A dashboard (also called dash, instrument panel or IP, or fascia) is a control panel set within the central console of a vehicle or cockpit of an aircraft or spacecraft. Usually located directly ahead of the driver (or pilot), it displays instrumentation and controls for the vehicle's operation. An electronic equivalent may be called an electronic instrument cluster, digital instrument panel, digital dash, digital speedometer or digital instrument cluster.
Originally, the word dashboard applied to a barrier of wood or leather fixed at the front of a horse-drawn carriage or sleigh to protect the driver from mud or other debris "dashed up" (thrown up) by the horses' hooves. [1] The first known use of the term (hyphenated as dash-board, and applied to sleighs) dates from 1847. [2] Commonly these boards did not perform any additional function other than providing a convenient handhold for ascending into the driver's seat, or a small clip with which to secure the reins when not in use.
When the first "horseless carriages" were constructed in the late 19th century, with engines mounted beneath the driver such as the Daimler Stahlradwagen, the simple dashboard was retained to protect occupants from debris thrown up by the cars' front wheels. However, as car design evolved to position the motor in front of the driver, the dashboard became a panel that protected vehicle occupants from the heat and oil of the engine. With gradually increasing mechanical complexity, this panel formed a convenient location for the placement of gauges and minor controls, and from this evolved the modern instrument panel, although retaining its archaic common name.
The first mass-produced automobile, the Oldsmobile Curved Dash, got its name from its dashboard, which was curved like that of a sleigh. [3]
Where the dashboard originally included an array of simple controls (e.g., the steering wheel) and instrumentation to show speed, fuel level and oil pressure, the modern dashboard may accommodate a broad array of gauges, and controls as well as information, climate control and entertainment systems.
Contemporary dashboards may include the speedometer, tachometer, odometer, engine coolant temperature gauge, and fuel gauge, turn indicators, gearshift position indicator, seat belt warning light, parking-brake warning light, [4] and engine-malfunction lights. Heavy vehicles that feature air brakes, such as trucks and buses will also have gauges to indicate the available air pressure in the braking system. Other features may include a gauge for alternator voltage, indicators for low fuel, low oil pressure, low tire pressure and faults in the airbag (SRS) systems, glove compartment, ashtray and a cigarette lighter or power outlet –as well as heating and ventilation systems, lighting controls, safety systems, entertainment equipment and information systems, e.g., navigation systems.
In 1937, Chrysler, Dodge, DeSoto, and Plymouth cars came with a safety dashboard that was flat, raised above knee height, and had all the controls mounted flush. [5]
Padded dashboards were advocated in the 1930s by car safety pioneer Claire L. Straith. [6] In 1948, the Tucker 48 became the first car with a padded dashboard. [7]
One of the safety enhancements of the 1970s was the widespread adoption of padded dashboards. The padding is commonly polyurethane foam, while the surface is commonly either polyvinyl chloride (PVC) or leather in the case of luxury models.
In the early and mid-1990s, airbags became a standard feature of steering wheels and dashboards.
In the 1940s through the 1960s, American car manufacturers and their imitators designed aesthetically shaped instruments on a dashboard accented with chrome and transparent plastic, which could be less readable, but was often thought to be more stylish. Sunlight could cause a bright glare on the chrome, particularly for a convertible. On North American vehicles in particular, this trend lingered on until the late-1980s, which still featured dashboards with wood and fake chrome embellishment along with square instruments - long after European and Japanese manufacturers had long embraced a plainer, more functional and austere approach for dashboard and instrument panel design.
With the advent of the VFD, LED and LCD in consumer electronics, some manufacturers used instruments with digital readouts to make their cars appear more up to date. Some cars use a head-up display to project the speed of the car onto the windscreen in imitation of fighter aircraft, but in a far less complex display.
In recent years, spurred on by the growing aftermarket use of dash kits, many automakers have taken the initiative to add more stylistic elements to their dashboards. One prominent example of this is the Chevrolet Sonic which offers both exterior (e.g., a custom graphics package) and interior cosmetic upgrades. [8] In addition to OEM dashboard trim and upgrades a number of companies offer domed polyurethane or vinyl applique dash trim accent kits or "dash kits".
Manufacturers such as BMW, Honda, Toyota and Mercedes-Benz have included fuel-economy gauges in some instrument clusters, showing fuel mileage in real time, which was limited mainly to luxury vehicles and later, hybrids. Following a focus on increasing fuel economy in the late 2000s along with increased technology, most vehicles in the 2010s now come with either real-time or average mileage readouts on their dashboards. The ammeter was the gauge of choice for monitoring the state of the charging system until the 1970s. Later it was replaced by the voltmeter. Today most family vehicles have warning lights instead of voltmeters or oil pressure gauges in their dashboard instrument clusters, though sports cars often have proper gauges for performance purposes and driver appeasement along with larger trucks, mainly to monitor system function during heavy usage such as towing or off-road usage.
In an automobile, an electronic instrument cluster, digital instrument panel or digital dash for short, is a set of instrumentation, including the speedometer, that is displayed with a digital readout rather than with the traditional analog gauges. Many refer to it either simply as a digital speedometer or a digital instrument cluster.
The first application of an electronic instrument cluster, in a production automobile, was in the 1976 Aston Martin Lagonda. The first American manufacturer application was the 1978 Cadillac Seville with available Cadillac Trip Computer. In the United States they were an option in many motor vehicles manufactured in the 1980s and 1990s, and were standard on some luxury vehicles at times, including some models made by Cadillac, Chrysler and Lincoln. They included not only a speedometer with a digital readout, but also a trip computer that displayed factors like the outdoor temperature, travel direction, fuel economy and distance to empty (DTE). In 1983, the Renault 11 Electronic was the first European hatchback to have a digital dashboard. [9] Many vehicles made today have an analog speedometer paired with the latter in digital form. In the late 1980s into the early 1990s, General Motors had touch-screen CRTs with features such as date books and hands-free cell phone integration built into cars such as the Oldsmobile Toronado, Buick Riviera and Buick Reatta.
When accelerating, digital speedometers generally step through a freeze frame of whole numbers at a constant sample rate. It is as precise as the number displaced, whereas a gauged speedometer pointer could sweep through an infinite range between its major markings at 10 mph or 20 km/h intervals. The latter provides a sense of continuous acceleration albeit with less precision: a gauge reading could only be estimated to the pointer's nearest halfway point between the markings. [10] [11] [12]
The first digital instrument clusters were considered to be unpopular during the years when they were widely produced, and were heavily criticized by reviewers in automotive magazines. Some of the criticism they received was as follows:
As a result of these issues, digital instrument panels were phased out of vehicles throughout the 1990s, and have been replaced with traditional analog gauges in most vehicles (with notable exceptions from French manufacturers Renault and Citroën), including those from luxury divisions. However, many vehicles are made today with a standard or optional trip computer located independently from the speedometer.
Digital units received information from a variety of sensors installed throughout the engine and transmission, while traditional analog units were attached to a cable that provided information from the transmission. Modern analog displays receive information in the same manner as the digital units, with very few manufacturers still using the speedometer cable method.
 | This section possibly contains original research .(April 2017) |
In the 2000s, digital speedometers were produced in some hybrid vehicles, including the Toyota Prius and Honda Insight. [14]
Most digital speedometers have had green numbers displayed on a dark green or black background. The 8th and 9th generation Honda Civic have a "two-tier" instrument panel. The upper digital dashboard with white numbers against a blue screen (the latter of which changes to green according to driving habits), digital fuel and temperature gauges. The lower dashboard has an analog tachometer and digital odometer. The 10th and present generation saw the two-tier design replaced with a single instrument panel, which in higher tiers is a fully digital and partially customizable design. [15]
Since the mid-2010s and early 2020s, fully customizable digital instrument clusters have become popular. The modern implementation allows the driver to choose which information to project where and how in the instrument cluster, such as navigation aid, connected phone information and blind spot camera view. [16] [17] The customization can also reduce distraction for the driver and allow the manufacturer to use the same hardware in different models while retaining differentiation between models. [18]
Automotive head-up displays have seen applications in several cars, augmenting analog gauges with a digital readout on the windshield glass.
Vehicle instruments have been augmented by software-powered display panels conveying information on display panels. Digital instruments present data in the form of numeric parameters, textual messages, or graphical gauges. Unlike the electro-mechanical instrument clusters of the past, these interactive displays are much more versatile and flexible.
Many modern motorcycles are now equipped with digital speedometers, most often these are sports bikes.
