Astonishingly strange features on a car

[cptsideways]

The spare wheel "alignment tool" you get with many cars that don't have wheel studs, to assist you in the middle of the night in the peeing rain & crap weather because they fitted your car with wheel bolts not studs so you can't align the effing holes up. And off course the wheel falls off the hub everytime you go & try & find the poxy thing

Volvo & a few others who fit a wee spike/prong on the hub to assist you aligning the wheel up, works great if you can see it in the pitch black of night

I do like the Saab instrument darkener, Volvo's often have a similar feature, handy of your on cruise on a transcontinental run

[asbo]

fatboy b said:

Mine has a stalk on the steering column that when raised or lowered switches bright orange lights on that then flash on either side of the car. These are pretty good for telling other road users which way I wish to go at roundabouts & junctions. Seems that Volvo, BMW & white-vans makers have yet to include this feature on their models.

Edited by fatboy b on Tuesday 9th December 09:05

My friend that Joke is so old, they re-wrote the Illiad to include it.

Let it die eh?

[balls-out]

Peugeot 604s had a folding hook in the front footwell for a handbag. On the right hand side, regardless of the steering wheel side.
105 Alfa's had a choke and separate fast idle level - but because they ran twin webbers, neither we really needed. You also had to open the passenger door to open the boot on the GTVs.
Mk1 audi coupe had central locking on the boot even though there was a key to the boot and it could only be opened from inside.
early minis had bin in the doors so after rain you could transport fish around without killing them

Edited by balls-out on Tuesday 9th December 09:21

[touching cloth]

fathomfive said:

jmorgan said:

touching cloth said:

Saab's "night panel" feature has to rank highly - I used it once when I had my Saab, thought it was silly and never pressed it again - oddly I have never found the other instruments have distracted me from driving a car and am happy to have them illuminated.

I like it.

+1 I drive to work in the pitch black of 5am at the moment and I find it very useful. Especially when you dim the panel aswell.

Clearly you are both insane and/or have Top Gun delusions ... I bet you call your passengers Ice and Goose

[OJ]

useyourdellusion said:

topless_mx5 said:

OJ said:

My favourite pointless feature has to be the water spray on the Evo... It appears to make absolutely no difference to anything whatsoever.

Doesnt that spray water on the intercooler or something like that? Saw it on fifth gear once.

It does indeed spray water on the intercooler, which, as I said, appears to make absolutely no difference to anything whatsoever... except inlet cooler moistness!

Most owners pull them off! The previous owner of my car never used it!

[carl_w]

Motorrad said:

Another Subaru one.

Some Imprezas have a large, prominently placed button marked 'Bright'. The sole function of the switch is to toggle the LED clock between 2 light intensity settings- both of which are more or less the same.

It's much more subtle than that. In normal conditions the BRIGHT button does nothing. But when you switch on the headlights, the LED clock is automatically dimmed. If, however, you've switched on the headlights in the daytime because it's foggy or you just fancy having them on for a bit, a swift press of the BRIGHT button will return the LED clock to its former intensity.

A simple BRIGHT/DIM would be far too simple.

[fathomfive]

touching cloth said:

fathomfive said:

jmorgan said:

touching cloth said:

Saab's "night panel" feature has to rank highly - I used it once when I had my Saab, thought it was silly and never pressed it again - oddly I have never found the other instruments have distracted me from driving a car and am happy to have them illuminated.

I like it.

+1 I drive to work in the pitch black of 5am at the moment and I find it very useful. Especially when you dim the panel aswell.

Clearly you are both insane and/or have Top Gun delusions ... I bet you call your passengers Ice and Goose

Yes, but in a Swedish accent.

[courtster]

The voice control in the 2006- Honda Civic. Absolutely pointless and it never understands you anyway. You can ask it the time, but there's a clock right in front of you. Ask to dial the last number and it starts speaking German at you.

[OJ]

Oooh ooh! I just thought of another one that will surely defeat all in both being expensive AND pointless

[ajprice]

The Mini Clubman RHD side door. Surely this qualifies!

[jmorgan]

touching cloth said:

fathomfive said:

jmorgan said:

touching cloth said:

Saab's "night panel" feature has to rank highly - I used it once when I had my Saab, thought it was silly and never pressed it again - oddly I have never found the other instruments have distracted me from driving a car and am happy to have them illuminated.

I like it.

+1 I drive to work in the pitch black of 5am at the moment and I find it very useful. Especially when you dim the panel aswell.

Clearly you are both insane and/or have Top Gun delusions ... I bet you call your passengers Ice and Goose

Point of order..... to have top gun delusions would we not want more lights?



Stealth fighters over eyerak..... That's more like it. In a Swedish accent.

Edited by jmorgan on Tuesday 9th December 09:41

[TonyHetherington]

I've never quite understood Mercedes' reason for allowing you to lower all the headrests at a flick of a switch, but then not being able to raise them.

One would assume it's to be able to see out the back, but it's such a mechanical non reversible action it seems, I don't know, odd!!

[Mr POD]

My astra has a rear wiper. Only it does not move. I suspect this is a standard feature.
It also has an electric aerial. It makes a noise, but the mast stays at half mast. Fecking pointless.
and paint that is peeling off. What is the point ?

[yellowbentines]

TonyHetherington said:

I've never quite understood Mercedes' reason for allowing you to lower all the headrests at a flick of a switch, but then not being able to raise them.

One would assume it's to be able to see out the back, but it's such a mechanical non reversible action it seems, I don't know, odd!!

My previous Merc had this option, great for increasing rear view vision when reversing. I've never understood why you'd want to raise them again from the front, rear head restraints won't benefit you unless you're sitting in the back, in which case you can raise them again when you get in!

...unless of course you're a stickler for head restraint symmetry

[Gad-Westy]

Its a key Aston, a f**ing key!

Edited by Gad-Westy on Tuesday 9th December 10:31

[MrV]

OJ said:

Oooh ooh! I just thought of another one that will surely defeat all in both being expensive AND pointless

what is it ?

[fatboy b]

asbo said:

fatboy b said:

Mine has a stalk on the steering column that when raised or lowered switches bright orange lights on that then flash on either side of the car. These are pretty good for telling other road users which way I wish to go at roundabouts & junctions. Seems that Volvo, BMW & white-vans makers have yet to include this feature on their models.

Edited by fatboy b on Tuesday 9th December 09:05

My friend that Joke is so old, they re-wrote the Illiad to include it.

Let it die eh?

Cheer up you miserable git.

[deviant]

MrV said:

OJ said:

Oooh ooh! I just thought of another one that will surely defeat all in both being expensive AND pointless

what is it ?

A Land Rover branded rechargable shaver for the exec on the go*

• Might not be true

[Crusoe]

looks like that silly adventure camera you could stick onto the car and see video inside, probably really useful in some situations though if you were stuck somewhere on your own and could have some fun downloading clips.

mid-'30s Pierce Arrow had a vacuum assisted ash tray. You flicked your ash into the tray, then hit a button and it disappeared, vacuumed into a jar under the bonnet.

[RedLeicester]

deviant said:

MrV said:

OJ said:

Oooh ooh! I just thought of another one that will surely defeat all in both being expensive AND pointless

what is it ?

A Land Rover branded rechargable shaver for the exec on the go*

• Might not be true

Venturecam - Bluetooth camera, rubberised shell and magnetic so you can stick it to the bodywork and the footage shows up on the dashboard... so yes, pretty much pointless!