Good cars ruined by bad design.

[simmo]

Ford VV carb. Spoilt what was a fairly good engine (back in the day)

 

Knew a chap that was an engine tester that thought the VV had a bad press, as a wind up he made up and used a set of twin VVs on a pinto.

[Micrashed]

Any Diesel car with a DPF, what fuckwit thought they could ever be a good design? Jeez

Corrected that for you.

 

22 DPF related breakdowns in 18 months of ownership only went to reenforce the AVAS mantra

[PhilA]

Knew a chap that was an engine tester that thought the VV had a bad press, as a wind up he made up and used a set of twin VVs on a pinto.

 

 

Good carb, in theory. In practise, good for the 15 seconds throughout its entire lifetime that it worked correctly.

 

I think it was probably less challenging to start a 1903 Woleseley to get all the levers and stuff in just the right place and coax it into life than it was to start my mate's C-reg Escort on a cold morning. Pull choke, floor it, push choke in a bit, let off the pedal, push choke back in when it sneezed a little, pump throttle, pull choke out, balance it a little between choke and throttle until the engine slowly began to overtake the starter motor... then continue to adjust it whilst it warmed up.

 

Bloody horrible contrivance that was

 

 

--Phil

[Albert Ross]

Any car with manual "keep fit" windows in the front. I wonder if the design department consists of dwarves or amputees? I'm fairly tall, and generally, the point where the handle comes through the door card is EXACTLY where I want to put my knee! Utter wank on a long journey.

[RobT]

BMW E30 low-geared steering and floor mounted throttle pedal. If it weren't for those two annoying traits I may have kept mine.

 

I can't abide shit turning circles, the worst I've experienced being in a mk4 Escort. Pulling out of tight junctions involved swinging out and round, not ideal! It only cost me 50 quid mind so I put up with it for a year. Rover Metro/100 one is pretty crap too.

[vulgalour]

I found the VW box in the Maestro to be okay, though a bit short in the ratios.  The thing that really annoyed me was the later seats that turned an adequate seating position into a torture device.  If it weren't for that, there's a good chance I'd still have the Maestro I had.  Yes I know I could have put the earlier seats in but it was so uncomfortable I just wanted shut of the entire car.

[Partridge]

The FSO Polonez also did not have folding seats. It was a good* car made out of old and crap proven reheated Fiat bits. But it was cheap and probably would have sold a lot better if FSO had given it folding rear seats...

 

And Pisshats made since 2005. Actually very good, capable cars and much better in many ways than say the Vectra or Mondeo. But the DSG box in them is utter, utter SHIT and likes to break and lock itself into neutral at traffic lights (ask me how I know) and empirical evidence tells us all the EU greeny bollocks in VWs TDi engines all goes tits up after 60k or so. And most have DSGs and TDis. D'oh!

[Junkman]

Granada MKII - Generally very good cars, rugged, fast, quiet, comfortable. I used them extensively during the 90s to haul my equipment throughout Europe, when I had a company for material testing machines maintenance. However, they had absolutely abysmal dipped beam light.

 

77-80 Caprice Classic - The illuminated wiper/washer switch on the dashboard to the left of the steering column was reflected in the middle of the ouside mirror at night, rendering it practically useless. From model year 81 onwards, the w/w switch migrated into the steering column stalk and the problem was gone.

 

Peugeot 405 - The switch for adjusting the wing mirrors can't be reached when sitting normally, one has to lean forward a bit. It's placed low on the door and therefore is prone to be kicked to smithereens when exiting the car right leg first.

[Partridge]

 However, they had absolutely abysmal dipped beam light.

 

90's Citroen owners will nod there...

[Jim Bergerac]

The FSO Polonez also did not have folding seats. It was a good* car made out of old and crap proven reheated Fiat bits. But it was cheap and probably would have sold a lot better if FSO had given it folding rear seats...

 

And Pisshats made since 2005. Actually very good, capable cars and much better in many ways than say the Vectra or Mondeo. But the DSG box in them is utter, utter SHIT and likes to break and lock itself into neutral at traffic lights (ask me how I know) and empirical evidence tells us all the EU greeny bollocks in VWs TDi engines all goes tits up after 60k or so. And most have DSGs and TDis. D'oh!

 

Not to mention the failure prone electric handbrakes on them. All things considered, I'd deem a Laguna II to be a better option.

