Modern Flawed Designs
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Edinburgh
Age: 83
Posts: 55
For no practical reason that i can think of, at switch off the "instrument" panel shows an oblique aerial view of the car, whilst it rotates as if on a turntable.
Such a display could actually be useful if it showed which lights were on at appropriate times. Otherwise one has to walk round the car with the engine running in the various "states" which influence the illumination - a process I find rather difficult when the car is moving (speed being a parameter in which lights come on when, although viewing reflections in shop windows can be useful). It would also be self explanatory, unlike the various tell-tale warning lights/symbols.
Such a display could actually be useful if it showed which lights were on at appropriate times. Otherwise one has to walk round the car with the engine running in the various "states" which influence the illumination - a process I find rather difficult when the car is moving (speed being a parameter in which lights come on when, although viewing reflections in shop windows can be useful). It would also be self explanatory, unlike the various tell-tale warning lights/symbols.
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Station 42
Age: 67
Posts: 960
Why on earth are many small appliance three-pin electrical mains plugs now designed with the cable exiting at the top instead of trailing from the bottom? When plugging them into difficult to reach sockets, like behind a desk, it doesn't take much for the cable to get trapped between the pins. 
Join Date: Dec 2017
Location: Yakima
Posts: 178
However, there is a drawback. The DRL requirement is satisfied on most (all?) Canadian cars by turning on the headlight low-beams when the ignition is switched on. The problem with that comes at night time, when because you can see the headlights, it is easy to drive away with no lights on the back of the car. Very dangerous!
My other car, a Mazda 3, doesn't have that system so I do turn the headlights on when passing trucks, just to make sure I'm seen. I do that because I was was in an accident while passing a truck. On a four lane interstate in Seattle, truck was in lane three and I was in lane two and passed him - or tried to. He didn't see me and changed lanes into the back of the car. First thing I knew I was looking out my side window at the radiator emblem on a semi-truck at 65 mph. The car was pushed 180° across the front of the truck and emerged on the other side where I was collected by a vehicle in the far lane. No injuries, but quite a surprise! The trucker received a citation for lane change; the Honda was totaled but still drove home.
Gnome de PPRuNe
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Too close to Croydon for comfort
Age: 58
Posts: 9,832
Originally Posted by Winemaker
Here in the States daylight driving lights are also required
I recall driving between Palmdale and the Cajon Pass (?) about 20 years ago and seeing signs on the roadside reminding drivers to have their headlights on - it certainly did help pick out oncoming traffic in the heat haze.
When overtaking other traffic on single carriageway roads, I usually flash the main beam before indicating to draw their attention to me - mind you, these days people seem to get road rage when you do that. I once knew someone who pulled out to overtake a car which turned right into a junction as he did so. His brother was killed in the crash.
Join Date: Dec 2017
Location: Yakima
Posts: 178
Originally Posted by treadigraph
Is that a recent requirement?
I recall driving between Palmdale and the Cajon Pass (?) about 20 years ago and seeing signs on the roadside reminding drivers to have their headlights on - it certainly did help pick out oncoming traffic in the heat haze.
When overtaking other traffic on single carriageway roads, I usually flash the main beam before indicating to draw their attention to me - mind you, these days people seem to get road rage when you do that. I once knew someone who pulled out to overtake a car which turned right into a junction as he did so. His brother was killed in the crash.
I recall driving between Palmdale and the Cajon Pass (?) about 20 years ago and seeing signs on the roadside reminding drivers to have their headlights on - it certainly did help pick out oncoming traffic in the heat haze.
When overtaking other traffic on single carriageway roads, I usually flash the main beam before indicating to draw their attention to me - mind you, these days people seem to get road rage when you do that. I once knew someone who pulled out to overtake a car which turned right into a junction as he did so. His brother was killed in the crash.
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Kelowna Wine Country
Posts: 469
Originally Posted by stevef
Why on earth are many small appliance three-pin electrical mains plugs now designed with the cable exiting at the top instead of trailing from the bottom? When plugging them into difficult to reach sockets, like behind a desk, it doesn't take much for the cable to get trapped between the pins.
