Driver friendly features in old cars

[twosmoke300]

Didn’t Saab 9000’s Flash up the minimum battery voltage on cranking ?

[Asimo]

Not seen a column change lever under the steering column before, looks very awkward.

(1949 Morris "Big Six" )

[forddeliveryboy]

I miss the way the better older cars wouldn't suddenly lose a load of grip in the wet and you could set off on a snowy day with regular tyres fitted knowing there wouldn't be much bother.

[Zelandeth]

My fathers 1953 Velox had a remote opener for the boot. Quite a good idea and the oldest car I have known with that feature. So why was it placed on the panel under the rear RH seat squab ? yes the driver had to get into the rear seat to push the button.

Boot release on the Lada Niva (95 onwards I believe) is a pull handle by the nearside rear passenger's elbow. Would be far more convenient in a country where LHD is the norm...over here it requires a walk all the way around the car or a serious stretch from the driver's seat.

[Laseraligningfoofooflanges]

Dipsticks! And a hole in the actual block, not just fucking sensors.. you know some of us might like to actually see what colour the stuff is?! or look for swarf!

 

BMW i am looking firmly at your hateful new jalopys here!  

[STUNO]

Dipsticks! And a hole in the actual block, not just fucking sensors.. you know some of us might like to actually see what colour the stuff is?! or look for swarf!

 

BMW i am looking firmly at your hateful new jalopys here!

 

You don't need one, there's a sensor for oil level, a big red light and a sensor for "you just ran out of oil" along with a pressure gauge, an indication to change the oil every 20,000 miles and you should buy a new one every 2 years. (may not be entirely accurate but you get the idea ! )

It's only penniless scum like us who need dipsticks for our 20 year old oil burners.

[Laseraligningfoofooflanges]

You don't need one, there's a sensor for oil level, a big red light and a sensor for "you just ran out of oil" along with a pressure gauge, an indication to change the oil every 20,000 miles and you should buy a new one every 2 years. (may not be entirely accurate but you get the idea ! )

It's only penniless scum like us who need dipsticks for our 20 year old oil burners.

   

[Laseraligningfoofooflanges]

You don't need one, there's a sensor for oil level, a big red light and a sensor for "you just ran out of oil" along with a pressure gauge, an indication to change the oil every 20,000 miles and you should buy a new one every 2 years. (may not be entirely accurate but you get the idea ! )

It's only penniless scum like us who need dipsticks for our 20 year old oil burners.

They might as well just write ''planned obsolescence'' on the daft plastic engine covers! 

[Ohdearme]

Jumped in Dad's Mazda 3 in the dark this morning, nice red light next to the ignition barrel to help me locate it.

[xkjagnz]

Bench seats. In fact, seats that are soft and comfortable. Moderns seem to be fitted with church pews!

My cube3 has column shift auto does that count?

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

[xkjagnz]

Bench seats. In fact, seats that are soft and comfortable. Moderns seem to be fitted with church pews!

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

My cube3 has column shift auto does that count?

[JimH]

Nice things about older cars that desperately need to make a come back.

 

1. Visibility. The thick and the scared have forced us all to endure tree trunk pillars and high bonnet lines while bean counters have done away with the rest of the glass. Get in the Dolomite and it's like riding a motorbike. Who needs a near side door mirror when a little flick of the head tells you what is there? 

 

2. Fresh air. It can be by opening quarterlight or much better a BMC/BL type eyeball vent in the dashboard. Give me a heater, sure. A chiller? That would be lovely but give me fresh air as well. Give it me as three separate systems rather than some blended, treated, conditioned, filtered air flow that is sent to God knows where by an HVAC system programmed by a sociopath. There are times when I want fresh air. Dear departed Bristol were the last to understand the importance of this but no one understood how to ventilate a car to suit the British market like BL.

 

3. Nice stalks. Sit in a pre-67 Beetle or Type 3. Put your hands on the wheel and touch the indicator stalk. Notice that it does not move unless you want to turn the indicator on. Now move it up. See how it glides in one place to its stop. No wobble, no deflection and no noise. I could write an essay on these stalks but suffice to say stout, die-cast stalks sitting with tight tolerance bushes on the steering colum gave the most beutiful movement. But wait. There is more. Sure foot dip switches are good but get the right model when they moved from foot dips and you are treated to a stalk mounted dip. A microswitch sitting in the stalk with a close fitting rectangular button operated the dip through a butch relay. The movement on this switch was barely perceptible but the loud snap from the relay told you that the job was done. It could be pointed out that on 6V 'dubs the relay needed to make a loud noise to tell you that the main beam had been actuated because there was no noticable difference in light output from the headlights.

