Jump to content

Tight-ass manufacturer short cuts and cost saves


grogee

Recommended Posts

7 minutes ago, Spurious said:

That's typical VW, Billy basic one's are really povvo spec. 

It felt like you're being punished for purchasing a cheap VW. Want the badge? Prepare for the misery. 

i know someone with a 16 plate i think A3 sportline or whatever

decent spec, dual zone climate, nav, heated seats etc

yet no cruise control.....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

15 hours ago, twosmoke300 said:

You know on some fords the wiring loom isn’t completely taped up ? Just like a loose spiral of tape round  it ?

This isn’t to save tape - a wire can carry slightly less current per strand if it’s tightly loomed so they are left looser to allow them to save money on copper .

Was told this at the ford college years ago and seeing the grey under bonnet primer on fords of that era instead of paint I’m inclined to believe it . 

Many manufacturers do this now, especially the German ones. This pic is an Audi A6 Allroad, rear offside. I thought at first someone had been in there before me, but no.. they are all the same...

20220420_124453.thumb.jpg.6693b501bd50605caac22e47bf0a1217.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Right hand drive Trafic / Vivaro etc vans. Used the same engine bay layout as the LHD with the brake master cylinder on the left, but with a big bar along the width of the van going from the brake pedal to the back of the master cylinder.

Not really an issue as such but it does add a little bit of slop to the brake pedal Vs the LHD versions.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

16 hours ago, Dick Longbridge said:

Father Longbridge replaced his C plate Onion with an E plate Ghia equivalent with a mild facelift. From what I remember, the tailpipe had a short extension piece bolted onto the end from new so it appeared someone in Ford decided to do a cheap fix*. 

As an aside, Orions have aged very well, haven't they?

Screenshot_20220511-214522_Chrome.jpg

 

I think our dads might have been separated at birth, mine had a B reg Orion which he replaced with an F reg Orion. Both were 1.6 Ghias, we had them both for 4 years. Here's the first one, which I also learned to drive in:

785569940_Scan101copy2.thumb.jpg.348f727c95d09d95801b3ddba12b7d3a.jpg

145615965_Scan101copy.thumb.jpg.5e173084c16a49aa4780b75aa380a0b2.jpg

Unfortunately I couldn't say whether that's the original tailpipe or not. Equally unfortunately this is the only photo I can find of our second Orion 1.6 Ghia:

47865990_1990orionghia01.jpg.ec83bba7d9b38b94e5ed847c8c562123.jpg

The first Orion replaced a 1980 Ford Cortina 2.0GL and I reckon my Dad was exactly the conservative buyer Ford were targeting with the Orion, as he didn't really want a (poxy) hatchback. It was a company car, so he had the choice of a Sierra 2.0GL or an Orion 1.6 Ghia, he was swayed by the luxury of the Ghia. It was really well equipped and felt very special compared to the Cortina... rev counter,  digital roof mounted clock, tilt/slide sunroof, 4 speaker stereo cassette player with joystick for balance, electric windows, rear headrests, remote boot release. We loved it.

The replacement, an F reg facelift model was totally stripped out compared to th B reg one and very disappointing. It didn't feel special at all, certainly didn't feel like a top of the range model. Can't remember exactly what was missing but it was the combination of lots of minor details like no storage pockets on the backs of the front seats for maps, no rear courtesy lights, no tiny torch on the key fob, etc, etc. Its saving grace was that it was a much nicer car to drive, firmer, faster, wider tyres and felt more surefooted. The earlier one was very soggy and floppy. 

If I could be bothered I'd go through the Ford catalogues and list all the minor stuff missing from the spec between them but there was loads. 

Anyway, glad there are others here who experienced the awesomeness of the Orion, for such a mundane car I think it was quite handsome and to me looked very different to the Escort it was based on to the extent it felt like a car in its own right and not a booted conversion. I don't think that was the case with the ones based on later Escort models.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

19 minutes ago, juular said:

Right hand drive Trafic / Vivaro etc vans. Used the same engine bay layout as the LHD with the brake master cylinder on the left, but with a big bar along the width of the van going from the brake pedal to the back of the master cylinder.

Not really an issue as such but it does add a little bit of slop to the brake pedal Vs the LHD versions.

That’s a Peugeot favourite as well. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

15 hours ago, grogee said:

Mk 1 and 2 Golf I think had LHD wipers. 

Only until 1987 - they changed them to RHD after that.

15 hours ago, Missy Charm said:

Cars with offset handbrakes: certain marques don't bother to reconfigure the handbrake and console when converting to RHD, resulting in the lever being closer to the passenger seat than the driver's.  Very irritating.  Below is a CX, illustrating the point:

Citroën CX 25 GTi Turbo interior | Spaceship like interior | Flickr

To be fair CX handbrakes are generally so useless that it doesn't really matter much where they put the lever.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

GM have been doing this for decades.

It's easy to look at how much of my Pontiac is parts-bin Chevy.

Body pressing is shared between all 4 door GM vehicles from 1947 to 1954, only the front and rear wings, hood and trunk pressings were changed between year and model.

Dash underneath is Chevrolet truck, as is all the sheet metal pressings around the radiator, the radiator itself and the front engine subframe. Engine is from the 1930's.

They basically changed just enough for each model to make it A WHOLE NEW CAR FOR 1951!

Total crock, but it's the only way they could afford to do a "new" model every year.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, juular said:

Right hand drive Trafic / Vivaro etc vans. Used the same engine bay layout as the LHD with the brake master cylinder on the left, but with a big bar along the width of the van going from the brake pedal to the back of the master cylinder.

Not really an issue as such but it does add a little bit of slop to the brake pedal Vs the LHD versions.

