Worst car gimmick

Mr. Presentable

What's yours?

I rate the (Astra?) "panoramic windscreen" as mine.

And the Citroen lane manager thing that vibrates your car when it passes over something white

colm_mcm

what's the problem with either of these items?

The Citroen alert is useful if you do a lot of motorway miles, it could save your life. As for the Opel, are convertibles a gimmick as well?


I would nominate the Lexus LS430 's oscillating air vents as my most gimmicky feature. Or some features from American 60's cars like an ashtray that had a vacuum hose that emptied itself onto the road!

Or maybe some features from the 00 Almera that they mentioned in the adverts like the "Curry hook" (a hook on the dash to hang a bag from) or the "Secret Compartment" in the centre console, imagine advertising a secret compartment!

kona

gps what did we do before??? in this country, air con. "lexus " lights, if you want these...buy a lexus.:D:p

alloys wheels that weigh more than steel:D

Stephen

kona wrote: »

in this country, air con

I have to strongly disagree with you there. Air con is fantastic for keeping your windscreen clear in a country with as much ****ty rainy weather as ours.

Mr. Presentable

colm_mcm wrote: »

what's the problem with either of these items?

The Citroen alert is useful if you do a lot of motorway miles, it could save your life. As for the Opel, are convertibles a gimmick as well?

To be fair, if you need lane management you should be off the road and in your bed. Plus it can't dicriminate between lane markers and arrows, yield marks etc.

As for the Opel, now the sun is in your eyes more of the time, and what does it cost to replace when you catch a stone?

Our man in Havana

what does it cost to replace when you catch a stone?

I was just wondering what one of those windshields costs to replace.

Stephen

That's for your insurance company to worry about

JHMEG

colm_mcm wrote: »

Or some features from American 60's cars like an ashtray that had a vacuum hose that emptied itself onto the road!

Class!

Guy:Incognito

Stephen wrote: »

That's for your insurance company to worry about

AFIK they only cover up to a certain amount, €450 or so. I had a chip in my Safrane windscreen that was heated, there was no way I was coverign that myself.

Max_Damage

1. Interior lights that fade out slowly when the door is closed.
2. In BMW's & Mercedes', an electronic level to read out your oil level, as opposed to the idiot-proof dipstick.
3. Power steering on small cars.
4. Electric windows & mirrors
5. Rain sensors
6. A 'start' button as opposed to turning the key
7. A button for the handbrake, as opposed to a handbrake lever (VW Passat has this?)

There are others, but I can't think of them now.

Stevie Dakota

Bit of a luddite there Max!

Have to agree with your 'lack of dipstick' though, add to that no water temperature gauge, madness!

Guy:Incognito

Stevie Dakota wrote: »

Bit of a luddite there Max!

Have to agree with your 'lack of dipstick' though, add to that no water temperature gauge, madness!

IS there no dipstick at all? Renault have used the electronic dash readout for years but theres still a dipstick.

Max_Damage

Stekelly wrote: »

IS there no dipstick at all?

Not on the latest BMW's and Merc's AKAIK.

eamon234

kona wrote: »

gps what did we do before??? in this country, air con. "lexus " lights, if you want these...buy a lexus.:D:p

alloys wheels that weigh more than steel:D

Just wondering what do you do if you have a Lexus and you want different lights?:D

Guy:Incognito

eamon234 wrote: »

Just wondering what do you do if you have a Lexus and you want different lights?:D

Theres bound to be loads of unused Civic light clusters on ebay.

Mr. Presentable

eamon234 wrote: »

Just wondering what do you do if you have a Lexus and you want different lights?:D

Polo lights?

Run_to_da_hills

Citroen DS had probably had more gimics than any car ever invented.


One of the first car with panoramic curved windshield.
You could drive away on three wheels if one fell off!
The car to day ie almost impossible to wheel clamp because of its suspension.
Front lights could turn with steering wheel in direction of travel

Andrewf20

-Rain sensitive wipers.
-Split rear window like on new Civic.

Stephen

^^ I think the split rear window actually has a function though - it maintains the lines of the car.

fabsoul

Run_to_da_hills wrote: »

Citroen DS had probably had more gimics than any car ever invented.


One of the first car with panoramic curved windshield.
You could drive away on three wheels if one fell off!
The car to day ie almost impossible to wheel clamp because of its suspension.
Front lights could turn with steering wheel in direction of travel

:eek:
This is one ugly car

JHMEG

Stekelly wrote: »

Theres bound to be loads of unused Civic light clusters on ebay.

No, Lexus are using those on the new Lexus models! Back to the good old red and orange plastic lenses.

andyeire

fabsoul wrote: »

:eek:
This is one ugly car

I have to disagree with that i think they still look great.

Although i used to like the looks of the BX aswell so maybe i am biased

Max_Damage

fabsoul wrote: »

:eek:
This is one ugly car

You have no taste.

That said, either do I probably, given I like the look of old 80's boxy shaped cars.

JHMEG

The DS is ugly, unless you're French.
The Renault Vel Satis is ugly, unless you're French.
The Ssang Yong Rodius is ugly, unless you're Korean.

Some cars are just so domestic market they're ugly to everyone else.

blastman

I'd agree with the second two, but the DS is not an ugly car.

endplate

Why are some folks saying rain sensors are a pointless addition to a car? I think it's quite handy!!!!

E92

The DS is a work of art. Fantastic looking car. If only Citroens were still as daft!

Renault Vel Satis and Ssangyong Rodius are horrendous though.