Join Date: Nov 1999
Location: UK
Posts: 1,955
Originally Posted by treadigraph
When overtaking other traffic on single carriageway roads, I usually flash the main beam before indicating to draw their attention to me - mind you, these days people seem to get road rage when you do that..
Am very surprised that people need to be told to put lights on when the visibility is poor, e.g. when it is raining heavily. That is just common sense, surely? What might not be common sense is to put your headlights on if a strong sun is behind you - so that oncoming traffic can see you a little more clearly.
What bugs me is when I want to parallel park by the side of the road. I indicate left, and stop a car length beyond the space I want to reverse into, and wait until it is clear behind for me to reverse. Half the time though, some **** comes up and stops right behind me !! So my car is waiting, with stop lights, left indicator, and reversing lights all showing, just ahead of a free space on the left of the road. What does the idiot behind me think I am trying to do ??? Why then, does said idiot pull up right behind me and block me?
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Sweden
Posts: 448
Originally Posted by Uplinker
Treadi, don't do that mate. The cars you are overtaking will think you are having a go at them and hassling them, so not surprisingly they will take offence at you. One day someone might 'hassle' you back which could be very unpleasant. Just indicate normally and pass them safely. (Yes, you have to keep watching the vehicle you are overtaking as well, just in case).
Am very surprised that people need to be told to put lights on when the visibility is poor, e.g. when it is raining heavily. That is just common sense, surely? What might not be common sense is to put your headlights on if a strong sun is behind you - so that oncoming traffic can see you a little more clearly
What bugs me is when I want to parallel park by the side of the road. I indicate left, and stop a car length beyond the space I want to reverse into, and wait until it is clear behind for me to reverse. Half the time though, some **** comes up and stops right behind me !! So my car is waiting, with stop lights, left indicator, and reversing lights all showing, just ahead of a free space on the left of the road. What does the idiot behind me think I am trying to do ??? Why then, does said idiot pull up right behind me and block me?
Am very surprised that people need to be told to put lights on when the visibility is poor, e.g. when it is raining heavily. That is just common sense, surely? What might not be common sense is to put your headlights on if a strong sun is behind you - so that oncoming traffic can see you a little more clearly
What bugs me is when I want to parallel park by the side of the road. I indicate left, and stop a car length beyond the space I want to reverse into, and wait until it is clear behind for me to reverse. Half the time though, some **** comes up and stops right behind me !! So my car is waiting, with stop lights, left indicator, and reversing lights all showing, just ahead of a free space on the left of the road. What does the idiot behind me think I am trying to do ??? Why then, does said idiot pull up right behind me and block me?
Also despite the fact that scientists would have us believe that hydrogen is the most common element in the universe, I am increasingly convinced that the most common element is in fact Stupidity…
Gnome de PPRuNe
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Too close to Croydon for comfort
Age: 58
Posts: 9,832
Originally Posted by Uplinker
Treadi, don't do that mate. The cars you are overtaking will think you are having a go at them and hassling them, so not surprisingly they will take offence at you. One day someone might 'hassle' you back which could be very unpleasant. Just indicate normally and pass them safely. (Yes, you have to keep watching the vehicle you are overtaking as well, just in case).
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: South Oxfordshire
Posts: 621
Don’t buy a Renault
Maybe we were lucky to have had Tuesday built cars instead of Friday afternoon/Monday morning built cars.
It seems that at the price point we could afford at the time, most cars had their issues, you were either lucky or unlucky in whether you bought a lemon or not. My cars were always serviced regularly, I guess that had an impact on their longevity.
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Station 42
Age: 67
Posts: 960
Renaults ...
A '90s Megane I owned had niggling electrical faults, like-wise my partner's two Clios. They both had heater issues - I spent a week of evenings changing a heater matrix, which involved stripping out virtually everything between the front seats and engine bulkhead to get access. Difficult to bleed properly as well. The spare wheel exposed to the weather and road dirt on a rusting cradle underneath the boot was a daft idea too. No more French cars in this household.
