In this thread, discuss car features and options that, in your opinion, have no reason to be popular, yet still are. Here are some of mine. 1.) Leather seats They're hot in winter and cold in summer. They start looking absolutely filthy at 200K when their cloth counterparts are just a bit worn. Their production is bad for the environment. True, they are much easier to clean than cloth seats, but if you need to transport muddy wellies or vomiting drunkards in your back seat, you're still better off with vinyl than natural leather. And their only benefit is that they allow you to sit on the remains of a cow. How luxurious, especially considering 1/3 of drivers do the same. 2.) Sunroofs Sunroofs add weight, drag, corrosion hotspots, possible leaks and rob you of headroom. Why do people still buy them? To look at the sky? You're not supposed to look there while driving anyway. 3.) Convertibles They are heavy due to reinforced chassis and windshield frames. They are dangerous in case of rollovers. Sure, modern ones have really strong windshield frames and roll bars, but rolling over a protruding object like a rock or a stump will still effectively decapitate you. Also you'll have lots of debris getting thrown at your head. A convertible can only be used only on hot, dry, calm days, so it only makes sense in Mediterranean-like climates. Everywhere else, 95% of the time it's going to be an inadequate alternative to a coupe. A modern convertible's retracting roof needs maintenance and is prone to faults and leaks. An old convertible without any roof at all is a barely usable dirt collector and vandal magnet. By now, the popularity of convertibles has plummeted, which is totally understandable. What's not is that before, people kept buying them for decades.
Large dashboard screens in cars: I don't know who started them, and I don't know what their advantage is. I mean people tack their phones on their dashboard which can do most of what these large screens can do : Sat nav, music, radio, heck there are some which have car friendly interfaces. They dont have an advantage over phones in driver usability since you still have to look away from the road to tappity tap on the screen. The only decent use I can think of is maybe the birds eye view camera but other they're just another component that doesn't really have a justifiable use.
Screens... well those depend on the car, but in mine they are used to show data related to the car including some diagnostic data. Quite useful IMO. As for the ESC, that is a Electronic Stability Control and it helps keep the car moving in the direction that the steering wheel is pointed instead of losing control. Its a safety feature meant to help prevent certain kinds of accidents.
my issue with screens are that people'll look at them instead of the road. my issue with esc is that in certain environments it cuts poer when you need it, eg snowy hills
I'm pretty sure that you're mixing up ESC with TCS, and TCS usually has a toggle button in modern cars.
Huge grilles, such as these: Probably to let cows on the road know that a car with a huge mouth-like grille is going to eat them lol
Power, snowy hills. Right... That's when you want traction, not power which will throw you into a no traction situation quickly. Precisely what traction control is for, plus stability control only kicks in when you're starting to spin out. Helps average Joe a lot, especially in snowy conditions
Lane Keeping Assist. Simply useless if car doesn't have self-correcting lane option. Also, it can be sorted out much easily, by making lanes to make noise when wheel of a car crosses the lane.
The whole dashboard of my Ford Ka. There isn't a flat surface anywhere on which to put anything. The center console makes it feel like I'm driving a testicle.
-Fake engine noise -Cigarette Lighters (Disaster waiting to happen) -I hate when turning signals are the same bulb and color as the brake lights -Shark fin satellite antenna covers (they look like some customization you buy from Auto-Zone. I like the ones that aren't even antennas, just little knobs on the roof. They aren't as obnoxious or noticeable.) -Extreme Noise-canceling interior (I know noise canceling is almost needed but some companies think it's a good idea to almost completely drown out everything else) -4-door coupes (It's not a coupe if it has 4 doors, now is it?) -Roof racks that only exist to look good, not to use (Beauty may be the price of utility, but that isn't the case with roof racks, they can still offer good looks and utility, so why make a fake?) -Active Aero Spoilers on non-performance cars
How mentally handicapped has someone to be to consider a roof rack a beauty accessory? What's next, towing trailers just for style?
Some of the modern-day Chevrolet "split fascias" or "jar grilles" look just plain awful in my opinion (I'm looking at you, Silverado). It just makes the design less conventional and not as eye-catching Spoiler: Examples
You mean quad-coupes? Well those don't have 4 full doors, only 2 and the other 2 usually only open from the inside. I find some of them to look pretty cool. Example (Saturn ION Redline): Sounds similar to ricing but instead of race inspired its hauling inspired lol.
I think they look good and are useful imo --- Post updated --- I meant those bits on the roof that are usually chrome. I know they're rails for roof racks but if that's the case then why not make the racks a default instead of some chrome strips.
1. Klimatronics Like, manual A/C does the same fucking thing, what's the point of auto A/C? Both blow the temperature you set them to. One usually has prettier controls and is more complex(i.e. unreliable) 2. Self-driving tech If you want to drive a car - drive If you don't want to drive - taxi, bus, train... It's just making life easier for idiots and considering countries are gonna make much of that shit mandatory, cars are gonna become more expensive and you may not even be able to drive them. 3. Digital gauges Absolutely despise them. There's already the center screen, what is the point of digital gauges?
