Worst Automotive Features of All Time: The GM All-in-One Multi-Function Control Stalk

[@mrBILL-sr2cu]

I have had many GM cars with this set-up. I never had a moment of trouble with any of them, and found the system intuitive and easy to use.

[@BrendenPragasam]

As a designer, something is usually intuitive if you start with it first. Intuition is a testament to following standards, and playing on peoples(on average) first nature responses.

[@fairfaxcat1312]

@@BrendenPragasam So is this GM strategy intuitive?

[@JPVolvo]

Imo I’ve had a lot of cars with these and they work great

[@J.W.W.]

They were a great stalk for those of us that took 30 seconds to figure them out…

[@soberlife]

I have two trucks with this.... Simple to use and works just fine.

[@groovy1937]

I always thought this was a great feature and smart. No matter what GM car you got in, you always new where the controls were for the wipers, cruise and brights were. Especially nice when you rented a car. We had a 1982 GMC VanDura customized by Starcraft and it had this same stalk too, so it was nice when you had all GM vehicles that had this so no matter which car from home you drove, you always knew where the controls were.

[@natebit7167]

And now, half of GM’s brands are dead, and Chevrolet makes nothing but generic soulless rental cars!

[@groovy1937]

@@natebit7167 Agree! Big disappointment for sure! GM (Government Motors) is going down the tubes quickly! Thanks Mary Bara! They are cutting their throat with all this electric BS and non-binary vehicles.

[@marksheiman1538]

Try replacing the stalk. My dad had a 99 cavalier with the wipers on the right.

[@howardjlogan]

I've always liked the multi function switch. Easy to use and intuitive.

[@ChevyFan079]

Maybe it's because I've driven mostly GM vehicles since I got my license 25 years ago, but I really like that stalk. It's nice to have so much functionality in one place rather than 3 different places like some manufacturers do.

[@2011joser]

I owned a Pontiac with that control and actually never had a problem with it. The only real bad thing about it is how cheap it felt compared to others in the market at the time. The best description of its feel came from a car magazine writer who said that moving it to use the turn signals felt like you were breaking it. The switches on my brother’s Celica of the time showed you didn’t need to pay a lot of money to have quality feeling controls.

[@the_kombinator]

You never dealt with Citroen/PSA :P

[@stevevarholy2011]

Given the quality control that GM accepted from suppliers at the time, you were breaking it.

[@MyerShift7]

My Dodge K Car felt better than my Buick J Car!

[@2011joser]

@@MyerShift7 the j is a very low bar but I agree. Friends had both and the j (an olds) was truly bad.

[@the_kombinator]

@@MyerShift7 Because G54B ;)

[@bml33]

Count me also in the group that didn't mind the multi function stalk. I believe Cadillac was first with a "tap up / tap down" feature where you'd tap the button on the end to increase by 1mph increment the cruise speed. Actually, a lot of now-standard features on lower end cars started out as Cadillac options.

[@lucyfan1976]

honestly I got used to the multi function and really did not mind it. Once I starting driving other brands than it became more weird.

[@Kedodda]

A lot gets reused in GM. Sitting in a 06 Deville one day I was in shock because I was just basically holding an Enclave/Acadia steering wheel and the door lock and window switches were the same too.

[@JohnRay1969]

Cadillac innovated everything. Auto seek and search on the radio, auto dimming headlights, auto on and off headlights with exit delay, climate control, full display of car status including outside temperature, you name it Cadillac did it first. Incidentally, when the auto search and seek was introduced, it was NOT a digital tuner, that radio tuner knob moved. LOL

[@lucyfan1976]

@@JohnRay1969 I remember the tuner knob moving and the needles with the motorized tuner!!! lol

[@jewllake]

I've always liked the smart stick. The first vehicle we had with it was our new 1982 S -10. The smart stick is very convenient and easy to use with many functions that are easily navigated in one place that can be used with out having to take your eyes off the road.

[@kcindc5539]

I never minded the multi-function stalk. In fact, I found it to be pretty convenient. I mean except for turning on the headlights rarely did my left hand have to go more than an inch from the steering wheel. I thought it was clever.

[@chriskucia8348]

My only quibble was the cheap plastic. Plastic chrome would peel and the letters would get rubbed off, and always felt cheap. But I think it worked well enough.

[@videoviewer2008]

@@chriskucia8348 those are fair criticisms.