Toyota is using electronic instruments for showing the cars parameters for its Yaris/Vitz model, the car employs a vacuum fluorescent display to indicate the speed, RPM, fuel level, odometer, etc.
For the 2011 model year, Chrysler began using a common dashboard across their model line that has an integrated trip computer in addition to the analog gauges. This trip computer can also be used to show a digital speedometer, making these hybrid digital-analog dashboards. the speedometer needle to be too wide, they are relying on the digital speedometer more than the analog gauge.
The French manufacturer Citroën, is using digital indicators as speedometer for many models in its range, including the C2, C3, C4 and C6.
The 2007 Lamborghini Reventon introduced one of the first high resolution LCD displays used on a production vehicle. [19] A trend setter that would be taken seriously by mainstream manufacturers on years to come and become a selling point of consideration during the next following decade.
The 2009 Lexus LFA was one of the first cars to utilize a modern LCD screen. Lexus claimed a digital speedometer was required since an analogue tachometer wouldn't be able to keep up with the rev changes of the car's engine. [20] This statement however was mainly marketing-driven; there is no technical reason why an analog needle would not keep up with the (far heavier) engine itself.[ original research? ]
The third generation Range Rover (L322) also introduced the first use and largest TFT LCD displays used on a production luxury SUV for the facelifted 2010, and end of the cycle model. [21] [22] A trend setter that would follow further adaptation from other manufacturers.
In 2014, Audi launched [23] its 'virtual cockpit' on Audi TT, and has later introduced it to several other models. The technology has been developed [24] together with the Finnish company Rightware, using its Kanzi software suite.
Electronic instrument clusters are being increasingly common features on railway vehicles, in which individual instruments are replaced by various forms of digital readouts. Early uses of instrument clusters often employed LEDs to display analog-type or numeric readings for pressure gauges, electrical gauges, and other displays. They have been increasingly integrated with various cab signalling systems and together with the installation of multi-function displays, have simplified the cab layout and improved user interaction with the engineer. [25]
A cockpit or flight deck is the area, on the front part of an aircraft or spacecraft, from which a pilot controls the aircraft.
Cruise control is a system that automatically controls the speed of an automobile. The system is a servomechanism that takes over the throttle of the car to maintain a steady speed as set by the driver.
The Chevrolet Caprice is a full-size car produced by Chevrolet in North America for the 1965 to 1996 model years. Full-size Chevrolet sales peaked in 1965 with over a million sold. It was the most popular car in the U.S. in the 1960s and early 1970s, which, during its lifetime, included the Biscayne, Bel Air, and Impala.
A glass cockpit is an aircraft cockpit that features an array of electronic (digital) flight instrument displays, typically large LCD screens, rather than traditional analog dials and gauges. While a traditional cockpit relies on numerous mechanical gauges to display information, a glass cockpit uses several multi-function displays driven by flight management systems, that can be adjusted to display flight information as needed. This simplifies aircraft operation and navigation and allows pilots to focus only on the most pertinent information. They are also popular with airline companies as they usually eliminate the need for a flight engineer, saving costs. In recent years the technology has also become widely available in small aircraft.
A speedometer or speed meter is a gauge that measures and displays the instantaneous speed of a vehicle. Now universally fitted to motor vehicles, they started to be available as options in the early 20th century, and as standard equipment from about 1910 onwards. Other vehicles may use devices analogous to the speedometer with different means of sensing speed, eg. boats use a pit log, while aircraft use an airspeed indicator.
A multifunction display (MFD) is a small-screen surrounded by multiple soft keys that can be used to display information to the user in numerous configurable ways. MFDs originated in aviation, first in military aircraft, and later were adopted by commercial aircraft, general aviation, automotive use, and shipboard use.
The Audi Quattro is a road and rally car, produced by the German automobile manufacturer Audi, part of the Volkswagen Group. It was first shown at the 1980 Geneva Motor Show on 3 March. Production continued through 1991.
The Kia Opirus is an executive car/full-size sedan, manufactured by Kia Motors and marketed over a single generation for model years 2003–2012 globally and 2004-2009 in North America. Having debuted internationally at the 2003 Geneva Motor Show, the four-door, five-passenger, front-engine, front-drive sedan was launched to the North American market at the New York International Auto Show and in San Diego, bearing the Amanti nameplate — and prioritizing luxury content and comfort over dynamic performance and agility.
