Driver friendly features in old cars

[Sir Snipes]

 

 

[Guest]

Keys!

[3VOM]

I've only ever seen those on my 9-5, were they on anything else?

 

They are a great idea though!

Some Rolls Royce version in recent past.

[twosmoke300]

mine doesn't.

My mk2 does

[Pillock]

Modern mercs have column shift.

This. Automatic only mind but in place of the washer stalk on the right you've got park, drive, reverse.

[Zelandeth]

Saab 900.

 

[] Ability to blow cool air to my face and toasty warm air everywhere else.

[] Big bright warning lights on the dash, at the top on the binnacle so it's impossible not to notice them.

[] Dash lighting that doesn't light the entire car up, yet is more than sufficient to see everything you need to.

[] Interior door handles positioned so you can actually control the door when you open it on a windy day.

[] Everything save for the interior light switch and power window switches (and sunroof control if you've got an electric one) being less than a foot from the steering wheel.

[] Big wing mirrors, driver's one with inbuilt blind spot eliminator (the outer edge curves away to give you a wider field of view.

[] The stereo being situated right at the TOP of the dash.

[] Comfy, squidgy seats.

[] Clever wiper design managing to clear pretty much all useful screen without needing huge, expensive wiper blades.

[] Huge windscreen washer tank.

[] Visibility...though even by old car standards the Saab is epically easy to see out of.

[] Brake calipers that are cleverly designed so a pad change takes about 5 minutes per side (after 1986...the early ones were medieval torture implements).

[] Rear seats that food completely flat, giving you a totally flat load bay that's level with the rear bumper. Rear seat base forms something of a bulkhead and even has lashing points attached (not sure if deliberate or useful happenstance).

 

Lada.

[] Huge great rocker switches that are positioned right at your finger tips.

[] Controversial one I guess as it's very much a matter of preference - the third stalk for main/dip beam.

[] Having enough ground clearance that I don't need to jack it up to check the gearbox or axle oils.

[] Headlights that are bright enough to see to the moon with.

[] A horn that's both loud and shrill enough to wake the dead.

[] A fine adjustment control so you're now stuck with the detents for the backrest position on the driver's seat.

[] Bumpers that you can sit on at shows, stand on when loading the roof rack, or the cars you're towing to without and fear of marking or damaging them.

[] All the wiring connectors behind the dash and to the engine bay fuse box are colour coded so there's no excuse for confusion.

 

Mercedes T1 van.

 

[] Big bright warning lights on the dash - but only reporting what's actually important.

[] First gear being set so low that it makes creeping in traffic almost as easy in an auto...just back off a bit from the guy in front, into first, foot off clutch and you're then good to idle along at about 0.5mph until stuff picks up.

[] The use of materials that don't show every tiny fingerprint or wear for the driver controls.

[] Comfy, squidgy seats.

[] Oil filter housing deliberately designed so you can change the filter without making a mess.

[] Suspension that doesn't destroy your spine after half a mile.

[] The fuse box having a built in fuse tester.

[] Again controversial, but the single stalk for indicators/wipers/washers/main beam. I grew up with it, and find it works really well for me.

[] Generally being designed with service in mind. It sounds a pain that almost everything in the engine bay requires removal of the radiator grill and often a headlight...but that takes about a minute to do so really isn't an issue.

 

Xantia.

 

[] Keypad immobiliser. It's a very visual deterrent, and means that someone knows they can't just swipe your keys and be off.

[] All the dash lighting being a consistent colour. That drives me mad in many new cars when things don't match.

[] Variable speed intermittent wipers. First encountered in my first Skoda Estelle (130GL) and actually useful as there's a big difference between the top and bottom of the scale.

 

All of the above: Actual driving feel. They all feel like you're actually driving them rather than playing a computer game. Even the Xantia with its ability to change direction like something out of Tron.

[stonedagain]

Keys!

Proper keys that don't cost £200 each plus another £100 to program it!

[fordperv]

No traction control or intrusive technology that smacks you on the wrist meaning you are in control of the car

[Talbot]

An accelerator pedal that was much lower in the footwell than the brake and clutch, meaning I can relax my right foot without flooring it, as fitted to MK2 Cavalier.

[dougiefourspeed]

Not really an 'old' car thing. But my old Mk4 Golf had a neat little central sun visor which you don't get on the later models. I found it really useful.

[captain_70s]

On the Acclaim pressing the indicators activate before the stalk locks in place. Gr8 4 lane changes.

 

You also can't lock the front doors with the internal button if the door is open in either of the Triumphs. Makes it much harder to lock your keys in the cabin.

 

Both cars also have nice orange indicators located away from the headlights so they can actually be seen!

 

Dolomites have a circuit to dim the brake lights if the dipped beam is on to prevent dazzling road users behind you at night. No idea if povo 1300s had this though...

[LC Torana]

Dipswitch where it belongs, on the floor.