[@ChevyFan079]

Same, I much prefer the stalk with all that functionality rather than have it all over the place like some manufacturers do.

[@ddhsd]

My grandparents hated this stalk on their loaded 1985 Caprice Classic, when I drove the car I was in my 20s and it worked fine and seemed logical to me. My grandfather complained they moved the Brights control from the button on floor to stalk for no reason. I said it was to enable flash to pass which any 80s era 20 something KNEW about. Grandpa's response was "what is that just stomp the floor button to signal them the BRIGHTS are on" Obviously Flash to Pass was not something his generation (The Greatest generation don't get me wrong MUCH Respect there) thought about daily driving. I had the Caprice after they passed until mid 96 and yes the Chrome flaked off the plastic and lettering faded but it was a cheap replacement to make. In 2022 I see they are still available and cheap When my 90 Accord needed a replacement wiper stalk it was 4x more expensive

[@OldsVistaCruiser]

@@ddhsd - My '92 Buick Roadmaster Estate Wagon has this stalk, and does not have flash-to-pass.

[@portaltwo]

I read a review in one of the car magazines many years ago that described the turn signal stalk as having the usual GM "snapping-wineglass-stem action". Both funny and accurate! 😂

[@thedoctorshipley]

I read another magazine at that time that referred to them as "GM knuckle-popper switches."

[@GUAMANIANable]

That was my main complaint with it.

[@michaelv3340]

I remember someone describing it as breaking a chicken bone.

[@johnh2514]

I recall a Car and Driver review of the new for 1995 Lumina that mentioned this exactly as you described!

[@howebrad4601]

To be honest the chrysler multi function stalk in the 80s was even worse, quality wise. Ford had the dumb double stalks and the horn was activated by pushing in the turn signal stalk

[@doogals]

I'm very fond of that control. I've enjoyed it on most of my vehicles. My 2015 Sierra has steering wheel controlled cruise controls. Us far-sighted people have problems focusing on such close controls. This switch cleaned a lot of things off the dash.

[@musictosoothe]

Not a bad device. I have one on a 1990 Olds. I like how it works, with all the control right in one place. Very easy to use. Did have to replace it once as the use of the turn signal affected the cruise control.

[@Rfk1966]

This brings back memories. Millions of them back in the day… I rarely use cruise, so when I do, I still instinctively want to press a button on the end

[@ZGryphon]

I had at least three cars that had that stalk in them, and the only real downside to it I can recall is that if the electrical connection to it failed--and at least one of mine did--it took out a number of important functions all at once (and was pretty expensive to get fixed). It was pretty complicated for a car control in the early '80s, but as with most such things, experience fixed that pretty quickly. That chrome paddle for the windshield washer could catch the sun just wrong occasionally, too, but that's a potential pitfall with _any_ shiny cockpit feature.

[@klwthe3rd]

Excellent point.

[@jefferysmith3930]

Great, warm looking faux wood grain. I like that is continued onto the vents. I love the interior of these cars: so open, airy and comfortable. That stalk worked great...just felt awful! Like it was going to break even when operating the high/low beam function

[@tythornburg3460]

I had zero problems with the stalk in the numerous GM vehicles I owned over the years. IMO, it is actually kind of genius - eliminating a bunch of messy buttons and switches. BTW, the Ninety-Eight example vehicle you are showing is a twin (interior color...)(1985 model & was a Brougham vs the standard Regency shown) to one I owned. Exterior of mine was Medium Blue Glamour Metallic. I absolutely loved it and wish I still had it! Thanks for posting!

[@randyfitz8310]

6:08 Adam - you’re describing the momentary turn signal or lane change feature though calling it “flash to pass” aka silent horn which you demonstrated earlier in this fine video. Thanks for the detailed features series!

[@z06rcr]

I recall numerous car magazines maligning this feature and lamenting the “ broken chicken bone “ sound of the turn signal switch. I actually found the feature ergonomically acceptable except for those rare times I’d be dimming the headlights as the turn signal was cancelled… the crunching sound led me to believe something snapped ( but it didn’t)

[@Sedan57Chevy]

My mom's 01 Chevy Venture had one of these! It wasn't the worst design, but it was initially confusing to have so many features all lumped together. That said, I'd take these simple to use cruise controls over some of the more modern systems.

