It's the little things
Discussion
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.
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.
JagYouAre said:
Talking of sun visors, my old Polo had a little mini one in the middle tucked behind the rear view mirror to fill the gap between the main ones. Probably only got used once or twice a year when the sun is in a particular position and you're travelling in a certain direction, but it was there when needed.
I've note seen it in any car since.
By the way most sun visors unclip on the middle fastening don't they? So you can turn it round to the side window.
My dad had one of those in his Honda Legend.I've note seen it in any car since.
By the way most sun visors unclip on the middle fastening don't they? So you can turn it round to the side window.
And, it was only yesterday, after nearly eight years of ownership, that I noticed that our Subaru Forester's sun visors had pull out sliders that did the same job.
shed driver said:
Sometimes little automotive touches really stick in the mind. For example, late 1980s Nissan Bluebirds had twin trip meters. They are very common now, but back then it was quite uncommon, if not unique in family cars.
SD.
Look at that. Such a good design. The stalks are chunky and clearly labelled. The heated rear window button is right there in front of you.SD.
Need to clear the screen? Swipe all the heater controls to the right, don't even need to look away from the road! Slidey heater controls look dated now, but they made a lot of sense.
EDIT: Is that the electric one, IIRC built by Nissan (or for Nissan) and the rev counter was re-purposed? Think the fuel gauge actually showed battery charge, too.
Edited by DKS on Friday 10th February 09:14
hungry_hog said:
my 996 C4s had a compartment to hold CDs.. I can't remember if this was to play them or just hold them
If you put a CD inside it would show orange, if it was empty would be white
That model was produced up to 2004 and it really seems a different age, was before smartphones arrived
10 years before that, cars were still being made with storage for cassettes. I think the pic below is an aftermarket one, and the pic is a quick grab from Google, but it's how they looked. I remember my Dad having one in his succession of Escorts and Sierras in the 80s and 90s:If you put a CD inside it would show orange, if it was empty would be white
That model was produced up to 2004 and it really seems a different age, was before smartphones arrived
Chubbyross said:
Porsche 997/987 era cup holders. They were a thing of beauty. Worth buying the cars just to ping the cup holders in and out. They’re guaranteed to keep your kids happy for the whole journey.
For the first couple of months of my Cayman ownership, I thought these were a bit crap as you could only put a slim bottle/cup in them.Then I realised you can adjust them
mikey_b said:
10 years before that, cars were still being made with storage for cassettes. I think the pic below is an aftermarket one, and the pic is a quick grab from Google, but it's how they looked. I remember my Dad having one in his succession of Escorts and Sierras in the 80s and 90s:
My Opel Superboss had a stack of them. A source of at least 10% of the rattles 
mikey_b said:
hungry_hog said:
my 996 C4s had a compartment to hold CDs.. I can't remember if this was to play them or just hold them
If you put a CD inside it would show orange, if it was empty would be white
That model was produced up to 2004 and it really seems a different age, was before smartphones arrived
10 years before that, cars were still being made with storage for cassettes. I think the pic below is an aftermarket one, and the pic is a quick grab from Google, but it's how they looked. I remember my Dad having one in his succession of Escorts and Sierras in the 80s and 90s:If you put a CD inside it would show orange, if it was empty would be white
That model was produced up to 2004 and it really seems a different age, was before smartphones arrived
I'm another one who thought the bottle opener thing VW's is a bit weird. Our MK5 Golf had one. Looked entirely unused.
Quite liked the Nissan Almera curry hook.
JagYouAre said:
Second Best said:
I miss the two sun visors in my old Merc R and ML. Such a simple idea, probably adds 50p to each car's production cost, but makes life a lot easier when commuting when the sun's in that very annoying place between the front and side.
Talking of sun visors, my old Polo had a little mini one in the middle tucked behind the rear view mirror to fill the gap between the main ones. Probably only got used once or twice a year when the sun is in a particular position and you're travelling in a certain direction, but it was there when needed. I've note seen it in any car since.
By the way most sun visors unclip on the middle fastening don't they? So you can turn it round to the side window.
S600BSB said:
Chubbyross said:
Completely agree - beautiful design!Djtemeka said:
HTP99 said:
TheOctaneAddict said:
My VW Scirocco had a bottle opener in the center console.
I always found that a weird addition in VW's, I don't know about anyone else but the only bottles I've ever needed a bottle opener for, have contained alcohol!
Chubbyross said:
S600BSB said:
I’ve always wondered how many people worked on the design and how long it took them. I can almost imagine that there was a darkened room deep within Porsche HQ with “Cup Holder Design Team” on the door with dozens of deeply nerdy people beavering away on the design. Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff