More new tech bafflemet

[Dadam]

A Cortina or Capri would do, if this sort of nonsense is the alternative.

Having owned a Cortina, while I kind of miss the simplicity, I don't miss when the bugger wouldn't start! Chokes, carbs, plugs and points can just get in the bin! Modern* cars start and run much more reliably. EFI and computer ECUs are objectively better.

* When I say modern, I mean last 20 years. Possibly 25.

I do keep saying this but I think my 2014 Beemer is about the sweet spot.

It's got a manual handbrake.
It's got an excellent auto box.
It does have auto stop/start but has never failed to work.
It's got useful tech like a tyre pressure monitor.
It's got a screen for (useful) information like fuel efficiency.
It is not touch screen, it uses the clicky wheel iDrive system which is fine and does not distract from driving and you don't need to reach forward to select.
Key driving controls like lights and indicators are physical buttons or stalks.
Bluetooth phone connection is all I need for tunes, I can select playlists via the iDrive.
I can change volume, tracks or radio station on the steering wheel buttons.
The built in sat nav is meh but I just use google which is far better.

 

[Dogtrousers]

Some fancy car memories.

In the 60s my dad installed a high tech anti theft device on our Moggy 1000. He put a switch under the dash that cut out the petrol pump.

He kept forgetting about it and it repeatedly stopped him from stealing his own car

In the 70s he got an Austin Princess. It has a poor reputation these days but ours was a good car and had a lot of fanciness for the time. It has a synthesised voice which said things like "handbrake on". It had a fuel consumption display. It was quite space-age. It was, however a horrible colour and it didn't age well. The vinyl roof peeled off.

 

[Dadam]

In the 60s my dad installed a high tech anti theft device on our Moggy 1000. He put a switch under the dash that cut out the petrol pump.

He kept forgetting about it and it repeatedly stopped him from stealing his own car

Yes! I remember my Cortina had one, with similar results! One time I phoned the garage (from a payphone, no mobiles then) to ask them to come out to fix the car as it "wouldn't start". As I bought the car from them he asked me if I'd remembered to turn the kill switch on. "What kill sw....ah!" Red face time.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

In the 70s he got an Austin Princess. It has a poor reputation these days

Had a poor reputation then!

 

[fossyant]

3 or 4 speed automatics

3 or 4. Got 8 on mine.

 

[Profpointy]

Yup - took me a while with this one when I first got it

I actually had to drive away from the petrol station and come home to read the manual

Oh the shame!!!

A friend had a good story. He happened to be outside a TVR showroom, and as it was quiet he thought he'd go in. He explained to the salesman that he wasn't going to buy one but he liked the cars and would it be OK to have a look. Salesman was fine with it and told him to feel free to sit in one if he liked. He duly did and when he went to open the door, there was no handle. By this time the salesman had gone out the back to do some paperwork or whatever and was nowhere to be seen. He ended up climbing out of the window and feeling very embarrassed snuck out of the showroom. Some weeks later he came across a couple in the same TVR model in a petrol station and curiosity got the better of him so he told this story and asked where the door handle was. It seems there was pair of small levers on the transmission tunnel which operate the door latch via a (long) cable.

So if anyone gets trapped in a TVR, now you know

 

[mikeIow]

Never driven a CVT though I like them as a concept, but as a long term fan of manuals I was road-to-Damascus converted to torque converter autos by the 8 speed ZF box in my 3 series. Better economy than the manual variants and better performance. Effortless driving and seamless changes in comfort mode, lots of fun in sport mode with choice of auto, sequential changes on the stick or flappy paddles. Not going back to manual for a daily.

Yup - I bought our XC60 back in 2014 blind ‘cos the dealers only had the older agricultural 5-spd.
The 8spd D4 engine has been super smooth 💪

I take out car club vehicles, so Im usually fighting new tech. Its a challenge to remember which side the petrol goes in, let alone how to open it.
On my latest venture, the dashboard decided to change design due to some button I accidentally knocked.
The radio volume was buried in 3 levels of touch screen menu. The physical knob was present but hidden.
What kind of idiot designs these controls?
They all go to design college and learn what?

Haven’t all cars had an arrow on the dash pointing to the fuel filler side for donkeys years now?
Unless your club is classic cars, perhaps?

 

[MichaelW2]

Yup - I bought our XC60 back in 2014 blind ‘cos the dealers only had the older agricultural 5-spd.
The 8spd D4 engine has been super smooth 💪


Haven’t all cars had an arrow on the dash pointing to the fuel filler side for donkeys years now?
Unless your club is classic cars, perhaps?

Everyday is a school day.

 

[siadwell]

EuroNCAP is pushing back on moving important functions from buttons to touch screens: https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/consu...ays-physical-buttons-will-be-incentivised-car