Bring back the basic & simple cars

[biggs682]

About a month ago my 86 year old father treated himself to a 2.5 yr old Honda Jazz to replace his older version of same car .

Ever since getting it he has complained that its too complicated for him , ie headlights turn on for themselves and dip themselves etc etc . And for the umpteenth time last night i had to show him how to scroll through the dash display panel so he could see how much mpg and miles he is doing .

He likes to record everything ie amount of steps he does a day , how much sleep, how many miles he does a day driving etc etc .

Its a great car but at 86 i think dad is struggling to grasp the changes over his slightly older one and he keeps saying he wishes he bought the same as before just a bit newer . He even commented that his old Saab 93 two stroke that he had in the 60's never had all these gizmo's !!

 

[swee'pea99]

About a month ago my 86 year old father treated himself to a 2.5 yr old Honda Jazz to replace his older version of same car .

Ever since getting it he has complained that its too complicated for him , ie headlights turn on for themselves and dip themselves etc etc . And for the umpteenth time last night i had to show him how to scroll through the dash display panel so he could see how much mpg and miles he is doing .

He likes to record everything ie amount of steps he does a day , how much sleep, how many miles he does a day driving etc etc .

Its a great car but at 86 i think dad is struggling to grasp the changes over his slightly older one and he keeps saying he wishes he bought the same as before just a bit newer . He even commented that his old Saab 93 two stroke that he had in the 60's never had all these gizmo's !!

I bought our oven all-but-new off eBay from a bloke who said his mother in law couldn't get to grips with the program this and the set that and the flashing lights. She wanted one with a dial you turned up to a number to set the heat, and then turned back to zero when you wanted to turn it off.

 

[sheddy]

Agreed.
One really shouldn't have to spec a purchase based on previous technology (manual handbrake, non-dazzling headlights, manual boot lid, manual seats, etc etc)
I think the self-dazzling headlights would cause the most embarrassment.

 

[Fab Foodie]

Agree.
The answer is Dacia . Simples*
But there are plenty of basic cars around, our Citroen C1 as as basic as it gets.

*The Dacia is having a tow-bar fitted and 2 new tyres today @Hill Wimp reckons it will double its value......

 

[Profpointy]

Whilst conceding that some aspects of newer cars are quite good, I'm very unkeen on the Airbus style computerised control panel. I just want buttons for all the 2ndary controls, rather than trying to remember which menu to format text in an excel spreadsheet just to adjust the radio never mind turn the lights on . And I've previously ranted against the "where's the bloody handbrake" when some twonk has decided not to have a lever where it's been for the last 100 years but have a button somewhere which works in a new and different way. Not convinced they are much more reliable either, albeit do need less maintenance, which isn't quite the same thing.

 

[screenman]

I move about 7 different cars a day, cannot say there is anything complicated going on. Mind you the clock in my car is only correct 6 months of the year.

 

[Oldfentiger]

Whilst conceding that some aspects of newer cars are quite good, I'm very unkeen on the Airbus style computerised control panel. I just want buttons for all the 2ndary controls, rather than trying to remember which menu to format text in an excel spreadsheet just to adjust the radio never mind turn the lights on . And I've previously ranted against the "where's the bloody handbrake" when some twonk has decided not to have a lever where it's been for the last 100 years but have a button somewhere which works in a new and different way. Not convinced they are much more reliable either, albeit do need less maintenance, which isn't quite the same thing.

You just got me reminiscing about cars I've owned or driven over the years, and odd locations of controls.
Morris Isis - floor change gear lever next to the right knee.
Rover 105S - handbrake (upright, looked like it came out of a signal box, chrome), next to the right knee.
Wartburg 312 - column gearchange, on the right hand side of the steering column. Actually the designers demonstrated remarkable foresight. Due to the pathetic 6V electrics I found myself regularly push-starting the car. I could do this by myself by pushing the car by the drivers door, then reaching in and jamming the gear lever into 2nd gear. The biggest challenge was trying to run fast enough to jump in when the engine fired

 

[jefmcg]

, ie headlights turn on for themselves and dip themselves etc etc .

This seems a strange example to pick. What is so complicated about not having to think about headlights at all? This is definitely a simplification, and prevents tragedies like this.

But I am with you on the touch screen. Why???

"where's the bloody handbrake"

This^^^
I hired a zip car for an hour, and had to extend it because I spent the first ten minutes studying the manual to work out how to operate the hand brake.

 

[fossyant]

Don't get me started on TV's - We taught my mother in law the on/off and up down for volume and channels. We did not mention the SMART features - iplayer would be too complicated (and result in many phone calls when she get's stuck on a menu). The number of 'Sky isn't working' calls we got when my Father in law died (she wasn't pressing the HDMI1 button) - that took about a year for her to grasp it to do 'on her own'.

She is just managing to use a kindle tablet though, but's still too 'press happy'.

 

[AndyRM]

Our Fiat Panda is pretty basic. Especially now some d!ck has nicked the aerial so it only has AM and LW radio!

 

[Richard A Thackeray]

As for oddities, our XKR had a 'fly-off' handbrake, between the drivers seat & doorsill
As the transmission tunnel was a fair old size, combined with how low the car is

Our Fiat Panda is pretty basic. Especially now some d!ck has nicked the aerial so it only has AM and LW radio!

So is ours (present shape), it has central-locking, but, as a cost-saver, the hatchback isn't incorporated on the base model
I've not locked the keys in it, when opening the boot first....................yet (it'll be 3 year old in October)

My old Land Rovers were fairly basic (as they should be!!), barring the 110 Td5 that was my last one - with its ridiculously positioned ECU (under the drivers seat, close to the factory recommended wading limits)
The height of technology in my previous one, with a 300Tdi, was the FM radio!!
I won't mention the door-locks that could be opened with a .................

 

[Vapin' Joe]

My 02 Almera has a cassette player. That's one basic "Feature" I could happily see upgraded, not so easy these days as the audio systems are built into the dash and need to be matched to the ECU after replacing the whole panel, unless you can find an unlocked one on fleabay.

 

[jefmcg]

My 02 Almera has a cassette player.

So you have one of these?

 

[biggs682]

This seems a strange example to pick. What is so complicated about not having to think about headlights at all? This is definitely a simplification, and prevents tragedies like this.

But I am with you on the touch screen. Why???

i only used that as an example as its one he rants about the most , i agree re it not being complicated

 

[swee'pea99]

So you have one of these?

I used one of those for quite a while. It was fine. A word of warning tho' - don't bother with the really cheap ones on ebay: the sound quality is terrible, and they don't last. Been there done that.