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General discussionWhats up with modern car indicator lights?(37 posts)(37 posts)
(37 posts)
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This is my favourite topic
Posted February 17, 2017
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tinyE: Two months from now they are going to find HereForTheBeer's decapitated corpse buried in his back yard.
I talk a good game, but reality.... haha
Posted February 17, 2017
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HereForTheBeer: Don't get me started on new cars these days. I want a tach, speedo, oil and temp, 3 pedals, 4-6 speeds... everything else is fluff. Granted, I enjoy power windows and locks, but things are getting ridiculous. "Infotainment" system? Fuck, I need three knobs for the HVAC and 2 knobs and a few buttons for the radio. Maybe an Aux port to plug in the phone for tunes.

At some point they forgot that a car is for driving.
A few years ago my wife and I went car shopping and there was this awesome looking truck sitting in the showroom. The dealer said it was their top of the line 4x4, built from the ground up with the off-road enthusiast in mind. Now this had my pretty giddy as once upon a time (before kids and family) I was a serious off-road driver. I had an old Toyota pick-up, just like the one in Back to the Future except mine was red. Mud-bogging, rock crawling, fording a river or just making my own road up the side of a mountain, I drove that thing to hell and back. So naturally I was excited about the idea of buying a built for purpose off-road beast, but this quickly turned to disgust as the dealer started going over all the "features" this truck had. About 80% of his sales pitch was on all the wireless blue-tooth nonsense on the touch screen. The only thing I found even remotely useful was a camera in the front that would show you how your tires lined up on the terrain when you put the truck in 4-Low. I pointed out that it probably works great until the camera gets covered in dirt and mud, which actually seemed to confuse the salesman. I then started asking about features that I actually cared about for off-road purposes and discovered that this truck only comes with a manual transmission and leather seats. I consider having direct control over my gears to be essential, and my old truck often needed to be hosed off, inside and out, due to mud and grime and everything else associated with rugged terrain. At that point I just said 'nevermind" and asked for keys to a sedan. They handed me a fob and said there is no key, just a "power" button you push to start the car. I think there may have been actual steam coming from my ears!
Posted February 17, 2017
Having worked for some time in the car repair business I can state that all this new "modern car technology" is just a time bomb that will blow in the consumer's hands in the close future.

Electronics is never something which you can trust to last for long. Never!

There's a reason why you still have "cars" (diesel chariots) from the late 19th century still working and riding the roads in 2017.
And all these new Audis/BMWs/Mercedes (etc etc) after 5/6 years will only give you big troubles because of the ECU and other stuff.

No wonder that most vehicle repairmen (despite some of them being extremely well paid) are seen driving late 20th century cars.
Posted February 17, 2017
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HereForTheBeer: Don't get me started on new cars these days. I want a tach, speedo, oil and temp, 3 pedals, 4-6 speeds... everything else is fluff. Granted, I enjoy power windows and locks, but things are getting ridiculous. "Infotainment" system? Fuck, I need three knobs for the HVAC and 2 knobs and a few buttons for the radio. Maybe an Aux port to plug in the phone for tunes.

At some point they forgot that a car is for driving.
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Stevedog13: A few years ago my wife and I went car shopping and there was this awesome looking truck sitting in the showroom. The dealer said it was their top of the line 4x4, built from the ground up with the off-road enthusiast in mind. Now this had my pretty giddy as once upon a time (before kids and family) I was a serious off-road driver. I had an old Toyota pick-up, just like the one in Back to the Future except mine was red. Mud-bogging, rock crawling, fording a river or just making my own road up the side of a mountain, I drove that thing to hell and back. So naturally I was excited about the idea of buying a built for purpose off-road beast, but this quickly turned to disgust as the dealer started going over all the "features" this truck had. About 80% of his sales pitch was on all the wireless blue-tooth nonsense on the touch screen. The only thing I found even remotely useful was a camera in the front that would show you how your tires lined up on the terrain when you put the truck in 4-Low. I pointed out that it probably works great until the camera gets covered in dirt and mud, which actually seemed to confuse the salesman. I then started asking about features that I actually cared about for off-road purposes and discovered that this truck only comes with a manual transmission and leather seats. I consider having direct control over my gears to be essential, and my old truck often needed to be hosed off, inside and out, due to mud and grime and everything else associated with rugged terrain. At that point I just said 'nevermind" and asked for keys to a sedan. They handed me a fob and said there is no key, just a "power" button you push to start the car. I think there may have been actual steam coming from my ears!
Man, those old Toyota pickups with the, um, 22RE motor... a bit of a wet dream of mine. If only you could find small pickups like that these days.

The wife would love it if I could find an original Civic CRX Si in good condition. And I personally want an '88 or '89 Supercharged MR2, to go with our '91 Turbo.

My brother linked me to a craigslist post https://dubuque.craigslist.org/cto/5964750660.html that also has me drooling.

