Motorists over 50 want Hood ornaments, Wooden steering wheels and Ignition keys according to Survey

[Mark Gregory]

All I want is a Radio that does not cycle through all sorts of modes when all I want to do is listen to a AM Station.

 

Motorists over 50 accuse car makers of overlooking them and want features like bonnet ornaments, ignition keys and wooden steering wheels to return

• Majority of over 50s believe cars aren't designed for them
• Saga Insurance survey found most older drivers think manufacturers have a younger market in mind, despite over 50s buying more new cars than anyone
• Drivers quizzed said they don't prioritise safety tech, such as lane assist
• They want bonnet ornaments and wooden steering wheels to make a comeback 

 

 

Features drivers over the age of 50 say they want to see make a comeback 

1. Ignition keys - 30%

2. CD players - 28%

3. Chrome plating - 23%

=4. Hood ornaments - 21%

=4. Wooden steering wheels - 21%

6. Bench seats - 14%

=7. Wooden body work - 12%

=7. Car window winders - 12%

9. Front fenders (i.e. above the wheel) - 9%

10. White wall tyres - 8%

Source: Saga Insurance poll of 6,500 drivers over 50 years of age

 

 

[Guest]

3 minutes ago, Mark Gregory said:

All I want is a Radio that does not cycle through all sorts of modes when all I want to do is listen to a AM Station.

 

 

 

Hah!

I feel your pain on this one brother.

As the learned computer generation grows younger and younger, til 5 years olds seem as adept at technology as jet fighter pilots, why do automotive sound system manufacturers take it as axiomatic that car driver's fingers are as small as those tot's fingers?

I don't consider myself a Luddite, but I find the sound system in my wife's car is so complicated, so user unfriendly, so overloaded with thousands of tiny intricate switches, while offering to do everything from showing me where I currently am on a global map, when I'm only going 4 blocks from home to the 7/11, to offering to make me a piece of toast with choice of jam, jelly or peanut butter but no marmalade. And of course it NEVER misses a chance to share it's "Demo Mode" which lights up the whole interior of the car to the point where other traffic believes I'm arc welding while driving. Heavens to Murgatroid! I only wanted to listen to a Sinatra tune or maybe the Beatles. To my credit, and with the aid of a magnifying glass, I have located the "Power Off" micro switch and simply opt for that.

Technology for technology's sake.

Really, what was wrong with car radios from the 1960's? Two large, easy to find controls, very user friendly even in the dark. You could not only listen to Stevie Wonder and Ray Charles on these early radios, but they both could also operate them with ease. The defense rests.

 

 

 

 

[padgett]

Interesting. Been using GPS and maps since the last century, all of my tunes are on my phone, liked the dechroming of the early 60's, have only had Jags with hood ornaments, have liked fat steering wheels since the 70's, last car with a bench seat was my '72 wagon, only wood car I'd consider is a Morgan, like electric windows (67 Caddy had eight) particularly one touch, never mounted a set of whitewalls (had some that were turned in).

 

Only thing I miss are two door sport coupes like Grand Prix and Riviera, had to settle for a Caddy.

[nickelroadster]

I can't help it.  I look at cds as relatively high tech.  After investing lots of money in collecting them I now have a bunch that I can no longer use in my new car.  And they don't seem to make an aftermarket unit that fits.  GRR!

[ply33]

25 minutes ago, nickelroadster said:

I can't help it.  I look at cds as relatively high tech.  After investing lots of money in collecting them I now have a bunch that I can no longer use in my new car.  And they don't seem to make an aftermarket unit that fits.  GRR!

 

"RIP" those CDs onto your computer and then share them with your phone. Possible with either Android or iPhone though the details of how to do it vary depending on your computer operating system and the type of phone you have. Of course you'll need a reasonable amount of storage on the phone (add a microSD card for Android, buy the iPhone with more memory). Then connect your phone to your car via Bluetooth and use an app on the phone to play all your tunes.

 

Once I did that for my last car and phone I stopped using the multi-disc CD player it had. Far easier to set the phone app to the playlist and play mode you want and let it do its thing rather than fiddling with CDs every hour (single disc player) or several hours (multiple disc player).

