Modern car design is brilliant...really?

[scooters]

Pondering The Times over the last 2 weeks - one of their trainee journos got squashed by a lorry outside their offices when cycling to work - usual both turning left, lorry didn't see her waiting there - had no mirror covering that part so the trailer scooped her under the rear wheels and ran over her..Fortunately, the passers by saw what had happened and stopped the driver before the rear wheels could really do a job but nonetheless the poor girl has been in a copma since November, broke her pelvis, botharms and legs and a head injury as well. In the last 12 months 11 cyclists have been killed in London alone by lorries.

 

 

 

On the whole I would say it has but there remain some questions over 'progress'

 

In the 1970s the lorry driver would have seen the cyclist because of his lower quarter windows on his cab - if not he would not have been able to pull away as quickly as the cyclist as his vehicle was slow off the mark.

 

'A Pillars in modern cars have balooned to huge ruddy great planks - I notice this in a mate's car - so mundane was it I cannot even recall the make but noticed the difference when gettng into the BX where the visibility is excellent - especially straight ahead -

 

Have we, in our fanatisism to cocoon the driver in layers of plastic and airbags, forgotten that the point is not to get into a crash? Modern 'cooking spec' cars on the whole handle dreadfully compared to their counterparts 15 years ago - there are exceptions but on the whole they are sodding great clumsy tanks.

 

Ridiculous clutter of superflous toys - If you have had the misfortune to drive a 1.8 Insignia with all the toys you will know what I mean -

 

'multi function knob' - so complex to use you end up plowing into the car in front - what's more essential functions are controlled with this like heating/cooling/demisting - to make matters worse there is a 'remote control' version of it - wait for it - 7 inches away from the main one - does exactly the same but saves you reaching 7".

 

Electronic handbrake - what is the fucking point in these??????

 

Vectra style indicators - enough to tip you into the looney bin!

covering every fucking surface in silver paint

 

making the clocks on the dash sit is stupid 'sports' style pots (covered in silver paint) making it impossible to dust or clean the dash without swearing

 

seats that would be better suited to a Spanish Inquisition dungeon

 

tiptronic gears on a suburban saloon car

 

6 speed gear box on a Renner Scenic Hdi - no dad, if you want a sports car use the 800 quid you paid for this stupid option that puts the ratios so close to each other driving the car is like stirring porridge and go and buy yourself a 205gti - the Scenic is for going to Asda in - UTTER WANK

 

A particular bugbear of mine is how most modern cars - especially those from Vagina Arsehole Group - are styled to look like some sort of aggressive spaceship - look mate, it's a car comprendez - you are not about to take over the galaxy - no....it might look ' a bit like an Aston' but it isn't is it - it is a sad middle spec rep machine with a 1.8 engine and an electric handbrake. I suspect that the 'agro' look does nothing for courtesy levels on the roads - making them a more dangerous place to both the driver of the vehicle and those around him....what happened to 'smily' cars - fiat you see understand this - OK the Coupe was a bit sharp but Fiat are boviously aware of the issues Italian drivers have so give their cars 800cc engines and happy faces so they are less likely to kill themselves.

 

The way the indusrty has fooled everyone into thinking that 'moden cars don't rust or breakdown' I once got fired from a job because I was a day late getting back from holiday why - because our brand new polo had broken down - the boss didn't belive me - I had the last laugh at the tribunal when I showed the beak the paperwork from the breakdown but where did the twat get the idea from in the first place?

 

HAVING SAID THAT - Things I do like:

 

nearside wing mirrors that tilt down when you reverse

 

self dimming rear view mirrors

 

bluetooth stereo connectivity and handsfree phone

 

electronic ignition

 

remote central locking

 

radiator expansion tanks (the BX doesn't have one)

 

continuous AWD systems

 

Cruise Control

 

decent courtesy lighting

 

lazy close roof and windows

 

dog/luggage guard in an estate

 

modern wiper technology

 

modern demisting - I especially like Ford's heated windscreen - Our scoob has an electric heater in the wash/wipe system that you can switch on and off

 

Tdi engines (don't understand HDis but the V50 with the Hdi was quite a good wee car I had on rent last year)

 

side impact bars

 

 

 

 

Super

[dollywobbler]

Isn't this exactly the sort of thing the Mass-Debate thread was created for? This is one of those discussions we seem to have here over and over again.

