Worst (Modern?) Engineering Design Decisions on Automobiles

[KinLM]

This kind of shifter, definitely.

Why? I think if you’re going to be driving an auto then it’s way better.

Obviously I hate the pointless (and dangerous) auto shifters that return back to their original position and whatnot.

But the buttons? Those free up space in the center console, meaning you can have better placed (and more) cup holders, more space for your arm, easier access to center console controls, etc.

Its not like the shifter in an auto is mechanically linked to anything these days anyways, so who cares?

 

[bremics]

Why? I think if you’re going to be driving an auto then it’s way better.

Obviously I hate the pointless (and dangerous) auto shifters that return back to their original position and whatnot.

But the buttons? Those free up space in the center console, meaning you can have better placed (and more) cup holders, more space for your arm, easier access to center console controls, etc.

Its not like the shifter in an auto is mechanically linked to anything these days anyways, so who cares?

My only issue with those setups is they don't take advantage of it to put bench seating in the front lol.

 

[GTV0819]

Why? I think if you’re going to be driving an auto then it’s way better.

Obviously I hate the pointless (and dangerous) auto shifters that return back to their original position and whatnot.

But the buttons? Those free up space in the center console, meaning you can have better placed (and more) cup holders, more space for your arm, easier access to center console controls, etc.

Its not like the shifter in an auto is mechanically linked to anything these days anyways, so who cares?

Well, I'm more of a stick shift dude, lol. That's why I got used and feel much more comfortable with a shifter.

 

[TenEightyOne]

Is this common for people to do? I’ve never put the e-brake/handbrake on at the lights, and I’ve never been in a car when anyone else has done it. Autos or manuals. Maybe Australians are allergic too

It's taught in the UK (as said) and seems like common sense to me. My neighbour got a Fixed Penalty Notice in Hull after driving the length of the central road (tons of traffic lights) with an unmarked Traffic car behind him. The copper said he was being blinded by the brake light bar, one of these fancy new SEAT super-LED things. Hahahaha, the guy's a git anyway

You MUST NOT

• use any lights in a way which would dazzle or cause discomfort to other road users, including pedestrians, cyclists and horse riders
• use front or rear fog lights unless visibility is seriously reduced. You MUST switch them off when visibility improves to avoid dazzling other road users (see Rule 226).

In stationary queues of traffic, drivers should apply the parking brake and, once the following traffic has stopped, take their foot off the footbrake to deactivate the vehicle brake lights. This will minimise glare to road users behind until the traffic moves again.

 

[Volksauto]

The fact that you practically have to disassemble the whole front of a ‘08-‘12 Chevrolet Malibu just to replace a headlight bulb is just plain stupid.

 

[Tornado]

The fact that you practically have to disassemble the whole front of *every GM car designed after 2000* just to replace a headlight bulb is just plain stupid.

Tweaked that for you.


It's especially amusing when you have stuff like the Deville, where it's "remove the plastic cover above the radiator, remove three screws, headlight is out"; to the DTS, which is basically a restyled version of the same car, where the steps include "put the car on jackstands" and "remove the wheel."
Or the GMT800 pickups going from "open the hood, remove two cotter pins" to the GMT900 "remove the fender liner."

 

[Liquid]

On the other side, someone I know with a Porsche Cayenne has had a problem with headlight theft. Apparently they screw right out like a lightbulb. It's happened three times to him, costing a few thousand to replace. This third time he demanded the garage, an official Porsche one, get a more permanent, preventative solution so the mechanics did something like weld the bulbs to the metalwork around the headlight housing (I'm not 100% on exactly what they did).

If it happens again, he's sending the bill to Porsche from what I understand.

 

[Adamgp]

The fact that you practically have to disassemble the whole front of a ‘08-‘12 Chevrolet Malibu just to replace a headlight bulb is just plain stupid.

It's not just a GM thing. When it gets a little warmer, I'll have to take the front end of my Ford Escape apart to replace the horn. Ford decided to mount it in the front bumper under the headlight, where it gets drenched with water every time it rains. This either damages the horn, or most likely corrodes the electrical connection. Mine lost it's dual-tone and sounds like a wimpy clown car.

 

[homeforsummer]

On the other side, someone I know with a Porsche Cayenne has had a problem with headlight theft. Apparently they screw right out like a lightbulb. It's happened three times to him, costing a few thousand to replace. This third time he demanded the garage, an official Porsche one, get a more permanent, preventative solution so the mechanics did something like weld the bulbs to the metalwork around the headlight housing (I'm not 100% on exactly what they did).

