Idiosyncratic features to be savoured
Discussion
OverSteery said:
Of a similar era, by Dad's mate demoed his Audi Coupe's central locking. you could hear the air pump and the click from the boot when it locked. He was unable to explain why there needed to be a boot lock when there was no external key or handle to open it, as it only released from inside the car
larrylamb11 said:
saaby93 said:
SAAB does this too but to be honest Ive no idea how. Ive done it once by accident
From memory, switch off car, pull out key, open drivers door, flash headlamps by pulling back on high/low beam stalk, get out of car and close door.... lights should come on when the door closes. 
The length of time they stay on for is programmable via Tech 2.
The Don of Croy said:
Really? Forgive me, but I haven't used another car with radio on/off+volume on the right, eg under the drivers left hand, and assumed it was clever Japanese detailing. And yet 'every car' since 1990 has had them? Wowsers...
My neighbour had a Brera (he's a serial Alfa Romeo fan - there are three on the drive currently) with a black glass roof. Very nice, but actually hidden from the occupants by standard rooflining. So, heavier than steel, lets in no light, possibly increases premiums and performs no practical function except to look funky.
The first gen Lexus IS200 had the radio volume/on/off knob on the right for RHD markets and on the left for LHD markets.My neighbour had a Brera (he's a serial Alfa Romeo fan - there are three on the drive currently) with a black glass roof. Very nice, but actually hidden from the occupants by standard rooflining. So, heavier than steel, lets in no light, possibly increases premiums and performs no practical function except to look funky.
The Don of Croy said:
Trabi601 said:
You do realise that those 'features' you listed are present on almost every car since 1990?
Really? Forgive me, but I haven't used another car with radio on/off+volume on the right, eg under the drivers left hand, and assumed it was clever Japanese detailing. And yet 'every car' since 1990 has had them? Wowsers...Every design ever for radios has the volume on the left knob and tuning on the right
Toyota or someone thinks its more convenient to make the right know volume since its more convenient
Except they already have volume up and down buttons under the drivers left thumb on the steering wheel
Anyway when you're not using those you can move across to the left knob to change the volume and change station instead
Brilliant idea - not. Dont they keep them around the right way for Japanese RHD cars anyway?
The Don of Croy said:
My neighbour had a Brera (he's a serial Alfa Romeo fan - there are three on the drive currently) with a black glass roof. Very nice, but actually hidden from the occupants by standard rooflining. So, heavier than steel, lets in no light, possibly increases premiums and performs no practical function except to look funky.
All Breras had the glass roof. However you could only see through it on the SV model - Sky View. Bizarrely on the Prodrive S model, they did away with the retractable electric roof blind in favour of a fixed headlining to "save weight" but retained the enormously heavy glass roof... 
Re: Global closing' of windows. I remember this feature on early Jag XJ-40s.
I found a modern day version of this in my Discovery Sport. Like most cars these days you can open and shut the windows via the remote key. However it has keyless entry where it senses when you pull the door handle and unlocks. There's a dent in the handle which you touch to lock. If you hold your finger in the dent the windows open. Do it again and they close. Handy in the summer.
Also in the Discovery Sport, there are four 'secret' bag hooks. They are fitted into the polystyrene that the tyre kit and towing eyes are under the boot floor. Being black hooks set in black polystyrene they are easy to overlook. If you pop them out they snap onto rails on the side of the boot and you can place them anywhere along the length of the boot.
And if you want to disable the seat belt reminder bongs you sit in the drivers seat with the ignition on then clip
and unclip the belt 13 times.
I found a modern day version of this in my Discovery Sport. Like most cars these days you can open and shut the windows via the remote key. However it has keyless entry where it senses when you pull the door handle and unlocks. There's a dent in the handle which you touch to lock. If you hold your finger in the dent the windows open. Do it again and they close. Handy in the summer.
Also in the Discovery Sport, there are four 'secret' bag hooks. They are fitted into the polystyrene that the tyre kit and towing eyes are under the boot floor. Being black hooks set in black polystyrene they are easy to overlook. If you pop them out they snap onto rails on the side of the boot and you can place them anywhere along the length of the boot.
And if you want to disable the seat belt reminder bongs you sit in the drivers seat with the ignition on then clip
and unclip the belt 13 times.
