I was young. So I didnt know how it was supposed to work. I remember assuming that it was totally dependent on the parking brake And thinking that it was a bad idea since so many cars had parking brakes that didn’t work that well or at all. Now it makes sense.

 

[ScottyC]

,,,After driving nothing but an '83 cougar for several months, I drove something else and found myself trying to honk my turn signal at someone.

Yes, Ford actually made a vehicle where the horn could only be activated py pushing the turn signal stalk in!

Mom's 1979 Fairmont was like that as is my 1983 Mustang convertible....to honk the horn, you need to push the turn signal stalk in. Also there is, at the base of the steering column near the steering wheel, a button that needs to be pushed in to turn the ignition cylinder all the way off to remove the key from the ignition. Fun story, the girlfriend took the Mustang convertible out of the garage one day while I was at work to get it ready for a nice after work cruise....she was freaked out because she could not get the key out of the ignition cylinder and thought she had broken my Mustang....I reached in, pushed the aforementioned button and took the key out....she was so pissed.....lol.

 

[MaverickDragon]

Ease of operation really isn't a consideration to me, as I don't find it difficult to push the center.

You're right, it's not difficult to push down on the horn, but I find it easier to press the side, not that I do it all that much.
Perhaps we just use different muscle memories to accomplish the same task..

 

[MaverickNoticer]

Traditional center console gear selectors can easily be bumped into neutral all the same...it is a "feature"

I never in many years had my stick shifter bumped in to neutral, but the dial has been bumped several times, I dunno if it's bad luck

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