IMO:

Central locking = good
Auto locking when you drive off = PITA
Electric Windows = good (sometimes I want driver & passenger windows open, but have no passenger to open that side for me.
Auto wipers = coming round to thinking these are a good idea if well implemented.
Auto lights = quite often fooled by dull conditions/mist/fog into staying off, so rubbish

Hate auto wipers.

Like auto lights cos the roads are full of nobs who don't have a clue when to turn their lights on.

Keyless/keycard entry is ace with two kids (aged 1 and 3) and all the attendant crap that comes with them because it makes loading and unloading much easier. I'm not sure about it's long term reliability though as it's a Renault…

Like auto lights cos the roads are full of nobs who don't have a clue when to turn their lights on.

Likewise the road is full of people who put them on when they needn't. I've even been flashed for having sides only on when it was clear enough daylight to see traffic perfectly well without any lights.

Likewise the road is full of people who put them on when they needn't. I've even been flashed for having sides only on when it was clear enough daylight to see traffic perfectly well without any lights.

Just out of interest, why did you have your sidelights on then?

In Denmark dipped headlights are a mandatory minimum all the time, no matter what the conditions. I guess they have very low sun a lot of the time.

less pointless than auto sensing wipers – "oh look there is rain on the screen I need to move my finger two inches to a lever".

I wish I had those. Today – rain, wipers on. Drizzle, onto intermittent.. speed them up, squeak, slow them down, rains more, up, down.. pass a lorry, wipers on, then off again, then intermittent, then someone comes past, then it starts snowing again so road is wet hence spray but snow isn't sticking to the screen, then it stops but someone passes me AAARGH! Give me auto wipers! Some of you lot woudl actually prefer to be continually fiddling with the damn things?

Re keyless ignition – pointless unless it's combined with a proximity sensor like the US Prius. Key in pocket – walk up, doors open; get in, press button, car starts. Leave car, doors lock. Sweet.

Manual windows – great until you want to open a window other than the driver's.. leaning across the car whilst driving is SO easy isn't it? 😉

Sunroofs I think are pointless. As is a 12v socket in the boot that DOESN'T work when the car's off… Also coin slots in the interior trays. Who the hell slots their coins into those things individually?

Oh and the reason for having lots of cup holders is that you can move your empties somewhere and still have room for more – the only other option is to wait for the dregs to evaporate, or at least go tacky, before throwing the cup in the passenger footwell.

Just out of interest, why did you have your sidelights on then?

Because I'd noticed it was beginning to go dark and decided to put my sides on, they all had headlights on and were insisting I did too.

my midget has 1 speed wipers, and get this, syncromesh, on all 4 foreward gears!

TBH its a nice place to be, which to me is more important, yes theres plastic, cardboard, carpet and vinyl like any other car, but somehow it just feels like a relaxing place to sit.

I would replace all the doors/boot/ignition/fuel locks with 1 key though if I could, its a proper pita trying to identify the right key in the dark.

Many of these are 'gadgets' but at the end of the day I think anything that theoretically allows you to get on with steering around obstacles without having to worry about wipers, lights, rear view mirror etc. has got to be a good thing.
Don't the statistics state that the majority of plane crashes are caused by pilot error?

Don't the statistics state that the majority of plane crashes are caused by pilot error?

Yeah, but probably not by pilots over-estimating the abilities of the machine because theyre totally removed from the driving experience, unlike with some cars these days!

The wiper setting seems to be taken to extremes on my focus.

Flick the stalk up 1 notch for intermittent (for which there are 6 different selectable settings).
1 further notch for normal speed, and once more for disco speed.
Press in for manual squirt & 2 wipes.
Push down for 1 manual wipe.
Pull towards 1 notch for rear screen wipe, 2 notches for rear squirt & wipe.
Plus the bonus of automatic rear screen wipe if front wipers on and reverse gear is selected. Always good for scraping a smeary film of grime across the window is that.

I guess Ford's windscreen wiper designer was bored that day. 😆

^^ True CK.

Don't the statistics state that the majority of plane crashes are caused by pilot error?

no idea, but I'd ahve thought weather, bird strike and engineering failiure were higher?

From memery:
crash in the hudson – bird strike
crash over the atlantic – no one knows
crash at heathrow – loss of engine power due to ice/hydrate in fuel lines
quantas – exploding gas canister (didn't crash though?)

Thats just comercial jets though, there's plenty opf millionairs who kick the bucket flying their own planes (the adventurer guy Steve something? Colin McRae etc) which probably heavily skews the statistics.

Bit OT but NTSB stats –

During 2004 in the United States, pilot error was listed as the primary cause of 78.6% of fatal general aviation accidents, and as the primary cause of 75.5% of general aviation accidents overall.[1] For scheduled air transport, pilot error typically accounts for just over half of worldwide accidents with a known cause.

