My rental car, and likely the next cars I own, have a digital or touch or whatever control interface. That is, there are no mechanical buttons for most things, like 5 buttons for preset radio stations.
That's fine except for one thing. When I see someone walking by and I need to ask a question, I can't hear him or even myself until I turn the radio down, and that takes 6 seconds, using the Volume Down button the steering wheel. By that time he's gone or he's losing patience with me
Is there some Mute button on any of these car radios, or should I plan on installing my own in my next car?**
Also there are news stories I won't listen to, like the recent story about the report on the shootings and murder of little school children at Uvalde Texas. I listened once and that was too much and then they went on for an hour it seems. To know when the topic had changed, I had to turn the volume up, 6 seconds, and down again, 6 more seconds.
My current car, the 2005 Toyota, has a "digital" radio but they left the volume control. One flick of the thumb and forefinger, less than a second to put the volute to mute or undo that.
**I had to make iirc 7 modifications to my current car. 1) a button on the so I could open the trunk while the car was running and without the fob (which is hard to use when in the ignition and would not work when the car was running.) 2) crush the beeper that beeped whenever the car was runing and my seat belt wasn't on and the door was open, or something like that. All I know is it was very annoying and my life was better once I got rid of it. 3) cut the wire the top motor that prevented raising or lowering the top when going over 8? mph. I've been doing this for over 50 years and only the last 2 cars had this rule. I only do it when leaving or arriving home and going under 10, or when hurriedly putting the top up in the rain, and going under 15. I know enough not to do it at 40mph or I'll ruin my top, probably the mechanism too. 4) I know t here were 3 or 4 more and I always have trouble remembering all at the same time