I drove a fridge today, sorry I mean the latest Honda Jazz......
Some designer came up with a single control cluster-with digital temp reading, and all the temp controls on it, very nice, so where did the cabin designers place this item....edge of the dashboard, drivers side, and what's in front of it - the steering wheel. The driver can't see it, and will have to find the item each time, and guess what they are adjusting it to temperature wise.
Just for laughs,
When the designers are designing the Honda Jazz,
It goes a bit like this-
We have invented this really cool, compact all in one unit for the climate controls-it even has its own lcd.......yea, cool isn't it....we board think it is cool, and will take this design and pass it to the cabin layout dept. ooooo, nice unit they have designed, shame we forgot that had to go on the car, how can we get out of this?, let's lets tag it into the end of the dashboard, right on that corner as an "innovation" (or afterthought to the rest of us). Job done, pass to quality control, climate control.....tick, yes it has it.
The quality control dept get an email to check the quality of the doors.......
Right, check doors......how many does it have?, 4 boss....excellent, tick (brackets: it has all 4, add smiley face symbol)
When the Germans design a car,
Please check quality of the doors-do they still live upto our reputation....
Get the micrometer, weighing scales, paint test, call the metal people to do a random purity test, and random procedure tests on the shop floor staff.
We have designed a new climate control interface, is this good enough for the new car? Yes, it is, but it will have to be tested on our €2billion dollar virtual cabin simulator before it gets the green light. Goes into simulator software, get our test people in to sit in and see if they can use it in that location, or if we need to move it around so they can see it and reach it easily. 6months later, it finally appears on the new car.
Front pillar blind spots.Totally dangerous.Especially at roundabouts.
Lazy eco throttle response.FFS,GO!.
Too many nanny safety gizmos.You pay for it all.
Cars getting heavier,bigger.MK 1 Golf GTI v MK7. Says it all.
No spare wheel.Crappy sealant and pump.Sometimes not even an optional extra.
Too many cars look the same.Or just plain ugly.Corporate faces on all models.
Over the top LED DRL's.It's like a competition to see who can have the most over the top.Audi seem to be leading the way.Even getting dazzled by Audi LED rear indicators these days.
That's it for now.I'm sure i'll think of many more.:)
Newer cars never feel the same as driving an old car. As they are so quiet, smooth and boring to drive.
Also there are too many sensors and electronics on modern cars. If one of the sensors goes then it usually knocks out a few more and they are never cheap. Not to mention plugging it into a computer at around £50.
Lastly there are at least 6 speed limits I can think of : 20, 30, 40, 50, 60 and 70mph. Of which the 20mph limit is the most underused, I think all residential roads should be 20mph unless there`s a good reason why they shouldn`t be.
Many of the roads around here are 20mph, have speed bumps and are one way traffic. It's made the place a lot safer for non car users.
Many of the roads around here are 20mph, have speed bumps and are one way traffic. It's made the place a lot safer for non car users.
I just returned from a short trip into town. While waiting for outside a friends house, I saw many cars speeding along the housing estate at over 30mph, while children were playing on the path and riding their bikes in the road. When leaving that part the estate. It links up with a new build estate. Very similar, but being only a few years old it has a 20 limit & lots of road calming. If you speed round there u will damage your car.
I don't usually believe in too much nanny state intervention, but if people are going to take the p!ss, then enforced speed restrictions with road calming is going to be the end result.
The Old Housing Estate drivers (men and women) in my town are very anti-social in their driving habits (speeding and tailgating) and they all drive old bangers.
Probably without Insurance, Tax and MOT.
I just returned from a short trip into town. While waiting for outside a friends house, I saw many cars speeding along the housing estate at over 30mph, while children were playing on the path and riding their bikes in the road. When leaving that part the estate. It links up with a new build estate. Very similar, but being only a few years old it has a 20 limit & lots of road calming. If you speed round there u will damage your car.
I don't usually believe in too much nanny state intervention, but if people are going to take the p!ss, then enforced speed restrictions with road calming is going to be the end result.
Well, exactly. The government and councils have repeatedly asked motorists to keep their speed down in urban areas, where as you say, there may be children playing and often it hasn't worked. So, thankfully the government and councils have done something about it in many areas.
I`m in shock........
I just phoned Halfords for the price of a set of front windscreen wiper blades for my Ford Focus. £35 she said. I replied are you sure you haven`t got the decimal point in the wrong place ? No she said, rather indignantly. I then phoned Eurocarparts (supposedly a cheap supplier), £31 !
Thirty bleedin` pounds for a set of windscreen wiper blades ! ! !
"But they`re special modern advanced flat blade types".