So not quite what you said ^^, but maybe not what I said 😳

Ashtray and fag lighter.

I wouldn't buy a car without a fag lighter socket. gadget central – phone charger, ipod charger, ipod fm transmitter, inverter to charge laptop or camera, all work off smoke socket. And I don't smoke.
Ashtray, ideal for small change and tokens which I get from the bank to escape from their car park, but just happen to fit a carwash just up the road.

Seatbelt warning bleep thingy!!! It annoys the hell out of me.
Ashtray is pretty pointless thesedays,especially in most commercial vehicles,as is the ciggy lighter as mentioned before.An mp3 socket or usb port would be much better.(hence I've replaced mine with a gang of four!)

The 12v charger in the rear is pretty useless unless it continues to charge when the engine's off.
Also, economy mode on radio and lights.I know when I want the radio or lights on, not my vehicle!! When did it know what I want better than I do?
"Cyberdines sytems Berlingo became self aware……etc"

ABS…….Brakes stop wheels turning …….end of!
I dont want them to stutter so I can't tell wether it's breaking traction,skidding or trying to accelerate thank you very muchly!
We've managed quite well skidding our bikes along over the years with out ABS so I'm sure we can manage without it in our cars.

I have a Berlingo van,new type, and if you press the key fob, it unlocks the front doors,not much use if you want the rear doors open.Aha….but, there's a button for unlocking the rear doors only! Or you can press the front doors twice and they all unlock.
What's the point!!!!??????
It can't be for security because it opens both front doors, or alternatively the back doors and the rear sliding one!!! aaaaagh!

and what's with the screw in tow hook? Can't I just have a bit of metal hoop welded to the front and rear please? it's not for aesthetic reasons, it can't be,it's a van!It's just going to fall out of the tool pouch and be lost the first time I have to change a wheel.

and whatever you do, DON'T get a traffic master sat nav!
while they will get you to your destination quite well, if you veer of your route because you know the way it's taking you is not as good as your route, then it will re-route you,all well and good.However it will then proceed to tell you which roads you'll be travelling on for your entire journey and your ETA.
and it'll do this every time you veer slightly off route!
Great fun if like me you live in Bradford and don't agree with most of the ways it takes you to major routes out.

"You are no longer on the planned route.Sat nav is recalculating a new route to your destination.Your route of "X" miles will take you on the;
A whatever, the B blah,blah, the wxyz bloody motorway. Your estimated time of arrival is 5 something or other.
There are currently no major traffic problems on your route"

And while she's been telling you all that, you've gone a different way and she has to do it all again until you both agree that you're on the best route!!!!!!

and breathe……………. 😆

I have a Berlingo van,new type, and if you press the key fob, it unlocks the front doors,not much use if you want the rear doors open.Aha….but, there's a button for unlocking the rear doors only! Or you can press the front doors twice and they all unlock.
What's the point!!!!??????
It can't be for security because it opens both front doors, or alternatively the back doors and the rear sliding one!!! aaaaagh!

security – you are driving in the front seats. chap comes along – sees what you have in the rear and decides he is having it …. much like those folk that get car jacked for the bikes off their roofs in citys at trafic lights

I just went from central locking , electric windows , interior boot pops and fuel caps etc to the car equivalent of a tractor …. windy windows , no central locking , key operated fuel cap

dont miss the shit one bit – i can wind my windows up quicker – i dont have to worry about ingnitions being on to put it up if i forget to put it up.

only thing i miss is the arm rest

ABS might be commonly set to come on a bit readily, but it is unquestionably a good idea. For most people most of the time it is safer. I do not believe that if you do 100 hard stops in different real-world conditions that ABS won't help considerably at least one of those times.

Mind you, take the ABS off and it doesn't half make you slow down. Bit like riding without a helmet. Or putting a big spike where the airbag usually goes.

security – you are driving in the front seats. chap comes along – sees what you have in the rear and decides he is having it …. much like those folk that get car jacked for the bikes off their roofs in citys at trafic lights

That's not it Trail Rat because if I'm in the front then the doors all automatically lock!
It's just baffling.

What I dont understand is why I get aircon and remote locking on a ten grand car but nothing on a 250k house. C,mon wimpy catch up!!

Electronic hand brake where you have to depress both clutch pedal and brake pedal and then press a button to release the hand brake. How are you meant to do a hill start?

Also renault quite a few years ago thought it was a good Idea that when you had a crash your doors would automatically unlock so you could get out easily. Good Idea from a safety POV.
That was all good until some French car thiefs realised if you gave the rear bumper a big enough hit they would unlock the doors and drive off.

That's not it Trail Rat because if I'm in the front then the doors all automatically lock!

Do they unlock again when stopped?

How are you meant to do a hill start?