 

Compare this gem with the fat, wobbly, ugly messes that deface every single sodding car on sale now. Tragic.

 

4. Space. I'm greedy. I want all the space for myself. As much of it as possible. I'm not going to give up space to dashboards, consoles, door cards, arm rests, instrument panels and the rest. I don't want flaps, glove boxes, cubby holes and oddment trays. The gold standard was probably ADO16 but the Mini wasn't far behind. Let's give them a dashboard that is just one huge shelf for putting things on. Hide the strip speedo and fuel gauge under the windscreen and give the occupants even more space. The tragedy of this is that which modern tech we could make ADO16 look cluttered. What do you need to know about a car when you are driving it? Speed and how much fuel is in the tank. There we go - a tiny HUD takes care of that. Take a look at the interior of the first Pandas to see how simple you could make things. Metros were another stand out design and I always liked the way that they cut away the dashboard on the passenger side of Mk2 Fiests.

 

Don't run away with the idea that space needs to be spartan. It's possible to do roomy posh but designers seem to be addicted to making things more and more cluttered so people think they have got something for their money - the low point must surely be the Panamera. However, the Maybach 6 interior shows what sort of grooviness you can do and still have space. You have to ignore some of the oh it's electric, honest stupidity, however.

 

 

5. A lack of mass. Please please please please stop cars weighing too much. Please.

 

By way of balance I would like to keep the simplicity of construction, the reliability of components, the clever engine management systems, the engines that are made properly, the comedy low purchase and running costs and the well wicked corrosion protection of what we build now.

[MorrisItalSLX]

Dipsticks! And a hole in the actual block, not just fucking sensors.. you know some of us might like to actually see what colour the stuff is?! or look for swarf!

 

BMW i am looking firmly at your hateful new jalopys here!

 

I spent nearly 10 minutes trying to find the gearbox dipstick on my Mum's Toyota before reading the book and discovering it dosn't have one!

[iainrcz]

Erm I tried checking the pas fluid on my GT 86, then resorted to the owners book.

 

It's got an electric rack.

 

Sent from my VFD 710 using Tapatalk

[Tadhg Tiogar]

I spent nearly 10 minutes trying to find the gearbox dipstick on my Mum's Toyota before reading the book and discovering it dosn't have one!

Citroen CX gearbox dipstick just has to be different from the rest, so accurate* reading can only be done when engine running. Hence I still don't know if my levels were ever correct, not that it matters anyway since the clutch packs were diagnosed as fucked a couple of weeks ago.

[Aston Martin]

The trouble with new cars isn't necessarily the size of the A-pillar. But the angle that makes them obscure the part of the road you need to see.

[Tadhg Tiogar]

The trouble with new cars isn't necessarily the size of the A-pillar. But the angle that makes them obscure the part of the road ....

....or indeed anything else. But that's true of all pillars now.

[Zelandeth]

Citroen CX gearbox dipstick just has to be different from the rest, so accurate* reading can only be done when engine running. Hence I still don't know if my levels were ever correct, not that it matters anyway since the clutch packs were diagnosed as fucked a couple of weeks ago.

Thought that was the same with most autos?

 

Saab handbook definitely stated that the reading should be taken with the engine running at normal temperature and the gearbox in either park or neutral.

 

... they're the only cars I've had with an auto box though, so they might be the exception for all I know.

[Tadhg Tiogar]

Thought that was the same with most autos?...

Not with my oul 635CSi. The 4HP22 auto in that one was always read cold, with the engine off.

[GeordieInExile]

Jumped in Dad's Mazda 3 in the dark this morning, nice red light next to the ignition barrel to help me locate it.

I wish my Saab had this. Spend ages rooting around the centre console if it's dark.

[Jazoli]

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 Avensis has the fuel cap release button on the door.

[derskine]

Bosch pumps, wing mounted aerials