[@mtmmac1]

The first time I drove one with that style control, it did take a little getting used to, but once you actually thought about the functionality of it, and how you could use it, I could easily control all the important functions, such as wipers, turn signal, cruise control, and lights with one hand, without ever having to take my eyes off the road or look for a switch.

[@khakiswag]

You should do a segment on GM’s split rocker switch for the headlights. Another interesting GM design.

[@kipperbeans]

I daily two GMs a fiero and a reatta and I have no problems with them at all. Love them they work well and easy to understand

[@scott8919]

I remember using this in a couple GM cars my father owned from the 90s, and it worked just fine for us. It did feel a bit hollow/cheap though.

[@jasoncameron194]

I always liked the multi-function stalk, it was a great feature and I found it simple to use

[@rightlanehog3151]

Adam, Have you considered putting a simple poll in the comments section to help quantify and collate our views? In regard to the disappearance of interiors which were equally comfortable and colorful, look no farther than the numbers guys. 😉

[@tompease3022]

I always thought it was a clever and intuitive solution to having multiple disparate functions in one stalk. All of the functions had their own zone and the use of them made sense. The only possible issue was that to reviewers it seemed “flimsy” likely because it was asked to move about 63 different ways. But they laste a very long time and if I remember we’re pretty trouble free. The Aurora was only “opposite” because the stalk was separated to the right side of the column. I’d bet the actual switch gear was the same, hence “up” on the left became “down” when rotated to the opposite side of the column. Another great post- I really enjoy these!

[@tenthdimension9836]

I had multiple cars and trucks with this and never had any trouble. I liked it and found it intuitive to use and appreciated the consistency across the GM brand.

[@thedoctorshipley]

I never had a huge problem with those multi function switches, especially considering I was moving up from a 77 Grand Prix. The only thing I really didn’t like about it was that it felt cheap. You really noticed how cheap it felt after driving an Accord or Camry. I read one magazine that referred to them as “knuckle-popper” switches.

[@eaglewi]

The sound of it activating was the sound of something snapping and breaking

[@labpuppy4u]

The cruise also has a "Tap Up / Tap Down" feature. If you want to change speed, say, 3 MPH - you can tap the Accelerate 3 times and the speed will increase that much. Tapping the Set button 3 times will decrease the speed that much. As I commented in another video, I've never likes all this stuff combined on stalks or on the steering wheel. I miss having the knobs on the dash and the dimmer switch on the floor. Just me.

[@KC9UDX]

I never minded it but I always prefer the wiper switch on the dash (AMC had the best one) and the brights on the floor. I have two vehicles with the stalk that I have installed the floor switch in. Both of them would work both ways if the stalk switch still worked.

[@michaelcharach]

That was a good trip down memory lane. The stalk never bothered me, really quite amazing how many functions they got in that thing

[@adamsneidelmann8976]

Does it mean I’m a complete nerd to enjoy every second of a ten min vid on a turn signal stalk? Don’t care. I love this channel!😂

[@erniesdeck7550]

My father owned a '78 Ford Fairmont With the straight six. He purchased it used and I remember as a kid he would always complain about the horn not working until he finally figured out that you had to press the little stock in. I remember that day because he was so happy that he figured out the horn and that it worked

[@Slonge92]

You can figure this out without the owners manual, which couldn’t necessarily be said about contemporaneous foreign car’s. I never had a problem with it. Thanks for the great videos!

[@sklay78]

Which foreign cars exactly? Not BMW, Volvo, Honda, VW, Toyota, or Mercedes. They all used a 2 stalk setup like Saturn used much later on, which is probably why Saturday didn't use that stalk.

[@Slonge92]

@@sklay78 I’ve had a BMW and a 4-Runner, both were non-ergonomic, and neither were user friendly without a look at the owners manual. The turn signals in the BMW made no sense initially, and functioned differently than any of my 21 cars that preceded it.

[@sklay78]

@@Slonge92 so.... We're moving the goal posts? I thought we were talking contemporary cars. No doubt BMW tossed all common sense for control design out the window a while ago, but the Toyota Corolla I rented a few months ago had 2 stalks that worked virtually identical to the ones in my '88 Prelude. The 2 stalks in my 2018 Volvo truck work virtually the same as those in my '85 Volvo 240. That basic paradigm has endured since the 70's. Every modern Ford I've driven is the same as my Hondas. Saturn has it right, except they made their signal stalk so bulbous it was too easy to rotate past the detents for the headlights.

