Modern Cars

[cheadle hulme]

front and rear electric demisters which only ford has the license to put on its cars ?.

Never knew that. Quickclear screen on my old Puma was brilliant. How come they don't licence the technology? Its not like you're going to buy a Ford instead of a VW just because of that....

 

[LLB]

I like hardly any modern cars...

..which is why I would like a ford anglia for my first car

A Harry Potter fan

I had one of these (Austin 8) for years and sold it in 2001, but it was about 20 years older than the Anglia. Very very basic, and fairly scary to drive.

 

[papercorn2000]

Must corner like a supermarket trolley!

 

[Mortiroloboy]

Did you never see Bonekickers?

LLB - I think sheddy probably (I may be wrong), means people get into cars and rely on the heated windscreens to clear the snow or ice, meaning they probably drive off with the merest letterbox area cleared to peer through, and the first time they stop, the snow on the roof slides down and obscures the screen all over again....

I cleared my Mum's car yesterday morning, with a broom, barely a flake left clinging to it by the time I finished - screens, roof, side windows, mirrors, lights, plates. But a lot of people Idiots don't bother.

I've always taken Moton to mean that sort of driver that none of us would want to admit to being - thoughtless, in a world of their own, impatient. Not all motorists are motons, but if someone doesn't clear their car properly, they probably are...

Always clear snow from all windows, lights, number plates and roof, before commencing your journey.

You do see plenty of dimwits driving along, their face squeezed up against the windscreen ( can you actually see more if you do this ?!) better to sit comfortably in your seat as you normally would.

 

[Arch]

Always clear snow from all windows, lights, number plates and roof, before commencing your journey.

They covered this on Breakfast News this morning, and the reporter and an AA man were clearing the car with those little hand scrapers.

For God's sake, use a broom! Much quicker, you can stand back and you don't get feet and sleeves covered in snow....

Or do modern homes not have brooms?

(Actually, I don't, but my flat only has a small area of non carpet floor, so a dustpan and brush suffice)

 

[ChrisKH]

Give me a classic car anyday. Triumph Spitfire would be nice. Open the bonnet, the engine's there and you can work on it quite easily. No fancy bits. Or a Mark I/II Ford Escort which I cut my teeth on (as well as cutting many other things).

 

[LLB]

Must corner like a supermarket trolley!

Worse

 

[Smokin Joe]

I'd love a 1980's car with modern rustproofing and engineering standards. Cars reached the height of design excellence then, good to drive, comfortable and easily fixable by anyone who was handy with a spanner.

Modern stuff is overcomplicated, even bulbs are becomming a dealer job when they need replacing.

 

[tyred]

I'd love a 1980's car with modern rustproofing and engineering standards. Cars reached the height of design excellence then, good to drive, comfortable and easily fixable by anyone who was handy with a spanner.

They made such a thing in the late 80s. It's called an Audi 80. Galvanised body, last forever mechanicals, surprisingly good fuel consumption for a family car, good safety by the standards of the time and very cheap to buy nowadays. Still looks good today as well.

The downdside is the poor interior packaging, the very stiff suspension and too much understeer.

 

[magnatom]

I like modern cars. I use a car to get me from A to B, and I like to do that in comfort and safety. Both of these can best be delivered in a modern car. I also have car that has excellent visibility and huge windows (Citreon C4 Picasso Grand). I must admit my vision does feel restricted in a lot of other modern cars.

Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the style and character of some older cars, but I know which I would rather drive down the M6 in!

 

[trj977]

Nostalgia is a great thing. I would love to have some of my old cars now, amongst them a Standard 10, Fiat 500, Cortina Mk2, a very hot mini and some quiet exotic and strange others. But to be honest if I have to do the 300+ round trip to the mother in laws I would not swap any of them for my Lexus. All the bells and whistles I also like, just old and lazy I guess.

 

[Mr Pig]

I'd love a 1980's car with modern rustproofing and engineering standards. Cars reached the height of design excellence then, good to drive, comfortable and easily fixable

Yeah, I agree with that. The problem is that they don't want to build great cars, they want to build cars that are cheap to buy and will only last ten years tops. The whole thing about reducing waste is bull. The least wasteful way to own a car is run it for as long as possible, twenty years or more, but manufacturers want you to keep buying new cars.

Like the government bleating on about reducing carbon emissions, driving less, flying less, then they turn around and rubber stamp a new runway for Heathrow! Hypocrites. If we fly less why would we need another runway?

 

[tyred]

Nostalgia is a great thing. I would love to have some of my old cars now, amongst them a Standard 10, Fiat 500, Cortina Mk2, a very hot mini and some quiet exotic and strange others. But to be honest if I have to do the 300+ round trip to the mother in laws I would not swap any of them for my Lexus. All the bells and whistles I also like, just old and lazy I guess.

It's hardly fair to compare a Standard 10 or a Fiat 500 to a Lexus. It's not even fair to compare a modern Fiesta or Clio to a Lexus. Totally different type of car aimed at a totally different market and price range.

 

[fossyant]

I like the bells and whistles - yeh no character but they don't break..... need to be a reliable piece of transport !

Modern cars which Character - Alfa's - don't get one if it's your money though....I had a company Alfa 147 Selespeed - paddle shift gears, the works - always in and out of the garage. You often had to do a Windows 98 with it......switch off, wait, re-boot.....I kid you not. They also tend to break cam belts - very expensive.

 

[Arch]

I like the bells and whistles - yeh no character but they don't break.....

Don't they? How come garages are still in business?

These days, you get a computer chip goes wrong and need a whole section of the engine replacing, because you can't get at individual parts.

Or like my Mum's last car, kept flashing a warning at her, and it wasn't the part, it was the sensor. I don't think the old gauges were so unreliable....