 

Fresh air ventiation placement.

 

Nearly unrestricted vision (this applies to 1960s & 1970s cars only.  Cars of the 1930s to 1950s often had massive rear blindspots)

 

Ride comfort as a design priority.

 

Correct wheel drive.

 

Gravel road handling as a design priority.

[Guest Hooli]

Not really an 'old' car thing. But my old Mk4 Golf had a neat little central sun visor which you don't get on the later models. I found it really useful.

 

W124 Mercs had that too, a great idea.

[davehedgehog31]

And column shift, that’s died a death nowadays. Does anything still have it?

 

I think thon Citroen C4 Picasso has a Column shifter in automatic gearbag flavour.

[GeordieInExile]

My 9-5 has the boot and petrol cap release buttons on the driver's door. Clever, and I've not seen that anywhere else.

[SierraMikeHotel]

An accelerator pedal that was much lower in the footwell than the brake and clutch, meaning I can relax my right foot without flooring it, as fitted to MK2 Cavalier.

 

I do quite like the C class for this.  It's floor mounted so you press down on it, and has a fair bit of pressure to it.  That's me in normal shoes though, I know you like your steel toe cap Docs

[timolloyd]

Missing seat belts. Makes you think twice before tailgating or overtaking in dangerous places.

[Talbot]

Dolomites have a circuit to dim the brake lights if the dipped beam is on to prevent dazzling road users behind you at night.

Really? Sure that's not a wiring fault!?

[Guest Conan]

The bare bone yet extremely durable, well built and high quality automobile. Something comparable to absolutely basic taxi-spec 190E with windy windows, cloth seats, manual gearbox and 1.8-litre engine.

 

You can still get the basic bare bone automobile, but they usually are throw away things, although as most modern already are.

[MorrisItalSLX]

- Cassette Players ------------------------- Obvious

- Steel tilt-and-slide sunroofs ----------- So much better than fixed glass models

- Yellow Fog Lamps ----------------------- Much more effective

- Yellow Head Lights for that matter --- Don't blind oncoming traffic

[rainagain]

Mk1 Fiesta - manual windscreen washer pump, i.e. a rubber bellows in the foot well you had to pump with your foot. This was great as I adjusted the washer jets so a gentle push would clean the windscreen where as a hard stamp would handily send the water straight over your car hitting the ass hat tailgating you. 

[dozeydustman]

"Organ" style or floor-hinged accelerator pedals.

 

[Guest Conan]

"Organ" style or floor-hinged accelerator pedals.

 

 

 

This is something that might not look like much but once you tried it you do wonder why don't more manufacturers do that! Still available in a few new cars too.

[Sir Snipes]

- Steel tilt-and-slide sunroofs ----------- So much better at rusting than fixed glass models

 

FTFY.

[captain_70s]

Really? Sure that's not a wiring fault!?

Did a bit of research, the dimming relay is a very real thing, but only fitted to early Dolomites and Sprints. Dimmed the brake lights and rear indicators, most people disconnect them as the last thing you need is dimmer lights in these days of supernova LEDs!

[MondeoBlues]

Headlamp wipers!

 

Things of wonderment on my dad's Volvo 340 GL saloon when I was about 5. Newest car I've seen them on is a Y reg S40.

 

Also, headlights that were a reasonable level of brightness which was enough to illuminate the road ahead of you, but not blind the everloving shit out of any poor sod coming in the other direction. It's like moderns are driving about with supernovae on the front of their vehicles all in the misguided interest of "safety", where it doesn't seem to have occurred to anyone that it's all very well that your headlights are bright enough to allow you to see through time and space on a dark country lane, but if they've disabled the eyesight of the driver coming toward you, you're just as fucked if they hit you head on because he didn't see you coming. 

[jon.k]

Yes to ride comfort, foot dimmer switches, and steering feel!

[Twiggy]

The twin trip meters found on old Bluebirds. 

[Zelandeth]

Did a bit of research, the dimming relay is a very real thing, but only fitted to early Dolomites and Sprints. Dimmed the brake lights and rear indicators, most people disconnect them as the last thing you need is dimmer lights in these days of supernova LEDs!

I need to look more closely at the van's now. There's a relay/device connected to the back of the fuse box in line with the feed to the brake lights which if my translation of the German writing on it is something to do with dimming...

 

 

Floor hinged throttle - yes, very much yes. Skoda Estelles I've had featured that - and with loads of travel too rather than the binary control many modern cars seem to have.

 

The van has a lovely progressive floor mounted throttle pedal which doesn't tire your leg out in half an hour, has a dedicated heel rest too, which is nice.

 

 

The silly high, feather light throttle action has always been something that's been a bit of an annoyance in the Lada, though it's a lot better than it was with the carb. High, light pedal with loads of play in a crazy throttle linkage is a recipe for trouble.

[jon.k]

Indicators on the right so you can change gear and indicate.