[@Slonge92]

@@sklay78 Are we moving goalposts? 1997 4-Runner and 2007 BMW are pretty contemporary. I have a 2012 Challenger which is easy, but the buttons on the back of the steering wheel took me by surprise. Or, did you mean contemporaneous with the car in the video?

[@sklay78]

@@Slonge92 That stalk was developed in the early 80's. It probably should have died in the 80's, too, so that's what I'm calling contemporary to it's development and deployment. Obviously it only exists because of GM's inexplicable commitment to column shifters. It's not the idea I loath. It's the unmitigated commitment to "good enough" engineering and cost cutting it represents that revolts me. It was a part of the car you had to interact with every time you drove, and it felt like crunchy, creeky,, clacking garbage. The radio controls felt more refined. I honestly can't wrap my mind around an executive that let that thing get installed in corvettes and Cadillacs. I was 15 the first time I used one, in the first 2 cars I drove, and I needed no frame of reference to know that it felt cheap, and that absolutely nobody cared at all about impressing anyone with that thing. I had a bunch of family that worked for GM. I grew up wanting to like GM and American cars. How exactly can you be proud of a car with something like that in it? Something that feels so bad that your friend with a Honda or VW of the 80's would think he just broke the thing the first time he used it.

[@eyerollthereforeiam1709]

I always thought it was overly complicated, with too much going on in one stalk. But, I got used to it, as did most people.

[@klwthe3rd]

I agree. To much going on in one unit.

[@jasonveronica3700]

I learned to drive on a car with this stalk. It functionally worked just fine. I wasn't until I purchased my first Honda (A 2003 Accord), that I realized what a pleasant experience these stalks could be in daily driving. That Honda had a great V-6 engine, but the two things about the Accord that left the biggest impressions on me where the shear pleasure of operating the Outside Door Handles and Turn Signal Stalk. There was no going back to GM after a few years of these pleasures!

[@markcain5168]

Don’t forget about the Tap Up Tap down feature. Push the set cruise button 1 to 10 times and speed will increase by 1 mph per push. Also do the same with the R\a button to increase speed. I have driven more than 100 miles without touching accelerator or brake pedal.

[@chrisbarclay2156]

Thanks Adam! Nice work! You helped me spend some hard hours post surgery. Many thanks for that!

[@misterrain837]

I’ve never had trouble with this on any of the GM cars I had from this era. I didn’t even know or imagine this was something that anyone complained about.

[@tford1601]

Thanks again for another wonderful video Adam! Just one little observation: the "flash to pass" feature is the ability to illuminate the high beams by slightly pulling the switch without entering the stay on detent so as to communicate your intention to the vehicle in front of you. The "lane change feature" is the same movement action for the left and right signals before reaching the detent.

[@2006gtobob]

My 1982 Trans Am and my 2006 GTO were both equipped with versions of this. When I bought my GTO I couldn't believe that GM was still using this system, dressed up a bit, but I guess the engineering costs were so high that GM was still paying down on its R&D hoping to one day realize a profit.

[@2006gtobob]

@Rafael Fiallo I did say my GTO has a version of this

[@2006gtobob]

But yes, you are correct, the windshield wiper function is on its own stalk, opposite of the turn signal combo switch. I couldn't recall. My GTO doesn't get driven much and it's one of several cars I currently own and couldn't recall the exact details. I had to open my GTO picture file and look!

[@billybcgn25]

Our 85 Bonneville (305 Chevy small block, Turbo Hydramatic 200), had cruise and I really enjoyed the multi-function stalk. Eventually, however, the wires for the Cruise, would work harden and open. But it wasn't all that difficult to replace. The vacuum-operated throttle module under the hood was also a failure point, needing to be replaced a time or two.

[@Miami543210]

I love these videos so incredibly much. Thank you, thank you thank you. You have a relaxing voice. Very knowledgeable. And I love your interviews.

[@captain150]

My 09 trailblazer has basically the same stalk, the one you showed at the very end. I actually quite like it. I've also had cars with 2 or 3 separate stalks (1 turn signal, 1 wipers, 1 cruise) and I prefer the GM style.

[@BD-xz6te]

I've had several gm products with this setup and regardless of how beat down the vehicle got, I never had any issues. It was easy to use and reliable.

[@jessieharbinjr.6589]

This was actually a great invention. Everything at your fingertips. We had them on our Caprice Classic, and Olds Cutlass Supreme coupe.

