Car trends that you hope die
Discussion
It's been mentioned several times but fake exhaust pipes.
The latest trend is rectangular looking trims built into the bottom of the bumper to make the exhaust look oversized. Skoda do it, Mercedes, Volvo etc etc. BMW historically have stuck to proper exhausts, but not any more, new 5 series, X6, 7 series etc, all fake rectangular things.
The Golf R looks like it has 4 pipes, but if you look underneath the estate then thats fake. My old passat was a twin pipe exhaust, but look underneath and it was a single pipe that splt into two.
Why?
The latest trend is rectangular looking trims built into the bottom of the bumper to make the exhaust look oversized. Skoda do it, Mercedes, Volvo etc etc. BMW historically have stuck to proper exhausts, but not any more, new 5 series, X6, 7 series etc, all fake rectangular things.
The Golf R looks like it has 4 pipes, but if you look underneath the estate then thats fake. My old passat was a twin pipe exhaust, but look underneath and it was a single pipe that splt into two.
Why?
Automated windscreen wipers which never get the speed right.
It used to be zero effort to set the speed yourself, didn’t it? Little flick of a control up or down a notch. No trouble at all. Now it is like a game of whack-a-mole as the wipers constantly change speed seemingly at random and you have to try and override the settings by using intermittent in monsoon and full blast in a light drizzle.
It used to be zero effort to set the speed yourself, didn’t it? Little flick of a control up or down a notch. No trouble at all. Now it is like a game of whack-a-mole as the wipers constantly change speed seemingly at random and you have to try and override the settings by using intermittent in monsoon and full blast in a light drizzle.
you are a barrel of laughs! What a strange post. Manual gearboxes aren't stupid, a fad or retro. Burgerbob said:
It's been mentioned several times but fake exhaust pipes.
The latest trend is rectangular looking trims built into the bottom of the bumper to make the exhaust look oversized. Skoda do it, Mercedes, Volvo etc etc. BMW historically have stuck to proper exhausts, but not any more, new 5 series, X6, 7 series etc, all fake rectangular things.
The Golf R looks like it has 4 pipes, but if you look underneath the estate then thats fake. My old passat was a twin pipe exhaust, but look underneath and it was a single pipe that splt into two.
Why?
The golf r does have 4, but it only uses one on each side most of the time unless it’s in sport,The latest trend is rectangular looking trims built into the bottom of the bumper to make the exhaust look oversized. Skoda do it, Mercedes, Volvo etc etc. BMW historically have stuck to proper exhausts, but not any more, new 5 series, X6, 7 series etc, all fake rectangular things.
The Golf R looks like it has 4 pipes, but if you look underneath the estate then thats fake. My old passat was a twin pipe exhaust, but look underneath and it was a single pipe that splt into two.
Why?
BMW have gone to pot, they used to fit a single exhaust pipe to the 320, a twin too the 330 and 2 singles in the middle on the 335, but now the 318 gets single 320 double and 340 is the 2 in the middle
But the 2 series active and new 5 with 20 engines ha e them in the middle
..a long way from the days where you could have a 540, a proper V8, and hidden exit behind the valance - so it looks like a taxi, but certainly doesn't go like one.
meh.
ETA; but then I'm weird like that. One of the things I utterly-love about my Alpina B10 3.3 is that the exhaust makes a real, dirty, lopey-grumble for the driver for about a minute from a cold start, after which - it is silent once the pipes warm, as in, really-properly-silent unless you are working it.
Makes for such a nice thing to ooze-around in - esp. on long motorway runs. Proper straight-6 wailing accompanies all B-roads, but it's suggestive feedback, not blatant. Nor obnoxious to anyone outside.
meh.
ETA; but then I'm weird like that. One of the things I utterly-love about my Alpina B10 3.3 is that the exhaust makes a real, dirty, lopey-grumble for the driver for about a minute from a cold start, after which - it is silent once the pipes warm, as in, really-properly-silent unless you are working it.
Makes for such a nice thing to ooze-around in - esp. on long motorway runs. Proper straight-6 wailing accompanies all B-roads, but it's suggestive feedback, not blatant. Nor obnoxious to anyone outside.
