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Idiotic things on new cars...

I put a set of Bilstein dampers on my Golf R, and am beyond pleased with the result. Somehow the car is both firmer and more comfortable. I guess you'd call that "refinement". It feels like a more expensive car now.

So I guess my nomination for "Idiotic things on new cars" is - dampers that are shot by 26,000 miles.
 
wulbert said:
I really don't buy that argument. Smells like bullshit to me. A way for owners of fat cars to justify their excess. How come small, light, efficient cars are still being built and sold? Don't these cars meet current safety standards?

Why Are Cars Killing More and More Pedestrians?
"And more Americans than ever are zipping around in SUVs and pickup trucks, which, thanks to their height, weight and shape are between two and three times more likely to kill people they hit. SUVs are also the most profitable cars on the market, for the simple reason buyers are willing to pay more for them. "
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Well the death data is not BS, neither are the safety features required by regulations to improve survivability for occupants and people being hit. These are facts backed by data and history. Cars are safer and part of that comes with more crumple zones, air bags and more space between people and the outside dangers.

There are no small light cars like the BMW originally pictured because it would fail every safety test and be unsaleable. We do have some light modern cars but they are very small and have a worse NCAP rating. Example the VW Up, premium brand well made but only a 3 star rating. If you are a worried new parent, what are you going to buy to transport baby around in?

Most "new" cars claim increased size as a benefit and it is continuous with cars getting bigger so they introduce another small model to pop in behind it. Fiesta used to be the smallest category now there is at least one model smaller. The inflation of cars is a thing and has been for a very long time, I agree cars are getting stupidly large but it is mainly what the public want and they are safer at least for the occupants.

The US pickup topic is largely irrelevant in the UK as their rules are different and pickups here have to com0ply with car legislation which is why we will not get the Tesla Cyber Truck thank goodness.
 
Watched the Top Gear review of the new Cybertruck, and it strikes me that with all these touchscreens in the centre of the car, and the UK being right-hand drive, and most folks being right-handed, that it's the non-dominant hand doing all the scrolling.

Fine for LHD, but ....
 
PaulMB said:
Good idea; one could have said that a Facel Vega was a "rather ballache car," or "There you are, Sue, looking very "ballache" this morning!" Except that Narabdela has "corrected" it to a vulgar and pedestrian "ball-ache" and spoilt it.
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Oh! Facel Vega!!! My dream classic car (yeah, I know, owning one is probably a nightmare...).
 
wulbert said:
Is there not a case for just making a car like this decade after decade? Just refine it gradually but keep components retro-fittable as far as humanly possible. Modular engine and transmission. Just make the perfect car and keep making it. forever. I'd buy one in a heartbeat.

I remember reading "Design for the Real World" by Victor Papinek where he is scathing about built-in obsolescence. He gives the example of the Zippo lighter where form and function are perfectly integrated. Lasts for ever. Bullet-proof. Not the cheapest fag lighter either. And yet they kept selling them in their millions decade after decade. People would own one, but still buy more; one for the car, one for the cabin, a fancy one for "posh', one for work etc.
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Well, the smoking guy owning the Zippo would probably not last for ever ;)
 
gintonic said:
end game reached - Polestar 4 arriving next year has no rear window

www.polestar.com

Polestar 4 – The electric SUV coupé | Polestar UK

Polestar 4 combines the aerodynamics of a coupé, the space of an SUV, and the technology for the electric age. Explore a new breed of EV.
www.polestar.com www.polestar.com
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Pah!

The French do it properly. No rear window, nor rear view camera in the A110 R.

www.alpine-cars.co.uk

A110 R

Discover A110 R, the sports car approved for the road created by Alpine. Speed, performance, weight, engine, and more. Build your A110 R.
www.alpine-cars.co.uk www.alpine-cars.co.uk
 
Tumeni Notes said:
Watched the Top Gear review of the new Cybertruck, and it strikes me that with all these touchscreens in the centre of the car, and the UK being right-hand drive, and most folks being right-handed, that it's the non-dominant hand doing all the scrolling.

Fine for LHD, but ....
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Makes it easy for your passenger to set the satnav tho!

