Toys in cars
I realise I am probably in the minority here, but why is it that if you try to buy a car which has a half decent engine in it, you have to go to the upper trim levels? I don't want automatic lights and wipers, electric seats, satnav, cruise control and all that crap.

Call me a control freak if you like, but gadgetry like that does my head in. The safety features are fine - ABS, ESP and all - and I like my xenon headlights as I do so much night driving, but I think my brain is better qualified to do the mundane things.

And don't get me started on auto gearboxes...

/rant
( K2k6 has a proper job these days, Mon 5 May 2008, 14:24, 9 replies)

cruise control and auto = relaxing )
Never driven on the german autobahn have you ..
cruise control and and automatic gearbox are lovely there, get it up to 220kmh and roll along with the rest of the cars without your feet nailed to floor
(The_artist_formally_known_as_alz0r, Mon 5 May 2008, 14:26, closed)

cruise control + auto =
A fucking disaster.

I used to have a lecturer who drove automatic and regularly said "one foot for each pedal - the best bit of design ever"

He fell asleep at the wheel and killed a family of 3.
**********
..And I have been on the autobahn. Full of idiots who believe that as there's no speed limit, there's no need to excercise any caution at all.

The car was on cruise control.
( Humpty Dumpty was Pushed Is unaware of having any limits., Mon 5 May 2008, 14:29, closed)

I have driven on autobahns
although not on a regular basis.

But I still find cruise control a bit scary. It's the fact that it takes control from me that annoys me. And automatic cars make an awful fuss when pulling away, then have no engine braking when slowing down. They're hopeless on twisty roads, and much less enjoyable to drive. Even on motorways, keeping up a decent speed when ascending a hill requires much more accelerator movement (OK, the cruise control would take care of this) and usually results in it changing down a gear.

_{Other opinions are available}
( K2k6 has a proper job these days, Mon 5 May 2008, 14:44, closed)

I always go for the simplest model
The more gadjets a vehicle has, the greater the potential for things to go tits-up. I don't even want electric windows. I preferred gramophones and monochrome tellies too...

Enjoy your day too!
( Tourette's ( . )( . ) has a monkey hair in her fried egg, Mon 5 May 2008, 15:06, closed)

I'm happy to make do with four on the floor
automatics piss me off. I like to be able to fix my car with just a 13mm spanner.
( willenium Fist bump for verification, Mon 5 May 2008, 15:29, closed)

I too prefer
cars without all the doodads. I follow the KISS principle- Keep It Simple, Stupid! The more complex you make something, the more likely it is to break.

But then, I'm weird that way.
( The Resident Loon Not a demographic. Do not measure., Mon 5 May 2008, 16:09, closed)

I like toys.
I like lots of buttons, dials, gadgets, switches, etc etc.
Automatically-happening things scare the poo out of me if they are unexpected, eg automatic headlights or windscreen-wipers. I've physically ducked before now when a loan-car got a splash of water in *just* the wrong place on the screen and something black swished across my field of view. damned auto-wipers.
My car has ASR - automatic skid reduction. apparently a 1.4 front-wheel-drive punto needs this. If it actually gets as far as lighting up its little light, I'm probably approaching death rapidly - every time it's done this it's been going round sharp bends and it tries to make me go straight on, into a wall, oncoming traffic, etc. AAAAAAAAGH!
Automatic gearboxes are for people too stupid to be able to use hands and feet at the same time. Sorry if someone likes them, but it's the truth. My mum's gone on to automatics since she retired. I avoid whatever road she's on for my own health :(
ABS I'll go for - it works, it's mostly unobtrusive, and unless you're on gravel or ice it can't make things any worse. Otherwise, I'll have the controls please. (Self-cancelling indicators are just about allowable)
( evilstevie misses the Orange Place of late, Mon 5 May 2008, 18:07, closed)

I agree with TRL
always follow the KISS principle. Rock and Roll all night and party every day.

/gets coat
(Bazongaloid, Mon 5 May 2008, 18:40, closed)

Seat warmers
I have never sat there and thought, "My buttocks are cold and my body heat/the car's regular heater just can't seem to handle my chilled cheeks."

Waste of money!
(AlfishKK, Tue 6 May 2008, 10:34, closed)