[Barry Cade]

Any car with manual "keep fit" windows in the front. I wonder if the design department consists of dwarves or amputees? I'm fairly tall, and generally, the point where the handle comes through the door card is EXACTLY where I want to put my knee! Utter wank on a long journey.

LOL, you drive a Land Rover- The whole door is exactly where half my body and elbow need to be, they give me claustrophobia!

 

Keyless pullies on cambelts- so I need to buy a locking tool to change it, on every engine on every make..

 

Alternator belts which run through engine mounts. Vauxhall

 

Keycards on Renaults. Say no more.

 

cracking dashboards on Porsches/ VW's

 

Anything to do with doors on a Mk4 Golf

 

Vw gearboxes - rivetted diffs.

 

Ecotec engines, this is when I gave up with GM

 

Cracking bulkheads on Saab's

 

Alfa Twin spark alternators. Pain in the arse job to change

 

Punto steering collumns

 

VAG coil packs

 

Renault stick coils

 

MGF front wishbones- have to drop subframe to change...bolts break.. cry.

 

Mini twin downpipes AAARRRGGGHHH

 

How is it possible to lock keys in boots in 2014. Even if you have keyless entry

 

keyless entry

 

New Ford alternators

 

Peugeot electrics/brakes/suspension/steering/exhausts etc

 

Cars which will not come out of park without engine running

 

Cars with electric handbrakes with no emergency release

 

NO SPARE WHEELS

 

Locking wheel nuts

 

VAG plastic engine undertrays

 

BMW towing eyes

 

All screw in towing eyes

 

Honda/Mercedes/ many more where spare doesn't fit on the front

 

Passat water leaks

 

Plastic diesel primer bulbs

 

PSA/Ford plastic fuel pipes

 

Cars without diesel primers

 

Starting Fords after a fuel filter change

 

Mk 1/2 VW exhaust manifold downpipe clips

 

Stupid Merc/BMW brake pad sensors

 

Corsa handbrake adjusters

 

Starlet rear brake shoes, WTF?

 

Cars without fusebox diagrams on the lid

 

Focus Mk1/2 fusebox..

 

Vectra electric boot release

 

DRL's on cars but no taillights

 

CORNERING LIGHTS... GRRR

 

And there's more....

[trigger]

Not much to worry about then!

[Barry Cade]

They are just things of the top of my head. I'll start thinking now...

[Barry Cade]

Megane headlight bulbs

 

Ford Ka steering racks

 

Ford Ka RUST

 

Puma/Fiesta rear axle bushes

 

Golf/Bora rear axle bushes

 

Laguna 2 rear axle bushes

 

Chrysler/ Jeep rear brake calipers

 

Cavalier/Calibra/ tracking adjustment

 

Audi A4/ Passat track control arms/bolts

 

Alfa Romeo top wishbones

 

Alfa GTV rear subframe wear

 

Alfa GTV heated rear window wiring

 

18mm bolts and nuts

 

Picasso fuel pumps

 

Picasso battery under seat

 

VW/Alfa airbag connectors

 

Mazda 3/6 RUST

 

BMW compact window clips

 

Renault clio spare wheel thingy??!!

 

Honda Accord /Rover 600 electric window gears

 

Saxo/106 sunroofs

 

Clio sunroofs

 

Berlingo/106/206 etc front coil springs breaking F****ing dangerous

 

Mercedes diesel fuel pipe O rings

[warren t claim]

Kinda of following on from the dashboard thread started by Junkman ( http://autoshite.com/topic/14764-dire-dashboard-disasters/?hl=bad+design )

 

IZ I NOW JUNKMAN? I shall start wearing yellow corduroy trousers immediately.

[Junkman]

Me yeller trousers isnay corduroy.

[twosmoke300]

Cheers tiff, had tried to blot out the memory of the Vw downpipe to manifold clips. Even with the special tool they are a twat. Grr

[Vince70]

Golf Mk 1 cabriolet brakes...

It would be quicker to stop if you threw an anchor out the window.

I was told it was something to do with the bodge conversion from LHD to RHD

 

Also the automatic choke on a twin SU carb as fitted to an O series Ambassador the bloody thing would go wrong on a weekly basis.

 

And the worst of all the Laguna MkII it's ok if you want a car as a static display but not much good for anything else.

