20 years car development - huge leaps and small backward steps

i'm not offended :)

I know what they're like.. I will upgrade soon. I spend a lot of time avoiding motorways and waste alot of time cross country driving, because, while it's viable to get hit hard anywhere.. the motorway smack up rate is a lot higher and in amongst all the big new cars, lorries and trucks I know the old Polo is rubbish.

Now: Winter update - the old girl heats up fast :) Most petrol drivers know this, but the Diesel drivers forget how fast a small petrol engined car churns out serous cabin heating. Nothing in the last 20 years has improved there. In fact I am genuinely enjoing an old fashioned non Air Con non climate system. And it gets HOT FAST :)

But oh the cold wet partial-steering lock corners are comical. There are a few slightly off camber corners and one with a few pot holes that make a mockery of the front suspension.

But the sunroof is lovely... even on average days. Having it tilted open improves air flow immensely - modern cars are missing out on the sun roof !

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Originally Posted by Zak33

I know what they're like.. I will upgrade soon. I spend a lot of time avoiding motorways and waste alot of time cross country driving, because, while it's viable to get hit hard anywhere.. the motorway smack up rate is a lot higher and in amongst all the big new cars, lorries and trucks I know the old Polo is rubbish.

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Single carriageway rural roads have the highest accident rate by a considerable margin. You're much safer on a motorway.

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Originally Posted by Zak33

Now: Winter update - the old girl heats up fast :) Most petrol drivers know this, but the Diesel drivers forget how fast a small petrol engined car churns out serous cabin heating. Nothing in the last 20 years has improved there. In fact I am genuinely enjoing an old fashioned non Air Con non climate system. And it gets HOT FAST :)

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Leaving work I have hot air blowing in about 2 minutes. It's awesome. :)

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Originally Posted by Butcher

Single carriageway rural roads have the highest accident rate by a considerable margin.

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I have a good chance of making my own fate on them though. I know the accident rate is high, but it's often self created. Motorway won't be my choice, I'll just be collected in the middle as it all goes off around me.

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Originally Posted by Zak33

And it gets HOT FAST :)

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Heated seats FTW ;)

Having said that, my small petrol engine with modern climate control does a stonking job of clearing off the screen around the car whilst the seats warm my backside. It does take a mile or so before any engine heat is directed towards me, but I always get some heat before I start feeling cold.

I never understood people who put a coat on before they get into a car. Do their heaters not work?

Thinking back to 70's & 80's cars that is something that has really improved. No more opening windows in the middle of winter to get air flowing to demist the front windscreen, side screens needing an occasional wipe as their just wasn't enough or any warm air vented onto them.

Remote start.

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Originally Posted by TeePee

Remote start.

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Why would I want my car to start its engine if I'm not in it?

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Originally Posted by spacein_vader

Why would I want my car to start its engine if I'm not in it?

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So people with radio signal boosters can make use of it without breaking into your house to steal the keys ;)

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Originally Posted by peterb

... Interesting that the damage to the target was higher for the newer car, possibly because of the higher mass, so conversely it could be argued that it would do more damage to a less well protected car, so in a collision between the two cars shown, the Rover might be expected to come off much more badly than in the test, and the newer car suffer less damage.

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I saw a clip (might even have been on here!) a few years ago where they took a ten year old large car a high NCAP rating and did an offset crash against a new small car with a high rating. Even with the size difference between the cars the older car came off a LOT worse, because it didn't have the force disperal mechanisms etc. The new car took a minor shunt, the old large car came off not unlike the Rover 100 above - deep penetration into the cabin, serious leg damage for the "driver"...

EDIT:

Age gap was bigger than I remembered. Volvo 940 v Renault Modus:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCecdOBCFjI

There's plenty more horrors like that on youtube (mostly from 5th Gear, interestingly enough!).

Some fancy cars have a fuel-burning heater, wot you program to warm up the cabin before you leave for work. It was an option on 75's, unfortunately I don't have it

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Originally Posted by spacein_vader

Why would I want my car to start its engine if I'm not in it?

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To warm up! The doors stay locked, and the engine will shut off if it's put in gear without the keys inside. I also have an engine block heater, which is plugged in to the mains, so it starts and warms up quickly..

My boy drives a 16 year old Polo. I love working on it despite everything taking twice as long as it should because a previous owner has rounded a bolt head or bodged a repair. It's a joy to be able to pull things apart, fix them and put them back on again without having to spend a day removing plastic trim.

The brakes are terrible, anticipating when you might need to stop is a skill I'd completely forgotten. The heaters make my eyes sweat. Sadly parts are becoming harder to find, but with entire cars being broken almost weekly on eBay, we've managed to amass a stockpile of things that may go wrong (much to the wife's delight).

Everyone should learn to drive in a creature-comfortless car to make them appreciate things more when they finally earn their driving wings.

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Originally Posted by mycarsavw

... Everyone should learn to drive in a creature-comfortless car to make them appreciate things more when they finally earn their driving wings.

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I didn't learn in a comfortless car, but having just passed my test (at the ripe old age of 30) I went out and bought a beaten up Rover 414 as a "something to drive until I can rent cars"-mobile. It was a beautiful car, and I still miss her from time to time, despite all her foibles, but I wouldn't call her easy to drive ;)

Of course, since I don't own a vehicle any more, I have the "learning my car" experience every time I drive nowadays. Not sure if it makes me a better driver or not, but it makes me notice the palpable difference between driving experience - within about five minutes I'll know whether the hire car is simply going to be adequate, or whether I'm going to enjoy driving it around...

UPDATE!!

I miss remote central locking.

I really miss it.

Cos in the dark I keep missing the keyhole. In fact, remote central locking has probably, globally, saved a million driver side door resprays ;-) cos my keys rub on the paint work EVERY DAY!!, and the faffing about with a bag to carry, key holes and pouring rain means that...

I MISS REMOTE LOCKING!!

You don't miss keys with a little torch built in then? The low tech solution :D

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Originally Posted by Zak33

I MISS REMOTE LOCKING!!

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If it has central locking already you can add a little box of tricks that'll give you remote central locking.

One of the first things the boy did to his for the same reasons you've described.

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Originally Posted by DanceswithUnix

You don't miss keys with a little torch built in then? The low tech solution :D

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no... I miss remote.

Seeing the hole would be easier.. but still a pain in the arse cos I still whirl the keys around the paintwork