See also MK1 Fiesta and MK3 Escort in RS1600i spec. Notoriously shite brakes

Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 minutes ago, bunglebus said:

See also MK1 Fiesta and MK3 Escort in RS1600i spec. Notoriously shite brakes

Fiat Cinquecento also, but it's not like they had any option where to put the brakes. There's no room anywhere else in the engine bay.

Didn't help they also fitted brakes from the Panda, which were pretty terrible.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Going back to VAG, I find the build quality of my Skoda to be great.. but it's an odd spec.

Heated mirrors, 4 leccy windows (all with auto up and down, and global open and close on the key), dual zone climate, cruise, 6 CD changer with SD slot and touch screen but no volume buttons on the steering wheel and the Bluetooth button on the stereo does nothing because the Bluetooth module is missing.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Barry Cade said:

Many manufacturers do this now, especially the German ones. This pic is an Audi A6 Allroad, rear offside. I thought at first someone had been in there before me, but no.. they are all the same...

20220420_124453.thumb.jpg.6693b501bd50605caac22e47bf0a1217.jpg

That's enough to put me off ever buying one. Not that it was high on my list anyway. 

How did that get through committee? At least take some pride in your work, and try and make it look as neat as it can. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ford reduced spec on things normal people wouldn’t notice , carpet got shitter and more plastic with every facelift. Removing the felt pads from the back of the seat belt plugs so that they didn’t make a noise against the centre console. Taking away the flock lining in consoles and coin holders. The little compartment for first aid kits on the parcel shelf disappeared from Sierra hatches . The piping being removed from the headrests on XR3is between 84/85.
This was long before Project Drive at MG Rover , although some of the cuts there beggar belief and must have cost as much to implement as they saved; removal of plastic sleeve on jack handle ?  More worrying was the cost cutting you couldn’t see, removing one of the plenum drains on 75s , doing away with the protective sleeve on cooling pipes, don’t worry it was only K series engines no worries about cooling on them.Also specifying a cheaper type of oil cooler.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I had a Skoda Scaler as a courtesy car recently. It had a speed limiter but not cruise. So you had to pay extra money just to add the function in SW. I got round it by setting the speed limiter to my desired speed and then just jamming  my foot in footwell. Same with the apple car play function, it just said contact your dealer when you clicked it. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

19 hours ago, grogee said:

Saab did the central window control thing for a while I think, and saved a few quid having the ignition key switch there too. 

Pisses me off that my 9-5 doesn't have 'auto-up' windaes

I think the central window controls is a good idea but the ignition key in the centre is due to what I've gathered to stop you mushing your knee against the key in a normal location next to the steering column incase of a head on etc, Saab and safety and all that jazz 😄 They didn't really skimp on stuff,  just used the same components for decades 😂

To be honest I've only ever had one car with an auto up on the windows, well handy though! 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, inconsistant said:

Add the Porsche 924 to the list for both of these. They even continued the pfennig pinching  for the updated 924S from 1985-88. And the early 944s.

IMG-1800.JPG.e348da8c2687d9eec9c23fe5419816a9.JPG

1338449817_IMG_0631copy.JPG.abaa6c0c3d40c52fef81e3843e8d3a80.JPG

It's the same on the Mercedes W124 - however is that not a safety thing to avoid the inexperienced driver confusing the lever with something else? In the case of the W124  - with the foot-operated parking brake - the hand release on the driver's side is very similar.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, bunglebus said:

See also MK1 Fiesta and MK3 Escort in RS1600i spec. Notoriously shite brakes

Back in the 80s a mate had a Fiat Strada with the same set up. I somehow found out you could brake the car from the passenger seat by pushing hard against the bulkhead with your feet. Used to piss him off when he thought the car was feeling sluggish😁

Link to comment
Share on other sites

21 hours ago, Dick Longbridge said:

Orions have aged very well, haven't they?

The design, absolutely. I always liked the early ones.

The actual cars, not so much.

I don't think I've seen one in the last 5 years.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Spiny Norman said:

Volvo 140 and 240 estates used the same doors as the saloons, but I don't think anybody noticed...

Screenshot 2022-05-12 at 18-46-52 RDD jpg (WEBP Image, 800 × 659 pixels) – Scaled (97%).png

Same on the 700/900/(s/v)90, although they went with a squarer door to fit the estate.

image.png.485209e46e3fedd10a4368c72a89c39b.png

and again on the 850/(s/v)70, another very square saloon.

image.png.2308138c6fa3fda50e2fe04052442f33.png

Only from the early 00s s60/V70/S80 did they start using different rear doors per body style. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Regarding cruise control: shouldn't all modern cars with drive by wire throttles have it as standard?  I know that plenty don't, but the electronics needed to run cruise control have to be present with drive by wire regardless.  The ECU has a means of adjusting the throttle plate and the engine has a speed sensor; all that's needed is the buttons to operate the cruise control itself.  Seems cheap not fitting it when it would be so easy.*

* I know it's a premium feature and so on, it's just annoying.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 minutes ago, Missy Charm said:

Regarding cruise control: shouldn't all modern cars with drive by wire throttles have it as standard?  I know that plenty don't, but the electronics needed to run cruise control have to be present with drive by wire regardless.  The ECU has a means of adjusting the throttle plate and the engine has a speed sensor; all that's needed is the buttons to operate the cruise control itself.  Seems cheap not fitting it when it would be so easy.*

* I know it's a premium feature and so on, it's just annoying.  

I don't know if it's possible with other drive by wire throttle based cars but it's possible to retrofit cruise control on most Mk1 Fabias, I think some exceptions are the most skint of the poverty spec models. :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...