 

I hardly even noticed that the new car didn't have a CD player as I wasn't looking for one with the setup I had going. I can probably drive coast to coast and back without listening to the same symphony or Broadway show twice (play random album mode). Or in random song mode I'll be at my destination before my jazz, American songbook, 50's & 60's pop, or folk genre playlists repeat.

 

Bonus points, when walking, doing yard work, etc. I can use earphones or ear buds to listen to that same music since I am very likely to have my phone within Bluetooth distance.

 

p.s. As far as new car features go, I've found the radar adaptive cruise control to be very useful on Southern California freeways. Got to watch for lane changers and idiots still, cruise control doesn't deal well with either of those. Set the max speed for the speed limit (+10 MPH  ) and sit in the #3 or #4 lane so you aren't holding up the people trying to get nowhere in a hurry. You'll get where you want to go much more relaxed than if you actually had to work the gas and brakes yourself.

Edited February 15, 2020 by ply33 (see edit history)

[46 woodie]

I gotta be honest, I don't use or even know how to use, all the do-dads in my car. I'm afraid to press certain buttons. I was looking for the dome light and pressed a button and someone started talking to me and asking me if I was alright. Just give me an automatic transmission, power steering, power brakes and an AM-FM radio and I'm happy.

[Matt Harwood]

I certainly wouldn't mind the return of ignition keys. Key fobs and push-button starting varies so much from car to car that it's difficult to master them all and it's bordering on idiotic. I still don't know how to open the doors on my wife's Ford Focus ST. If you have the fob in your pocket, it unlocks when you touch it, but only if you have the fob. As a passenger, I have to wait for her to touch the car first, then my door will open. No idea how that works, but it sure seems stupid. To start it, you have to put your foot on the clutch, set the E-brake, then press and hold the START button for three seconds, then it starts. If you only hold for two seconds, you have to start over. If the automakers are going to do this stuff, at least standardize it. With a key, I can open any car door and start any engine. With this push-button/key fob/keyless nonsense it seems like everyone has a different idea.

 

I was incredibly ashamed when I got a loaner Audi a few years ago that I sat in the car for a good 10 minutes trying to figure out how to start it. Turns out you have to insert the key fob into a slot on the dash, push it in, then put your foot on the brake. Not intuitive at all, even to a car guy with an engineering degree who can make cars with cranks start and run.

 

And don't get me started on how designers decided to reinvent the gear shift until it stopped working.

 

If it is something that everyone uses every day and it isn't intuitive, you've completely failed as an engineer and designer.

[padgett]

Matt: had the same thing happen to me but in 1970. Came back from SEA after away for a few years and had to have the Avis lady show me how to start the rental Cutlass. I had never seen a column lock.

 

My biggest issue is that five of my cars have the cruise control each in different places (Florida is a big state with long stretches of straight Interstate). Here is a trick: I put velcro dots on the buttons I use the most.

 

I have over 500 albums on a chip smaller than my little finger nail that fits inside my cell phone. Nearly every song was ripped from a CD or DVD. All you need is Windows Media Player. Am in the process of moving the vinyl I have not had out of the cartons for 20 years. Another 500 albums.

 

There is a way to play through an AM radio but sounds a lot better through FM with a $17 gizmo. The biggest advantage is the shear number of tracks you can carry with no storage space at all. Is in all of my cars.

 

My first computer car was a 1984 Fiero. I reprogrammed it. Do like Android Auto.

[SC38dls]

One problem with trying to put the cd’s on the computer. New laptops do not have cd drives anymore!  

[padgett]

$17.88  UDB CD/DVD

[Pfeil]

1 hour ago, ply33 said:

 

"RIP" those CDs onto your computer and then share them with your phone. Possible with either Android or iPhone though the details of how to do it vary depending on your computer operating system and the type of phone you have. Of course you'll need a reasonable amount of storage on the phone (add a microSD card for Android, buy the iPhone with more memory). Then connect your phone to your car via Bluetooth and use an app on the phone to play all your tunes.

 

Once I did that for my last car and phone I stopped using the multi-disc CD player it had. Far easier to set the phone app to the playlist and play mode you want and let it do its thing rather than fiddling with CDs every hour (single disc player) or several hours (multiple disc player).