As for gimmicks, well the power steering for girls and boys(i.e. the Fiat system in the Punto) has to be up there, as does starting with a button rather than a key, no engine temperature gauge annoys me too, and no car should ever be allowed have headlights that require a visit to the dealer if they blow, and no dipstick is suicidal too IMO.

Digital speedos/gauges in general I can't stand either, analogue is so much better!

JHMEG

E92 wrote: »

Digital speedos/gauges in general I can't stand either, analogue is so much better!

In all instances except one: where the needle goes anti clockwise, as in that new Aston Martin (lovely car tho).

Rowley Birkin QC

Wasn't the button push starter due to people bursting themselves off ignition barrels in crashes? Or was that just my imagination?

DS is class looking, as E92 said French cars need to be a bit leftfield.

Electric motors for adjusting seats is something I cannot see the need for.

carchaeologist

JHMEG wrote: »

The Renault Vel Satis is ugly, unless you're French.

Probably not the best looking car in the world granted, but the interior is fantastic!

nialler

bigkev49 wrote: »

Electric motors for adjusting seats is something I cannot see the need for.

I think it's great, especially with memory seats (ie different positions for different people, that adjust your mirrors and seat very handy).

No dipstick in the merc pi$$es me off to a height and it's not recent either, mine has none and it's 00.

The Citroen DS is a classic, think they still use them today at the horseraces as the suspension was that smooth.

Tropheus

Built in Sat Nav is a complete waste as far as I'm concerned. It costs about 10 times the price of portable units and is of little use built in as you generally use the car in the area you know very well. I need sat nav when I'm travelling, that's about it.

Tropheus

Parking sensors on a mini is another one. And so many people have paid the €500 extra for them.

Zonda999

The Toyota Prius is a gimmick IMO.It only does 44mpg which certainly is'nt saving the earth's natural resources

Zonda999

ksimpson wrote: »

Parking sensors on a mini is another one. And so many people have paid the €500 extra for them.

they're as standard(In the UK anyway not sure about here) on the convertible because even mini will admit the rear visibility is terrible.

confuzed

ksimpson wrote: »

Parking sensors on a mini is another one.

and what are these meant for?

imeddyhobbs

endplate wrote: »

Why are some folks saying rain sensors are a pointless addition to a car? I think it's quite handy!!!!

Extreamly handy if you are driving off-road or driving on waterlogged roads,as soon as the splash hits your screen the wipers come on,they are faster than your reaction in these cases.

imeddyhobbs

Parking sensors...

If you need a computer to tell you how far you are away from an object then you should not be driving!

Gimmick!!!

What I hate about cars now is that when you put your foot on the brakes the safety belt locks up and you cant move your upper body forward,major pain in the ass at a T junction

kona

IMO, every piece of electronic, and saftey crap in a car:D

i understand how important safty is, but i really dont care:eek:

i like lots of power, no power steering, hard suspension, driving should be fun, NCAP makes cars boring.
i mean Kia, Opel, Renault etc....what a waste of materials, fun cars have decreased in the last 10 years.

this is just a opinion!:D

jonnygee

Im not sure about the panoramic windscreen on the astra but i really do like the ad where that fella pushes the black band off my television screen, I wish I could do that.

imeddyhobbs

panoramic windscreens (in my opinion)are just a huge designers flaw and will disappear just as soon as they came to life!

1 you still have a sun visor on the windscreen

2 Now your back seat passangers are going to need a visor?

3 how much is it going to cost to replace one of these screens if we get a little crack in it?

4 does the cost of insurance cover go up for a panoramic windscreen?

5 what is the benifit of a panoramic windscreen?

carchaeologist

What happens if you roll your astra??!!:eek:

imeddyhobbs

kona wrote: »

IMO, every piece of electronic, and saftey crap in a car:D

i understand how important safty is, but i really dont care:eek:

i like lots of power, no power steering, hard suspension, driving should be fun, NCAP makes cars boring.
i mean Kia, Opel, Renault etc....what a waste of materials, fun cars have decreased in the last 10 years.

this is just a opinion!:D

Im of the same opinion too.


Its like this(to me)If you dont know what a plastic explosive is then dont use it.

Max_Damage

endplate wrote: »

Why are some folks saying rain sensors are a pointless addition to a car? I think it's quite handy!!!!

What, you can't move the stalk up a notch to turn on the wipers? Laziness.

imeddyhobbs

Max_Damage wrote: »

What, you can't move the stalk up a notch to turn on the wipers? Laziness.

Hit a puddle offroad man then they are handy!

try it b4 u buy it.

carchaeologist

Runflat tyres, do they really run while flat?

LuckyStar

I saw on the Mini Cooper website, they have an exterior styling section. Aside from the patterned roofs, bonnet stripes etc which do look good- they mentioned how the front of a Mini Cooper- lights/badge/reg etc- looks like a face?? You could say all cars look like a face as the lights etc are always in the same basic layout!

Tropheus

Zonda999 wrote: »

they're as standard(In the UK anyway not sure about here) on the convertible because even mini will admit the rear visibility is terrible.

Not standard here according to mini.ie. €450 of your hard earned. You're lucky to get a wheel in each corner over here.

imeddyhobbs

mini's are for gay men and women so less said the better.

carchaeologist

ksimpson wrote: »

Not standard here according to mini.ie. €450 of your hard earned. You're lucky to get a wheel in each corner over here.

Its always been the same in this country....:rolleyes:

Thomas_S_Hunterson

Run_to_da_hills wrote: »

The car to day ie almost impossible to wheel clamp because of its suspension.

If there's any car companies reading this, make your wheelbays non standard so as to make clamping impossible! That would be a brilliant feature to market!