Driver friendly features in old cars

[Felly Magic]

Those thick gauge alloy bumpers fitted to Rivas make bloody good battering rams, sprung as well to absorb minor impacts, those electronic carbs though, for fucks sake, I know Lada were broke at the time, and couldn't afford the fuel injection units which were eventually fitted to late cars along with power steering! I think a 1.7i with PAS wouldn't be that bad a car, the last of the UK line 1.5E's were hopeless, the poor staff at MVi had their work cut out making them even remotely passable

[Ghosty]

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

 

The automatic Honda CR-V had one until 2006. The first ones had a proper column shift, then later ones had a weird one coming out of the dash, next to the steering wheel:

 

 

Bloody weird thing: despite appearances, you don't press the button on the end and pull down. 

Very strangely for Honda, it's not a straight-throw lever, but a staggered one like old Mercs et al. Except there's nothing to tell you that, and the gate is shrouded with some weird flexible shutter thing, so you have to just waggle the lever about until you find the right way to go to the next gear. 

It's a four speed with individual gear hold for when you need it, but generally you just plonk it in D4 and leave it. It goes D4/D3/2/1 - the point being that D4 and D3 are for general use/forcing a kickdown, 1 and 2 are for occasional and specific cirumstances (or caning it). 

Except again, for some mystery reason, instead of putting D3 below D4 like Honda usually did, they put D4/2/1 on the shifter, and D3 is on a latching button on the end of the shift lever, and there's a light in the instrument cluster that comes on when you press it.

Weird.

 

The automatic robotised manual C4 Picassos also have a column shifter. 

[lesapandre]

My '83 Landcruiser - you can drop it into 1st and take your foot off the gas - it will then crawl forward without stalling at about 2mph - which is great for stop-start traffic.

[SierraMikeHotel]

I watched Dollywobbler's 1979 Mitsubishi Colt video yesterday and just fell utterly in love with the dash.

 

Looks are subjective but I thought it was gorgeous.

 

I've put it in here though because it is just perfectly functional: the major controls are all at the driver's fingertips, the dials and warning lamps are clear, and I understood how to do everything from one pan of the camera. Anyone could just jump into that and drive it.

 

I can't think of a modern car with such a clear layout. Granted, moderns have far more functions so some sort of menu or touchscreen system will be needed but I think we're still in the infancy of these things. I sincerely hope they improve, and in ten years we'll be reminiscing about how terrible early car screens were.

[2MB]

 

Bloody weird thing: despite appearances, you don't press the button on the end and pull down.

Very strangely for Honda, it's not a straight-throw lever, but a staggered one like old Mercs et al. Except there's nothing to tell you that, and the gate is shrouded with some weird flexible shutter thing, so you have to just waggle the lever about until you find the right way to go to the next gear.

It's a four speed with individual gear hold for when you need it, but generally you just plonk it in D4 and leave it. It goes D4/D3/2/1 - the point being that D4 and D3 are for general use/forcing a kickdown, 1 and 2 are for occasional and specific cirumstances (or caning it).

Except again, for some mystery reason, instead of putting D3 below D4 like Honda usually did, they put D4/2/1 on the shifter, and D3 is on a latching button on the end of the shift lever, and there's a light in the instrument cluster that comes on when you press it.

Weird.

 

.

The Honda shifter sounds similar to the one in my Elgrand. The button locks out overdrive (4th) so I assumed it needed a switch rather than a lever

[dozeydustman]

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

 

 

Unless you drive a Leyland National

[theorganist]

Cars you can see all corners of and cars with great visibility that don't make you feel you are trying to navigate a submarine.

[Yoss]

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

As the Captain says it was a real thing. My 1300 has it and it's mentioned in the sales brochure. The relay is a little blue box mounted inside the osr wing. As said it was for the courtesy of other road users (imagine modern manufacturers thinking of that).

 

I've enjoyed reading this thread as at least half posts describe my (and Captains) Triumph. The visibility is the first thing you notice when you get in. Then there's no power anything but all the controls are light enough and well positioned that you can drive it all day without feeling tired. Only the noise is a little wearing but that's just mine.

 

The window winders for instance are only one and a half turns top to bottom so are quicker than any electric windows and are also a pleasure to use.

[Junkman]

Ashtrays and cigarette lighters.

Smokers were so well card for in old cars, often even the children in the back.

The R16 even has a pipe rack! No, really!

[bigstraight6]

Cars that you don’t have to remove the entire front just to change a headlamp bulb, drip rails that stop rain water pissing into the car when cornering while you have the drop glass down a bit.

[Zelandeth]

Ashtrays and cigarette lighters.

Smokers were so well card for in old cars, often even the children in the back.

The R16 even has a pipe rack! No, really!

My father very nearly refused his last Motability car on account of it not being possible to specify an ash tray.

[tooSavvy]

I think ToMM satisfies most of the criteria stated

 

..... Ahhhh

 

 

*anklebiter opened the little ashtray in the rear doorcard and asked what it was [unopened/unused in a life!] I said it was for M&Ms

[JeeExEll]

Clear easy-to-read analogue gauges, lack of unnecessary clutter, no power steering, easy to see where the corners of the car are, opening front quarter windows, wind up windows (no bloated doors about a foot wide), plain simple switches for basic functions - either off or on, basic easy-to-access fuseboxes, simple wiring looms, 4-speed gearboxes with a nice feel to the gearchange.

Not having to worry about mega ££££bills should anything go wrong or you crack a headlamp.

Easy access for maintenance or repairs to major units.

The possibilty that a bit of temporary bodgery with pliers and wire and scrap bits of offcut pipe may get you going again, (and probably run for months / years) should you FTP.

