Some people love the GM stalk. Those people are nuts. Here's why.
Mainly, it's the cruise control.
First, the good. The cruise can always be "on," as shown in the picture above, without having to always turn it on before you turn it on. I've griped about this "feature" in the Edge, which has the worst implementation of cruise control since the nagging spouse.
The old-school GM stalk combined seventy-six functions into one colossal mega-stalk. The newer ones, like that in the SRX, have been mercifully scaled back to only sixty-four.
The problem is that it's still got too much crap on it, leaving no room for a "cancel" button. There's an off, on, accel, and set/decel. But no cancel. At least none that I could find without RTFMing.
And as before, if I have to RTFM or watch a DVD or attend a training seminar on how to operate something as simple as the cruise control, then it's a bad design.
If you want to cancel the cruise, you have to switch it "off," and then switch it back on. Or tap the brakes (which I hate). Just like in the Edge.
Furthermore, the GM stalk makes this process needlessly cumbersome: switching the cruise to "off" involves taking one's left hand entirely off the wheel. Who thought this was a good idea? At least flicking it "on" can be done with one finger (and the other four stay on the wheel).
Want to coast while changing lanes? Kind of difficult to signal a turn when the "coast" button is on the end of the stalk. Where else you gonna put it?
Engineering Editor Jason Kavanagh at 16,686 miles
gmguy111 says:
08:55 PM, 07/ 9/07
it depends on the person driving but I personally wish that GM continued to do the cruise control like they did with the chevy malibu. they had it in a button setting right on the steering wheel. It was easy to use and you did not have to reach to find a stalk. However if you drive or own a car with said stalk long enough you'll pretty much remember where everything is but as i said earlier it depends on the person and how long it takes for them to get it.
tackepj says:
06:29 AM, 07/10/07
I guess the SRX predates the now-ubiquitous 3-spoke GM corporate wheel, which incorporates cruise and redundant audio controls. Seems like everything from the HHR to the Corvette uses it now--which is a good thing. It's a fantastic wheel and WAY better than the ol' stalk (and has a cancel button!)
alpha01 says:
07:01 AM, 07/10/07
"the worst implementation of cruise control since the nagging spouse"
HAHAHA Fantastic! Reminds me of the quips that used to pepper Car and Driver articles, back when the publication was good.
kratas101 says:
07:57 AM, 07/10/07
Oh geez. That stalk actually looks similar to our 97 LeSabre's. I didn't realize the SRX still had multiple functions on that thing. Still, it definitely is better than our car's, way too many functions packed into one slim piece of plastic for me. Although I will say...you kinda get used to it after driving the car awhile.
dotsara says:
06:56 PM, 07/11/07
Good grief -- that stalk is *ridiculous.* I'm glad my controls are on the steering wheel: I'd crash if I had to fuss with a stalk like that.
actualsize says:
08:16 AM, 07/12/07
"...you get kinda used to it after driving the car awhile," is not exactly a ringing Human Factors endorsement. I never got used to it.
I first experienced this cruise control stalk on a 1991 Chevy C-1500 (don't call me Silverado) pick-up that I took on a three-week coast-to-coast, 5,000-mile comparison test. It's been around so long that I've probably ammassed the equivalent of 6 or 8-months of ownership in GM vehicles so-equipped - without ever owning a single one of those rental cars, friend's cars or test vehicles.
I probably hate this cruise control stalk even more today. Why? While various competitiors have moved through a series of better and better designs, GM persists with this bag o' poop. Some new GM vehicles don't use it, so it is slowly fading away (too slowly for my money.) Rip the band-aid off already.
bimmerjay says:
10:05 AM, 07/12/07
Enough with this mix of buttons, knobs and stalks in cars with so-called "good" ergonomics. I say that everything should be moved to one big stalk - radio and climate included. Think about how easy it would be to find such a large stalk. No more searching for that pesky volume knob or temperature dial. Stalk ahoy! Oh, and this mega stalk will also require mounting on a fixed-detent tilt steering column that doesn't telescope. But I'm SURE the SRX doesn't have one of those.
:-)
no_clever_name says:
09:25 AM, 07/13/07
I remember my grandfather looking at such an implementation and exclaiming, "this thing does everything except wipe your ***". I don't think he was a fan.
bigfan2000 says:
08:39 PM, 07/16/07
I LIKE the GM stalk for cruise control. It's about the only one you can use without looking. I'm tired of trying to memorize which featureless steering wheel button (Ford) or oddly positioned stalk (Lexus) does what with cruise control. I'll happily give up pushing one button for resume instead of two (on and set on the GM stalk) in exchange for doing it all with my eyes on the road.
jerrywimer says:
08:09 PM, 08/10/07
I like the way the buttons are laid out on the GM 900 full sizers pretty well. Easy to reach, all the functionality is there too. But my favorite is still the tiny dedicated cruise stalk that many vehicles have on the lower right side of the steering wheel, just behind the wheel itself, in easy reach of the right hand (while keeping hold of the wheel too- it also turns with the wheel, since it's mounted to it and not the column). It too has all the functions in one place, but ONLY the cruise control stuff. The GM CSVs had it, the Toyota 4Runner (2007) Enterprise gave us recently had it, as did the lowly Dodge Neon I had from a different Enterprise almost a year ago.
ih8hyundai says:
05:46 PM, 08/12/07
I've always been a fan of the stalk...maybe because I've been living with it since I was 16. I'm 21 and I've been using "the stalk" since I got my drivers permit.
gearhead1977 says:
01:58 PM, 03/ 9/09
Not a fan of the stalk, never have been. Not a fan of GM stalk especially. I prefer my buttons on the steering wheel. My only problem is that button placement isn't standardized. Nothing like increasing the speed on cruise with one car and stereo volume in the other or driving any other car with buttons and having to learn their placement.