If it happens again, he's sending the bill to Porsche from what I understand.

Somewhere out there, there's a really confused BMW indicator lens thief wondering why nobody buys his stuff.

 

[GTV0819]

I'm wondering why GM would still opt and utilize pushrod configuration for their engines even during these days. Don't they think that this design is already a bit outdated even during these times?

 

[Tornado]

Why do you think they need to?

 

[GTV0819]

Uhm, because many Americans still love pushrod V8s?

 

[homeforsummer]

I'm wondering why GM would still opt and utilize pushrod configuration for their engines even during these days. Don't they think that this design is already a bit outdated even during these times?

Off the top of my head:

• Cheaper
• Less complex
• Fairly compact - can squeeze it under a low hood in cars like the Corvette
• Modern tech/tolerances/lubricants have almost eliminated some of the design's previous issues

 

[Adamgp]

How is an OHV engine outdated?

OHV, SOHC, & DOHC engine designs are all over 100 years old, and all three first showed up in automotive applications within a decade or so of each other.

 

[TexRex]

The fastest wheel-driven piston-engined vehicle uses pushrods--32 of them, in a pair of 2500hp Hemi V8s--and holds the record of 448.757mph average over the required two timed runs.

 

[Tornado]

How is an OHV engine outdated?

Maybe Clarkson said something.

 

[Ze Elephant]

The fact that you practically have to disassemble the whole front of a ‘08-‘12 Chevrolet Malibu just to replace a headlight bulb is just plain stupid.

This was unfortunately common when I worked at a service shop. People would be upset when I'd tell them to wait more than an hour for me to change a headlight bulb, or worse (in the Malibu's case) tell them to come in when a mechanic was on the clock because of the extent of the labor involved. Not only was the labor more expensive because of the time commitment, but typically the bulbs are much more expensive, too.

 

[bremics]

Was at the Autoshow today and got to sit in the Buick Regal GS, looked around, got comfy, etc... Decided to see how much room it had behind that sexy liftback... Spent 5 minutes looking over the one billion buttons, couldn't find it, even with the help of the 3 guys who hopped in with me to check it out.

Looking around on the outside I couldn't figure it out until a kid figured out it opens when you push the bottom of the big Buick badge.

The new Regal went from "I want one now" to "stupid piece of ****".

Genuinely pissed off by that 5 hours later.

 

[Ze Elephant]

I had the same experience with the Regal at the Detroit Auto Show. I still quite like the car, though.

 

[Pupik]

I find lane-control features to be terrible. Either the wheel tugs or acts unexpectedly stubborn, or some annoying thing blinks to distract you even further. It's the concept of texting in a potential DUI driver: you think you're doing the world a favor, but now you're almost equally as dangerous. Good idea in theory, to get people to use signals, but for those of us who like clip the occasional apex, use all the available road when nobody's around, or have to drive in places where lane marking is under construction/diverted, this crap makes me feel like Korben Dallas trying to trick HAL but you have to pull over and figure out which robotic law you're going to override.

Automatic wipers and automatic A/C, while not exactly the tools of the devil, just never seem to do what I want them to do. This silliness has gone on for 15 years, it still has no idea what I want in any appropriate manner, so I just look for how to deactivate or avoid it altogether.

Uhm, because many Americans still love pushrod V8s?

Do you really think the layman cares much about how the valve train clicks and does windy stuff for making the automonkeymobile go fast now, or that it has a touch screen and seating of a heifer's skin? Besides, it's only on the V8s and they're a small part of the overall car market (though a larger part of the truck market, of which just tork, cabassity, toe-age, and storage matters before worrying about the valve combustugation).

This kind of shifter, definitely.

It takes some getting used to, but after driving a vehicle for two weeks, it's one of those things you don't think twice about. Obviously, it's not for rapid-fire up/downshifts. I forget if the Lincoln had paddle-shifters to go with it or not. But there is this weird phase whereby every automaker feels they need to hop on this continuing trend to re-designing things for sake of it. I heard a lot of complaints in the service industry, but "gee, this shifter lever needs to be updated" was never a discussion item. Necessity is the mother of invention, but fear of missing out is the depressed uncle who keeps inviting himself to the marketing party.