 

I hardly even noticed that the new car didn't have a CD player as I wasn't looking for one with the setup I had going. I can probably drive coast to coast and back without listening to the same symphony or Broadway show twice (play random album mode). Or in random song mode I'll be at my destination before my jazz, American songbook, 50's & 60's pop, or folk genre playlists repeat.

 

Bonus points, when walking, doing yard work, etc. I can use earphones or ear buds to listen to that same music since I am very likely to have my phone within Bluetooth distance.

 

p.s. As far as new car features go, I've found the radar adaptive cruise control to be very useful on Southern California freeways. Got to watch for lane changers and idiots still, cruise control doesn't deal well with either of those. Set the max speed for the speed limit (+10 MPH  ) and sit in the #3 or #4 lane so you aren't holding up the people trying to get nowhere in a hurry. You'll get where you want to go much more relaxed than if you actually had to work the gas and brakes yourself.

 

 

AM Radio ok if you want to listen to certain talk radio stations. FM radio all play from a play list and HALF are in a FOREIGN language! - N/G!

   Satellite radio N/G! they play from a play list as well and have dropped 40's music altogether.

 

  A play list, For example 50's music IF you can find a station that plays 50's, just google the top forty for each year of the 50's and make a list of them and compare them to the 50's music they play from their play list. Of all those 10 years they only play 10% at best of the top 40 songs. That goes for the 60's and 70's music too.

  

    So, you spend a lot of money collecting 8 track tapes, you spent a lot of money collecting cassette tapes, you spent a lot of money on CD's. Get the picture????

Now my new 2019 truck has NO CD player and I'm stuck with a bunch of CD's that have music the stations never play.

Android, iPhone , NO I have a NEW flip phone. And I'm done with the game. And yes I have vinyl at home!

 

    Cars and trucks. Lets get the price down. Stick shift, Disc front , drum rear, no ABS,  no Cruise control. Roll up windows. Plain heater and A/C and get rid of the micro switches, servos and actuators and just go back to the cable operated valves/ doors etc. Get rid of the heated seats, power seats, visor mirrors and damn cup holders everywhere.

  And let's just talk a little bit about trucks. When GMC and maybe Chevrolet announced this new step created to get into the bed of the truck they proved what many of us that have REAL trucks have been saying all along--THE BED RAILS are too HIGH. In a way the new fold down step was a admission of guilt! And those steps don't do a thing when the load you need to get at is in the front of the bed and there is stuff in-between. Those trucks we use for WORK don't have to be as high as a off road vehicle.

 

Since because I worked for a auto/truck manufacturer for 34 years I can tell you this; Product planners don't listen

 

 ALL I WANT IS A REAL CAR! or truck! 

[ted sweet]

im almost 60 and dont want my new car to have any of those things that older cars had.

Edited February 15, 2020 by ted sweet (see edit history)

[Mark Wetherbee]

I don’t know, but if you take the CD player off the list you’ve described my Model T pretty well... maybe the over 50 crowd wants an antique car?

[joe_padavano]

Just so we're clear, the OP has posted a alleged poll with no link to the source material. We have no idea who conducted the poll, what the sample size or demographics were, or if it's even a real poll. Sorry, but these types are articles are just click bait normally, and this one has even less interest.

[1912Staver]

You don't have to go as far back as a Model T to have a simple, easy to use car. My 2010 Accent has every convenience I wanted ,.... none except a CD / AM/ FM. 5 speed manual ; a 6 speed available the next year would have been nice, no AC, manual window winders.  Just a simple as possible, cheap commuter.

And it does its job very well.  I grew up with MG's { A's , B's } , Triumph's { TR250, GT6}, and Austin Healey Sprites { Bug eye, MK2}. Also a 1966 Mustang 2+2. Keep it simple !!

{ just rip your CD's and play on phone ??? … what phone ? mine sits on my kitchen counter plugged into the wall}

 

Greg in Canada... highest Cell rates pretty much in the world. Think that might explain my phone situation. I am an over 60 dinosaur , pretty easy to live without a hand held zombie device.

 

Edited February 15, 2020 by 1912Staver (see edit history)

[zepher]

I'm over 50 and I don't want any of those features on a new car.

Yes, having a push button ignition is slightly less secure than having a hard key but an RFID pouch takes care of that.

I like having the features of built in GPS and Android Auto in a car but I agree that most infotainment systems could be laid out better.