 

Oh and Ford Cougar front Wishbones which are only available through ford as you can't get pattern parts the two I owned both needed them at around 45000 and cost a small fortune to replace but a fantastic underrated car otherwise.

 

Also the basic 1.8 engine as fitted into the Mk3 golf totally reliable and bullet proof but so slow I think if VW could of used a 600cc smart engine the car would be quicker..

 

Also don't get my started on Smart Car gearboxes with the silly automated Clutch which wears out prematurely because the computer doesn't know how to use a clutch which I had in a Smart Roadster.

Also who decided it would be a good idea to design a car (smart roadster again ) where you had to remove the whole rear end just to change the spark plugs.

 

Oh and McPherson strut mounts on Fords why didn't Ford use some kind of rustproofing around the top of the legs.

 

Also Austin Rover Hatchback gas struts did Austin rover think it would be a good idea to decapitate there customers by fitting shonky Hatchback struts also I didn't like them selling those horrible metric wheels which cost a national debt for tyres.

 

Also another tyre crime in my book is BMW run flats why would you want to give your car a ride which resembles Fred Flintstones car and pay for the privilege for a lump of solid rubber..

I would rather drive on a Chinese branded tyre called flip flop than horrid run flats.

 

Also I forgot to mention Vag group electric window mechanism clips why make them of a crappy plastic which snaps then try and make you buy a complete electric window mechanism for a 5 pence clip.

[panhard65]

Bloody hell it took until page 3 to get to the laguna mk2. They are like you say lovely to look at especially the estate but just don't try and use one as it will break. Same with the megane 2 but not as nice to look at. I might just put my '03 one into storage cos they will be more illusive than a renner 14 in a couple of years time.

[burraston2006]

How about auto electric windows? If I want it open all the way I can keep my finger on the button but my Honda decides to open all the way when it's blowing a gale and hissing down with rain!

[Cavcraft]

Peugeot 206: pedals stupidly small/close together and door hinges made from cheese.

 

Those Mk4 (?) Fiestas from about 2001 onwards. Had a Ghia model as a courtesy car for a while and it was lovely but the transmission tunnel/centre console thing was so big it cramped my legs when driving and I couldn't get comfortable on long journeys.

[Mr Livered]

How about auto electric windows? If I want it open all the way I can keep my finger on the button but my Honda decides to open all the way when it's blowing a gale and hissing down with rain!

+1

 

I just want to open the window a couple of inches

 

Oh bugger it's going all the way down

 

Press "up"

 

Bzzzzz... Now it's shut again

 

Press "down"

 

Bzzzzz... Now it's opening all the bloody way

 

...etc etc, until you manage to press the button just hard enough to stop it going down but not hard enough to make it go up again.

[phil_lihp]

Kia C'eed seats - hard, unsupportive and guaranteed to cause discomfort on long journeys.

 

Rover R8 rear calipers - these make for an utterly useless handbrake.

[Asimo]

Bloody turbo-Diesel engines so highly tuned they have a power band like a racing two stroke:

 

(clank clank, no torque at all), (roar, whoosh, wheelspin, rev limit), ( change gear AGAIN)

[mouseflakes]

Renner 25 with manual gearbox - lovely things, but nowhere to put your left foot (in RHD from at least - was probably fine in LHD).

[burraston2006]

Borrowed a freelander denzel with lazy drive the other day. Good motor but the gear box had no idea what to do! It was constantly in the wrong gear. Engine racing when it should be cruising and then when you booted the go pedal it decided to change into top! Is this common with these or is it just a wxxk box on the motor I borrowed?

[dieselnutjob]

I really like my 607 but the suspension is really too hard.  I am toying with an idea to have some softer front springs made for it.

 

The 604 is ruined by the wierd twin carb setup. To be fair Peugeot fixed it with the fuel injected ones.

[Station]

Removing the speedo drive cable from any car where it clips into the back of the speedo unit.

The clip is from the mind of Dr Rubik and the method to get there would involve breaking my arm/hand/fingers in 50 places.

I can still vividly remember the uncomfortable pain of having to do this.

[cort16]

bmw e46 handbrake mechanism. Its mounted to the back plate, which rots out sendinf te various components into a spin cycle inside the disc.

[Cavcraft]

(Austin/Rover) Minis. The need to have minute, latex arm and hands to change the front pipe exhaust.