Edited by Huff on Saturday 25th November 02:04
DoubleD said:
Well I quite like the look of exhausts at each side of the bumper, even if it gives no actual benefit and adds weight.
The Golf R though looks a bit odd with its 4.
I appreciate the symmetry but a 4 pot with as many exhausts is just stupid. The old R32 with the two pipes in the centre looked spot on.The Golf R though looks a bit odd with its 4.
ensignia said:
talksthetorque said:
DJT said:
The Audi engineers recognised that their drivers had lost interest in indicators. Their solution was to animate them to make them more interesting, but unfortunately the appeal was short-lived.
It was a joy to have to learn precisely when to flick trafficators up on the B pillar, now they're fancy electronics and almost completely automated, it's taken all the fun out of driving. Just like auto boxes replacing manuals now.
king yawn fest.
The absolute obsession with the perceived economy of diesel engines.
I drive a diesel, however, it's not all that economical or fast and I bought it knowing that. People seem genuinely disgusted when I tell them I average 36mpg.
I'm perfectly happy with that return from a medium sized saloon car with an auto gearbox, but so many people suck air through their teeth when they find out my MPG, which is inevitably the first question people ask.
I drove a Saab until a couple of years ago and I used to grin when telling people it did 22mpg.
I drive a diesel, however, it's not all that economical or fast and I bought it knowing that. People seem genuinely disgusted when I tell them I average 36mpg.
I'm perfectly happy with that return from a medium sized saloon car with an auto gearbox, but so many people suck air through their teeth when they find out my MPG, which is inevitably the first question people ask.
I drove a Saab until a couple of years ago and I used to grin when telling people it did 22mpg.
Blind hope, as it's all here to stay and will only get worse..but here's just a few..
Digital dash (like a PlayStation game), fake exhausts/exhaust trim, brings and bongs to remind you of everything, daytime running LEDs & brake lights, any autonomous driver aid, infotainment/iPads, automatic boot closure, electronic handbrakes, making cars ever biiiigggggeeeerrrr, turbo-charging & cylinder reduction, not offering a manual gearbox option, all EVs
Owner/Driver added..
Wraps, black wheels, mis-spaced number plates, black Windows, mis-badging your base model as the top of range, farty exhausts on family hatches, various RangeRover abominations (there should be a law about keeping a RR factory spec)
Digital dash (like a PlayStation game), fake exhausts/exhaust trim, brings and bongs to remind you of everything, daytime running LEDs & brake lights, any autonomous driver aid, infotainment/iPads, automatic boot closure, electronic handbrakes, making cars ever biiiigggggeeeerrrr, turbo-charging & cylinder reduction, not offering a manual gearbox option, all EVs
Owner/Driver added..
Wraps, black wheels, mis-spaced number plates, black Windows, mis-badging your base model as the top of range, farty exhausts on family hatches, various RangeRover abominations (there should be a law about keeping a RR factory spec)
People who only use the "left" signal indicate when using a roundabout....just stop it...now!
2 ton SUVs being used to cart little johnny to school or carry a bag of shopping....
Selfish morons who leave their engines (normal diesels) running whilst parked up and using their lap-top/I Phone etc....
Haven't read the forty pages of thread, and my guess is, this has been touched on already. But I wish cars, especially sports coupes/convertibles and any other sporty cars would stop getting heavier, more inert, blunter/feel-less, less tactile and generally more isolated/disconnected from the driving experience. Electronic accelerator pedals, instead of a cable or rod physically connecting you to the game, electric power steering etc
But, most of all, power and torque go up, so platform and suspension settings have to be made stiffer, and tyres bigger, to maintain sufficient body control to put down said power and torque. Stiffer platform and suspension make weight go up, so power and torque are increased, again, to compensate. And round and round it goes...
All the older/wiser driving enthusiasts I respect, end up owning/wanting either a Lotus Elise or a Caterham. There's probably a reason for that.
But, most of all, power and torque go up, so platform and suspension settings have to be made stiffer, and tyres bigger, to maintain sufficient body control to put down said power and torque. Stiffer platform and suspension make weight go up, so power and torque are increased, again, to compensate. And round and round it goes...
All the older/wiser driving enthusiasts I respect, end up owning/wanting either a Lotus Elise or a Caterham. There's probably a reason for that.
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