There's lots of nuisance items on cars today. And the older you get, there's a default tendency to think "nu sux, olde is bettar" without giving things a chance. So if you're not used to it, it all seems a bit alien. On one hand, auto writers have their faves and then when they encounter something different, there's a feeling that there's something wrong and weird with that. Drive the same car for a month or two, and some things become the new normal and the real issues can then be either magnified or glossed over...you're familiar with them and like a website redesign, it's usually forgotten about in a week.

 

[GTV0819]

I find lane-control features to be terrible. Either the wheel tugs or acts unexpectedly stubborn, or some annoying thing blinks to distract you even further. It's the concept of texting in a potential DUI driver: you think you're doing the world a favor, but now you're almost equally as dangerous. Good idea in theory, to get people to use signals, but for those of us who like clip the occasional apex, use all the available road when nobody's around, or have to drive in places where lane marking is under construction/diverted, this crap makes me feel like Korben Dallas trying to trick HAL but you have to pull over and figure out which robotic law you're going to override.

Automatic wipers and automatic A/C, while not exactly the tools of the devil, just never seem to do what I want them to do. This silliness has gone on for 15 years, it still has no idea what I want in any appropriate manner, so I just look for how to deactivate or avoid it altogether.



Do you really think the layman cares much about how the valve train clicks and does windy stuff for making the automonkeymobile go fast now, or that it has a touch screen and seating of a heifer's skin? Besides, it's only on the V8s and they're a small part of the overall car market (though a larger part of the truck market, of which just tork, cabassity, toe-age, and storage matters before worrying about the valve combustugation).



It takes some getting used to, but after driving a vehicle for two weeks, it's one of those things you don't think twice about. Obviously, it's not for rapid-fire up/downshifts. I forget if the Lincoln had paddle-shifters to go with it or not. But there is this weird phase whereby every automaker feels they need to hop on this continuing trend to re-designing things for sake of it. I heard a lot of complaints in the service industry, but "gee, this shifter lever needs to be updated" was never a discussion item. Necessity is the mother of invention, but fear of missing out is the depressed uncle who keeps inviting himself to the marketing party.

There's lots of nuisance items on cars today. And the older you get, there's a default tendency to think "nu sux, olde is bettar" without giving things a chance. So if you're not used to it, it all seems a bit alien. On one hand, auto writers have their faves and then when they encounter something different, there's a feeling that there's something wrong and weird with that. Drive the same car for a month or two, and some things become the new normal and the real issues can then be either magnified or glossed over...you're familiar with them and like a website redesign, it's usually forgotten about in a week.

Yeah. How I wish I was an American so that I could understand more and see about your point there.

 

[Pupik]

Yeah. How I wish I was an American so that I could understand more and see about your point there.

I may have taken some liberty with the spelling of some words...

 

[Tornado]

Though, realistically, a gear button on the dash with no paddles is fine in certain contexts; getting it out of the way and neatly integrating it into the dash design. I certainly can't imagine any situation where you'd need to slam shift the slushbox in your Lincoln.

 

[Beeblebrox237]

Was at the Autoshow today and got to sit in the Buick Regal GS, looked around, got comfy, etc... Decided to see how much room it had behind that sexy liftback... Spent 5 minutes looking over the one billion buttons, couldn't find it, even with the help of the 3 guys who hopped in with me to check it out.

Looking around on the outside I couldn't figure it out until a kid figured out it opens when you push the bottom of the big Buick badge.

The new Regal went from "I want one now" to "stupid piece of ****".

Genuinely pissed off by that 5 hours later.

I'm kind of suprised it took 4 guys so long to figure it out, mainly because that sort of thing is really common on European cars (which the Regal is). If you haven't seen it before it's nearly impossible to find but it's quite common over here. Off the top of my head, the Ibiza, Golf, Punto, Z4, 1 Series, Bravo, Insignia, Astra, Corsa, Polo, and Giulietta have all featured something like this at some point.

 

[bremics]

I'm kind of suprised it took 4 guys so long to figure it out, mainly because that sort of thing is really common on European cars (which the Regal is). If you haven't seen it before it's nearly impossible to find but it's quite common over here. Off the top of my head, the Ibiza, Golf, Punto, Z4, 1 Series, Bravo, Insignia, Astra, Corsa, Polo, and Giulietta have all featured something like this at some point.

I live in Canada lol.

Seems like a weird feature to not have, every car I've ever been in either had the button or the stick/switch next to the drivers seat on the floor.