----

Back to the OP, if the car is a keeper can you install a peel-and-stick clear cling with a matte or satin finish?
Posted February 17, 2017
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HereForTheBeer: Man, those old Toyota pickups with the, um, 22RE motor... a bit of a wet dream of mine. If only you could find small pickups like that these days.
Yep, that's the one. It was a little 2.2L 4 cylinder engine that ran great. Until one day the whole thing seized up. Apparently the chain for the water pump had been rubbing against the housing and wore through into the engine. The water mixed with the oil and the engine was toast. I about cried. Although in my search for a replacement I found a shop which specialized in high performance off-road racing. They had a 2.5L all aluminum motor designed specifically for my model of truck. It was about 100 pounds lighter than the original engine and put out around 50%-60% more horse power. They even had a deal where I could get a new engine, transmission and some upgrades to the drive train for a deep discount and a sponsorship deal. Basically I would plaster their brand on my truck and enter off-road and Tough Truck competitions. Part of me will always regret not taking them up on that offer.


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HereForTheBeer: My brother linked me to a craigslist post https://dubuque.craigslist.org/cto/5964750660.html that also has me drooling.
That is beautiful! Though I was always a bit partial to the 1970's era Jeep Comanche trucks. Supposedly Jeep is looking at making trucks again, built on the Wrangler design. I'm cautiously optimistic about the idea.
Posted February 18, 2017
On a side note, have you guys ever driven a modern Mini? Their signal sticks (what the hell are those called anyway? sticks they are.) do not have notches, so you signal left, and the stick immediately moves back to neutral, then if you need to stop signaling you pull the stick in the other direction with a quick and light motion. No haptic feedback, and it is soooo dumb.

Changing lanes is an ordeal. You signal left, move over, try to stop but push the stick slightly hard and you start signaling right instead. Then you try to stop that, but now signal left again. Right, left, right, left. I'm pretty sure fellow drivers sharing the road with me weren't amused, and I promptly dumped that rental.
Posted February 18, 2017
Generally called the 'signal stalk'. One thing I do like about the new ones (those that still stay in place when flipped) is the momentary flip that gives you three flashes for a lane change.
Posted February 21, 2017
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mystikmind2000: wtf is going on with these modern cars?
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Kleetus: It's the Roads and Maritime Service that's responsible, they're the ones allowing this crap on the road.

The cars I really hate are those huge Euro 4WDs like Audis, Mercs and BMWs, the ones that are so wide they take up an entire lane and almost always driven by an idiot.

I've even seen some that have orange lights on the front guard that are always on, like running lights.

Every time I encounter one at a roundabout I have no idea if they're turning or not.

How the authorities allow this on the roads is beyond me.

Even more annoying are the idiots who have blue headlights.

Or idiot pushbike riders with the flashing and blinding LED strobe lights.

But what really astounds me are the idiots that struggle driving a modern car.

I learnt when cars had no power steering, drum brakes and drove like tanks, driving new cars is like child's play and yet you see idiots struggling.

- End rant.
Wide cars don't bother me much except at the car park.... and of course the person that owns it is an idiot, obviously, because a smart person will want a car they can actually park when they go to the supermarket...... however, the idiot with the wide car at the car park does annoy me allot when they take too much time struggling to park and hold me up. Is it my fault they chose such a wide car? No! so why should i have to suffer waiting for them to struggle to fit? Idiot. .... and sometimes you get one come and park next to you and you have to try and get back in your car with no space, is it fair? Hell no!

But all that is nothing compared to trucks. trucks are out of control in Sydney these days. They pull out of driveways without giving a shit to give way, just run me off to the side of the road.... and never give way at roundabouts, i have to stop in the roundabout as they barge through in front of me..... i am sick of it, so utterly disrespectful. And don't tell me its about not being able to maneuver quickly like a car, i get that, but this goes way beyond that, it becomes the excuse to do whatever they feel like doing. They can easily see me coming, but 'chose' not to give way because of being a lazy selfish arssehole, pure and simple.

I tried riding my pushbike to work for fitness, but my workplace is in an industrial area where all the trucks are coming in and out of driveways. This is where they refuse to give way, pulling out of driveways and running my car off the road. On my pushbike it is much worse, they come out of the driveway in front of me and i nearly slam into the side of them.... they just pull out and refuse to give way.... so i had to stop riding my pushbike to work.
Posted February 21, 2017
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mystikmind2000: trucks are out of control in Sydney these days
Sydney is such a shithole, so many people now, so many cars, toll roads and flats everywhere.

So glad I moved out of there, couldn't handle it any longer.
Posted February 21, 2017
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JMich: How do you warn other cars in front or behind you that you are about to take a turn? If the answer is neither "I don't" nor "I put my hand outside my window", then you are most likely using your car's indicators. Those orange blinking lights.
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timppu: Aaah! Thanks for explaining, my English language skills failed me (indicator lights = turn signal). I don't recall seeing such "white bubbly" turn signal lights though... they are still orange here. Some new ones are quite gimmicky though, e.g. on some cars it is like an orange stripe light that goes from side to side, instead of actually blinking. The white signal light is for reverse.

