Pointless shite features

[AnthonyG]

Yes, they weren't meant to be used when the car was moving. Just like the picnic trays on posh BMC stuff.

 

Talking of glovebox lids, Volvo 240s used to have a fold up vanity mirror on them.

[Spiny Norman]

Speaking of US tin, those bloody bongers that tell you that the door has been opened.

 

 

Toyota MR2 mk3: a bleeper to tell you that you are in reverse gear.

 

 

This is something I've only very recently discovered. Up until a few weeks ago I'd never owned a car that made any kind of warning noise at all, other than the usual mechanical crunching to tell you the engine's trying to hone itself a new cylinder when it's all about to get expensive, but the Day-who sounded like a bloody Casio factory.

It beeped when the doors were open, ignition on or not. It beeped at you to put the seatbelt on. It beeped if you left the lights on and it too had a reversing beeper as part of its parking sensors. Which of course beeped furiously as you approached the obstacle behind.

 

I thought the Jaaag would be above all this nonsense but no, it beeped a beep so random that I had to wonder what it was fretting about. Apparently stopping the engine in drive worries it slightly....

[Ghosty]

9N Polos:

 

The door mirrors don't fold.

There's a weird shelf thing in front of the glovebox, and hardly anything fits in it. Same thing under the steering wheel on the driver's side.

The driver and passenger doors have completely different door cards. Electric window button is up by the handle on pass side, on the driver's side the same rocker switch is the door lock button. Driver's electric window thing is in the armrest thingy, makes more sense. Driver gets neat integrated door pull, passenger gets a massive unnecessary bulky thing.

Full beam is too easy to knock on by accident.

No map pockets (we do use the map, a lot).

Glovebox too small to keep anything useful in.

12V socket hidden inside ashtray.

 

Current model Corsa has parking lights activated by pushing the indicator stalk in the desired direction when stationary. It does let you turn the three click thing off though.

 

And the horn on a mk2 Fiesta - only car I've ever seen where it's activated by pushing the end of the indicator stalk.

[Richard]

The end of the indicator stalk used to be the standard place for the horn.

[HH-R]

Horn on the indicator stalk used to be quite common, most BL/ARG stuff does until the Honda based models, Peugeot 205 and 309, Citroen ZX off the top of my head.

 

I assume it was moved because it would be easy to indicate/flash lights when used in anger

[mat_the_cat]

On one of the rare occasions I've lost my temper, I did in fact hit the steering wheel in frustration. To be completely startled by the horn sounding! So, it works both ways...

[twosmoke300]

Loads of cars have the indicators parking light thing . In fact I think my Spartan kit car (mk3 Tina ) has it. Iirc some German cars have it wired the wrong way round for the UK.

[burraston2006]

Has anybody mentioned the 'Night Mode' switch on SAABs? It basically switches off all the dashboard lights except the speedo which lights up in thirds depending on the speed! What is the point? IIRC mine also had a manual dimmer for the dash lights anyway. Also it lit up the petrol gauge when the orange light came on to tell you it was empty. If the orange light it]s on why do you need to see the empty tank?!

Rant over

[twosmoke300]

I was in the same camp regarding Saabs night mode , what a pointless gimmick harking back to the plane days.

 

However I did a 200 mile journey at night in some terrible weather and it really does stop the clocks distracting your eye. And mine has a dimmer too.