[@leechburglights]

I owned an 89 Cutlass Supreme, 89 Grand Prix, 91 Cutlass Supreme, 81 Cutlass Supreme, 86 Grand Prix, 89 Delta 88, 93 Olds 98Regency, 98 Chevy Lumina, and mom had an 85 Delta 88 with this turn signal. I absolutely loved them. Made total sense and it never failed in any of the vehicles I owned. It wasn't until I got into my 2006 G6 that it was changed. I did need to replace the turn signal on that as it wouldn't shut off. Was a $25 part on ebay and 2 screws to replace.

[@johnwerth97]

I recently purchased a 2003 GMC Envoy XL (with only 34K miles!) which has this feature. Reminded me of 70’s and 80’s GM products. Took awhile to get used to, but works well once reacquainted with.

[@caspaabriel4794]

I'm pleased you like this control. I think it's great, just the idea of having multi controls at your finger tips. We in NZ particularly during the time period you talk of, we had no such feature. Other than indicators, full light or dim, was the only stalk control. Once again a great video, filled with info and amazing topic features. Kind regards

[@DGillyy]

I was a fan of the stalk too. Many cars I've owned with it and sad it's gone. The headlight dimmer switch actually pushed a long thin rod to the actual switch, so it never felt all that positive. The Saginaw tilt wheel column was just as widespread as the stalk, I've had many of those columns apart and a very smart design. I worked in a Buick dealership back in the 80s and also installed a few cruise control kits. Hard part was getting the wire for the cruise up through the column

[@EmilyChuu]

My 05 Cadi has this! I love how I can operate everything with one finger, especially being able to use my middle finger without removing my hand to engage, accel, and decel cruise control.

[@ohaggdah]

OMG thank you for making this video!! Nerdy as hell, but I LOVE this turn signal stock! It’s so intuitive, and the best part is that you can drive with your left arm resting on the door (as one naturally should be driving lol) while easily controlling all the functions with one hand. It should be a law that the cruise control functions always must be to the left haha

[@325xitgrocgetter]

I can confirm this was introduced in 1981. I took my drivers test in an 81 Citation and it had this switch. We have a 2005 Buick LaCrosse...and the switch persisted but for moving the cruise control functions to the steering hub. True story: My parents' first car with this GM switch was a 1986 Pontiac 6000 LE and was my parents first car with delay wipers. One snowy evening, Mom is driving the car for the first time. She leaves home only to return a few minutes later. "Something is wrong with the new car, the wipers only sweep every 10 seconds." Dad goes out to the car with her and shows her the delay and the settings for low and high speeds. She was a little embarrassed but eventually got the know the features for her fancy new car.

[@pcno2832]

That reminds me of the Lincoln my father drove for a short time. I hit the window button and the only thing that rolled down was the little triangular window in the front. There was no other button , so, after a little bit, I ever so cautiously held the button down for longer and the main glass pane lowered itself as well. Unlike pivoting vent windows, that feature was only marginally useful, especially to non-smokers, but it was one hell of a conversation piece.

[@md4331]

I've had several GM pickups from '85 on up that used this stalk. You're absolutely right about the paint being worn off after many miles of use or muddy hands operating it daily. Perfect indicator of the actual mileage on the vehicle

[@JosephHoffmann-z7z]

You noted - 1981 as the first year. My parents had a 1978 Olds Omega with it. My dad’s overcoat ripped the stalk off so he hated it. I’ve had it on numerous GM’s, it’s intuitive and have never had one fail. I’m a fan.

[@Brian-cr6rb]

Don't forget, each tap of r/a, or set was one mile per hour increments! I love that stalk, except when you get mad at road rage stuff and hit it too hard. It will just dangle by the wires and mock you while not having signals till you fix it. Now for my personal hatred for a stalk on the right side of any vehicle. If the vehicle has a console shifter, I've broken it right off thinking I'm taking the vehicle out of park. This comes into play because of my thousands of hours operating plow equipment. If it wasn't a manual, everyone I drove had that column shifter. So nobody tell me I'm dumb, it's just habit.

[@jasonmarkowitz5397]

I had one on my '98 S10 (no cruise) and my '13 Silverado (cruise is on the wheel) and LOVE it. never had an issue with it, intuitive and convenient to use.

