In-car pictograms

[martc]

On every car I've travelled in/owned pictograms printed on various pulls and lit by various idiot lights never represent the shape of the car itself. For example the bonnet pull will have a picture of a 3 box car with it's bonnet open printed on it even if the actual car is a hatchback or estate.Perhaps in the good old days when every designer perused Joe Lucas's catalogue to pick there knobs and levers there may have been an excuse. But as these parts are generally now bespoke why do the manufacturers persist with these images? In fact are there any cars out there with pictograms that actually resemble the car they are are in?

[shite_meister]

How big are the average graphics on a button? its about getting the most amount of information across whilst being as simple as possible and taking into account how easy they are to understand by Sid 'n Doris when they're 10mm in size.Bonnet pulls aren't exactly in the line of sight are they so mine could have a big cock and balls on and I still wouldn't notice it.

[mnde]

Behold the pictogram on the Citroen GSA instrument panel:

 

 

It's an actual cutaway diagram of a GSA berline

 

This is a clearer shot than I have of my own dashboard, because currently one of the bulbs behind the pictogram doesn't work! Mine is a Break but it still shows a berline on the panel.

 

Mark.

[Milford Cubicle]

^That is brilliant

 

 

Here's the pictogram which sits between the instruments in Subaru Justys, a lot more primitive and doesn't look much like a Justy.

[Guest]

Pleasingly most of my cars are square 3-box saloons, so the little pictures are applicable for me!

[j-j]

No picture sorry but the Mk2 Citroen BX actually had a pictogram of what was clearly a CX on the center console for the doors open etc!

[Conrad D. Conelrad]

Here's the enormous, rev-counter sized one from my sister's Escort MK5.

 

Looks more like the Sierra concept to me. Utter waste of dash space, I'd rather have a massive analogue clock.

[CortinaDave]

I imagine they put it there to save them the cash of having to give you a clock, bearing in mind the mk5 escort was one of the most built-down-to-a-cost cars ever!

[myglaren]

I don't think there are any in my car, other than one of a view from above showing which door is open, when one is open and the motor running.Whether it resembles the car or not I couldn't say.Shows how much notice I take.

[Albert Ross]

Mk5 Scrote vans also had the car in the dash....just to confuse "builders".I have, somewhere, a "doors open/bulb failure" warning screen for a Mk1 XR4 3 door..... must be eBay rare by now.

[VWPowered]

Mon Tipo

 

[brammy777]

Hey our old Subaru Legacy had a car display on its dash, and would tell you what door was open and if the boot was open, with specific lights for each.I always thought that was massively cool when i was like 5.

[Milford Cubicle]

I bought you a present VWP.

[Conrad D. Conelrad]

Where was that taken, the desert?

[whitevanman]

^That is brilliant

 

 

Here's the pictogram which sits between the instruments in Subaru Justys, a lot more primitive and doesn't look much like a Justy.

Scooby?

[whitevanman]

DOH !!!! try reading the text numbnuts bad day at the office....3 broken Sierras in 48 hours

[Mash]

The bonnet release on a Vauxhall Victor FB has a very accurate outline of the car on it. I remember the vendor pointing it out to me when I bought mine!

[CortinaDave]

I seem to remember the one in sierra ghias is fairly accurate.. relatively speaking that is.

[Guest]

My C4 has a little outline of a Coupe body style to represent the fuel range, even though mine's a 5 door.Someone on the Scott Mills show (when he was filling in for that odious gobshite Moyles - you know you hate the lead jock when you laugh consistently at the poor people working for him) had a theory that the petrol pump diagram on your car had the nozzle for fuel the same side as the fuel flap.It holds true for the C4.Amazon's is on the back panel so doesn't have such a diagram. Piazza's fuel light also points to the same side as the flap.

[Pillock]

Someone on the Scott Mills show (when he was filling in for that odious gobshite Moyles - you know you hate the lead jock when you laugh consistently at the poor people working for him) had a theory that the petrol pump diagram on your car had the nozzle for fuel the same side as the fuel flap.

I heard that on the radio.... I was sat in a Vectra at the time, which doesn't hold true.I think the petrol pump logo is pretty standardised, but the fuel filler location really depends on which country the car was designed in/for.... Plus, that just gets me onto my previously-GrumpyOldManned subject of people who refuse to stretch the hose over the back of the car and cut down on the pump queues.

[Conrad D. Conelrad]

Someone on the Scott Mills show (when he was filling in for that odious gobshite Moyles - you know you hate the lead jock when you laugh consistently at the poor people working for him) had a theory that the petrol pump diagram on your car had the nozzle for fuel the same side as the fuel flap.

I keep hearing this too, and it's wrong. The little picture of a petrol pump never changes, but many cars from the last couple of years have a little arrow next to the pump indicating which side the filler is. Examples:http://www.netcarshow.com/ford/2009-ka/ ... per_58.htmhttp://www.netcarshow.com/mazda/2008-2/ ... per_47.htmhttp://www.netcarshow.com/toyota/2009-y ... per_09.htm

[alfetta]

My yeold saab 9000 was pretty clear and useful - doors open, which bulbs are out, instant aveage mpg, temp and battery volts...

 

 

 

 

 

 

[AnthonyG]

A very small sticker on the windows of most 1990s European cars advertising/warning of a factory fit alarm had a Rover 800 saloon profile on it, either Bosch or Philips IIRC. Also Fiats used to have a sticker about child locks on the rear windows of 4 door cars which had a little picture of a Strada.