Blame it on Blake, part 3: Product designs that are getting worse

Consumer Reports News: November 09, 2010 12:09 PM

Editor's note: In this last post of a three-part series, Consumer Reports Money Adviser Associate Finance Editor and Resident Curmudgeon Anthony Giorgianni presents his examples of frustrating changes in product design. Who's to blame for this silliness? Most likely, Giorgianni hypothesizes, it's a young, inexperienced engineer named Blake.

• Sloping vehicle roof lines. Having only recently graduated from a child safety seat, Blake doesn't yet understand that drivers need to see out of the vehicle. So now we're stuck with sloping rooflines, colossal roof pillars, and narrow windows that make driving anything but fun or safe.

• Disappearing knobs and buttons. Easy-to-reach, direct-access knobs and buttons are being replaced with menu access dials, remote controls and electronic menus. Need to change the entertainment system settings, check the engine oil, or operate the navigation system while driving a BMW525i? With the complicated iDrive multipurpose controller, it's a challenge to keep your eyes where they should be: On the road.

Similarly, many flat screen televisions now have their controls in the back where they're hard to get at, especially if you've placed the TV in a bookcase. One brand we looked at has a rear-mounted menu access dial. Any front-mounted controls usually are those infernal touch sensors mounted behind flat glossy plastic. Just try figuring out where to press, particularly if the panel isn't at eye level.

Sure, there are buttons on the remote control, assuming you haven't misplaced it. But they launch enough menus and submenus to frustrate even a jumbo jet pilot.
The upshot? By the time granny figures out how to increase the brightness on her 52-inch plasma TV, her show will be in post-syndication.

Incidentally, whatever happened to those TVs with built-in remote-control finders? Press a button and your misplaced remote beeps! Now that was an example of a product improving more! Blake?

What product "improvements" have left you wondering what happened to the good 'ole days?—Anthony Giorgianni

Blame it on Blake, Part 1: Plastic car bumpers, end of speed dial, plastic condiment bottles

Blame it on Blake, Part 2: Dark car interiors, plastic clamshell packaging, disappearing electronic viewfinders