Maybe I enjoy the tech because I'm in the tech industry?

 

 

[Mark Gregory]

Here is the information Joe wanted above.

 

https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/cars/article-7999365/Motorists-50-accuse-car-makers-ignoring-needs.html

 

Jeremy Taylor, Saga Magazine's motoring editor commented: 'It's clear from the research findings that far too many car manufacturers are seeing that 50 is a barrier when it comes to their marketing and design process. 

'While safety and reliability are key, for those of us that grew up in the heyday of design classics such as the Jaguar E-Type and Mini Cooper, today's modern gadgets are a poor substitute for beauty and a fun drive.'

He went on to say that with over 50s accounting for an 'overwhelming proportion' of new car sales, manufacturers should make the needs of this generation a priority.

[1937hd45]

I'd like to see a come back of the $10,000 domestic pickup truck. I'd like to be blindfolded, and be able to turn the radio on and find my channel, that is the truck I'd buy. Bob 

[charlier]

No doubt my next vehicle will not have ignition keys which I guess I can live with.

I think I used the CD player in my truck once or twice in the last 8+ years. I have 1,600+ songs on my smartphone and play them thru the trucks radio/stereo system via bluetooth. I also stream music, news, GPS directions, etc thru the phone. Definitely do not need/want an expensive stereo/navigation system in my next vehicle. 

Chrome plating on new cars these days does not appear to hold up very well over the long term. No Thanks.

Hood Ornaments, look nice but are not practical for me for a daily driver. IE Pain in the rear when it comes to winter snow/ice.

Wooden Steering Wheels - Sorry No Thanks. Don't need wood splinters when the airbag goes off or in the event f a severe crash.

Prefer bucket seats to benches, always have.

Wooden body work on a vehicle that sits outside in winter weather is a headache when it comes to snow/ice removal and road chemicals. No Thanks.

Car window winders would be nice.

Never had a daily driver vehicle with white wall tires. Probably never will.

[TexRiv_63]

I'm definitely "over 50" at 71 and I don't want any of that stuff on my new car. I love all those things if they are appropriate to a hobby car but I also love most of the new car features - after you have had a car with a heated steering wheel, you can never go back! I'm also a little surprised to see so many in this car-centric group having such a hard time with new car features - all you have to do is read the owners manual. Now admittedly it's pretty thick and you might have to read it more than once...but if I can figure this stuff out anyone can.

[capngrog]

16 hours ago, ply33 said:

 

"RIP" those CDs onto your computer and then share them with your phone. Possible with either Android or iPhone though the details of how to do it vary depending on your computer operating system and the type of phone you have. Of course you'll need a reasonable amount of storage on the phone (add a microSD card for Android, buy the iPhone with more memory). Then connect your phone to your car via Bluetooth and use an app on the phone to play all your tunes.

 

While that may sound easy and routine to you, it sounds  excessively complicated if all I want to do is listen to a couple of favorite CDs while driving.  Following your above advice, I'd have to learn how to "RIP" (I'm assuming that it doesn't mean burying my damaged CDs in my back yard) CDs onto my computer and have to acquire necessary hardware to do the "RIP", acquire an IPhone compatible with my computer operating system, acquire an app to allow my Iphone to converse with my computer ...  By the way, if I have hundreds of songs/tunes available on my magic devices,  how do I choose a few favorites while hurtling down I-95 in rush hour traffic (I would've mentioned the dreaded I-4, but rush hour on that storied thoroughfare rarely approaches "hurtling" velocity)?   Why do I need to be constantly listening to music while driving anyway? 

 

On occasion, I've been dubbed a Luddite ... with some justification.  I just don't understand the need to constantly consult a device so one could "enjoy" before and after images of someone  else's lunch, or to know what is "bot-trending", or ....

 

Cheers,

Grog

[joe_padavano]

2 hours ago, Mark Gregory said:

Here is the information Joe wanted above.

