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Just had a week with a brand new Volvo XC90 as a courtesy car. The number of driving aids is mindblowing from blind spot assistance, all round cameras, automatic parking...daren't try that...mirrors that dip themselves, headlights turning round corners, lane assist, adaptive cruise control, do we need all this stuff? Well as a confirmed Luddite I now have have to say these aids are very useful and have somewhat changed my mind. Bit out of my price range unfortunately.
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Many of these can be found in less weighty old Audi quattros, possibly in your price range. My favourite gadget in my 10yr old A8 is the rear window blind - used when tailgated/dazzled by vehicles with antisocial high level headlights. Has the new Volvo got one?
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Amazing array of gadgets,bet it has not got an engine temperature gauge??
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No, but it'll have a warning light telling you when it's been cooked!
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How about an oil level gauge? My father in law's Renault 11 had one, as did a Talbot Horizon of mine, which had a sensor plugged into the end of the substantial dipstick. With typical 1980s French roly-poly handling the light used to flicker on and off on most tight bends as the oil sloshed around.
My sister's 1978 Honda Accord had a bulb failure warning light, but they seem to have gone the way of carriage lamps.
And whatever happened to ammeters? (Or was it voltmeters?)
Progress, pah!
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Ammeters were a godsend in the days of dynamos, when the lack of charge usually meant that the fan belt needed tightening. Otherwise you might not have known until confronted with a flat battery.
My new V60 doesn't even have a dipstick, just an indicator which needs a complicated series of button-pressings to bring up.
But the most insidious new technology is the touchscreen, which many of us have been railing about in another thread.
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How about an oil level gauge? My father in law's Renault 11 had one, as did a Talbot Horizon of mine, which had a sensor plugged into the end of the substantial dipstick. With typical 1980s French roly-poly handling the light used to flicker on and off on most tight bends as the oil sloshed around.
My sister's 1978 Honda Accord had a bulb failure warning light, but they seem to have gone the way of carriage lamps.
And whatever happened to ammeters? (Or was it voltmeters?)
Progress, pah!
My VW has an electronic oil level gauge - it doesn't have a dipstick though - fine until the sensor goes faulty.
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No, but it'll have a warning light telling you when it's been cooked!
That's like the "oil pressure" warning light fitted since forever - but set to such a low pressure it's actually the warning light that says "your engine just went bang!"
Modern temperature gauges are useless - they're electronically modified to read a steady 90 degrees at all actual temperatures from 60 to 110 - so by the time you see it move, it's too late.
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You are right, nor did it have a dipstick.
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Many of these can be found in less weighty old Audi quattros, possibly in your price range. My favourite gadget in my 10yr old A8 is the rear window blind - used when tailgated/dazzled by vehicles with antisocial high level headlights. Has the new Volvo got one?
My 1929 Riley Nine Monaco had one of those. As a student it had privacy advantages...at night..:-)
It also had a number of systems /lacked features which made driving it less than fun at times.. Magneto failure on hot days - solution - fit the spare (2 bolts iirc) and adjust the timing via the hand controls
Edit : my 1946 Rover 16 had one as well, and an oil level guage and a freewheel.. and automatic chassis lubrication and axle tramp...
Edited by madf on 22/09/2016 at 17:06
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Didn't see a rear window blind but the rear doors had pull up blackout blinds.
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Even the zillion electric motors in my Audi's 'comfort' seat cannot make my right arm as comfortable as the gadget in my father's Rover 105S; a height-adjustable armrest on the door. I remember it was like driving a personalised arm chair. In modern cars the window sill is so often just too high and the door rest just too low.
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My X-Type SE has a lot of toys but what I find puzzling it has neither an oil pressure guage nor ammeter/volt meter. Both my Rover P5 Coupe and Vauxhall Calibra had them and I would much refer to have them rather than the warning lights and A/B tripmeters. Also by flicking a switch the Rover's petrol guage became an oil level guage.
Another useful gadget would be a rear facing machine gun/flame thrower for tailgaters but I suspect it breaks various H&S regulations!
Edited by RaineMan on 23/09/2016 at 12:53
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I had a ride in a Bentley Arnage the other day. It had a beautiful set of amalogue gauges, each crafted almost like a Swiss watch.
Although I don't want to admit it, it seems I am a car Luddite, despising touchscreens and all the nannying driver aids that are coming in. I am not convinced any of them are required. Interestingly, I drove 400 miles in a 9 year old Panda 1.1 one day last week and set my best ever time for the trip. Cars don't come much more basic than that, but despite its on-paper woeful power output, it has a peach of an engine that thrives on being revved. I enjoyed the journey so much as it was strangely satisfying to make progress in such a cheap, basic car. And my back was fine after it, which is more than can be said for my Octavia.
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I had a ride in a Bentley Arnage the other day. It had a beautiful set of amalogue gauges, each crafted almost like a Swiss watch.
Although I don't want to admit it, it seems I am a car Luddite, despising touchscreens and all the nannying driver aids that are coming in. I am not convinced any of them are required. Interestingly, I drove 400 miles in a 9 year old Panda 1.1 one day last week and set my best ever time for the trip. Cars don't come much more basic than that, but despite its on-paper woeful power output, it has a peach of an engine that thrives on being revved. I enjoyed the journey so much as it was strangely satisfying to make progress in such a cheap, basic car. And my back was fine after it, which is more than can be said for my Octavia.
Nothing wrong with being a Luddite - but best be selective as some modern improvements are quite good.
I wanted a new, but old-school, premium SUV - at that price point you get every gismo going so I bought a VW Touareg, it's a bit long in the tooth now and being replaced so I probably wouldn't like the new one.
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Madf mentioning the freewheel on his Rover 16 made me curious. I well remember the freewheel on Rovers - controlled by a big knurled knob on the dashboard - but I can't remember what the point of it was: i.e. what did it do that you couldn't achieve by coasting in neutral?
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Madf mentioning the freewheel on his Rover 16 made me curious. I well remember the freewheel on Rovers - controlled by a big knurled knob on the dashboard - but I can't remember what the point of it was: i.e. what did it do that you couldn't achieve by coasting in neutral?
I guess it was more automatic - just lift off the throttle and coast - just like a "push bike".
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