It's the little things
Discussion
M11rph said:
The tiny "centre sun visor" was found on many VAG cars until the early 2000s. Deleted and they moved to the default stippled/patterned interior glass decal. Similar job, not as much fun.
Sun visors which slide aft once you've unclipped them to block the sun from the side seem to be a dieing breed too. Always found them genuinely useful.
Dipsticks. All the modern systems are nice, but there's no substitute for dangling something in the oil and pulling it out, squint, move it around in the light, wipe and replace.
My sister in laws Renault 25 had that and it worked much better than the black decal.Mercedes started using the electronic oil level sensor several years ago but you could retrofit a dipstick if you wanted.It was easier to do on the vans than the trucks as with them you had to buy a six foot long dipstick and and cut it to length.Sun visors which slide aft once you've unclipped them to block the sun from the side seem to be a dieing breed too. Always found them genuinely useful.
Dipsticks. All the modern systems are nice, but there's no substitute for dangling something in the oil and pulling it out, squint, move it around in the light, wipe and replace.
Kuwahara said:
I like the bonnet that opens fully on the E class I used to have ,clever piece of design…
More cars than you'd think do this (I know that JLR cars all do for example - there are locking levers that can be pressed on the hinge when the bonnet is vertical.)The real.reason for this is for ease of access on the assembly line. At some points in the Trim & Final process, there can be 4-5 people all working on the underbonnet area simultaneously.
CAT diesels often have two sets of level marks on the dipstick. Engine Stopped and Low Idle, which can be handy if you remember to read the correct side.
They also have devices to prevent them spitting out the stick and spraying oil around, which they'll do at the drop of a hat.
Both my Lancia Betas had a device on the dash for checking the oil from the drivers seat. Essentially a vacuum gauge. You pressed down on a pushbutton which pumped the oil out of a fine tube and when you let go it briefly showed the resulting vacuum as oil level.
Sort of okay with cold oil but not accurate enough to rely on. But at least it showed there was oil in the engine which was useful on the short stroke 1600 since it was a prodigious oil burner.
They also have devices to prevent them spitting out the stick and spraying oil around, which they'll do at the drop of a hat.
Both my Lancia Betas had a device on the dash for checking the oil from the drivers seat. Essentially a vacuum gauge. You pressed down on a pushbutton which pumped the oil out of a fine tube and when you let go it briefly showed the resulting vacuum as oil level.
Sort of okay with cold oil but not accurate enough to rely on. But at least it showed there was oil in the engine which was useful on the short stroke 1600 since it was a prodigious oil burner.
Mk 4 civic, the airvent next to the driver's door had a lever which let cold air in from outside, bypassing the heater. An early bizone/ dual zone. Warm feet and cool face. Also the led clock went out w the ignition off, but iff you press it's flap it lit up.
Nissan sunny 3 Dr hatch, the rear side windows could be opened with sliders between the front seats.
Mk 6 civic had elliptical warning lights. Not useful, but I thought they looked really cool!
Nissan sunny 3 Dr hatch, the rear side windows could be opened with sliders between the front seats.
Mk 6 civic had elliptical warning lights. Not useful, but I thought they looked really cool!
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff