One of the little things that irritates me is that I can't see stuff on my dashboard. This is true with either my car or my truck. Steering wheels are smaller than they used to be, but they still put the speedometer where you have to look at it through the steering wheel. They also equip the car with a tilt wheel and an airbag. Too keep the airbag from pointing directly at my face, I usually drive with the wheel tilted all the way down. It's more comfortable like that, but the big thing is that cannon pointed at my face. With it in that position, the top of the wheel cover the top of the speedometer so that I can only read my speed below 40 or over 90. I can't see those little turn signal blinkers either. The clock, the water temperature, and the word "cruise" are visible, so it must be possible to design a car with a speedometer that shows. Both of my vehicles also have a tachometer. I can't see that either.

I used to have a radio in the car that I had in college. The car was a '46 Ford and the radio was on top of the dash above the speaker. It had two large knobs. One turned it on and adjusted the volume. The other changed stations.

Now, a car radio has 47 different functions controlled by 12 different knobs and buttons. Most of the controls are so small, you can't touch one without also hitting the ones to the left and right at the same time. Each button has meaningless letters and numbers printed in one millimeter type that can only be read from below.

Radios are often mounted under the vents and air conditioner/heater controls, so they are way down low. Sometimes there are two cup holders up there too. To make adjustments, you have to stop, find a pair of tweezers, open the door, lie down, across the seat, and use a flashlight and a magnifying glass so you can adjust the radio with the tweezers.

It's good to have your owners manual handy, too. It contains more instructions for the radio (OK, the "sound system.") than it does for all the rest of the car combined. Usually, it is for a different model radio, and it's written in four languages by a Japanese guy who had English in high school.

I have nightmares about driving down the interstate with somebody behind me who is trying to adjust his radio at 75 mph. He is always on the cell phone talking to Radio Shack. It's such a relief to wake up and realize that it was only a nightmare. (So far.)

It's so embarrassing when driving down the road, and you try to turn on your radio. The air conditioner comes on, the clock resets, the cup holder folds, the trip meter zeros, the lighter smokes, but no music.
Howard