Useless automotive "innovations"

[Rupert]

No, those make old-man truck sense. Easier than walking around the thing to fold and unfold the mirror.

On a Benz, though...

[Soup DeVille]

No, those make old-man truck sense. Easier than walking around the thing to fold and unfold the mirror.

On a Benz, though...

Nope, I'm going to put those in a solid "you've got to be kidding me" category.

[Mustangfan2003]

Folding mirrors aren't such a bad idea.  More space if you had a tight garageth and less likely to get broken as well.  One I will add is the cd changers in the trunk.  When cds were the thing I did like having the 6 disc changer in the dash, when it wasn't sticking.

[sparkplug]

power shutting trunks on the Lincoln town cars. like what good is that. It breaks and you're out of money.

[CALL_911]

Folding mirrors aren't such a bad idea.  More space if you had a tight garageth and less likely to get broken as well.  One I will add is the cd changers in the trunk.  When cds were the thing I did like having the 6 disc changer in the dash, when it wasn't sticking.

I still miss those things. I wish my car had an in-dash 6 disk changer.

[cawimmer430]

The one on my CLK hauls ass.

Looks like they improved it by the mid-1990s. 

[Byteme]

Looks like they improved it by the mid-1990s. 

2003

[Byteme]

Some other useless innovations:

Fake wire wheel wheel covers.

Hood ornaments and mascots (think MB and previous Jaguars) on modern cars.

Fake air extractors on front fenders

[Madman]

Read Madman post, shove head directly up ass.

He's putting way too much weight on shade tree mechanic BS while ignoring the benefits.

And may I ask what, exactly, are the "benefits" of cheap plastic parts and flimsy belts that destroy an engine when they break?  How do any of the things I mentioned benefit the consumer?

[MrH]

mudflaps on cars/suvs

Where else am I going to display my love for naked lady silhouettes and Yosemite Sam?

[VTEC_Inside]

FWIW, the number of people I've known that have lost an engine to a failed belt: 0, to a chain that has managed to skip: 1.

I drove my Accord some 30,000kms over the rated interval and the belt was just fine.

That said when car shopping to replace it I went 2006 (Honda family of course) or newer to avoid the belt engines just to avoid having to change it.

[CJ]

On earlier S40/V50 T5s, the timing belt DID have a history of prematurely breaking. 

[Madman]

Oh, I almost forgot about these abominations.





Hard to believe all the motors, switches, track mechanisms, wiring and various sundries required to make these Rube Goldbergesque contraptions work actually cost less than a single airbag in the steering wheel.  Crazy!

[SJ_GTI]

Folding mirrors aren't such a bad idea.  More space if you had a tight garageth and less likely to get broken as well. One I will add is the cd changers in the trunk.  When cds were the thing I did like having the 6 disc changer in the dash, when it wasn't sticking.

I had both. My BMW Z3 had a CD changer in the trunk and my next car, an Audi A4, had it in the Dash. Dash was an upgrade, but IMHO having a CD changer in the trunk was fine (and was a much bigger upgrade versus only having a CD player with a 1 disk only capacity). Since I could preload 6 CD's at a time I didn't have to change them very often. And even with an in dash changer the process was still convoluted enough that I wouldn't typically do it "on the fly."

[68_427]

My dad's Bonneville has a 12 disc in the trunk, and a single disc in the dash.  :P

[280Z Turbo]

And may I ask what, exactly, are the "benefits" of cheap plastic parts and flimsy belts that destroy an engine when they break?  How do any of the things I mentioned benefit the consumer?

Plastic components are lighter, don't corrode, and can be molded into shapes not practical for metal components. Those are some major benefits.

A failed timing chain will destroy an engine a lot more than a timing belt. Chains can fail too. Belts are also quieter.

[Soup DeVille]

Where else am I going to display my love for naked lady silhouettes and Yosemite Sam?

My mudflats display a naked reclining Yosemite Sam.

[Soup DeVille]

A modern annoyance; on certain GM vehicles where the reverse light is programmed to be some sort of convenience lighting that comes on with the interior lights.

Useless, but also distracting; as one assumes that a vehicle with reversing lights on and no brake lights is either currently moving or just starting to move. If people really need some sort of courtesy light on at the rear of the vehicle; put one in. Don't try to repurpose lights used in part to signal other drivers that your vehicle is moving.

[Mustangfan2003]

Oh the dingers on a lot of older cars sounds terrible.  I remember Clarkson talking about this with the first gen CTS.   

[VTEC_Inside]

A modern annoyance; on certain GM vehicles where the reverse light is programmed to be some sort of convenience lighting that comes on with the interior lights.

Useless, but also distracting; as one assumes that a vehicle with reversing lights on and no brake lights is either currently moving or just starting to move. If people really need some sort of courtesy light on at the rear of the vehicle; put one in. Don't try to repurpose lights used in part to signal other drivers that your vehicle is moving.

