Moreover, modern car assembly relies heavily on pre-assembly of parts such as entire dash boards with the stereo, the instrument panel and the steering column already built in.
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Of the 229 who responded, 60% said they liked a shift lever in the console, and another 15% said they preferred a traditional shift lever on the steering column.
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Face detection on your average digicam may not seem that special, but strapping the feature atop your steering column can certainly make for a more enjoyable (and safer) driving experience.
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Let's start with what you might call its legacy ergonomics: the skirt-splitting upstep into the cabin, the pewlike seating position, the scant legroom and the lack of a telescopic steering column.
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S. (Global Vibration System) technology, allowing for the high-frequency vibrations from the motors to be felt not only on the wheel itself, but also throughout the cockpit's entire steering column and pedal set.
What you won't hear McGovern boast about is the telematics (GPS and other interactive systems) monitor that hides in the center console, or the paddle-control automatic transmission shifter that resides on the steering column.
Some owners have come to dislike the feeling that their key fob could be floating just about anywhere in their vehicle instead of being able to count on its being anchored in an ignition slot on the steering column or dashboard.
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At the Frankfurt Motor Show in 2011 Winterkorn was caught on video poring over a new Hyundai model, griping to one of his engineers that the Koreans managed to cheaply design a steering column adjuster that made little noise, yet VW could not.
Mr. Warming pointed to another picture of the spare, yet modern, steering-wheel column and single large dashboard dial on an old 1960s Mini, the inspiration for the minimalist dashboard of the Mini Rocketman, an even tinier Mini concept car that made its debut at the Geneva Motor Show in March.
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Other edges they'll have to sharpen: Like its corporate cousin the Cruze, the Verano uses a column-mounted electric power-steering assist module that imposes a numbing frostbite on steering feel.
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