You'll get used to it is just what I said to my X girlfriend, right after I stuck it in the wrong hole.

Note the capital X

All car mfg car should note that capital X, make the car safer i.e. put the gages in front of me instead of NOTHING. Also, do away with this gas stuff, I've been driving for 18 years and it hurts more and more every time I fill'er up. I guess it's car ma... from the X

Now I will go to sleep

 

I do think having shifting light colors on the dash would be wonderous. My radio in the second gen doesn't have a choice for that like the little xB does. It's stays orange all the time. I still have my choice of colors in the illumination kit but think how cool if that illumination button changed the whole dashboard color. I also notice that when I turn down the brightness of the dashboard at night, the radio becomes too dark to see. I am having some trouble also with finding whatever song I feel like listening to on my iPod. I have been able to have the artist or the song name on the text part, but not able to manuever through the various songs. I've just been having to manually surf through all those songs to see if I can find it, and I get really frustrated.

 

I actually think the center-mounted instruments are probably safer than traditionally mounted gauges.

After reading this thread I did an unofficial "test" in my Volvo S40 while driving to work this morning. I tried to look at the speedometer while looking at the road at the same time. Then I tried to look at the center of the dash (where the speedometer is on the xB) and look at the road at the same time.

What did I find out? It's impossible to look at a speedometer and look at the road at the same time.

However, I was able to use my peripheral vision to see at least PART of the road while looking at the center of the dash. When I looked at the gauges in front of me I had to completely take my eyes off the road.

So, although it isn't particularly "safe" to look at the speedometer while driving (unless your car has a HUD) I think the center-mounted speedometer is at least a little "safer."

 

I think it might be easier to see since my hands and steering wheel won't block it.