I like a car that "talks to me" in terms of steering feedback, handling dynamics and road surface adhesion. But sometimes I just want to tell a car to "Shut Up!" And while the talking cars of the 1980s ("fuel level is low"; "headlights are on"; "please fasten seatbelt"; etc.) rank as the most annoying in the history of cars offering too much information, the R500 also had too much to say during a recent drive. Specifically, it kept telling me, by way of the driver's information display in the gauge cluster, "Front passenger airbag enabled" every time my wife was riding in it. This reminds me of those cars with a light that stays on whenever the passenger airbag is not activated, such as our former long-term Nissan Quest...
I'll admit I didn't actually check the owner's manual because we don't have one for this car, but I'm having trouble thinking of what difference that could make in understanding this pointless message.
Karl Brauer, Editor in Chief, Edmunds.com @ 21,700 miles
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