Aren't cars rubbish?
- Thread starter mjr
- Start date
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OP
OP
mjr
Comfy armchair to one person & a plank to the next
- Location
- mostly Norfolk, sometimes Somerset
Yes, the false sense of security that actually advises the beeper is working rather than the lights. It would be better for an alarm to sound if the lights fail and probably to refuse to start if the alarm fails, or something like that. And require lenses, mirrors, light guides and side/top visibility on trailer lights so the driver can see the rear lights are working. That or require a lighting test (all lights on, driver door open while you walk around) before ignition.
Interesting that a lot of the favourite cars are old models. Should I have titled this "aren't MODERN cars rubbish?"
Profpointy
Legendary Member
Some modern cars are nice to drive but some are rather unpleasant; ditto for older cars. When I last test drive company cars - mid range £20k jobs - so ostensibly quite nice machines, I found some of them rather poor - specifically the Saab 93 and the (even worse) volvo mid sized car, and a few years previously the horrible to drive bmw 3 series. Conversely I remember my 1968 Triumph vitesse or my mate's mum's simca 1100 (hardly the most desirable machine even at the time( being great to drive, likewise my "modern" 15 year old saab 95 is lovely.
I don't recall the older cars being per se unreliable if you looked after them either. And you could fixe many things by the roadside if needs be.
I don't recall the older cars being per se unreliable if you looked after them either. And you could fixe many things by the roadside if needs be.
OP
OP
mjr
Comfy armchair to one person & a plank to the next
- Location
- mostly Norfolk, sometimes Somerset
Why not and how much older, JOOI?
potsy
Rambler
- Location
- My Armchair
Me neither, I would be lost without my heated seats and cornering lights, not to mention the essentials like bluetooth and satnav
I would certainly not want to go back to rubbish heaters, poor economy, rust, damp, no heated rear window, no seat belts, rubbish music systems and the list goes on. I am not one that looks back with rose tinted spectacles. I still get to drive the odd so called classic and they just seem like hard work to me.
Not sure on how much older as that would depend on the vehicle, plenty of nice Corrolla's about from about 1998.
subaqua
What’s the point
- Location
- Leytonstone
OP
OP
mjr
Comfy armchair to one person & a plank to the next
- Location
- mostly Norfolk, sometimes Somerset
Does it depend on the classic? I don't miss the rust or poor economy and would probably retrofit seatbelts to reduce the risk of me nutting the glass or getting brained by a passenger, but who really cares about the rest? I've got clothes that can cope with cold and damp, I've driven stuff without rear windows anyway and I could take my on-bike music system if I was going to be doing a lot of motorway cruising rather than driving in high-demand environments like towns.
I've been in a fairly modern Peugeot (I think) which had the bloody beeper - so you get that unless it was fitted from new or you pay the high "main stealer" prices for doing the electrics? Can't the retrofit stuff speak canbus or whatever it's called?
And if you do a light check every drive, then I salute you and thank you in case I ever pass or follow you on the roads... but my office overlooks an A road and I don't have to watch for long to see a motorist driving with defective lights, so shouldn't cars by now be refusing to start if the required lights fail a Power-On Self-Test?
subaqua
What’s the point
- Location
- Leytonstone
Canbus can and the software to get the modules talking is not expensive . Even aftermarket can do it .
Lamps can blow whilst on the move . Speed bumps are notorious . Blew one sidelamp and the warning was on dash .
I have a lamp kit , so replaced and then bought a twin pack , one in the kit replace the other as will be not far from going either IME as a spark.
Stops you getting all grumpy when it happens a few days later ......
OP
OP
mjr
Comfy armchair to one person & a plank to the next
- Location
- mostly Norfolk, sometimes Somerset
Good it warns you immediately. I don't think the car should stop dead if a bulb fails but it seems unlikely that all the illegally-unlit motorists passing me here have had a bulb fail on their current drive.
Yeah - I buy twin packs because that's my experience too, so I'm not sure how I ended up with one spare bulb in the toolbox. Probably just before we sold the last car, one bulb failed, the other didn't, I held off restocking in case the next car took a different spec and then I forgot. There's just so much to keep track of with modern cars. The mix of spare fuses I now keep is mind-boggling too: at least three ratings in each of two pin sizes, plus a cylinder size.
[QUOTE 4653029, member: 9609"]So many cars these days seem to have failed indicator bulbs, particularly german makes.[/QUOTE]
Not around these parts, it is those little French vans, speeding all over the place belching out back smoke, wheel spinning and generaly up to no good.
Never trust a Lincolnshire indicator as the chances are it was left on since the last corner 10 miles back.
Not around these parts, it is those little French vans, speeding all over the place belching out back smoke, wheel spinning and generaly up to no good.
Never trust a Lincolnshire indicator as the chances are it was left on since the last corner 10 miles back.
Oldbloke
Guru
- Location
- Mayenne, France
I hate the way "limp mode" is activated instantly; very scary when driving in the outside lane of a busy motorway and suddenly find engine power greatly reduced. Gave me a real "brown trousers" moment....
Profpointy
Legendary Member
i particularly dislike the way limp mode can very quickly turn into conked out mode and you're still trying to get across to the hard shoulder. That's no fun at all when cars are whizzing padt on your left and you're travelling only on momentum with a dead engine.