[@apl175]

6:07 Flash-to-pass isn't the turn signal -- it's the ability to briefly activate the high beams to signal that you intend to pass. This is usually done by briefly moving the turn signal stalk towards you to the first point of resistance and then letting go. In some makes, this will allow you to activate both high beam and low beam simultaneously.

[@debrastarke3996]

It’s the lane changing function

[@brhmpl]

Another well done video Adam! Looking forward to your next one.

[@dosgos]

I always thought that control stalk was fantastic. Perfectly thought through, engineered and manufactured. The tactile sensations could have been "upgraded" but they were very durable IME.

[@erikbratt684]

I love it. Have had one in every US made GMs i've ever owned except my 72 LeMans. The one in my 95 GTP gave me issues, but my only annoyance is going between my 02 express ad 07 tahoe. Tahoe gets cruise on the wheel and the switch on the stalk does rear wiper. My Aussie GMs have wipers on the right side of the column kinda like as mentioned on the Aurora.

[@cammer68oliver2]

Had an 85 Cadillac 2 door fleetwood in the late 90s when I was in high school… hand-me-down family car. And it had the same stalk on it. Brings back a whirl of memories.

[@Browningate]

I concur. I grew up on this in the early 2000s, and because our family always had 1990s/2000s GMs, it was just second nature to me. No major complaints.

[@the_kingslayer]

I also never had a problem with this control setup. My first car was an 86 cutlass Cierra and I recognized that stalk immediately 🥰

[@valengreymoon5623]

I would take the stalk over a touch screen every time.

[@TVHouseHistorian]

I bought a 1986 Olds Regency Brougham used back in the early 1990's. First off, let me say that I loved the cruise/wiper stalk. I never had a single issue with it. It had been a single-owner car, and was meticulously cared for. It was my first American luxury car, and I remember being *so* excited to own it. My Regency was so incredibly reliable, and drove like a dream. Drove it from my home in Oregon all the way down to San Diego one time without a single complaint. Probably my favorite feature the car had was the dual-tone seat belt chime it had. I would have preferred a Cadillac Sedan deVille of the era, but being in college, I couldn't afford one. The Regency I had was different than this one in that it was a Brougham, which, in my opinion, had nicer seats. Out of all the cars I've owned over the years, I miss this one, and the 1988 Buick Park Avenue I had. Both cars were absolutely bulletproof (though the Regency had to have a transmission replacement after its first 50k miles), and exceptional highway cruisers. Yes, the subsequent generation of these cars was not nearly as nice. People always say how GM should have never downsized their luxo-barges. I'm actually very very fond of the smaller GM luxury sedans.

[@althunder4269]

An excellent assessment of this control feature.

[@timw8228]

You're right about the luxurious interior. I was sitting in my '86 Fleetwood D'Elegance this afternoon that has the dark maroon tufted velour seats. Friday I was at the local Cadillac/GMC dealer to take my Sierra in. I opened the door of some CTS? and I looked at the window sticker.... wow over $70K. The interior looked like a mix of black plastic and leather. Nothing like years past with interior choices. Yuk!

[@whommee]

I love the multi stalk. Was easy to use, and I never had a failure out of all the GM vehicles I've owned through the years (20 or so)

[@RobertKing951]

I don't know if anyone mentioned this or if you yourself sir added the comment. But the reverse of activating the high beams if you push the stalk forward it momentarily engage the high beams. And when you release the stalk they go back out. It's a great way to engage every headlamp when you really need that extra umph to see something. Can also achieve same result pulling stalk back and holding it. The low beams are still on until you release the stalk.

[@eolafan100]

I had approximately a half dozen leased company vehicles that all had this feature and frankly, I had zero problems with it, and kind of liked it actually.

[@christopherkraft1327]

Hey Adam, thanks for the review of the GM multi function stalk!!! 👍👍🙂

[@Southwest_923WR]

Thanks for bringing Back a memory! I had a "73" Riviera I bought from my "THEN" Uncle, in "86". He got it off show room floor brand new, and it was LOADED! I didn't pay but $400 , so it was really a no brained deal, especially considering I never liked then at the time, mainly the "Boat Tail irked me. But non the less I fell in love with it after the first week! Of course it Has that feature, I really thought it was the coolest, and never had issues with it Until two weeks later, just like you discribed it, I broke it.🤷🏿‍♂ So the next day I took it to him to get advice on where to get it fixed,( I knew ) that would be over the head of most "shade tree " mechanics!) plus he had always done his own work on it since he was a mechanic For Air Force CH-56 HELICOPTERS also. He told me to just order it from Buick dealer and he would install for me, no charge because he lived working on it, and hated having to sell. So we got it, he fixed it, I learned a lesson, never had any other problem with the stack! Thanks for the video, and letting me relive that.👍🏿

[@joeceretti9098]

I really like that control, you can do a lot without looking at it.

