Cadillac has taken a step we love - with one caveat. The instrument
cluster in the new XTS is now connected to, and powered by, the
company's CUE (Cadillac User Experience) infotainment system.
The
Digital Dash is available on the XTS' Premium and Platinum trim levels
and gives the driver four different designs to choose from. This
reconfigurable gauge layout is our only bone to pick with the idea. We
don't feel that a driver should be "distracted" by instrument cluster
choices. But this is not a rant.
In fact, it is quite the
opposite. The instrument cluster is the primary source of communication
from the car to the driver, revealing its current operation and health.
The growing sophistication of automotive infotainment systems in the
center stack has, by default, created a second source of that
communication. We applaud their marriage as a solid first step to what
can be a powerful re-write of the outdated rules of instrument cluster
design.
Two way voice communication is seen in the infotainment
systems available from most manufacturers. The systems can take voice
commands from drivers for a variety of functions and offer turn-by-turn
navigation commands to the driver in return. The CUE-powered Digital
Dash opens the door to a whole new frontier.
With every new system
on today's automobiles comes the problem of how to tell a driver when
that system encounters a problem. The industry turns immediately to the
old order - it creates a new idiot light. And lately, text has been
added in the limited space in the instrument cluster, offering scant
information at best.
The power of voice offers a real alternative.
Through the infotainment system, an automobile could alert a driver to a
problem by voice without the need for the driver to take his or her
eyes off the road. It can then offer real help and instruction - the
first cut questions that every driver needs answered. "Is this a serious
problem?" "Can I keep driving?" "How far can I go / how much time do I
have?"
Taken a step further, information could be supplied that
would offer a deep explanation of the system and the issue - as deep as a
driver requests, and still without requiring their eyes be diverted to
the instrument cluster.
Even the fault codes could be made available for repair personnel. But this is about drivers.
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