I am right handed and the Model 3 has the same screen setup. You get used to it but I would still prefer proper buttons for many of the controls such as wipers, lights and temperature stuff.
 
RJohan said:
Oh! Facel Vega!!! My dream classic car (yeah, I know, owning one is probably a nightmare...).
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Perhaps not once you established that it was 1950s technology and so needed maintenance every 3000 miles/5000km. Apparently they had the GM V8 and probably the box and transmission to match, so that would be simple and robust. Other mechanicals would be bought in from shared parts bins, so it's just trim and body that would be difficult to find. If you bought a good one and used it minimally it might not be too terrifying as long as you accepted the constant need to adjust this, grease that and top up the other and either paid a man accordingly or did it yourself. However if you only used it on sunny Sundays it might take you all year to do the 5k km needed for an oil change and 2 hours spent dismantling, honing and regreasing the lower squibknocket joints.
 
calorgas said:
I've noticed a few cars with really crap little indicators recently, swamped by the brightness of the headlamp or brake lights in the rear cluster.
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Very good point; I wonder if this is a cost cutting measure- as on some US vehicles it seems the Brake light is also an indicator...

A related point is where the front indicator is swamped by the brightness of the Daytime Running Light.

Check out the Datsun Cashcow Mk2. Unlike most vehicles, the DRL doesn't dim when the indicator is activated. 🧐
 
stevec67 said:
Perhaps not once you established that it was 1950s technology and so needed maintenance every 3000 miles/5000km. Apparently they had the GM V8 and probably the box and transmission to match, so that would be simple and robust. Other mechanicals would be bought in from shared parts bins, so it's just trim and body that would be difficult to find. If you bought a good one and used it minimally it might not be too terrifying as long as you accepted the constant need to adjust this, grease that and top up the other and either paid a man accordingly or did it yourself. However if you only used it on sunny Sundays it might take you all year to do the 5k km needed for an oil change and 2 hours spent dismantling, honing and regreasing the lower squibknocket joints.
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I think with a Facel-Vega you would have to "Pay a man accordingly."
 
stevec67 said:
Perhaps not once you established that it was 1950s technology and so needed maintenance every 3000 miles/5000km. Apparently they had the GM V8 and probably the box and transmission to match, so that would be simple and robust. Other mechanicals would be bought in from shared parts bins, so it's just trim and body that would be difficult to find. If you bought a good one and used it minimally it might not be too terrifying as long as you accepted the constant need to adjust this, grease that and top up the other and either paid a man accordingly or did it yourself. However if you only used it on sunny Sundays it might take you all year to do the 5k km needed for an oil change and 2 hours spent dismantling, honing and regreasing the lower squibknocket joints.
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I think the engines where from Chrysler. I referred to FV's being (allegedly) prone to overheating. Not fun on a sunny sunday.
 
Prominent owners of Facel Vegas (mainly of Facel IIs) included Pablo Picasso, Ava Gardner, Christian Dior, Herb Alpert, Joan Collins, Ringo Starr, Max Factor Jr, Joan Fontaine, Stirling Moss, Tony Curtis, several Saudi princes, Dean Martin, Fred Astaire, Danny Kaye, Louis Malle, The President of Mexico, François Truffaut, Robert Wagner, Anthony Quinn, Hassan II, King of Morocco, Debbie Reynolds, the Shah of Iran, Frank Sinatra, Maurice Trintignant, Brian Rix, Joe Hepworth and French Embassies around the world.[13][14][15] Race-car driver Stirling Moss would drive his HK500 from event to event rather than fly.

French writer and Nobel Prize winner Albert Camus died in a Facel Vega FV2 driven by his publisher's nephew, Michel Gallimard.[16] At the time of his death, Camus had planned to travel by train, with his wife and children, but at the last minute accepted Gallimard's proposal to travel with him instead.[17]
 
Whaleblue said:
The French do it properly. No rear window, nor rear view camera in the A110 R.
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When someone complained about the brakes on a Bugatti race car, old Ettore's response was "I build my cars to go, not to stop"*

So perhaps the Alpine is designed to look forward, not back?



*possibly an apocryphal story
 
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