I couldn`t care less, I`d prefer the older more easily available and far far cheaper conventional types.
£30 for a set of windscreen wipers, it`s an absolute joke.
I`m in shock........
I just phoned Halfords for the price of a set of front windscreen wiper blades for my Ford Focus. £35 she said. I replied are you sure you haven`t got the decimal point in the wrong place ? No she said, rather indignantly. I then phoned Eurocarparts (supposedly a cheap supplier), £31 !
Thirty bleedin` pounds for a set of windscreen wiper blades ! ! !
"But they`re special modern advanced flat blade types".
I couldn`t care less, I`d prefer the older more easily available and far far cheaper conventional types.
£30 for a set of windscreen wipers, it`s an absolute joke.
The word your looking for is "aero blades", the car I have now is the first one I have owned to have them, and being vw they ain't cheap. Also, I found thru ownership (car used everyday) they started to smear after just 1 year, and I have since discovered vw recommend owners replace them once a year. Weird things, they look very strange and bendy when on max speed in heavy rain. They do clear a lot of water though.
The diesel injector fault on vans as shown on last nights Watchdog prog. is not confined to the vans portrayed that had a slight leak on a rubber seal near the w/screen.
The problem has been known in the trade for years whereby many diesel engined cars and vans can suffer from fuel injectors that are near impossible to remove without the risk of breaking off or self-weld to the block when needing replacement, In such instances almost without exception resulting in a very hefty bill for the car owner, even if the use of a special tool is involved.
Run flat tyres sound like a good idea but if you do have a puncture there is no chance of a repair, its the cost of a new tyre ever time.
Also the trend not to include a spare wheel is annoying. Didn't even occur to me to ask if the car came with one as you just assume a spare is standard.
Run flat tyres sound like a good idea but if you do have a puncture there is no chance of a repair, its the cost of a new tyre ever time.
Also the trend not to include a spare wheel is annoying. Didn't even occur to me to ask if the car came with one as you just assume a spare is standard.
Not absolutely sure about this but thought I read somewhere that in addition to a new tyre, you may also need to buy a replacement inflation or aerosol unit at a further £50.
Also the trend not to include a spare wheel is annoying. Didn't even occur to me to ask if the car came with one as you just assume a spare is standard.
yep also hate this even if you do select the spare wheel option when buying its usually only a space saver
I`m in shock........ I just phoned Halfords for the price of a set of front windscreen wiper blades for my Ford Focus. £35 she said. I replied are you sure you haven`t got the decimal point in the wrong place ? No she said, rather indignantly. I then phoned Eurocarparts (supposedly a cheap supplier), £31 !
Thirty bleedin` pounds for a set of windscreen wiper blades ! ! !
"But they`re special modern advanced flat blade types".
I couldn`t care less, I`d prefer the older more easily available and far far cheaper conventional types. £30 for a set of windscreen wipers, it`s an absolute joke.
Hence the reason why many stores have closed down. Why pay ludicrously inflated prices to buy from a store when you can get the same, or better, online?
That's priced per blade as from memory the Focus has a slightly smaller length blade on the passenger side. Just measure your blades up before ordering.
Are you sure they`re the same type ? Didn`t early the Focus take the standard blade and the later one the ridiculous expensive new blade ? I accept that E Bay or whatever would be cheaper than £30 but I wanted them the same day for a long journey the following day. In the end I just thoroughly cleaned the old blades and hoped for the best.
Hence the reason why many stores have closed down. Why pay ludicrously inflated prices to buy from a store when you can get the same, or better, online?
That's priced per blade as from memory the Focus has a slightly smaller length blade on the passenger side. Just measure your blades up before ordering.
To be frank, despite the fact my business is selling stuff using my website, I don`t actually like buying stuff Online (particularly from Amazon or E Bay, tax dodging swine) but it does depend how much more the shops want for the items. Double the price is far too much, 4x is an absolute joke.
yep also hate this even if you do select the spare wheel option when buying its usually only a space saver
I don't mind a spacesaver.
However, some cars only have room for a spacesaver, so where do you put your "proper" wheel when you have had to fit the spare?
Also, some cars don't have room to store any spare at all, so you are stuck with the sealant and compressor. A colleague of mine had a 3 hour wait on the M25 one evening last week, waiting in the cold for the recovery service to bring him a suitable sized replacement when he had a major blow out. Sealant and a compressor isn't much good when your tyre is in shreds.
Generally cars are better made now and I love all the gizmos [ heated streeing wheel ? yes please }.
One gripe is with the fitment of wide low profile tyres the power steering is insufficient and at parking speeds it's a muscle flexing job to get into a parking space down at Asdas.