 

https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/cars/article-7999365/Motorists-50-accuse-car-makers-ignoring-needs.html

 

 

So a self-proclaimed financial website supposedly from the UK with unknown heritage or qualifications posts the results of a supposed survey conducted by an insurance company that I've also never heard of? Yeah, I put a lot of stock in that... 🙄

[padgett]

Yes but it is fun. Keep in mind that I was playing computer games in 1957 and grew up with computers (finger memory can probably still boot a PDP-8). Some people here have lost track of how many cars they have. I don't know how many computers. Think the oldest is a Sinclair ZX-81 I hotrodded with a 2kx8 memory (came with 1k), am looking at a Columbia VP-1600 (1983) that got me stated in anti-virus. Back then a MB of memory or a 10 MB hard disk were $3,000, about the same as a new car. My normal day (like now) involves 2 desktops with quad core cpus, 8GB RAM and 500GB flash drives (biggest speed improvement is to switch from rotating media to flash, used to take two minutes to boot my version of Windoze. Have two more desktops in the guest room one for guests and the other for ripping CDs and vinyl. Really do not know how many laptops, mostly Windows and one MACBOOK, at least two Chromebooks (I beta test for a mfr.) and tablets (mostly Android or Windows). Keeping all updated is a pain

 

I have liked power windows since the 60's, many days in Florida are all windows open (is only 100 days when not), when belted in American cars I cannot reach a winder on the opposite door much less the rear.

 

Jeep has 16 buttons on the steering wheel. I just put velcro dots on one or two I use the most and for orientation (do the same on TV remote). Have one on the button that answers the phone, no eyes needed.

 

Computers are a lot like chess: nothing complex but many simple operations. Car computers are getting close to voice (though getting OnStar to hang up can be frustrating and some of its guesses are ludicrous but then Chrysler was the first with "A door is a jar").

 

Point is that electronics can be either fun or a challenge (never had a TV with a built in web browser before). It is really your choice.

 

ps If you pry off the START button on my Jeep, it has a slot you can inser and turn the end of  the fob to start. Does that count ?

 

pps AFAIK Caddy and Corvettes are the only cars that are known for trapping occupants inside. Modern times.

[Buick35]

I recently bought a 74 mgb with an aftermarket cassette player. I didn't realize cassettes were so hard to come by.We have a 2016 Subaru and I hate all the added crap on the steering wheel! I don't know how many time I accidentally pushed a button and screwed up the radio or turned on the phone( which I never use).I tried to get wind up windows and got laughed at and those paddle shifters,I never use them either. I just want an am/fm radio with an on off knob and channel selector.

[Dave Henderson]

My biggest gripe of all is non-bumper plastic "bumpers", some spanning a car's whole rump, an insult to motorist's pocket book.  They offer no protection, but do carry a guarantee....that it will cost like hell upon receiving a 5 mph bump.  And all those dash buttons, how many accidents have they caused by being so distracting?  I LOVE the two knob radio on my '80 Cutlass.  Missing too are the vent windows that circulated FRESH air, that my '64 Caliente has.  Reverse cameras, nope, I prefer cars you can just see out of the back of. 
Just an old fuddy-duddy I guess. 

[padgett]

I like rear cameras particularly when parked next to a blimpmobie or giant pickup that make a better door than window. Wide angle at rear I can see what is coming down an aisle much earlier than from the driver's seat. Also had a camera on the back of my travel trailer to see what was right behind.

 

Agree about the lack of vent windows, had the last GM car that had them, a '72 A-body wagon (in 1985). Great tow car.

 

 

If worried about being rearended then a frame mounted class III receiver with a step will fold up the front of an F-150 without damage to your car.. Personally liked the bumperless look on my 67 Camaro and have always thought the less chrome the better.

 

[Pfeil]

1 hour ago, Dave Henderson said:

My biggest gripe of all is non-bumper plastic "bumpers", some spanning a car's whole rump, an insult to motorist's pocket book.  They offer no protection, but do carry a guarantee....that it will cost like hell upon receiving a 5 mph bump.  And all those dash buttons, how many accidents have they caused by being so distracting?  I LOVE the two knob radio on my '80 Cutlass.  Missing too are the vent windows that circulated FRESH air, that my '64 Caliente has.  Reverse cameras, nope, I prefer cars you can just see out of the back of. 
Just an old fuddy-duddy I guess. 

Bumper facias are expendable bumper covers that blend in with the body and make your car more aerodynamic. There really is a bumper behind them, but they are not the bumper. If you look at what manufacturers had to deal with ( gov. regs.) with the old mid 70's cars with the appearance was even uglier, so they created facias to conceal the ugly bumper.

