And How Would You Like That Dashboard: Analog or Digital?

12/18/2015

PattyKay Lilley

I bid you welcome gentle readers, and of course, a warm and sincere welcome to our assigned reader of all things NASCAR. Does everyone have his or her shopping done? How about wrapping? How many pending trips remain to the Mall? The market? Amazon.com? Time is about to run out on the latter source of last-minute thoughts. You’ll be happy to know that my gift to you will be the same as it was last year… seriously. On Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, these pages will carry the same story I’ve told for oh, so many years now. “The Christmas Story My Mother Told.” Try not to miss it! It means the world to me.

Ah, but that is next week, and this is… yep, you guessed it… this week, and today we’re going to share a bit of dialogue concerning the two terms that appear in this article’s title above. Those terms are “Digital” and “Glass”, and our concern today is how each term relates when the object of its modification is the dashboard of an automobile.

We’ve all heard, I’m sure, our illustrious leader, Brian Z. France, casually toss out the term “Glass dashboard” several times between 2012 and now, as we stand on the threshold of 2016. As of August of this year, NASCAR gave the OK for those that so desired, to start using the dashboard they began testing at various tracks last April. These dashboards are “Digital dashboards”, but with a twist.

We’re all familiar with the difference between digital and analog when it comes to clocks. We simply see the same information in numbers rather than hands or pointers. My car is a not too impressive little Chevy Cobalt, vintage 2010, but its dash is digital. You have to keep pushing a button on the steering column to make the info change or to “reset” as in trip mileage and such, but it gives some handy info, such as how long my oil is good for, what the PSI in each tire registers, mileage total and trip mileage.

That’s all cool, but sometimes there were things from 50 years ago that never should have changed. I far prefer having gauges on my dash, telling me what my water and oil temps are reading, and indicating how long until I run out of fuel and have to call AAA. Instead, if my car boils over or the engine seizes from lack of oil or super-overheated oil, all I would get is a red light telling me what the problem is. Here’s a clue… if I had a gauge to show me that info, there would BE no problem! I would have long since done something to avert the disaster.

Back in the 50s and 60s, we called them “idiot lights” and no one with a functioning brain cell bought a car with just lights. But wait! Before you think that I’m completely negative and against the new dashboards, let me show you some interesting things about these “Digital Dashboards.”

Our first illustration is of the dashboard used by Kurt Busch, driver of the #41 entry from Stewart-Haas Racing at Darlington back in September of this year.

The digital display is fairly easy to read… probably easier for Kurt than for me, as he’s closer and younger. The row of lights up at the top, I assume are for measuring pit road speed and not exceeding it. I’ve heard these discussed many times by drivers protesting that they “never got into the red.” That is the eternal flaw with idiot lights. By the time you get at or precariously near that red light, NASCAR has already nailed you!

Remember, NASCAR gives them 5 miles over the designated pit road speed as a buffer. Of course, all the teams know that, so those lights will be calibrated not to the actual pit road speed e.g. 45 mph, but to the tolerated speed of 50 mph. That leaves absolutely no room for error, human or mechanical. NASCAR’s 50 mph might actually be set at 49.90 mph. I’ll take a gauge every time.

The next illustration shows a very similar dash that Jamie McMurray tested back in April. The major difference we see here is the ascending strip under the idiot lights, which I’m guessing may have been judged a bit difficult to read.

Now, I’ll share a bit of fun that someone had at the expense of this particular view. Some of the younger readers might not remember this, but the old-timers on the Internet will laugh until tears flow.

That my children, is the infamous Microsoft Word Paper Clip… the singly most annoying entity ever to evolve from the brain of Bill Gates. When I was new to this game, it took me the better part of a year to learn how to shoot down that sucker!

Ah, but now I have something else to show you! See, and you thought this was going to be so boring, didn’t you? Remember, I’m the same lady that gave you pictorial displays of camber, caster and tire stagger, so that everyone reading could understand it. I’ve even shown you the inside workings of the SAFER barrier and explained how and why it works so well. Now, feast your eyes on what Jamie McMurray says (and NASCAR corroborates) he can do with that dash by simply flipping a switch!

Now gentle readers, in my estimation, that is a switch worth flipping! Even an aging dummy like me can understand what the gauges tell me, and the idiot lights have disappeared! Except for those, I really find either configuration acceptable, but because of them, I find the latter illustration more to my liking. Your results may vary, as the saying goes.

So, with the digital dashboards, which are what NASCAR will mandate in 2016… in another attempt to save the teams money, I’m sure… this fan sees few or no problems, other than the cost factor. A kinder, gentler sanctioning body would have phased these in as old cars were replaced by new ones.

Now, just for a few moments, let’s discuss the term “Glass dashboard” that BZF keeps tossing about as though he knows what he’s talking about. We’ve seen the Digital version depicted two ways, but neither configuration comes close to the actual meaning of a glass dashboard.

This entity operates almost exactly like a video game might, employing the concept of HUD, or Heads Up Display. The entire display occurs within or beneath a single sheet of glass… similar to your cell phone, but displaying more features at one time. And… much like an actual video game, that glass is an interactive touch screen! No, seriously! Here’s a very informative video done on the glass dashboard of the Tesla Model S, the luxury electric car, conceived in 2012… the same year Brian France began talking about glass dashboards. Coincidence? Your choice.

Now, when you’ve finished watching all or part of that video, tell me what you think the chances are that someone driving a racecar, oft times in excess of 200 mph, could find time to drive with one hand while using the other hand to roam back and forth between the various screens and modes, without wrecking in the first corner. A great number of those reading have not conquered the skill of using two hands to type on a cell phone… this one included… but racecar drivers are expected to handle this with ease? I think not, gentle readers!

As you can readily see, there is a vast difference between the two… the digital dash and the glass dash. Quite honestly, in an age where states are rapidly banning texting while driving (Whatever happened to common sense?) because it’s been proven beyond a doubt to distract the driver well beyond the point of car control, how does this idea get past anyone’s Highway Patrol? Sure, it’s cute… even cool… but safe for driving? Not in my estimation. What say you, my gentle readers? Would you feel safe knowing that a driver coming from the other direction was using one of these “controls?” I shudder at the thought… but then, I won’t answer my cell phone until I find a safe spot to pull over. Then, I call back.

The cute little banjo means that it’s time for our Classic Country Closeout. Funny, I never noticed before that he bears somewhat of a resemblance to that accursed paper clip… but much cuter.

Of course, with Christmas rapidly approaching, this week our songs will reflect that, as I share with you some of my favorite Country Christmas Carols.

First up, if you all thought that Elvis was the first to record “Blue Christmas”, think again. The song was written in 1948 by Bill Hayes and “maybe” Jay Johnson, though I’ve read differently. It was recorded for the first time by Hugo Winterhalter and his orchestra, but it was recorded in 1949 by Ernest Tubb, who took it to #1 on the Country charts. I’ve always loved this version because it uses all the verses. Please, enjoy!

Next up is a song that has been sung by anyone and everyone, but for me, no one sings it with such heart and feeling as does Johnny Cash. The name of it is “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day.”

It stands today as a Christmas Carol, but was originally penned on Christmas Day in 1863 out of anger and despair at the wounding of his son and death of his wife, by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. It speaks of the atrocities perpetrated brother upon brother and friend upon friend in our own war between the states. It was set to music in 1872, and I honestly don’t know when Johnny Cash recorded it the first time, but since hearing him sing it, no one else does it as well. Please enjoy Johnny as he sings this old standard. (Complete words follow… not all are ever included in the Carol version)