In Russia, You Play Tetris in Traffic
Hidden in the gauge cluster is the retro puzzle game for your amusement.
There is no worse feeling than seeing your planned path of trajectory lit up in red. Whether it is during the morning commute to work or the evening rush to get home, eventually, we come to a screeching halt in the middle of the freeway. Then we wait. Wait until everyone is finished rubbernecking at the car on the side of the road that decided to spontaneously combust.
Smartphones are an easy way to pass the time but the use of them while driving is becoming increasingly banned. Engineers at a Russian automaker have developed the perfect solution: Tetris. The GAZelle NEXT features the game a la an easter egg in the instrument cluster. It can only be accessed by performing a number of steps which include using the turn signal three times, flashing the high-beam twice and depressing the clutch five times. Once the sequence is done correctly, the game appears on the small screen situated between the tachometer and speedometer. To play, you must use the odometer stalk—no touchscreen here.
While entertaining, this is certainly no safer than using your smartphone. It is a fun feature at best and should not be used while driving. This would, however, explain all of those accidents in Russia.