I f'in hate this. Even walking by its scared the shit out me a couple times.

[Byteme]

Plastic components are lighter, don't corrode, and can be molded into shapes not practical for metal components. Those are some major benefits.

A failed timing chain will destroy an engine a lot more than a timing belt. Chains can fail too. Belts are also quieter.

Plastic also ages and loses strength.

Late 90-2004-5 GM cars with power windows had the cable that pulled the windows up and down secured to the mechanism by a small nylon or plastic clip.   The clip would fail after 3-5 years and the window wouldn't work.   Needless to say the clip was not sold individually.  One had to buy the entire regulator assembly at about $400 a pop.   

One could rebuild the existing regulator with some skillful bodging, but most owners just bit the bullet and paid the dealer the cost of the part plus labor.  In the 3 years we owned the 99 Buick, all 4 power window regulators broke. I got to where I could fix one in under an hour.

I have a gripe with plastic parts that are designed for ease of assembly but self destruct when disassembly is required.  Maybe we've carried the desire to not show fasteners a tad too far.

[VTEC_Inside]

We are not talking toy plastic here though. Granted there are areas that a different material may be better suited, but in a lot of cases the term composite would be a better name.

[Laconian]

Oh, I almost forgot about these abominations.





Hard to believe all the motors, switches, track mechanisms, wiring and various sundries required to make these Rube Goldbergesque contraptions work actually cost less than a single airbag in the steering wheel.  Crazy!

Hah. I had auto seatbelts in my first car. Yeah, stupid. A motivated idiot could easily press the emergency release button and headbang the steering wheel with abandon. The rest of us have to put up with the seatbelt's distracting bullshit.

[2o6]

Plastic also ages and loses strength.

Late 90-2004-5 GM cars with power windows had the cable that pulled the windows up and down secured to the mechanism by a small nylon or plastic clip.   The clip would fail after 3-5 years and the window wouldn't work.   Needless to say the clip was not sold individually.  One had to buy the entire regulator assembly at about $400 a pop.   

One could rebuild the existing regulator with some skillful bodging, but most owners just bit the bullet and paid the dealer the cost of the part plus labor.  In the 3 years we owned the 99 Buick, all 4 power window regulators broke. I got to where I could fix one in under an hour.

I have a gripe with plastic parts that are designed for ease of assembly but self destruct when disassembly is required.  Maybe we've carried the desire to not show fasteners a tad too far.

Toyota has been using plastic intake manifolds for years. The 1.5L in the Yaris is probably their most reliable motor ever made.

[MrH]

Plastic also ages and loses strength.

Late 90-2004-5 GM cars with power windows had the cable that pulled the windows up and down secured to the mechanism by a small nylon or plastic clip.   The clip would fail after 3-5 years and the window wouldn't work.   Needless to say the clip was not sold individually.  One had to buy the entire regulator assembly at about $400 a pop.   

One could rebuild the existing regulator with some skillful bodging, but most owners just bit the bullet and paid the dealer the cost of the part plus labor.  In the 3 years we owned the 99 Buick, all 4 power window regulators broke. I got to where I could fix one in under an hour.

I have a gripe with plastic parts that are designed for ease of assembly but self destruct when disassembly is required.  Maybe we've carried the desire to not show fasteners a tad too far.

So you're going to take one poor design and write off all plastics?

[cawimmer430]

Oh, I almost forgot about these abominations.





Hard to believe all the motors, switches, track mechanisms, wiring and various sundries required to make these Rube Goldbergesque contraptions work actually cost less than a single airbag in the steering wheel.  Crazy!

What the...

[Raza]

What the...

Automatic seatbelts.  They secure you in place once the door is closed. 

Thought they were the coolest things when I was younger, until I was in a W140 CL and the seatbelt robotically extended to be within my reach. 

[Northlands]

Cabin air filters.

Open a window and you've lost the usefulness of it. Plus they clog quickly, which reduces the fan strength of pushing air through the vents. It seems like a great way for the service dept. to make some easy money every time you show up for an oil change.

[VTEC_Inside]

Cabin air filters.

Open a window and you've lost the usefulness of it. Plus they clog quickly, which reduces the fan strength of pushing air through the vents. It seems like a great way for the service dept. to make some easy money every time you show up for an oil change.

I'm going to say cabin air filters that aren't easily changed and to a slightly greater extent the fact that non of them seem to be washable/reusable.

[Northlands]

I'm going to say cabin air filters that aren't easily changed and to a slightly greater extent the fact that non of them seem to be washable/reusable.

They're a bit of a pain. Last couple of cars I owned, you had to go in through the glove compartment. I got tired of checking them so often. It was fairly easy to tell if they were dirty. the HVAC fan strength would drop like a stone.

Maybe I'll alter this from useless to annoying.