[@arttu5149]

Yeah, I really enjoy your reviews and respect all the knowledge and QUALITY of cars you choose. I've been GM guy since sixteen (I'm now over 40) and I beg to differ on opinion of this multifunction switch.. I think, like so many others here, this invention is on of the BEST in these cars. Greetings from Finland and keep up cool videos coming!

[@pdub9925]

I still daily drive an 87 k5 blazer, just north of you in southern genesee county. My stalk still works perfectly. Love the channel

[@peterf4552]

We also had an '85 Olds 98 Regency, so that steering wheel and dashboard are very familiar too. Just for the record, I liked the functionality of the turn signal stalk, I just didn't like the fact that one of them fritzed out on me and had to be replaced.

[@blairb1869]

My parent's 82 Caprice Classic had it and it was very intuitive. They were older when they bought the car and never had a problem with it.

[@aaronnute9693]

That he leaves the Cruise Control in the 'on' position when he shuts off the car makes me a little crazy. I was always taught, and still do to this day, to turn off everything before you shut off the car. Regardless, I've had many off these GM multi-stalk controls in the past and found them to work quite well. Beautiful and well kept car, thanks for sharing!

[@judgegixxer]

As far as using it, it's fine, however I remember my dad's 78' Grand Lemans (winter beater) just fell apart in the 90's. A few years ago I replaced the stalk in my Camaro because the brights function pooped the bed. I never would hold it on to prevent it from going off. I remember doing that a couple times when I 1st drove a car and you could feel /hear funky crunching going on in the column when the mechanism tried to turn it off. Thought probably not a good plan. Last car my Grampa had was an 87' Delta 88. Same interior as this 86'. Blue plush velour. Thanks for the memories.

[@radiowave2k]

I actually had that on my 1987 S10 Blazer, at the time GM made the most accurate cruise control and the mist feature was awesome. Once you got used to it, the multi feature single stalk was way more convenient then having separate controls for cruise and wipers on the older cars. I think at the time they were taking their ideas from the Japanese automotive that had similar features.

[@danielimpastato3466]

I bought a brand new 1980 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme Brougham with this and I loved it. 👍🏼My options were white wall tires, sport rims, a/c, top of the line stereo with cassette and a gauge package (in dash) instead of idiot lights. I felt power windows and power seats were a bit extravagant for a young schoolteacher's salary so i skipped those but oh, how I loved that car‼ Deep maroon burgundy with the half vinyl padded roof and painted gold pin stripes. 💫👏

[@grndiesel]

My Dad's GMC 3500 had this and nobody really had a problem with it. You had to pay attention the first few times using it, but it's quite intuitive.

[@jamesengland7461]

I have to confess that I fell for the magazine criticism of the stalk, which does feel cheap an clunky but I've never had one fail to work properly. What I HATE is that impossible GM emergency flasher switch from the 70s and 80s. There is no excuse for making it so difficult to operate.

[@tristanstrasse]

Thanks, Adam, for the explanation of the Cadillac-only dash CC switch. I inherited a 1983 Eldorado Biarritz that had a white sand blue interior. Apparently the black part of the multifunction stalk was color coordinated with the interior accent color, so mine was blue and not black. The blue part cracked open, and I was never able to find one that matched.

[@pvman2]

I loved that multi-function stalk control. I really, REALLY miss it, especially the cruise control.

[@amiausUSA]

The Jeep Cherokee XJ series also used the same stalk. My family owned a 1989 Cherokee and cruise control came with the Laredo package. It worked great on I-5 in the Sacramento Valley.

[@robertwright5487]

I own a 93 Olds 88 with this feature. Still works!

[@TheBigdog868]

I still have a 30 year old pickup with this feature. My son says it's the easiest cruise to use ever. Did you know pushing the accel button once increases your speed 1 mph and pushing the round end once decreases it 1 mph?