I remember my old Granada, no PAS, but 6 turns from lock to lock, effortless steering at parking speeds.
Front pillar blind spots.Totally dangerous.Especially at roundabouts.Lazy eco throttle response.FFS,GO!.
Too many nanny safety gizmos.You pay for it all.
Cars getting heavier,bigger.MK 1 Golf GTI v MK7. Says it all.
No spare wheel.Crappy sealant and pump.Sometimes not even an optional extra.
Too many cars look the same.Or just plain ugly.Corporate faces on all models.
Over the top LED DRL's.It's like a competition to see who can have the most over the top.Audi seem to be leading the way.Even getting dazzled by Audi LED rear indicators these days.
That's it for now.I'm sure i'll think of many more.:)
Re bib. I think that this is all part of the passenger protection cells they are building into cars and chasing the all important 5-Star Euro NCAP rating. Very laudable, but not so good if you finish up having more crashes because of reduced visibility. If they haven't already started to bring it in, I think Euro NCAP should put limits on visibility out of the vehicle, and include this when assessing the Star rating.
Generally cars are better made now and I love all the gizmos [ heated streeing wheel ? yes please }.
One gripe is with the fitment of wide low profile tyres the power steering is insufficient and at parking speeds it's a muscle flexing job to get into a parking space down at Asdas.
I remember my old Granada, no PAS, but 6 turns from lock to lock, effortless steering at parking speeds.
I think manufacturers are just trying to outdo each other when it comes to gizmos. I mean heated steering wheel, air conditioned glove boxes - why would anyone seriously need them???
I quite like my driving my classic car - no PAS, no ABS, no air bags, no computers, no seat belts, cross-ply tyres, non-servo drum brakes, no electric windows, valve radio...
It does have a good heater though, and as my car dates from 1959 it was actually an optional extra at the time, the radio was also optional, but the original owner's budget obviously never extended to specifying a clock!
Front pillar blind spots.Totally dangerous.Especially at roundabouts
Isn't the big problem that the emphasis on secondary safety has reduced primary safety.
Yes the strengthened windscreen pillars mean you will now survive that rare occurrence of a roll over, but it has been at the expensive of generating a highly dangerous blind spot which requires you to lean back and forward at every junction and roundabout to see round the damn pillar.
Comments
Some designer came up with a single control cluster-with digital temp reading, and all the temp controls on it, very nice, so where did the cabin designers place this item....edge of the dashboard, drivers side, and what's in front of it - the steering wheel. The driver can't see it, and will have to find the item each time, and guess what they are adjusting it to temperature wise.
When the designers are designing the Honda Jazz,
It goes a bit like this-
We have invented this really cool, compact all in one unit for the climate controls-it even has its own lcd.......yea, cool isn't it....we board think it is cool, and will take this design and pass it to the cabin layout dept. ooooo, nice unit they have designed, shame we forgot that had to go on the car, how can we get out of this?, let's lets tag it into the end of the dashboard, right on that corner as an "innovation" (or afterthought to the rest of us). Job done, pass to quality control, climate control.....tick, yes it has it.
The quality control dept get an email to check the quality of the doors.......
Right, check doors......how many does it have?, 4 boss....excellent, tick (brackets: it has all 4, add smiley face symbol)
When the Germans design a car,
Please check quality of the doors-do they still live upto our reputation....
Get the micrometer, weighing scales, paint test, call the metal people to do a random purity test, and random procedure tests on the shop floor staff.
We have designed a new climate control interface, is this good enough for the new car? Yes, it is, but it will have to be tested on our €2billion dollar virtual cabin simulator before it gets the green light. Goes into simulator software, get our test people in to sit in and see if they can use it in that location, or if we need to move it around so they can see it and reach it easily. 6months later, it finally appears on the new car.
Lazy eco throttle response.FFS,GO!.
Too many nanny safety gizmos.You pay for it all.
Cars getting heavier,bigger.MK 1 Golf GTI v MK7. Says it all.
No spare wheel.Crappy sealant and pump.Sometimes not even an optional extra.
Too many cars look the same.Or just plain ugly.Corporate faces on all models.
Over the top LED DRL's.It's like a competition to see who can have the most over the top.Audi seem to be leading the way.Even getting dazzled by Audi LED rear indicators these days.
That's it for now.I'm sure i'll think of many more.:)
Also there are too many sensors and electronics on modern cars. If one of the sensors goes then it usually knocks out a few more and they are never cheap. Not to mention plugging it into a computer at around £50.
Many of the roads around here are 20mph, have speed bumps and are one way traffic. It's made the place a lot safer for non car users.
I just returned from a short trip into town. While waiting for outside a friends house, I saw many cars speeding along the housing estate at over 30mph, while children were playing on the path and riding their bikes in the road. When leaving that part the estate. It links up with a new build estate. Very similar, but being only a few years old it has a 20 limit & lots of road calming. If you speed round there u will damage your car.
I don't usually believe in too much nanny state intervention, but if people are going to take the p!ss, then enforced speed restrictions with road calming is going to be the end result.
Probably without Insurance, Tax and MOT.
I really wish Eugenics wasn't a dirty word.
Well, exactly. The government and councils have repeatedly asked motorists to keep their speed down in urban areas, where as you say, there may be children playing and often it hasn't worked. So, thankfully the government and councils have done something about it in many areas.
I just phoned Halfords for the price of a set of front windscreen wiper blades for my Ford Focus. £35 she said. I replied are you sure you haven`t got the decimal point in the wrong place ? No she said, rather indignantly. I then phoned Eurocarparts (supposedly a cheap supplier), £31 !
Thirty bleedin` pounds for a set of windscreen wiper blades ! ! !
"But they`re special modern advanced flat blade types".
I couldn`t care less, I`d prefer the older more easily available and far far cheaper conventional types.
£30 for a set of windscreen wipers, it`s an absolute joke.
The word your looking for is "aero blades", the car I have now is the first one I have owned to have them, and being vw they ain't cheap. Also, I found thru ownership (car used everyday) they started to smear after just 1 year, and I have since discovered vw recommend owners replace them once a year. Weird things, they look very strange and bendy when on max speed in heavy rain. They do clear a lot of water though.
The problem has been known in the trade for years whereby many diesel engined cars and vans can suffer from fuel injectors that are near impossible to remove without the risk of breaking off or self-weld to the block when needing replacement, In such instances almost without exception resulting in a very hefty bill for the car owner, even if the use of a special tool is involved.
Also the trend not to include a spare wheel is annoying. Didn't even occur to me to ask if the car came with one as you just assume a spare is standard.
Not absolutely sure about this but thought I read somewhere that in addition to a new tyre, you may also need to buy a replacement inflation or aerosol unit at a further £50.
yep also hate this even if you do select the spare wheel option when buying its usually only a space saver
I always buy Bosch......just £3.99 for your car.
That's priced per blade as from memory the Focus has a slightly smaller length blade on the passenger side. Just measure your blades up before ordering.
Are you sure they`re the same type ? Didn`t early the Focus take the standard blade and the later one the ridiculous expensive new blade ? I accept that E Bay or whatever would be cheaper than £30 but I wanted them the same day for a long journey the following day. In the end I just thoroughly cleaned the old blades and hoped for the best.
To be frank, despite the fact my business is selling stuff using my website, I don`t actually like buying stuff Online (particularly from Amazon or E Bay, tax dodging swine) but it does depend how much more the shops want for the items. Double the price is far too much, 4x is an absolute joke.
I don't mind a spacesaver.
However, some cars only have room for a spacesaver, so where do you put your "proper" wheel when you have had to fit the spare?
Also, some cars don't have room to store any spare at all, so you are stuck with the sealant and compressor. A colleague of mine had a 3 hour wait on the M25 one evening last week, waiting in the cold for the recovery service to bring him a suitable sized replacement when he had a major blow out. Sealant and a compressor isn't much good when your tyre is in shreds.
One gripe is with the fitment of wide low profile tyres the power steering is insufficient and at parking speeds it's a muscle flexing job to get into a parking space down at Asdas.
I remember my old Granada, no PAS, but 6 turns from lock to lock, effortless steering at parking speeds.
Re bib. I think that this is all part of the passenger protection cells they are building into cars and chasing the all important 5-Star Euro NCAP rating. Very laudable, but not so good if you finish up having more crashes because of reduced visibility. If they haven't already started to bring it in, I think Euro NCAP should put limits on visibility out of the vehicle, and include this when assessing the Star rating.
I think manufacturers are just trying to outdo each other when it comes to gizmos. I mean heated steering wheel, air conditioned glove boxes - why would anyone seriously need them???
I quite like my driving my classic car - no PAS, no ABS, no air bags, no computers, no seat belts, cross-ply tyres, non-servo drum brakes, no electric windows, valve radio...
It does have a good heater though, and as my car dates from 1959 it was actually an optional extra at the time, the radio was also optional, but the original owner's budget obviously never extended to specifying a clock!
Isn't the big problem that the emphasis on secondary safety has reduced primary safety.
Yes the strengthened windscreen pillars mean you will now survive that rare occurrence of a roll over, but it has been at the expensive of generating a highly dangerous blind spot which requires you to lean back and forward at every junction and roundabout to see round the damn pillar.