Cadillac Admits That CUE Infotainment System Missed The Mark On Many Levels

My recommendations:

(1) Get an outstanding human interface / user interface / ergonomics team on board. Don't handcuff them. Pay them well. Respect them. Expect nothing but the best from them.

(2) Lose your arrogance and actually listen to your customers. Audi had a long history of not including cup holders in their vehicles simply because their experts in the Ivory Tower in Germany said they were unnecessary.

(3) Get real humans who have no vested interest in your company or product to test your concepts WITHOUT any assistance. If it's too complex for them to figure out without a coach beside them or consulting a user manual, then it's too complex to be part of a car's dashboard or infotainment system.

(4) Once you get great systems designed and they pass user tests with flying colors, implement them! Don't dilute them to lower the cost, or to follow a "sparse dashboard" theme, or to follow the latest automotive fashion trend.

(5) Don't ship crap. Often, the automotive sector works to production deadlines and they allow a hideous mess to leave their doors. Bad move. It leaves an impression. A lasting one, that isn't favorable.

Blah blah blah I used it for three years and found it to be terrific. I had a Mercedes before that and my wife has a Mercedes now and a BMW before that. People that complain about CUE have never really used it on a long-term basis. Certainly the upgrades in the rotary dial will make it easier to manage but it provided loads of information again, much more than the Mercedes did. All of these infotainment systems have to start somewhere and will all evolve so quit whining.

How hard would have it been to bolt on an iPad and be done? Seriously!

I've often wondered that. Using an iPad and partnering with Apple would allow the interface to be constantly updated as improvements happen. I'm actually surprised Apple hasn't aggressively gone there instead of its dalliance with autonomous driving and its own car.

Apple hasn't done this because of two words..
product liability.

Apple is the deepest pocket there is and if an apple product directly bolted onto a car can be implicated in a crash, then apple will ultimately pay.

Actually - Apple would have an out in that instance - the parts it provides will have been built to the specifications of the car manufacturers. As an "interface" - it would be like a "TV" - simply providing the information the manufacturer requested in its spec.

vdiv wrote "How hard would have it been to bolt on an iPad and be done?"

Ask Audi! ...Okay, so Audi didn't just glue an iPad onto their dashboard, but if you look at their recent cars, it sure looks like they did :-( And if you ask me, it's not a good look. It looks like an after-market after-thought.

@TheSteve, 'tis the fashion these days and infotainment systems have always been an afterthought which is why the aftermarket ones often rival them. But when the automakers screw up basic things like the volume button they really have a problem.