I asked my business partner this one as he has the system – apparently if you are in a hill it holds it for you. Never tried it myself though.

That's not it Trail Rat because if I'm in the front then the doors all automatically lock!

Do they unlock again when stopped?

They are unlocked from the inside but you can't open them from outside.

The other weird thing is(and it's caused me to lock my keys in for the first ever time)If I have the rear doors open, and lock the van with the remote locking,so no one sneaks into the cab,should I put the keys down in the back and then shut the rear doors, my keys are locked in!

I put my keys down in the back with one rear door open, whilst getting a delivery note signed and SLAM! the door blew shut and I was locked out!

What's really been pissing me off of late is the windscreen washer which automatically activates the wipers.

Frozen fluid and a windscreen covered in salty crap? Give it a quick skoosh, no fluid comes out and the wipers turn the screen into a salty smeary mess AAAAGGGH!

Sometime when I'm bored and have some free time I'm putting a seperate switch in to run the skoosher.

remote pressure sensors on sub zero days
"daddy yr tyres are flat"
"no its just cold and the molecules are bored"

the recent addition of a flashing spanner is a bit worrying though
this comment on my driving style is not appreciated

I was fixingan ingntion problem on my car. Keyes in engine running all fixed close bonnet and wurrr clunk.

All 4 doors locked.

cue lots of swearing

ABS must've saved countless lives. I know how to feather brakes and everything, I learned to drive on gravelly country roads, snow, the whole lot in a MkII fiesta with almost no front wheel grip. However I still value ABS and ESP. Anything that makes me safer and doesn't rely on me to do the right thing has to be a good thing. I know how to control a car, but I am also human and can make mistakes.

As for screw-in towing hooks – so what? How often do you need the thing? Makes the car look nicer.

yoda – Member
Seatbelt warning bleep thingy!!! It annoys the hell out of me.

Put your belt on?

Mine stops if im just moving the car but they are part of the saftey features and help get the cars there ncap rating.

I was fixingan ingntion problem on my car. Keyes in engine running all fixed close bonnet and wurrr clunk.

All 4 doors locked.

cue lots of swearing

Same thing happened to a friend of mine, backed out of his house, jumped out of the car to close the gate, slams the door, all the doors lock and he's left with his car sitting across both lanes of the road, locked, with the engine running and his house keys and phone on the passenger seat.

LOL! What did he do?

I once locked my keys in the car with the engine running, at least it was in the drive tho. The spare was also in the house which was open.

fair enough , my parents car has that anti jack thing – does my nut in …

Can't remember how he got it sorted in the end, I just remember him getting quite animated about how much traffic suddenly wanted to drive up and down the quite cul de sac he lived in once he'd blocked it (it was rush hour).

I had to help out some poor woman in a filling station who had left her keys in the ignition while she filled up. She had this super excitable barky dog that had hit the central locking button while jumping about. The sun roof was open though so I had to try and clamber in through the roof and rescue the keys with her bloody dog chewing my ear (affectionately)

Seatbelt warning bleep thingy!!! It annoys the hell out of me.

I've hired cars (peugoets) that do that if you have a bag or similar on the passenger seat

I just picked up a hire car full of gadgets!

Now I object to a lot of these on two grounds – 1) all adds to the weight so decreases the fuel economy and 2) it is more things to distract drivers. ( research done on this)

So – at a superficial glance around the car. push-button handbrake. loads of red leds around the interior with the lights on, complex heater controls that do things like turn the air comn on with the demister – all I want is a temp dial and screen feet face selector Several different bleepings when you try to get out of the car.

I will find more I am sure

the most pointless gadgets in/on cars are DRLS!!!
F off with you Fing twinkley lights you german driving TOOL

this should be common knowledge, but for the hard of thinking, DLR's are an up-coming EU legal requirement, which has been pushed for by the likes of the Scandinavians who have to have their headlights on all the time. AUDI are the first, Vauxhall have started with the Insignia, Porche are doing them, as are Aston Martin. The new Citrôen D3 has them. Get over yourself and get used to it, they ain't going away, and more cars will be appearing with them. I think they're a good idea when visibility is poor, and LED ones don't drain power like having headlights on.

I will find more I am sure

You poor dear.

And I am absolutely sure that the research done about driver distractions did NOT include push button handbrakes as a factor. The push button handbrake is there so that you don't roll back in hill starts which, if you have ever sat in a queue of traffic on a hill you will realise, could help a lot of drivers.

As for demisters and whatnot – you press a button, windscreen clears. Problem?

Plus the bonus of automatic rear screen wipe if front wipers on and reverse gear is selected. Always good for scraping a smeary film of grime across the window is that.

Super annoying if you have a boot-mounted bike rack and forget, the blummin' wiper gets stuck on the arms of the rack and require much faffing around to get them back to where they started from! Bah…