OT: Disappearing temp gauge on modern car dash

[ktteoh]

from recent car reviews (including facelifted e60s and mercs) it would seem that temp gauge is an "endangered" species.

i personally find the temp gauge itself useful - why would modern engineers design it out and replaced with some idiot warning light icons?

[TC535i]

It was an evolution. First they started giving us buffered gauges... that would stay "in the middle" as long as they were within a certain temp. That way you didn't have people worrying about the normal variations above and below the center line... instead it looked like it was dead on when it could be above, and you wouldn't worry... until it actually moved, in which case it was practically too late. After that, I guess the only logical conclusion was "well, they don't do much now... let's get rid of em altogether!"

[DaveVoorhis]

why would modern engineers design it out and replaced with some idiot warning light icons?
It caters to your least-common-denominator car buyer.

Mechanic: Your engine has overheated. The head and pistons have formed a solid cake of molten aluminium in the crankcase, with valves peppered through it like raisins in some evil metal muffin of doom. Didn't you notice the temperature gauge was in the red?

Car owner: Yeah. For the last three hundred miles. You mean it isn't s'posed to do that? Why don't they make it clearer?

Hence, idiot lights.

[repenttokyo]

oil pressure gauges are the same way, when i got my first car that had a real oil pressure gauge i kept freaking out that it moved around so much, since I was used to the ones that just stay in the "safe" zone and never move.

[VentoGT]

Being used to driving air cooled 911s for some time, I appreciate the oil pressure gauges, but when the gauge or sender fails it does cause some near pants-crapping antics :) As stated above, most people are morons and don't understand anything about cars, so the less information they see the better. So many computers are in new cars anyhow that the computer is constantly monitoring for anything and throwing idiot lights and beeps when someone REALLY needs to take the car to a shop.