See these nice looking bumpers below;

 

See what happened when gov. regulation took place below;

Today;

[Vila]

I am about to turn 70 and would like to keep Ignition keys, CD players, window winders.

 

I normally buy daily driver cars with 40k to 50k miles and drive them until they die at 250 to 300k + miles.  Normally I replace at least one window motor somewhere around 150k miles.  I never had to replace a wind up window mechanism.

 

Sometimes i like to play a selection I have on CD while driving.

 

Ignition keys, just because.

[Pfeil]

20 minutes ago, padgett said:

I like rear cameras particularly when parked next to a blimpmobie or giant pickup that make a better door than window. Wide angle at rear I can see what is coming down an aisle much earlier than from the driver's seat. Also had a camera on the back of my travel trailer to see what was right behind.

 

Agree about the lack of vent windows, had the last GM car that had them, a '72 A-body wagon (in 1985). Great tow car.

 

 

If worried about being rearended then a frame mounted class III receiver with a step will fold up the front of an F-150 without damage to your car.. Personally liked the bumperless look on my 67 Camaro and have always thought the less chrome the better.

 

It's illegal to drive a car in Florida without a front bumper. 

[padgett]

Picture was taken in 1968.

 

ps you mean a "chromed styling panel" ? What GM called them.

[Guest]

38 minutes ago, padgett said:

Wide angle at rear I can see what is coming down an aisle much earlier than from the driver's seat.

Defensive Driving recommends always backing into a space unless it is a drive through.  Same at home, backing into your driveway is easier/safer rather than backing out into traffic.

[Matt Harwood]

I've been casually looking for a replacement for my Cadillac CTS wagon, but to be honest, it seems to be one of the last mostly analog cars. I don't want a touch screen or push button start or extra gadgets that talk to my phone. I just don't. Yes, the Cadillac annoys me because it turns on its own headlights, but the instrument lights and headlights are on separate circuits so they often don't talk to each other and the dash is too dark to see. I hate that I can't adjust the seat while I'm moving. I'm annoyed that the on/off switch for the radio isn't really an on/off switch but rather a button that asks the computer to turn on the radio, and sometimes it decides not to do it. Same with the volume knob--the faster you turn it, the less it does because it thinks you're doing something you don't want to do. And, of course, the automatic hatch that crushed my hand seemingly out of spite.

 

But that's the future, I guess. I don't know how they decide these things need to be in the cars--focus groups, I suppose. But do people REALLY want all this stuff or are they just saying yes when it's offered? I bet if you had to think of what you really wanted in a car, it wouldn't start with a touch screen with ten layers of menus...

 

Meh. I've become a Luddite and I'm not happy about it. But I don't want a car to frustrate me--the rest of my life does enough of that. I just want it to work the way it should.

[Buffalowed Bill]

I'm 76 and my drivers are all in the 25yo range. I'm not sure how many upgrades that I'm going to have to make, but for now I'm just happy to be driving one of my two Mark VIII's.  However, on the occasion that I fly and rent a car, it requires about 5 min worth of study of the owner's manual before I can get the damn thing started, out of the parking space and on to the street. Every car that I rent is different, is it too much to expect that cars operation should maintain level of standardization. I always prided myself in being able to hop in most any car and drive it. Why do manufacturers think that they have to keep changing things?

Bill

Edited February 16, 2020 by Buffalowed Bill (see edit history)

[capngrog]

40 minutes ago, Matt Harwood said:

I bet if you had to think of what you really wanted in a car, it wouldn't start with a touch screen with ten layers of menus...

 

Exactly!!!  If ammunition wasn't so expensive, I would've assassinated at least a dozen menu-overloaded touch screens by now.  I am, however, losing some tooth enamel from grinding my teeth in frustration when confronted by all of these necessary "conveniences".  I've also found that "smackin' it upside the head" doesn't work with touch screens.

 

Ah well, maybe that's just me.

 

Cheers,

Grog

[padgett]

Just wait for the insurance cos. to require a driving habit monitor connected to the OBD...oh some already do ? Welcome to the nanny car age.