That actually reminds me: are those indicator lights nowadays orange in US cars? I recall earlier that whenever someone here had an "American car" (some pick-up, van, or whatever), the indicator lights were red. It always made it harder for me to distinguish them from the other back lights.

For instance, a long time ago there was an American van in a queue on the right lane, and I was driving on the left lane. The van was blinking its red indicator light because it wanted to change lane, but since I saw only the left side of its rear, I thought he was simply pumping his brake pedal, hence the red light was blinking. I didn't realize he was going to turn.

I've always found if odd that the turn light was red, just like the rest of the lights at the back.
Ok so i have a link to a picture of the 'bubbly shit' indicator lens.

[url=https://www.google.com.au/imgres?imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.jlevisw.com%2Fimgcache%2FDFL%2FJLV%2FJlevi-StreetWerks-Depo-Clear-and-Smoked-Front-Turn-Signal-Lenses-For-BMW-E38-7-Series-1995-02-1998-2002-Light-Smoke-Corner-Photo-6-625d3f3d.jpg&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Fjlevisw.com%2FAccessories-for-BMW%2FLighting%2FHeadlights%2FClear-and-Smoked-Front-Turn-Signal-Lenses%2F%3Fveh%3D38&docid=ivC_3aZMZV_3PM&tbnid=VNSns9fxb51KCM%3A&vet=1&w=711&h=450&hl=en&bih=939&biw=1920&q=modern%20car%20indicator%20lense&ved=0ahUKEwjD4byx75_SAhXEupQKHWHSDvk4yAEQMwg8KDowOg&iact=mrc&uact=8#h=450&imgrc=VNSns9fxb51KCM:&vet=1&w=711]https://www.google.com.au/imgres?imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.jlevisw.com%2Fimgcache%2FDFL%2FJLV%2FJlevi-StreetWerks-Depo-Clear-and-Smoked-Front-Turn-Signal-Lenses-For-BMW-E38-7-Series-1995-02-1998-2002-Light-Smoke-Corner-Photo-6-625d3f3d.jpg&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Fjlevisw.com%2FAccessories-for-BMW%2FLighting%2FHeadlights%2FClear-and-Smoked-Front-Turn-Signal-Lenses%2F%3Fveh%3D38&docid=ivC_3aZMZV_3PM&tbnid=VNSns9fxb51KCM%3A&vet=1&w=711&h=450&hl=en&bih=939&biw=1920&q=modern%20car%20indicator%20lense&ved=0ahUKEwjD4byx75_SAhXEupQKHWHSDvk4yAEQMwg8KDowOg&iact=mrc&uact=8#h=450&imgrc=VNSns9fxb51KCM:&vet=1&w=711[/url]

In the picture you can see all the 'bubbliness' going on, this is exactly the problem - when the sun gets on it, wow, just bounces around berserk and you got no chance of seeing the indicator flashing.
Posted February 21, 2017
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HereForTheBeer: Generally called the 'signal stalk'. One thing I do like about the new ones (those that still stay in place when flipped) is the momentary flip that gives you three flashes for a lane change.
In Australia we don't indicate until midway through the lane change!

That's why your 'less' likely to run into the back of someone by tailgating - its totally counter intuitive i know, but because people cut in without warning, your far 'more' likely to run into the back of someone by 'not' tailgating...... I do not particularly like tailgating, but living in Sydney, i have had to get used to doing it in order to reduce the risk of running into the back of someone..... so ironic.... I am not a road hog who will not let people change lanes, i just need warning they want to do it, because cutting in without warning is horrendous, i got no choice but to tailgate to stop it happening.
Posted February 21, 2017
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mystikmind2000: Ok so i have a link to a picture of the 'bubbly shit' indicator lens.
Not sure about the bubbliness, but I don't recall seeing white indicator lights in any cars here. Not sure if there is some EU regulation stating they must be orange, or if we just don't have that new cars yet... :)

Then again as I said before, I have at least in the past seen some US-imported cars which had those odd red indicator lights that I kept mixing up with brake lights. I presume such cars have been bought directly from US dealers and brought here, instead of some local car dealers selling them here. And it was awhile ago when I saw such red indicator lights anyway.
Posted February 21, 2017
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mystikmind2000: Like soon there will be mobile phones that do everything but make a call! lol
You ever heard of Handheld PC, PocketPC, and Palm Pilot?
Posted February 21, 2017
The automobile will go the same way as the mobile phone:
First it was only for phoning, now it`s for everything else but phoning!
The same goes for cars:
They were invented for nothing but driving, soon they`ll do everything else but driving!
Posted February 21, 2017
Ah dammit, I destroyed my old post. Not gonna post again, summary: There is lots of great driving-related tech in new cars too. Blind spot & rear-cross traffic radars are awesome, gears, transmissions, steering, engines etc, all got noticeable refinements. Infotainment systems are shit, though.
Post edited February 22, 2017 by onarliog
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This is my favourite topic
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General discussionWhats up with modern car indicator lights?(37 posts)(37 posts)
(37 posts)