 

[Beeblebrox237]

I live in Canada lol.

Seems like a weird feature to not have, every car I've ever been in either had the button or the stick/switch next to the drivers seat on the floor.

Ah, I suppose that's partly due to the difference in market preference as far as hatchbacks vs. saloons. Everyone here is used to having a latch/button on the tailgate somewhere so having to look inside the cabin for a release sometimes flummoxes people here. My Fiesta is an odd outlier in that sense, it's the only hatch/wagon/SUV (vehicle with a tailgate rather than a bootlid, if that makes sense) that doesn't have a latch on the tailgate. You can only open it with the key or a button next to the steering wheel. On a similar note, it often takes me and my colleagues a little while to figure out how to open the fuel doors on Japanese cars since all the VW products we sell (SEATs, primarily) have a fuel door which you press on to open rather than a release inside the car, and we're very used to that. It's funny how those little regional differences imprint on you and you get used to doing very, very simple things a certain way, but when something different comes along you're so used to certain norms that it takes you longer than you feel is reasonable to adjust.

 

[homeforsummer]

This talk of buttons reminds me of a pet hate: inconsistency in placement of buttons between manufacturers.

The key one for me is always the door unlock button. Since most cars automatically lock over a certain speed, and my job often involves a lot of stopping, letting someone into the car and then heading on (niche, but bear with me), I'm constantly flummoxed by where manufacturers choose to put their door unlock buttons. Some are so obscure it's quicker to lean across the car and open the door manually. Experience tells me the best place is somewhere near the electric window switches, on the door itself. And that putting it say, next to the electric handbrake switch is illogical.

Talking of which, can we please standardise electric handbrakes? Ideally, in a similar position to where manufacturers used to put the release for a foot-operated parking brake, on the lower dashboard. Relatively acceptable: Placement somewhere obvious on the centre console, where a regular e-brake lever would be found.

Adding to the confusion, if it's somewhere under the dashboard, push to engage, pull to disengage works best (it's a button so pushing makes sense to engage, and the old levers used to disengage with a pull), but, on the centre console, arrangement more like a lever (pull to engage, push to disengage) feels more logical. It's all psychological.

Ditto hazard flashers. This used to be a big, obvious, red button in most cars, usually somewhere fairly central. Now? Could be anywhere, and usually it's no more obvious than any other button in the cabin. Worst offender is the AMG GT, where it's on the sodding roof with the interior lighting switches.

Other annoying button placements? Starter buttons, which end up all over the place. Cruise control... controls, which take all sorts of different forms. Any satnav system that hides the mute-voice-commands function within menus rather than being accessible instantly on-screen. Electric window and mirror controls anywhere but on the doorcard. Trip reset buttons that aren't obvious and accessible.

 

[GTV0819]

Yup, cars these days are starting to have some really fancy designs when it comes to ergonomics.

 

[Tornado]

Other annoying button placements? Starter buttons, which end up all over the place. Cruise control... controls, which take all sorts of different forms. Any satnav system that hides the mute-voice-commands function within menus rather than being accessible instantly on-screen. Electric window and mirror controls anywhere but on the doorcard. Trip reset buttons that aren't obvious and accessible.

I once borrowed my grandmother's Prius, and like a good grandson I went to refill the like 2 gallons of gas I had used driving it around all day. It took me probably close to ten minutes, including having to get out of the car entirely, to find where the button for the fuel door was.

 

[homeforsummer]

I once borrowed my grandmother's Prius, and like a good grandson I went to refill the like 2 gallons of gas I had used driving it around all day. It took me probably close to ten minutes, including having to get out of the car entirely, to find where the button for the fuel door was.

I tend to assume I look like a complete dope at gas stations, because I'm invariably in a different car every time. If the gauge doesn't have a graphic showing which side the fuel door's on I usually have to stop before the pumps and quickly check outside the car, and if I'm unlucky enough to be driving something with a hidden button or lever to open the fuel door then it can be some time before I actually start filling up.

An unusual one, if I recall, is the BMW i8. There's a button I think on the doorcard near the window switches for opening the fuel door, but it's actually on a time delay, so you press the button and then wait for a message on the screen to show it's actually opened. Even more confusingly, there's no such thing for the EV charging port, which is just a regular press-down release for the door. It'd not be unusual if different engineers handled the gasoline/EV aspects of the car, but you'd think they might have conferred on the little plastic flaps that allow access to each element...