2008 BMW X5: Fulton's Folly

The '88 Buick LeSabre that I drove in high school had a single stalk for cruise, turn signals, high beams, AND wipers. I never had a problem with it.

Since GM had that same stalk for almost 20 years in it's vehicles, I think it was a success.

Just what I need is a stalk for the turn signals and lights, a stalk for adjusting the steering wheel, a stalk for the cruise controls, A stalk for turning on the wipers, a stalk for playing with the trip computer and voice controls, and two stalks for the paddle gear box! That's not to mention the stalk on the door to control the side mirrors, and the two stalks on the center console for the gear selector and the HMI controller.

You're partially full of it.

The buttons on the stalks are a bit much. But I LOVE BMW's cruise control stalk. Best execution of a cruise control interface in automotive existence.

Oh, and GM's billion-in-one stalk was a freakin' nightmare.

I loved GM's all in one stalk, and one of my cars (Regal T-Type) still has it. Not a problem at all, and was a great approach for many years.

However, I have since gotten used to the separate stalk approach, as used by most manufacturers now. But no one has it perfect. My preference s:

Parking and headlights on the end of the turn signal stalk, like the Japanese makes have been doing for years (although I thought it was odd when I first saw it). The Europeans and domestics tend to put these on the instrument panel, which isn't as handy.

Cruise controls on the steering wheel.

Wiper controls on their own stalk on the right side of the steering wheel.

I prefer the Mercedes cruise stalk over the Bimmer. It falls more naturally to the hand, and I don't have to move my hand to activate the signals, beams, wipers, or cruise. With the BMW I have to move my hand lower and reach in more.
And, to be nitpicky, I don't like the feel of their levers either. I even prefer my old Pathfinder 4-wheeler over any Bimmer's stalks.

I don't know why a lot of car reviews dog GM for their stalk design. They have been using it for ages and it must work pretty well. I have never had a complaint with them and I would much prefer a single stalk over the 3 I see pictured... Of course GM's stalk design IS decades old so it MUST be bad since it is so "outdated".

I prefer the Asian design over the others. Lights and signals on the left wipers on the right. As for cruise, I like Toyota's mini stalk design on the right. Although I also like that Honda designs allow the cruise to always stay on if you choose so you only have to press the set button when ready to use it. Most Euro cars have controls that are difficult to understand until you learn them, there is usually no learning curve in American and Asian vehicles. But I also want to give GM credit, the multi function stalk they had was so easy to use and familiar to everyone that even when the writing wore off the stalk no one asked "how does this work?" Oh and it also allowed the cruise to always stay on if the driver chose to do so.

i agree with cwc1 and allthingshonda. the Honda design is simple and easy to use. Left side of the wheel: turn signals/headlights. right side of the wheel: wipers. steering wheel: cruise control. simple as that.

while my sunfire doesnt have cruise control.

It must have copyed honda, or did honda copy gm?

turn signal/headlights are on on stalk on the left.

my wipers on the right.

"Anyone think I'm full of it?"

Partially, Mr. Moody. :-)

I love the cruise control stalk since you can use it without taking your hands off the wheel, plus I feel it's intuitive to use.

I don't really like the on-board computer controls though, they're a bit fussy to use. iDrive's better for that.

Wouldn't it be better if the cruise lever moved w/ the steering wheel>?

Jkav is just being nice, he really thinks I'm totally full of something stinky.

GM had the right idea all along. Why on earth do we need cruise control buttons on the steering wheel? It's only used occasionally and doesnt belong in a 'prime' area. The only problem with the GM stalk was the loud click when engaging the turn signals. It sounded like something snapped in the earlier models.

My preference is a combination of japanese and GM:

- Headlight controls on the dash
- Cruise control, turn signal stalk on the left. Pull stalk for flash-to-pass, push stalk for High-beams on
- Separate wiper stalk on the right
- Steering tilt/telescope joystick on the lower left.

I think your full of it. I personally love the GM mega stalk.

Had no problems with the giant stalk.

This is the company that brought us iDrive remember.

Although in reality, I doubt it matters. When someone buys a car and drives it regularly, they figure out all of the stalk functions pretty quickly. Then it's just a matter of habit.

I can see why journo's would bring it up though. You're constantly hopping in and out of dozens of vehicles. While it might be an issue for you guys, for most of us it's not even worth mentioning.

The GM single stalk is only on certain vehicles, specifically, those vehicles with column shifters as standard equipment or optional equipment. The epsilon cars, Lamdbas, Cobalt, Sigma vehicles, etc. do not have the old GM stalk. Most Gm vehicles have cruise buttons on the steering wheel and the system is incredibly simple and easy to use. I had a rental Charger with a MB style cruise set up and it was stupid. German engineers always find a way to complicate simple functions.

BTW, the plastic housing on the steering column of that X5 looks like something off an Aveo. I would expect more in a $70k truck.

I don't really care either way, but I definitely prefer the light controls in a dial on the dash (a la VW and GM?). I do like the cruise on the wheel too, as its just easier to access.