Generally not being in such a hurry to be somewhere else.

Aeroflow vents (- are you still too hot? - wind down a window, that's all there is, you won't die).

Accepting that it's ok for older cars to have vinyl seats.

Not having satnav™ touchscreen, with voice, (look at a map made out of paper instead). Dashcam, what the fux that for - you havvin a laaarfff?.

A full size spare wheel, and tools so you can quickly change a wheel and be on your way.

[Wilko220]

that said it is literally ?10 screws to pull the front off the Corsa D to do headlights , but i agree that there should be a requirement that you can do a headlight bulb at the roadside with no tools / just a spudger / screw driver and a torch ...

Remember having to change a headlamp bulb when I had a Rover 75 and discovering to my delight* that it had to be accessed through the wheel arch.

[Guest Conan]

Just thought of another. How about velour (vulgarlour?) seat upholstery? It's comfortable and it doesn't get hot. These day it's either coarse fabric or leather and they can't compare to nice squishy velour. Shame they don't put them in cars anymore because leather is luxury.

[martc]

Clear easy-to-read analogue gauges, lack of unnecessary clutter, no power steering, easy to see out of and judge where the corners of the car are, opening front quarter windows, wind up windows (no bloated doors about a foot wide), plain simple switches for basic functions - etc etc

 

They've even drilled holes in the steering wheel so that you can see the instruments whilst turning a corner. You don't get that nowadays.

[LessThanEqual]

Just thought of another. How about velour (vulgarlour?) seat upholstery? It's comfortable and it doesn't get hot. These day it's either coarse fabric or leather and they can't compare to nice squishy velour. Shame they don't put them in cars anymore because leather is luxury.

It's not even leather, most times it's shit like the Mercedes Artico leather rubbish.

[Guest Conan]

It's not even leather, most times it's shit like the Mercedes Artico leather rubbish.

 

That gave me another idea. Mercedes old MB-Tex vinyl upholstery. It's very obviously not leather. But after an eternity spent laying abandoned, the whole car, including the seat rails and seat padding will already have dissolved, but the old MB-Tex cover will still be there looking like it came out of the factory yesterday.

 

And you only need to clean them with 10% dishwasher diluted in water.

 

They stopped using that stuff around the same time the rest of the car went to shit, I think.

[BorniteIdentity]

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.

I reckon you’d love my Mercedes. It’s a 190 (no complicated KE Jet fuel injection here) - manual windows - manual gears - no extras other than a radio (with a manual aerial)

 

I bought it specifically for its simplicity and robustness.

 

https://flic.kr/p/EPUYgz

 

Things I like about it other than the aforementioned? Oil filters that face up, windscreens that are more vertical than horizontal, the ‘taxi’ light in the back, the narrow footprint making it easy to thread through traffic and how I can remove the sump plug from the engine bay due to a lack of undertrays.

[Ohdearme]

You can set the air con/ventilation in the 9-5 so that it automatically selects recirculating air when you slip below 5mph and it auto turns off again at about 35mph. It’s designed to stop fumes in the cabin in queuing traffic.

 

Air conditioned glovebox on the 9-5 and the same as far back as 1995 on my Cavalier CDX was a brilliant feature for keeping cans of pop cold.

 

My import Prelude had a button on the centre console to lower the radio aerial to half mast so you wouldn’t rip it off entering your garage but could sill catch the back end of whatever you were listening to.

[Rusty_Rocket]

I love the wiper controls on my series 1 Discovery.

You twist the end of the stalk to select intermittent/ slow/ fast. You twist the middle of the stalk to adjust the frequency of the intermittent setting.

So far, so normal. But at any time, you can flick the stalk downwards to get an extra wipe because the control is always in the same place. It all works so well, you don't ever need to think about where the stalk is, it's totally natural.

In fact most things about early Discos are 'just right'- for me, anyway!

 

(although I will admit, hiding the rear wash/wipe and fog light switches behind the steering wheel were a bit of a brain fart)

[Zelandeth]

Oh, had forgotten.

 

The cubby hole in the centre console in the Saab 900 which is exactly the right size to fit two fish suppers in and keep warm on the way home from the chippy.

[jonathan_dyane]

In essence a good C900 is all the car you will ever need!

[Des]

The way a new model would be an improvement, often markedly better performance, MPG, refinement then in the early Nineties, right across the board, the design brief changed from make it better to make it look newer and there'e nothing to get exited about anymore, just disappointment. 

[Guest Hooli]

New models are just larger & slightly worse to drive these days.

[SiC]

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.

My MK2 TT has that...

[Tamworthbay]

My MK2 TT has that...

And my V70, I am not convinced it’s the worlds best idea based on experience of electrical connections into doors and the possible hassles that entails.

[stormee]

Ashtrays and cigarette lighters.

Smokers were so well card for in old cars, often even the children in the back.

The R16 even has a pipe rack! No, really!

My dad's Audi 100CD even had lighters for the children in both rear doors!

[uk_senator]

Not to make light of MB-Tex, but I`ve seen the remains of 50`s & 60`s Fords, Austins, Jags & Fiats completely collapsed in on themselves in forests, with the vinyl still looking factory fresh...

They don't make trim plastics like that any more.
 

That gave me another idea. Mercedes old MB-Tex vinyl upholstery. It's very obviously not leather. But after an eternity spent laying abandoned, the whole car, including the seat rails and seat padding will already have dissolved, but the old MB-Tex cover will still be there looking like it came out of the factory yesterday.

[DSdriver]

On the subject of ventilation, early cars had opening windscreens. Gr9 for driving in fog