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Driver friendly features in old cars


pompei

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Mk1 Laguna, when you switched on the ignition then the engine temp display worked as an oil level display for about 5 seconds, simple but genius

That car was a lesson in driver ergonomics including the placement of the finger tip radio controls at 3 o'clock behind the steering wheel.

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Split flat windscreen, cheap to repair, you could cut one out yourself kerbside, or feasible to carry a spare for longer journeys. The central glazing bar offers the perfect sturdy mounting point for a rear view mirror. Those modern curved screens act as a lens to give a warped and distorted view of the world which traumatises the mind.

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Volvo 480,Being able to close windows and sunroof when you locked your car by keeping the key turned until everything was closed. and one simple thing like having the ignition key barrel lit up so you could "see the hole" also the rear wiper came on if you went in reverse while having the front wipers on...

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I remember all of those features from owning mine!

 

The Omega closes the windows and sunroof after you've turned off the engine and got out the car, if you hold down the lock button on the fob.

 

My 2005 Volvo of much sensibility didn't do this.

 

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk

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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!

 

 

Old Jags were the horn of plenty for the smoker. The very considerable range of smoking accessories naturally included a pipe holder along with a whole array of cigar related gubbins. The car themselves of course had 4 ashtrays and two full sized lighters. That's still one less than the Shadow though...

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Volvo 480,Being able to close windows and sunroof when you locked your car by keeping the key turned until everything was closed. and one simple thing like having the ignition key barrel lit up so you could "see the hole" also the rear wiper came on if you went in reverse while having the front wipers on...

Which is great until it's frosty and you haven't bothered to defrost the rear window yet and the stuck wiper burns out the motor. That happened to a work "mate"s Vectra but he was a dick so it was funny.

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My ex's '58 plate festa did the same. Great* when it was windy enough to keep the rear window dry but blow the rain onto the front of the car.

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Lada Riva. 99% of jobs can be done with the toolkit that comes with the car, at the roadside if you so wish.

 

I once replaced a water pump at the side of the road after it KALAPST, and was on my way again.

Lada, a car I'd love to buy, specifically for that, and the cheap spairs which are actually decent.

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Mk1 Laguna, when you switched on the ignition then the engine temp display worked as an oil level display for about 5 seconds, simple but genius

That car was a lesson in driver ergonomics including the placement of the finger tip radio controls at 3 o'clock behind the steering wheel.

 

 

As I found out at Chumley, the 19 had that too (first?).

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Wine bottle-sized door pockets.

 

 

Ahhhh the AX love is strong with this one....

 

Apparantly, for export models, those pockets were for bottles of water, not wine, no definitely not wine, no way are we endorsing alcoholic drinks in a car, did I say they were for water not wine? For home models - shoulder shrug and a pfft.

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Loading up the boot of the 9-5 estate with tip fodder today, I noticed a little ring eyelet by the boot lock on the open tailgate, presumably for you to run a rope through in the incredibly unlikely event you'd bought anything that doesn't actually fit inside the capacious rear of the Saab and needed to rope the tailgate half open.

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  • 5 weeks later...

Interior space. Despite cars getting much bigger on the exterior in the last 15-20 years for their 'class' of car, the insides seem a lot more cramped and claustrophobic now. 

 

Yes yes I know they have magical impact reduction and safety cage design, but why do so at the expense of comfort while driving the thing?

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People seem to prefer to feel enclosed and coddled in their cars now, supposedly gives a feeling of safety. Personally I despite is and prefer my cars to feature massive glass area and be as safe in a roll-over or side-impact accident as a packet of crisps.

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People seem to prefer to feel enclosed and coddled in their cars now, supposedly gives a feeling of safety. Personally I despite is and prefer my cars to feature massive glass area and be as safe in a roll-over or side-impact accident as a packet of crisps.

Meh.

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Mk1 Laguna, when you switched on the ignition then the engine temp display worked as an oil level display for about 5 seconds, simple but genius

That car was a lesson in driver ergonomics including the placement of the finger tip radio controls at 3 o'clock behind the steering wheel.

The Rover P4 has this feature I recall...except you press a button. Pretty cool on a 50's car.

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