Little things that please us in car design

[DennisTheMenace]

What are the little things in a car that make you go "wow thats a good idea" ?

On the saab im currently bombing about in , its night panel , such a simple thing but makes night driving so much more plesant.

normal


night panel


should the fuel level drop below 15 litres, or temp shoot up, or the boost has a wobbly the guage will light up , same goes if you rev it over 5500rpm the tacho springs to life .

also there are vents at the base of the rear side windows to clear them if they mist up , and the centre console ignition. plus it has "follow me home" headlights something a few manufactures coo about today , this is a 14 year old car ! im bound to find more over time but im really liking my quirky little 900

Edited by DennisTheMenace on Monday 2nd August 01:12

[slipstream 1985]

on my and all mk1 clio's theres a plastic cover that folds over the cd player. i used to think it was the best idea.

[anonymous-user]

Speakers in the headrests of my mk1 MX5 - roof down=noisy=put speakers closer to ears! Have any other manufacturers ever copied this idea?

[vit4]

The ashtray on a mk1 Focus. Perfectly placed and the way it boings out is quite cool

[Great Pretender]

Flip-up fuel cap on her TT.

Makes me smile every time.

[Dracoro]

yellowbentines said:

Speakers in the headrests of my mk1 MX5 - roof down=noisy=put speakers closer to ears! Have any other manufacturers ever copied this idea?

Newer S2000s have speakers in the roll over hoops. I would suspect many other roadsters these days have the same or similar.

[635djimmy]

I like like the Orange ambient lighting in my 6

I'm easily pleased though..

Edited by 635djimmy on Monday 2nd August 00:53

[tossbag]

DennisTheMenace said:

What are the little things in a car that make you go "wow thats a good idea" ?

On the saab im currently bombing about in , its night panel , such a simple thing but makes night driving so much more plesant.

normal


night panel


sould the fuel level dropp below 15 litres or temp shoot up or the boost has a wobbly the guage will light up , same goes if you rev it oer 5500rpm the tacho springs to life .

also ther are vents at teh base of the rear side windows to clear them if they mist up , and the centre console ignition. plus it has "follow me home" headlights something a few manufactures coo about today , this is a 14 year old car ! im bound to find more over time but im really liking my quirky little 900

I have a 9-3 a few years younger than yours, same interior though mainly.
Have you found the cup holder on the dash? Little blanl looking bit of plastic maybe 1 cm deep by 20 cm wide, if your car has one, push the plastic panel and a cup holder folds out in a bizzare way, very cool.
Also, check the front edge of your front seats, they have handy pockets there.
Try pressing the lock button twice on your key fob, the car will beep, your immobiliser is now on

[gazchap]

Strangely enough, I find myself missing the plastic bag hooks that were in the boot on my previous Celica.

[slipstream 1985]

635djimmy said:

I like like the Orange ambient lighting in my 6

I'm easily pleased though..

Edited by 635djimmy on Monday 2nd August 00:53

i got it from your name but "6" could be a million different cars!!

[635djimmy]

Didin't really think that one through

[Mastodon2]

I like cars with cossetting or bunker like interiors. I like to feel like I'm sitting in the cockpit of a jet liner. Cars with big centre tunnel / consoles are excellent.



The way the centre console of this Honda NSX slopes down is perfect. It tucks you right in. In cars where the interior doesnt wrap around the driver I feel like I'm just rattling aroud inside the car rather than bunkered in.

This is my idea of a bad setup

[Hitler Hadrump]

That night panel thing is lovely.

There's a little touch I like on the current Golf, although I'm struggling to describe it. The parcel shelf strings have plastic weights on the bottom so they 'retract' into the boot if detached from the tailgate. These weights have little rubber fins so they don't clatter about in the boot. A very little thing, but it impressed me.

[ex vtskid]

Bright switch on Classic Impreza

On a serious note the stowage for rear passengers in the Ka is quite nice

[Carpie]

Mastodon2 said:

I like cars with cossetting or bunker like interiors. I like to feel like I'm sitting in the cockpit of a jet liner. Cars with big centre tunnel / consoles are excellent.

The way the centre console of this Honda NSX slopes down is perfect. It tucks you right in. In cars where the interior doesnt wrap around the driver I feel like I'm just rattling aroud inside the car rather than bunkered in.

This is my idea of a bad setup

Absolutely, love this on my MR2 MK2. That NSX interior looks fantastic.

I'd love night panel as well.

[Xaero]

My AE86 dinged a bell constantly when going over 100. Great for that initial D touch :-) It dinged faster the faster the car went too.

[mattdaniels]

On SWMBO's Discovery3 when you put it in to reverse the mirrors tilt down so that you can see the rear wheels and road.

On the new Discovery4 if you are towing and put the car into reverse, the TV in the dash shows a rear camera view with lines drawn on it showing where the trailer wheels are going to go.

Very neat.

[Daston]

The fact my tuscan has no door handles, locks or horrid fuel filler cap on show.

[g3org3y]

The old BMW way of having the dash angled to the driver. On my E36, but even more evident on my E30.



I also love the simplicity of the old design, pull out switch for the headlamps, first notch for sidelights, second for dipped, rotate to alter the brightness of the dash. Ergonomically spot on, don't even need to look down to adjust anything.

[109 Bob]

Quarter light windows in the front were brilliant.