There are so many painful lessons, car companies should use less hidden door handles!
Car owners in the northern region face some convenience issues when using their vehicles during the winter months.
At the end of 2020, a Tesla owner in the Northeast region complained on social media that a light snow froze Tesla's push-to-press hidden door handles, causing the doors to not open. Although Tesla has responded specifically and offered solutions to the problem, in the eyes of many people, the problem has not been fundamentally solved.
It's true that regular exposed doorknobs can also get frozen. But compared to the two, hidden door handles are more likely to freeze inside, making it more difficult to open the door. On the other hand, exposed door handles are easier to solve, just wait for the snow and ice to become thinner, and then pull hard to open the door.
Therefore, what seems to be a hidden doorknob has a bit of an advantage, but it has long been destroyed in terms of affecting safety and practicality. This seems to establish the conclusion of *** design.
However, the presence of concealed doorknobs is not the crux of the matter. In fact, we don't think it has the wrong boundaries to the extent that it was designed.
When it comes to concealed doorknobs, we can't afford to make the mistake of blindly following the herd. First, let's talk about the most important security risks.
In fact, in order to open the door from the outside in the event of an accident, you must first make sure that the vehicle's locking function is unlocked. Otherwise, even conventional vehicles with non-hidden handles will not be able to open their doors from the outside.
Users who are familiar with or understand hidden door handles should know that most brands, including Tesla and NIO, are equipped with mechanical and electronic locking systems when designing hidden door handles. In other words, concealed door handles can actually be opened mechanically like non-hidden door handles, and can be implemented both inside and outside the car, but with an additional computer control system.
Why, then, do people always think that hidden door handles are the main cause of the problem in extreme cases?
In fact, this is just a fixed mental reaction of a person in a state of stress. The first instinct of an outsider who wants to open the door quickly is to pull the door handle, only to find that the door handle is not in the expected position. Even though there is a doorknob that can't be opened because it's locked, rescuers can't help but want to give it a try. Nowadays, there is no chance to even try to pull, and the hidden doorknob has naturally become the "culprit" to solve the problem.
However, complaining is complaining. Rationally, the problem with the hidden doorknob is mainly that it does not actively cooperate in solving the problem, not in its existence itself.
As for the stability of the electronic system and the use of it in certain areas by users in certain situations, we believe that these problems are almost comparable to the use experience brought by functions such as automatic start-stop, head-up display, and even electronic parking.
In 1952, Mercedes-Benz introduced concealed door handles for the first time on the 300 SL model, which was considered a pioneering feature at the time.
In the 50 years that followed, the design was almost completely forgotten, except for sporadic appearances in supercars and luxury models such as the Nissan GT-R and the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG. The reason is only one word - "expensive", and at that time it did not represent technology, but a sense of science fiction beyond reality.
However, after the 2010s, with the rise of the new energy wave, the design scheme of concealed door handles gradually returned. Tesla can be said to be the "initiator" of this trend, but more importantly, advances in the electronics manufacturing industry have made this design more affordable. Concealed door handles have become standard on many electric models, even some traditional combustion engine vehicles.
Still, the concealed doorknob symbolizes a sense of nobility and the beauty of technology. In addition to its practical value of improving the drag coefficient and cabin tightness, it is still seen as a symbol of luxury.
However, after 2018, with the popularity of hidden door handles, their safety has been questioned, and it has even been accused of "** design".
The most recent case occurred in April this year, when a Tesla in Liaoning Province was hit by a two-car collision**. A number of passers-by rushed to open the car door in front of Tesla** and successfully rescued the injured female driver. **Shows that when everyone is racing against the Grim Reaper, the difficulty of the rescue seems to be due to the hidden doorknob not popping out, causing everyone to be helpless.
In extreme cases, the safety hazards of concealed doorknobs are completely revealed. This type of door handle consists of multiple components such as sensors, retractors, motors, etc., and works together through hardware and software. In the case of external force, the destruction of any one component may cause the doorknob to fail to pop out properly. In addition, there are some human-machine unfriendly situations, such as the stability of hidden door handles under normal conditions.
In 2018, one of the first NIO owners reported that due to the failure of the ES8 car system, the door handle could not be ejected, resulting in the child being locked in the car. Despite the fact that in the end the owner opened the door in a "non-destructive" way, the child was still frightened to a certain extent. This raises questions about the stability of electronic systems, as it is a well-known common sense that mechanical systems have always been more reliable in this regard, otherwise why would the ignition of the cauldron at the Olympic Games always be discarded with high technology?
Car owners in the northern region face some convenience issues when using their vehicles during the winter months.
At the end of 2020, a Tesla owner in the Northeast region complained on social media that a light snow froze Tesla's push-to-press hidden door handles, causing the doors to not open. Although Tesla has responded specifically and offered solutions to the problem, in the eyes of many people, the problem has not been fundamentally solved.
It's true that regular exposed doorknobs can also get frozen. But compared to the two, hidden door handles are more likely to freeze inside, making it more difficult to open the door. On the other hand, exposed door handles are easier to solve, just wait for the snow and ice to become thinner, and then pull hard to open the door.
Therefore, what seems to be a hidden doorknob has a bit of an advantage, but it has long been destroyed in terms of affecting safety and practicality. This seems to establish the conclusion of *** design.
However, the presence of concealed doorknobs is not the crux of the matter. In fact, we don't think it has the wrong boundaries to the extent that it was designed.
When it comes to concealed doorknobs, we can't afford to make the mistake of blindly following the herd. First, let's talk about the most important security risks.
In fact, in order to open the door from the outside in the event of an accident, you must first make sure that the vehicle's locking function is unlocked. Otherwise, even conventional vehicles with non-hidden handles will not be able to open their doors from the outside.
Users who are familiar with or understand hidden door handles should know that most brands, including Tesla and NIO, are equipped with mechanical and electronic locking systems when designing hidden door handles. In other words, concealed door handles can actually be opened mechanically like non-hidden door handles, and can be implemented both inside and outside the car, but with an additional computer control system.
Why, then, do people always think that hidden door handles are the main cause of the problem in extreme cases?
In fact, this is just a fixed mental reaction of a person in a state of stress. The first instinct of an outsider who wants to open the door quickly is to pull the door handle, only to find that the door handle is not in the expected position. Even though there is a doorknob that can't be opened because it's locked, rescuers can't help but want to give it a try. Nowadays, there is no chance to even try to pull, and the hidden doorknob has naturally become the "culprit" to solve the problem.
However, complaining is complaining. Rationally, the problem with the hidden doorknob is mainly that it does not actively cooperate in solving the problem, not in its existence itself.
As for the stability of the electronic system and the use of it in certain areas by users in certain situations, we believe that these problems are almost comparable to the use experience brought by functions such as automatic start-stop, head-up display, and even electronic parking.
To date, the pioneer features that were unique to the early high-end models have not been fully recognized by the public.
Some or even quite a few users will first turn off the automatic start-stop setting after getting on the bus and before ignition. Not only do they feel uncomfortable with the unnaturalness of start-stop, but they also think that this will reduce damage to the engine. Similarly, the head-up display is considered a no-brainer configuration that affects line of sight, while electronic parking is not as reliable as the mechanical handbrake.
However, these issues have not prevented us from embracing these configurations and believing that they will become even better in terms of enhancing the driving experience.
Car configurations, especially those that are not core, will never be 100% user acceptance. If you like it, choose to use it;While enjoying the happiness it brings, you must also be prepared for the unexpected that may arise. After all, even the matter of driving is itself a pros and cons.