Dashboard
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- For other uses, see Dashboard (disambiguation).
A dashboard, dash board, or simply dash (and sometimes facia in British English) is a control panel located under the windscreen of an automobile. It contains indicators, dials, controls and displays to assist operation of the vehicle.
Originally, a "dashboard" was the upturned front of a horse-drawn chariot or waggon, which protected the driver from mud and debris thrown up by the horse's hooves. [1] [2]
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[edit] Types of dashboards
Lawn mowers, farm tractors, and earlier automobiles sometimes have little more than a steering wheel and ignition switch.
Custom-built coupé race cars often simply have a piece of sheet metal that forms the dash. Whenever a new gauge needs to be added, a hole for the gauge is drilled in the appropriate location.
Open wheel race cars have no space for a dash, so the instrument cluster is integrated into the center of the steering wheel.
Motorcycles and mopeds have a compressed version of car dashes, but sometimes have enough room for items such as tape decks and GPS navigation.
[edit] Padded dashboards
Under the aegis of a safety program initiated by Robert McNamara[3], padded "safety" dashboards were introduced in 1956 by Ford under the name "Safeguard". Consumers showed little interest [4].
One of the safety enhancements of the 1970s was the widespread adoption of padded dashboards.
In the 1990s, driver's-side airbags became mandatory in some countries and passenger-side airbags became widespread.
[edit] Dashboard items
Items located on the dashboard include the steering wheel, heating controls, lighting controls, audio controls and the instrument cluster. An instrument cluster contains instrument gauges such as a speedometer, tachometer, odometer, and fuel gauge. The audio system controls (such as radio and CD player) will also be on the dashboard although volume, tuning etc. may be on a stalk beside the steering wheel.
The top of a dashboard may contain speakers for an audio system, and vents for the heating and air conditioning system. A glovebox is often found on the passenger side, and sometimes on both sides.
In more modern cars, automotive navigation systems are mounted in the dashboard. Increasingly, manufacturers are experimenting with moving all display portions to the centre. Various arguments are put forward for this, including cost savings when constructing both left- and right-hand-drive versions.
[edit] Gallery
 The dashboard from a 1940s car |
 A Formula 1 car has its gauges mounted on the steering wheel |
 A gauge cluster typically seen on limited-production vehicles |
 A bulkhead separates the dashboard from the engine compartment |
[edit] Notes
- ^ Dictionary entry for dashboard. Merriam-Webster. Retrieved on 2006-10-11.
- ^ Puzzler Answer: Dashboard Definition. Car Talk (2002-03-09). Retrieved on 2006-10-11.
- ^ The Fog of War documentary
- ^ Iacocca: An Autobiography, chapter four