 

Have had touch screams in cars since '12, is a lot easier than the screen without touch & lotsa unlabeled buttons in R171 Mercedes (the car that if you remove the CD changer to be able to put gloves in the glove box shuts down the radio...). At least most have an arrow to tell you which side the gas cap is on. Most of my laptops and all of my tablets have touch screams

 

Two things I hope never to have: flappy paddles and a shifter that has no detents (have never known one that wasn't the subject of a recall).

That said my CTS has a mechanical hi/low beam and a steerable headlamp. The cornering lamps on a 67 Grand Prix were a lot better.

 

Is only one car I still want and in three years it will be eligible for my collector policy.

 

ps how do you park backwards in a one way aisle with slant spots ? Ticket maybe ?

 

pps I always exit my driveway going frontwards.

[Pfeil]

1 hour ago, padgett said:

Just wait for the insurance cos. to require a driving habit monitor connected to the OBD...oh some already do ? Welcome to the nanny car age.

 

 

 

Actually something similar already happened. Manufacturers for years had told state governments that it was no longer necessary to have state emission testing stations because the cars today do their own testing and tell the owner when it's out of compliance. The reaction to that was owners would just drive the cars anyway. So the suggestion was made to disable the car. That triggered a liability issue so it was suggested that a special odometer be used in conjunction with standard and trip odometers that would give a count down from say 500 miles down to zero and after zero the car wouldn't start. That was part of OBD3 proposal. I still don't know where it is all going and I've been retired for 14 years now so I don't know. Besides it could become a political issue in that states have invested lots of money in these testing stations and are a good source of income. 

[ply33]

17 minutes ago, Pfeil said:

 

Actually something similar already happened. Manufacturers for years had told state governments that it was no longer necessary to have state emission testing stations because the cars today do their own testing and tell the owner when it's out of compliance. The reaction to that was owners would just drive the cars anyway. So the suggestion was made to disable the car. That triggered a liability issue so it was suggested that a special odometer be used in conjunction with standard and trip odometers that would give a count down from say 500 miles down to zero and after zero the car wouldn't start. That was part of OBD3 proposal. I still don't know where it is all going and I've been retired for 14 years now so I don't know. Besides it could become a political issue in that states have invested lots of money in these testing stations and are a good source of income. 

 

We went for years without having to have our two older Prius cars smog tested. In 2017 we got a notice that a smog check was needed to renew registration for both the 2001 and 2004 cars. Turns out the check consisted of three things:

1. Visual inspection for obvious modifications under the hood.
2. Visual inspection for leaks under the car
3. Check with an ODB2 reader to confirm no codes.

For this 5 minute procedure we had the pleasure of spending $50 at the authorized inspection station. Let see: $50 for 1/12th of an hour or $600/hr labor rate. Testing stations in our state are private companies and I have no idea what portion of the fee goes to the state.

[Frank DuVal]

Count me in on wanting an ignition KEY that does turn off POWER to a system. Just remember the Toyota unintended acceleration, where the driver had NO ability to turn the car off while it was driving at speed, since the computer knew the car should not be turned off for safety.........😯

 

Even my daughter insisted her car have an ignition key!

 

Lucky our family likes old cars, that's why I joined AACA, so no need to buy a keyless car for at least 25 years......👍

 

I do like those Fords with the external keypad, easy to get inside them with a few button pushes. Not secure at all...........😁

[Pfeil]

1 hour ago, ply33 said:

 

We went for years without having to have our two older Prius cars smog tested. In 2017 we got a notice that a smog check was needed to renew registration for both the 2001 and 2004 cars. Turns out the check consisted of three things:

1. Visual inspection for obvious modifications under the hood.
2. Visual inspection for leaks under the car
3. Check with an ODB2 reader to confirm no codes.

For this 5 minute procedure we had the pleasure of spending $50 at the authorized inspection station. Let see: $50 for 1/12th of an hour or $600/hr labor rate. Testing stations in our state are private companies and I have no idea what portion of the fee goes to the state.

Some states 4 years from brand new before they have to be tested, some states six years. 

[Kevin M]

The more things like this original post I see the more I realize I was born much later than I should have been. I’m 25 and I agree with pretty much that whole list. One thing no ones mentioned yet is those LED headlights. I don’t see the purpose of blinding everyone coming at you. I want quality interior materials again too. Like actually leather and not just plastic. And speaking of interiors more color combos not just black or tan. Bring back maroon, blue or even green interiors again.