[scooters]

oi - what side of bed did you get out of this morning? The grumpy side??

 

You assume that I a/read and b/noticed the 'Mass Debate Thread' that has only been going for 13 hours - I wrote this thread as I usually do, on a note pad and cut and pasted it straight into the site BEFORE I noticed that there was a Mass Debate Thread.... This thread started 0931hrs - I posted on MDT 0934hrs - capiche?

 

IF the MDT had been running for several weeks - fair enough but it's a bit rich to hand out pelters when it's been running for less than a day!

[John F]

That's a pretty good rant, scooters.

 

I'd also have added that modern cars are so high at the back that they can't be reversed safely unless the (optional) reversing sensors are working properly. Why is this? Do the fat bastards that are today's motorists need to keep a pallet of burgers in the boot so they don't starve en route?

 

I don't like modern cars. They've become white goods.

[hairnet]

small point

 

modern cars......and your initial rant talks about an accident with a truck...........

 

 

and everyone knows ya dont bazz up the side of a truck to turn left.............

[barefoot]

Can I just say that I have never experienced any of the following...

 

HAVING SAID THAT - Things I do like:

 

nearside wing mirrors that tilt down when you reverse

 

self dimming rear view mirrors

 

bluetooth stereo connectivity and handsfree phone

 

electronic ignition - OK - I've done this one!

 

remote central locking

 

radiator expansion tanks (the BX doesn't have one)

 

continuous AWD systems

 

Cruise Control

 

decent courtesy lighting

 

lazy close roof and windows

 

dog/luggage guard in an estate

 

modern wiper technology

 

modern demisting - I especially like Ford's heated windscreen - Our scoob has an electric heater in the wash/wipe system that you can switch on and off

 

Tdi engines (don't understand HDis but the V50 with the Hdi was quite a good wee car I had on rent last year)

 

side impact bars

 

Super

[Ross_K]

Pondering The Times over the last 2 weeks - one of their trainee journos got squashed by a lorry outside their offices when cycling to work - usual both turning left, lorry didn't see her waiting there - had no mirror covering that part so the trailer scooped her under the rear wheels and ran over her..Fortunately, the passers by saw what had happened and stopped the driver before the rear wheels could really do a job but nonetheless the poor girl has been in a copma since November, broke her pelvis, botharms and legs and a head injury as well. In the last 12 months 11 cyclists have been killed in London alone by lorries.

 

A cyclist can use the roads without any training whatsoever - that's scary. They really don't have a clue. Imagine if a cyclist had to do a CBT before taking to the road...

 

London's got 8 million people (give or take). 11 cyclists meeting their maker every year is a miniscule amount in the grand scheme of things. I'd hazard a guess that more people are killed in London every year due to falling down stairs, or getting something stuck in their bum in the shower.

 

What's the solution? Will the nanny state dictate that all turning trucks be accompanied by an ethnic minority lesbian with a red flag?

 

People need more common sense, especially cyclists.

 

Oh, and modern car design is crap because safety standards dicate that cars need to have high waistlines to protect the occupants, or pop-up bonnets to stop you killing that pedestrian who walked out in front of you while playing Tetris on his phone.

[Mr Lobster]

Isn't this exactly the sort of thing the Mass-Debate thread was created for? This is one of those discussions we seem to have here over and over again.

 

+1

 

Another 'modern cars are shit' thread. Deep joy.

[trigger]

Isn't this exactly the sort of thing the Mass-Debate thread was created for? This is one of those discussions we seem to have here over and over again.

 

+1

 

Another 'mordern cars are shit' thread. Deep joy.

 

[scooters]

fuckin hell - where did I say Modern Cars are rubbish?

 

The OP is about how some technology found in modern cars is pish and pointless but other developments are welcome - where does it say anywhere that modern cars are pish? How is that not relevant to this site?

 

And where are all these 'modern cars are pish' threads - I can only find one from the 12th January the topic of which is: "why is modern tin so unreliable and short lived"

 

#trig etc - read the fucking thread - I pointed out to Ian that the 'Debate' thread had only been put up at half nine last night and I didn't see it before I wrote the OP hence the new thread!!!

 

fucking hell - what the fucks up wi you lot today???