[@gordonmacqueen8694]

These videos make me long for my 1987 Bonneville LE. Not the same, but lots of similar things.

[@trevorchapman1694]

We had a similar control in Australia that fitted in place of the turn signal arm of earlier cars. It functioned well and you could convert earlier models if you were able to do the wiring modifications.

[@wonkychikn]

First Australian car to have a multi function stalk( wipers/ washers, indicators/ lanechange,high/ low/flash beam ) was HX series GM Holdens.quite advanced in Australia for 1976.

[@noelgibson5956]

@@wonkychikn XB Falcon got them in 1973. VK Valiant in 1975.

[@wonkychikn]

@@noelgibson5956 ....HX ,HZ and WBHolden and VB to VK Commodore had all these functions on one stalk, which was way more advanced than what was fitted to XB Ford or VK Valiant.. totally different set up

[@richceglinski7543]

I've owned at least 4 GM cars with that switch. It quickly becomes intuitive and convenient. The wiper controls on my Mitsubishi SUV took a couple of years to become intuitive. They are on the right side stalk. I still often fiddle around to get the intermittent where I want it. I like the Gm switch over my Jeep and F150 too.

[@KC9UDX]

My Jeeps have the GM stalk 😁 I *hate* the stalk on the right. I broke one in a Geo one time, instinctively trying to use it to shift into drive.

[@Kenneybrock]

My 94 Grand Prix had this setup, and it developed a short circuit that would pause the wipers when the turn signal was activated. The repair was covered by GM's new car warranty and the problem never reoccurred after the switch was replaced, but I couldn't help thinking GM had too much going on in that space.

[@davebarron5939]

I have owned many GM cars (and currently) and virtually all of them had this control, and I never had any problems with any of them, work perfectly.

[@MNBluestater]

Parents had a ‘77 Olds Cutlass with this and in my GM days had a ‘84 Pontiac Fiero. Never had trouble with that-it was a great design- but the Fiero developed a failed driver seat adjustment mechanism, radio display illumination light went out, and to add insult to injury, left door handle eventually was not operable from the inside, and I climbed out over the middle armrest-I’m 5’10”. Cooling system required proper fill maintenance and if air got into the system the water pump would fail-happened three times. Front of the car took a collision twice, both times a vehicle backed into it, hidden headlights never the same. But before all that it was very stylish for a 24-year old. (Sadly, barely made it to the dealer for the trade-in.)

[@mikeemery2484]

Fantastic vid , even weirder my PT Cruiser has the instrument panel light control on the turn signal stalk.

[@jkunz27]

The feature you referenced is not "flash-to-pass" it's called "lane change." (The newer cars even flash the turn signals 3 times with just one press of the lane change feature) Flash-to-pass is when you pull back on the stalk twice to momentarily engage the hi-beams, indicating to the car in front of you that you intend to pass. This is not really done in the US though, it's most widely used in Europe.

[@CCharlesHahn]

I grew up with nothing but GM cars and trucks with the multi-function stalk; in fact my 2018 Silverado still has a stalk that's mostly the same, aside from the cruise control being moved to the steering wheel. I would hardly call it "worst of all time." It's familiar, and works well.

[@maddesi2709]

My Buick has it. I found it a little different at first but it was easy to learn.

[@dynatrak]

I sure like the one in my 2004 Silverado, and never had any problems with it.

[@sasz2107]

Yes, that is correct Adam. This turn signal stalk was introduced on the 1981 X cars. The 1980 X cars did not have this. In 1982, when the new J-, A-, and F-cars came out, the multi function lever was expanded to those car lines also. There were comments in the sales literature for the various 1981 X cars about the new multi-function lever. I have had so many GM cars that have had this and I have never had a problem with this on any of them. I'm not sure why it's a "Worst of" feature. But, as is typical of the critics of the time, they had to find fault with GM in some way, and had to rank on something else they came out with that the critics decided they didn't like so they could find yet another reason to complain. The critics were constantly complaining about GM during this time period and couldn't ever see anything good in anything GM ever did. And yes, the Olds 98 Regency of this time period does have a nice interior with nice velour seats. It is nice that you seem to appreciate that.

[@hauskahirvi]

I drove a few cars with this. I did not find it difficult to use. I got used to it. I liked the accelerate feature.

[@videoviewer2008]

I miss the multifunction stalk. Worked great on our 89 Silverado, and my 84 Olds 442.