Driver unfriendly car features

[Pillock]

Even if I only had a £50 shitbox though I'd lock it every time so I'd never expect the boot to be open at night, same as I wouldn't want a tramp using it as a place to kip by leaving the doors open. A bootlock where you have to use the key even when the doors are unlocked, that's a proper irritation.

[mercrocker]

I thought it was just a foible on my Fester, that boot lock thing.   Picked up a case of beer on a single yellow outside the offy, reached car on wet road only to find the hatch locked - even though I unlocked it and left it just touching so I could flip it back up with a nudge from the corner of the case....Nah, put case down, find key, etc.  

 

I just run about with the back seats down now and lob everything in through the rear door.   Bloody moderns.....

[DSdriver]

The ability for stupid people to lock their keys in the boot of a Saab 9.3 convertible in the middle of France

[Ghosty]

Hondas and Rovers are a bit like that. You either need to be in the driver's seat or have the key to open the boot - and the fuel filler release is next to the boot release. Annoying if you forget as the fuel filler is on the passenger side.

[Remspoor]

 Annoying if you forget as the fuel filler is on the passenger side.

Not here!

[Remspoor]

Oh don't get me started.

 

The rear fog lamp switch of R8 Rovers. Hidden behind the S. wheel and with a warning light on it which hardly illuminates.

The Pug 307 centre top of dash info display. Read which cannot be seen in strong daylight or with sunglasses on. Then when they get older some digits fail to display. Other Pugs maybe included!

Any car with an umbrella type of hand brake.

Any car with no power steering?

[Guest Hooli]

 

Any car with no power steering?

 

Only if they have modern comedy width tyres. Proper cars without power steering were never an issue.

[Richard]

It's not just the tyres. Heavy steering became an issue in the 80s before they started fitting stupid tyres. 

[Guest Hooli]

What else could it be? Cars didn't get that much heavier in the 80s did they?

[Rusty_Rocket]

Only if they have modern comedy width tyres. Proper cars without power steering were never an issue.

 

This is true.  Although our 106 diesel with its 165 tyres was a bit of a workout at parking speeds!  Lovely on the go, though.

[Richard]

What else could it be? Cars didn't get that much heavier in the 80s did they?

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MacPherson_strut

 

combined with

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Front-wheel_drive

[Guest Hooli]

Good point, I'd forgot about the change to FWD. Although the Orion & FWD Escrotes I had didn't have heavy steering until I fitted wider alloys on higher spec models.

[Rusty_Rocket]

Also, I think steering and suspension geometry was starting to be designed from the off for assisted cars as PAS became more common.

 

Certainly, on the above Pug 106, the top mount was bolted one way around on the PAS cars, and the other way round on the manual steered models.  I think this changed the castor or something to make the steering a little lighter on the povo spec cars- at the expense of handling or feel maybe.

[Crispian_J_Hotson]

The driver's door lock nobby bit in the top of the door panel on a 5 door e36. If it's a nice day and the window is down, the unsuspecting driver wearing a t shirt will place their right arm on the panel top to achieve farmers tan. This is when the nobby bit locks down and removes skin from the bit of arm just below the armpit. It also draws blood and catches me out EVERY- SINGLE- BLOODY- TIME!

[lesapandre]

Cars with underslung spare wheels in exposed housings. Especially when you find everything rusted solid when you have a flat. Remedy - drop the spare wheel every year and oil.

[lesapandre]

I'm also old enought to have owned a Datsun 280ZX with Denovo tyres..ie no spare fitted.

[MarvinsMom]

the ventilation setup on the metro, its just hopless.

 

though i guess lots of cars had crap ventilation back in the 1980's. and Marvin is the City X (in reality) so only got the lowline setup., only 2 fresh air vents, one each side of the dash.

 

i remember Ford doing a similar thing on the povvo spec Fiesta's, did any other makers have different ventilation arrangements for the "hiline" and "lowline" models?

 

and in modernz, the electronical hand brake. its the unbelivealby shit answer to a question no-one had ever needed to ask.

 

who ever "invented" that wants taking outside, and given a good stiff talking too, with a cricket bat........

[CanaryinManc]

Inconsistent indicator stalk location; just back from a month in Australia driving 3 hire cars (a Commodore, Kia and Hyundai)  trying to indicate with the LH wiper stalk because RH indicator stalks; now back in UK spending another month trying to use the RH wiper stalk on our PSA motors because LH indicator stalks. 

[Richard]

Cars with underslung spare wheels in exposed housings. Especially when you find everything rusted solid when you have a flat. Remedy - drop the spare wheel every year and oil.

 

You soon become a fan of that arrangement after having to empty your boot at the side of the M6 to get at the spare.

[Paul Dupart]

Any car with my Mrs in the passenger seat telling me I've taken the wrong turn, or slow down, etc.....

[MarvinsMom]

oh and the turning circle of the orange mini.

 

been a sportspack, it came with stupid wheels and "quick rack" steering rack. which is only 2 and a bit turns lock to lock. 

 

and it means that the car has a turning circle bigger than the Queen Mary, which makes you look such a bloody berk when trying to manouvre in a supermarket carpark, like it a REAL mini, and you still need a couple of goes to get such a small car into a parking space??

[Remspoor]

Only if they have modern comedy width tyres. Proper cars without power steering were never an issue.

Flipping radial tyres.... terrible. I much preferred dancing on cross-plies.

[Junkman]

Manual gearboxes. Not sure why that outmoded rubbish even still exists.

They became obsolete the day the fist automatic was installed, which was well over 100 years ago.

[pandamonium]

Lada Riva steering wheel is not central with the seat, so you sit to one side to face it...

[Remspoor]

Manual gearboxes. Not sure why that outmoded rubbish even still exists.

They became obsolete the day the fist automatic was installed, which was well over 100 years ago.

 

Rubber bands or as they are better known CVTs are even better in most situations

Autos with flappy pads are not worth their weight in BMWs

[Felly Magic]

BFO pillars, esp rear pillars causing massive blindspots, along with shallow windows, these really boil my piss, and why the fuck do cars need to have stupid computerised manuals? 

[Momentary Lapse Of Reason]

Good point, I'd forgot about the change to FWD. Although the Orion & FWD Escrotes I had didn't have heavy steering until I fitted wider alloys on higher spec models.

No its not! Its utter bollocks!

 

Novas (for example) (FWD & RonaldMacDonald struts) were famos* for heavy steering as not PAS

Aye right, only when fitted with Carlos Fandgos spec rims.

 

Look at the engineering not the urban legends!

[Guest Hooli]

That is more how I remember it. But FWD would make sense in making it a bit heavier as it moved the weight distribution forward.

[Momentary Lapse Of Reason]

What like Alfas and Passats with their engine out front of the axle line and no PAS?

 

(I'm going off line until this Merlot has worn off)

[NorfolkNWeigh]

Talk of PAS reminds me of 90's auctions, every Rover R8 and Cavalier that was driven through would have at 2 people reach in and try the steering, those without were often either ignored or went for a lot less.

 

I remember getting MuthaN a 214 SLi from auction and only bid on those that had ( optional) power steering as the unassisted ones were exceptionally heavy.