Autoblog

Recently we reviewed VW's four-door GTI and one of our few complaints was the difficult-to-use nav system. We suggested replacing all the little buttons and dials with a touch screen. Guess what? They listened! VW's design chief, Walter de' Silva, tells Automotive News Europe that starting next year, every VW will have a touch screen interface. Not just those equipped with nav, but every VW made. It's not clear from the story whether this is will be in Europe only or includes U.S.-spec VWs as well.

According to the article, all the car's main passenger-usable systems will be controlled by the screen including climate, radio, entertainment, etc. While we'll withhold judgment on the usefulness or intuitiveness of the system, it will surely go a long way toward giving VW a high-tech look. Could this have been what VW consulted Apple on a few months ago? Or is it just finally the fruition of VW's tech licensing of touch-screen technology from Immersion back in 2005? If so, that could mean the company's new touch screens will have tactile feedback like GPS units that use Immersion's TouchSense technology. Either way, we look forward to seeing how iPhone-like automotive controls work out.

[Source: Automotive News Europe - Sub. Req.]