{This thread follows on from Biggest car design bloopers. Volume 1, which is here:-}
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=23727
The original Beetle had windscreen washers that ran off the air pressure from the spare tyre. Saved battery power. Rendered the spare wheel useless.
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I've just remembered another one.
On the NEW DB9 if you want to replace the wiper motor you have to.....wait for it...........remove the engine!!
Back to the drawing board
Doh! too late.
(Glass-Tech)
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Ford Anglia - before the recall.
If you jacked the car up to change a rear wheel, the rear screen usually cracked.
Seems they only used axle jacks when testing.
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A lot of new cars have the front indicator integrated into the middle of the headlight, so you can't see it with the headlights on. (when they can be bothered to indicate)
Much easier to see it, if it's on the corner of the car.
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A lot of new cars have the front indicator integrated into the middle of the headlight, so you can't see it with the headlights on. (when they can be bothered to indicate) Much easier to see it, if it's on the corner of the car.
Another reason to hate the Golf Mk 4!
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Re: the Merc A class Moose test.
At the time when A-classes were turning over in tests to swerve around elks, the beautiful Merc Le Mans racer did that spectacular airborne 200mph flip that luckily didn't kill anyone but wrecked the car and Merc's Le Mans ambitions.
It's a bit late now but a good Merc cartoon logo would have been an Elk with an A-class toppling over beside it and the Le Mans car somersaulting over the top!
cheers, sofa Spud
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Not a fault I suppose, more a Quirk, Alfa Romeo Giulia 1750 GTV (Mark 1...1968), has a Headrest on the Passenger Seat but not the Drivers seat, no it's not a LHD thing, it's the same on the those as well.
The Boot release is hidden in the passenger door, which is a lefthand drive issue, but is still frustrating for us RHD people.
Would confuse the avarage thief I suppose, which makes it a good thing.
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My Fabia diesel has a battery that cannot be removed by the average owner as one has to delve in a spaghetti junction of underbonnet stuff to undo retaining nuts underneath the battery box!
Roger. (in Spain).
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Drove a '54 Mondeo Zetec today for the first time in ages and I was stunned to see how badly designed the stickshift was.
#1- Seemed incredibly difficult to engage reverse gear as no collar to pull up,You really had to push very hard down and to the left to engage so I selected 1st gear every time I wanted reverse which leads to #2 The shape of the gearknob was dreadfull. just round with no edges make changing gear especially to make rapid progress very difficult as my hand kept sliding off!
Ford hang your heads in shame! (i'll still buy one or two to replace my current Mondeos eventually!)
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"#2 The shape of the gearknob was dreadfull. just round with no edges make changing gear especially to make rapid progress very difficult as my hand kept sliding of"
How ever did one manage in a full on Escort rally car circa 1978 ?
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rough edged driving gloves i guess..
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Seriously, I went out to thrash SiL's Puma the other night, despite the cold (very cold) alu. round gear knob, I thought the gear change was amogst the best I have ever used.
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It's not the gearchange that is the problem, this Mondeo like a Puma or Fiesta was rifle bolt tight, it's the design of the knob itself which is very poor IMO. On the puma's on a frosty morning you need gloves or you'll get ice burns!
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On the subject of the Puma, but not on the design aspect, I have never understood why they used an alternative name for the same big cat, for the Puma's big brother (or sister), the Cougar. I wonder if this has ever happened before in the history of the car? Did the people at Ford realise it was the same animal?
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Was it around the time they bought Jaguar ?
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Talking of the Cougar, I have never seen much (if any) mention of it in this forum, whereas the Puma has been the subject of a lot of comment. A number of people have said how much they loved their Pumas, but have had to change to something bigger to meet their needs. Was the Cougar never a satisfactory, larger alternative? Would it be right to say that the Cougar was a failure?
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I think the Cougar was just a more modern Probe wasn't it? Which was also a failure. Not sure Ford are good in Britain for this type of car - although I wouldn't turn my nose up at the 24valver.
I sat in a Cougar, in a showroom and you're surprisingly low but it does look nice.
--
Adam
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How about the Bonnet Release Catch on a Ford Focus. If you don,t know ( which i didn,t) it,s behind the front badge.
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How about the Bonnet Release Catch on a Ford Focus. If you don,t know ( which i didn,t) it,s behind the front badge.
Insurance purposes I believe, Virtually impossible to open bonnet without key so harder to steal. Even a lower insurance group so i'm told although don't know how true that is so hardly a design blooper.
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hardly a design blooper
I doubt the car-thieves are pleased ...
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I had a friend who bought a Cougar. (Mid life crisis) Horrid thing that lost money qucker than a P reg Vectra.
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Borrowed a KA while my Mondeo was being serviced the other day, went to adjust the steering column in a traffic queue, proceeded to open the bonnet instead. The bonnet catch on the Ka is where the steering adjustment is on the Mondeo! Good to drive though an well equipped, a Ka Collection.
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I had a friend who bought a Cougar. (Mid life crisis) Horrid thing that lost money qucker than a P reg Vectra.
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Was this car just an update of the Probe, or was it based on something else (Mondeo underpinnings for instance)? The car's looks are much better than the Probe, that is for sure.
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Talking about opening the bonnet while trying to get the (nonexistant ;-) ) steering column adjustment lever. Which clever bod at Ford decided that when converting the new (mk6) fiesta to RHD from LHD not to move the bonnet catch at the same time. It is down by the passenger door. Argh is it just me, or is it an accident waiting to happen with someone pulling it while the car is is motion. (Breathes deeply, and wanders off to a nice padded room)
Smoke
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I think it may be an American design based on some Mazda or another. (May be wrong though)
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IIRC the cougar was based on a the second generation (P-Y) mondeo. It featured two engines the 2.0 Zetec and the 2.5 Duratec. It was designed for the eurpean market I think but sold in the american market as a budget coupe. (much like the XR4i Sierra was sold as the Merkur i think)
By all accounts it was a good car to drive but was too expensive for what it was (a mondeo in clothing) and hence wasn't the spiritual successor of the Capri (as was expected at the time), just an expensive oddball ford that plummeted in price.
The design was "based around triangles" if I remember correctly with everything having something vaguely triagnular about it.
The Probe was a Mazda MX6 in drag, but with an additional 2.0 engine as well as the shared 2.5
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