BTW all BMWs, this X5 included, have a rotary headlamp switch on the dash (hidden behind the steering wheel rim in this pic) with a button for the fog lights. The "P" icon on the stalk is for the European parking light (depending on the side you want lit, you hold the turn signal stalk up or down for about a second after shutting the engine off).

My '96 Ford Contour was the only car I've owned that got it right:

- Only two stalks, one on the left side of the column, one on the right. Left one was for turn signals and flash to pass. Right one was for wipers. No multi-function controls.
- Headlight control was a rotary switch on the left dash - easy to see, easy to reach, easy to control.
- Cruise control was on the steering wheel, where it belongs, with dedicated buttons for each function.

This layout should be the standard for all cars. It really isn't that complicated.

The selectability of which side the rear fog lights come on is practically useless in America. Just one more switch for me to scratch my head over.

the placement of the light controls on most GM cars is irrelevant since the cars have auto lights. I never turn my lights on or off. Its amazing how many cars still dont have this feature. I see tons of people driving around at dusk without headlights on.

Another light related pet peeve: I hate having to turn my fog lights on every time I start the car. This is not a huge deal, but I'd prefer if it wasn't the case.

i like the Honda way also: Left - lights, right- wipers, cruise on the right side of the wheel, radio to the left. The only problem i have ever had with this configuration was when I rented a car in Brisbane, AUS for a week and spent the first two days flipping on the wipers every time I wanted to turn on the lights. I then proceeded to spend the first two days flipping on the wipers of my car when I came back...

@dougtheeng

There's probably a good reason the fog lights shut off every time you turn off the car: the fog lights aren't supposed to be on all the time.

Unless there is a good reason to have them on (fog), you should not drive with the fog lights on. The light cut-off of fog lights is different from normal headlights, so there is a much greater chance of blinding oncoming traffic with glare off of the road. They also reduce your ability to see ahead by casting more light closer to your car. In many places, it is illegal to drive with fog lights on in non-foggy situations.

"Since GM had that same stalk for almost 20 years in it's vehicles, I think it was a success."

wowww great success... in soo much success that they're flunking in the US markets

Doug - is it THAT foggy where you live that you need to turn them on each time?

I like the stalks on my '87 Pathfinder.

Left side has the blinkers, headlights (rotating knob on end of stalk), and cruise control (button on very end of stalk, moving switch for speeds), and a stalk for the height adjustment in the back

Right side has the windsield wipers, pull down for the speed of the wipers: off, intermittent, slow, fast. Then rotate the knob on the end for the speed of the intermittent setting.

It works perfectly, only difference is, the switches all work good as new compared to my old '88 Suburban, who's all-in-one stock was gummed up and barely worked at all.

bimmerjay pointed out the "P" icon on the stalk is for the parking lights and the way it is pushed determines what side is on. HUH!! I guess it was to easy to put the parking light setting between OFF and Headlights On setting on the Headlight switch like everyone else. It always amazes me how German manufactures make simple things so complicated. Take BMW shift levers for instance, how can you F$%K up PRND, it is simple and universal leave it alone. I guess the windshield washer is no where near the wiper stalk, it probably is a separate dedicated button on the rearview mirror and you can select which side of the windshield you want to clean.

I use to love LOVE BMWs and it is sad what they are doing to their cars. Remember when this used to be the car company that could not understand why people wanted cup holders in cars because they had nothing to do with the driving experience.

"I guess it was to easy to put the parking light setting between OFF and Headlights On setting on the Headlight switch like everyone else."

Actually that would make the headlight switch far more complicated and confusing to have 2 added detents. The Euro parking light is seldom-used, and the way it's set up is actually very easy.

And for the record, the windshield washer is a simple pull on the wiper stalk, just like any other car.

"The selectability of which side the rear fog lights come on is practically useless in America. Just one more switch for me to scratch my head over."

LOL altimadude, I have no idea what you're talking about... there's no such thing as selectable sides for the rear fog lights nor are U.S. BMWs even equipped with them. Euro BMWs have the rear foglight button underneath the front one.

It amazes me how people are posting all about the ergonomics of these controls without ever having used them. I'm biased because I've used them many many times, but seriously, it took me all of 20 seconds to ascertain where everything was the first time I hopped in a next-gen BMW.

... and the regular parking lights ARE a detent on the headlight switch between ON and OFF, just like any other car.

European cars are ergonomically flawed because they refuse to use words to label their controls. Take the cruise for instance. On a Chevy, Honda, or Lexus the cruise is labeled Resume/Accel, Set/Coast, On/Off. European cars have symbols and arrows. American car makers are routinely criticized by Europeans for not tailoring their cars for the European market. So why don't they do the same for the US market. Why is there a Euro parking light switch in a car sold in the US market? Remember the IL posts about the weak AC in the Audi Q7? Say what you want about an Escalade but I bet you could refrigerate meat in it in the middle of summer. And while I'm venting I'll add one more thing. BMW spend tons redesigning a shifter that didn't need redesigning and creating and then recreating iDrive but they still can't figure out how to put a CD Changer in the dash. WHY IS IT STILL IN THE GLOVEBOX? Maybe they need to reverse engineer the interior layout of a Hyundai.