My 1992 Audi 80 is generally easy to work on; no corrosion either, thanks to about 15 galvanised layers on the chassis and bodywork.
A '90s Megane I owned had niggling electrical faults, like-wise my partner's two Clios. They both had heater issues - I spent a week of evenings changing a heater matrix, which involved stripping out virtually everything between the front seats and engine bulkhead to get access. Difficult to bleed properly as well. The spare wheel exposed to the weather and road dirt on a rusting cradle underneath the boot was a daft idea too. No more French cars in this household.
My 1992 Audi 80 is generally easy to work on; no corrosion either, thanks to about 15 galvanised layers on the chassis and bodywork.
See and avoid
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: USA
Posts: 591
Originally Posted by Blues&twos
It's one of those things… Maybe we were lucky to have had Tuesday built cars instead of Friday afternoon/Monday morning built cars.
It seems that at the price point we could afford at the time, most cars had their issues, you were either lucky or unlucky in whether you bought a lemon or not. My cars were always serviced regularly, I guess that had an impact on their longevity.
It seems that at the price point we could afford at the time, most cars had their issues, you were either lucky or unlucky in whether you bought a lemon or not. My cars were always serviced regularly, I guess that had an impact on their longevity.
I have no idea how you would know what day your car was built, but to me it meant that they knew that 20% of their cars were of inferior quality.
Mind you, due to union rules, there was probably nothing the manufacturers could do about it.
Join Date: Sep 2015
Location: London
Posts: 442
Originally Posted by Uplinker
What bugs me is when I want to parallel park by the side of the road. I indicate left, and stop a car length beyond the space I want to reverse into, and wait until it is clear behind for me to reverse. Half the time though, some **** comes up and stops right behind me !! So my car is waiting, with stop lights, left indicator, and reversing lights all showing, just ahead of a free space on the left of the road. What does the idiot behind me think I am trying to do ??? Why then, does said idiot pull up right behind me and block me?
Gnome de PPRuNe
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Too close to Croydon for comfort
Age: 58
Posts: 9,832
Originally Posted by visibility3miles
It boggled my mind when I heard that you shouldn’t buy a car from Detroit that was built on a Monday, presumably due to too many people being hungover.
Modern flawed designs - supermarket shelving labels; why is much of the info often so small? Hard to read if it's low down; I can bend down if necessary but I'd prefer to be able to read price per kilo or whatever easily so I can compare the item with that one without having to handle everything, then grab 'n' go.
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Down Under somewhere not all that far from YPAD
Age: 77
Posts: 511
Why on earth are many small appliance three-pin electrical mains plugs now designed with the cable exiting at the top instead of trailing from the bottom? When plugging them into difficult to reach sockets, like behind a desk, it doesn't take much for the cable to get trapped between the pins.
These days in the Australian (and NZ markets) a lot of power plugs - whether as plugs to be wired by the consumer - or moulded to the cable for the appliance come in a variety of angular cable outlets. 120 & 210 degrees are relatively common.
It's one more example of different standards for different countries. See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mains_...ity_by_country
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Edinburgh
Age: 83
Posts: 55
pasta
Regretfully I have found that if I follow a slower vehicle at a safe distance in the "fast" lane, then (s)he often remains in that lane. As mentioned elsewhere, a headlamp flash engenders road rage, and the German left (UK = right) flasher technique is not understood in the UK, so only by closing to a less than wise distance does the message get through that I arrived behind them because I was previously travelling faster thaan them.
So these magnets really work!
Regretfully I have found that if I follow a slower vehicle at a safe distance in the "fast" lane, then (s)he often remains in that lane. As mentioned elsewhere, a headlamp flash engenders road rage, and the German left (UK = right) flasher technique is not understood in the UK, so only by closing to a less than wise distance does the message get through that I arrived behind them because I was previously travelling faster thaan them.
So these magnets really work!
Join Date: Dec 2017
Location: Yakima
Posts: 178
Originally Posted by visibility3miles
It boggled my mind when I heard that you shouldn’t buy a car from Detroit that was built on a Monday, presumably due to too many people being hungover.