Edited by wildcat45 on Monday 3rd April 22:50
Not that I've ever owned one, but I always admired the Saab approach of putting the ignition on the floor between the seats (protect from crash injury?) and require reverse gear to be selected before taking the key out. Very simple and clever.
The night panel has already been mentioned, but iirc it also re-illuminates all the dash if the speed exceeds 70mph.
Does anybody know why Rover had 'hinged' keys back in the 1990's? (There may be many things ARG did that are beyond the whit of mortal man)
The night panel has already been mentioned, but iirc it also re-illuminates all the dash if the speed exceeds 70mph.
Does anybody know why Rover had 'hinged' keys back in the 1990's? (There may be many things ARG did that are beyond the whit of mortal man)
hidetheelephants said:
wildcat45 said:
And if you want to disable the seat belt reminder bongs you sit in the drivers seat with the ignition on then clip
and unclip the belt 13 times.
FFS; 13 times? Who has time for crap like that? 4-5 would be ample.and unclip the belt 13 times.
TooMany2cvs said:
hidetheelephants said:
wildcat45 said:
And if you want to disable the seat belt reminder bongs you sit in the drivers seat with the ignition on then clip
and unclip the belt 13 times.
FFS; 13 times? Who has time for crap like that? 4-5 would be ample.and unclip the belt 13 times.
On topic
For some reason SAAB rear seatbelts and a gender issue with frustratedly trying to get the male bit into the female bit
Edited by saaby93 on Tuesday 4th April 09:53
C70R said:
There seems to be an emerging theme here of Alfa and Citroen being mentioned a lot.
When does it stop being an idiosyncrasy and start just being consistently poor/unergonomic design?
Convention is not always correct...When does it stop being an idiosyncrasy and start just being consistently poor/unergonomic design?
Alfa, though, bless 'em - they certainly do do some weird ergonomics... <glares at nearest 75> - but also the 155 I had, with the rear fog light switch in the end of a stalk, the front in front of the gearlever... (I'm sure there were other oddities with that, too)
The Don of Croy said:
Not that I've ever owned one, but I always admired the Saab approach of putting the ignition on the floor between the seats (protect from crash injury?) and require reverse gear to be selected before taking the key out. Very simple and clever.
The night panel has already been mentioned, but iirc it also re-illuminates all the dash if the speed exceeds 70mph.
Does anybody know why Rover had 'hinged' keys back in the 1990's? (There may be many things ARG did that are beyond the whit of mortal man)
Apparently it is hinged so it doesn't hurt your knee if you hit it in a crash. It also minimizes the risk of getting stabbed in the bThe night panel has already been mentioned, but iirc it also re-illuminates all the dash if the speed exceeds 70mph.
Does anybody know why Rover had 'hinged' keys back in the 1990's? (There may be many things ARG did that are beyond the whit of mortal man)
ks when you have the key in your pocket.http://www.aronline.co.uk/blogs/ar-cars/unsung-her...
saaby93 said:
ok another SAAB - with all this random stuff is it any wonder they went bust 
RDS time set
At the BST/GMT change you can press the clock H and M buttons together and a message pops up on the screen 'RDS RETUNE' and it'll get the time from the RDS messages on the radio station
I've always been irritated that the other cars I've had alongside my 9-5 don't do this - the clocks in them have always been hopelessly inaccurate and it's a PITA to change the time compared to the SAAB system.RDS time set
At the BST/GMT change you can press the clock H and M buttons together and a message pops up on the screen 'RDS RETUNE' and it'll get the time from the RDS messages on the radio station
morgrp said:
HTP99 said:
DoctorX said:
Oilchange said:
Lance Catamaran said:
Pop up headlights
First thought that popped into my head
TooMany2cvs said:
Convention is not always correct...
Alfa, though, bless 'em - they certainly do do some weird ergonomics... <glares at nearest 75> - but also the 155 I had, with the rear fog light switch in the end of a stalk, the front in front of the gearlever... (I'm sure there were other oddities with that, too)
The cool thing about 155 stalks is that they have internal illumination. Can't ever recall another car I've had where the stalks light up when you switch on the headlights.Alfa, though, bless 'em - they certainly do do some weird ergonomics... <glares at nearest 75> - but also the 155 I had, with the rear fog light switch in the end of a stalk, the front in front of the gearlever... (I'm sure there were other oddities with that, too)
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