In aviation, an electronic flight instrument system (EFIS) is a flight instrument display system in an aircraft cockpit that displays flight data electronically rather than electromechanically. An EFIS normally consists of a primary flight display (PFD), multi-function display (MFD), and an engine indicating and crew alerting system (EICAS) display. Early EFIS models used cathode ray tube (CRT) displays, but liquid crystal displays (LCD) are now more common. The complex electromechanical attitude director indicator (ADI) and horizontal situation indicator (HSI) were the first candidates for replacement by EFIS. Now, however, few flight deck instruments cannot be replaced by an electronic display.
Ford Model AA is a truck from Ford. As the Model T and TT became obsolete and needed to be replaced, Henry Ford began initial designs on the Model A and Model AA in 1926. Basic chassis layout was done rapidly and mechanical development was moved forward quickly. Body design and style was developed and then outsourced to various body manufacturers, including Briggs and Murray. The designs of the Model A shared parts and materials with the Model AA Ford, notably the body, engine and interior. The AA usually received plainer interiors than their car counterparts. The Model AA followed similar design changes to the Model A during the AA's four years in production, often delayed anywhere from three to nine months. The mechanical changes and upgrades were done during production of the vehicles. Body changes that occurred between 1929 and 1930 were also integrated into AA production, but leftover parts were used longer in the heavy commercial trucks.
A trip computer is a computer fitted to some cars; most modern trip computers record, calculate, and display the distance travelled, the average speed, the average fuel consumption, and real-time fuel consumption.
The BMW Z9 is a four-seat coupe concept car, carbon-fiber skin over an aluminum space frame. It was introduced on September in 1999 at the Frankfurt Auto Show. During the 2000 Paris Auto Show a convertible variant of the Z9 was debuted. It was designed by Adrian van Hooydonk under manage of Chris Bangle, who was promoted to Director of BMW Group Design. Much of the styling found on E63 6 series is derived from the Z9.
The Sea-Doo GTX is a personal watercraft (PWC) made by Bombardier Recreational Products of Canada. Part of their Sea-Doo line of watercraft, the Sea-Doo GTX has been produced since 1992. It is a three-person personal water craft with a 'luxury' ride combined with a series of engines. The performance of a Rotax marine engine with R.A.V.E. exhaust, a three-passenger contoured seat; dual mirrors; deck pads; ski-eye; left-side forward/neutral/reverse lever; and full instrumentation.
Saab Information Display (SID) later also called "Saab Car Computer" (SCC) is the name for various in-car computer systems found on most Saab automobiles beginning in 1985 with the Saab 9000 and followed in 1994 with the Saab 900 NG.
The Audi quattro concept is a concept car produced by Audi and presented at the Paris Motor Show in 2010. It commemorates the 30th anniversary of the original Audi Quattro and the Audi quattro four wheel drive system. Based on the Audi RS5, it features a modified 2.5L five-cylinder TFSI engine and the sixth generation of quattro transmission. It had been reported that Audi were considering a limited production model based on the quattro concept, but the project was shelved in 2012.
The Land Rover Range Rover (L322), generally shortened to Range Rover, is the third-generation Range Rover model from British car maker Land Rover and was originally developed under the codename 'L30'.
Car controls are the components in automobiles and other powered road vehicles, such as trucks and buses, used for driving and parking.
The Belkommunmash BKM-321 is a Belarusian large capacity low-floor trolleybus for intercity passenger transportation, mass-produced since 2003. It belongs to the third generation of trolleybuses developed by the Belkommunmash plant in Minsk.
The Ram 1500 (DT) is the fifth generation of the Ram Pickup, manufactured by the Ram Trucks division of Stellantis. The fifth generation Ram was introduced in January 2018 at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan as a 2019 model year. Ram 1500 trucks are produced at the Sterling Heights Assembly plant in Sterling Heights, Michigan, United States.
The Bestune T99 is a mid-size crossover produced by the FAW Group under the brand name Bestune. It is positioned above the Bestune T77.
digital speedometer.
Media related to Dashboards at Wikimedia Commons
The dictionary definition of dash at WiktionaryCar interior | |
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Part of a series of articles on cars | |
| Instruments | |
| Controls | |
| Anti-theft | |
| Other elements | |
| Convenience | |