[Guest]

fucking hell - what the fucks up wi you lot today???

 

Letterboxes not being overstrained?

[John F]

Yep, I think the criticism of this thread is a bit harsh

 

The "mass debate" thread is currently discussing diesel vs. petrol, plus some related gubbins about alternative fuels. It would be chaos to drop this subject in there as well at the moment, so I think it's correct that it got its own thread.

 

Also, it's not just a "modern cars are rubbish" thread. In fact, the closest it's come to that is me saying I didn't like them (which is an opinion to which I'm entitled, so nerrr! ).

[trigger]

From what I've read it's another thread which could have gone else where, your moaning about modern car design and features, from what i can see your basically saying modern cars are rubbish.

 

I'm not saying you haven't got a point, I'm just saying that this is a forum to praise the joys of crap old cars, not moaning about modern stuff yet again.

[R9UKE]

Things I do like:

 

nearside wing mirrors that tilt down when you reverse

 

This is one of least favourite features EVA

 

The 540i used to really piss me off, just because of that. An absolute pain in the hole when reversing in or out of a driveway with gateposts - which was everyday for me. AWFUL feature.

[John F]

From what I've read it's another thread which could have gone else where, your moaning about modern car design and features, from what i can see your basically saying modern cars are rubbish.

 

I'm not saying you haven't got a point, I'm just saying that this is a forum to praise the joys of crap old cars, not moaning about modern stuff yet again.

 

But that's it, isn't it? Autoshite is whatever we ALL make of it, not just one person's opinion.

 

(French chod, Alfa & BL owners: please look away now)

 

I for one would go to considerable lengths to avoid looking at, talking about or even acknowledging the existence of most French cars and the vast majority of Austin Rover cars, especially from the 1980s. And Alfa Romeos. But other people like these cars, so I don't say anything to put them down.

 

(French chod, Alfa & BL owners: you can come back now)

 

Also, surely highlighting the rubbishness of modern cars is one way of praising the virtues of chod - no complex black boxes, engines that can be worked on with real tools, not supercomputers, etc. And styling that reflected the taste of different manufacturers, not some cross-manufacturer generic style that gave the most efficient shape in the wind tunnel.

 

And besides... just because a thread has been posted, this doesn't mean you have to contribute to it

 

PS tongue is firmly in cheek, cba having a proper argument

[Pete-M]

Things I do like:

 

nearside wing mirrors that tilt down when you reverse

 

This is one of least favourite features EVA

 

The 540i used to really piss me off, just because of that. An absolute pain in the hole when reversing in or out of a driveway with gateposts - which was everyday for me. AWFUL feature.

 

Turn it off then. Just move the mirror adjust switch from left to right and it kills it. Simples.

 

I quite like modern stuff. A lot of the modern stuff which fills the ebay chod thread was new not that long ago. Mk3 Fiestas? Drove them on launch day...

 

I don't find these huge great blindspots to be an issue at all in most stuff - the current shape Corsa is an exception... fuck me, those things have awful visibility. Otherwise it's just a case of placing the car so you can see. Ok, not as easy in a current Mondeo as in an E3 BMW, but I know which one I'd rather get clouted by a truck in...

 

Gadgets? I love 'em.

 

Auto-dipping mirrors are brilliant, noticeably so when you go from a car that has one to a car that doesn't.

Rain sensing wipers also brilliant. The 528i has them, Now when I drive something that doesn't I can't get the bloody intermittent quite right.

Climate control is the best bit of a car. I never switch it off. Evah. I cannot understand why people complain "it uses loads of fuel", piss off, it doesn't.

Remote locking (been around 20+ years) brilliant.

Global Closure (all the windows etc close when you lock the car) brilliant. Been around since at least '76. 604 has it.

Cruise control - brilliant. Makes long drives a lot more relaxing once you know how to use it correctly.

Memory seats - another great idea. Press one button and seats, radio, mirrors, dash lighting etc etc etc all just how I like them.

 

I have a few rules when it comes to my daily driver. Must have leather (full leather, not half), climate control, auto box, centre armrest and a decent stereo. Preferably connected to a large capacity petrol engine with RWD.

 

With old stuff, everything that works is a bonus.

[carlo]

I don't really care what your threads are about scooters, they're always interesting and enjoyable to read so keep going.