Random Thoughts... [Automotive Edition]

captain_70s said:
Is that a self tapping screw holding the side skirt on? Quality.



The '04 Saab I was running for a while had auto levelling lights. They broke when a sensor went funny and just defaulted to the lowest setting. Resetting them isn't fun as you need the right software to plug in to tell the car it's on level ground and can now calibrate. Posher Triumph Acclaims had headlight adjust in the cabin controlled with some sort of hydraulic system, mine is poverty spec so you have to adjust the lights manually with a screwdriver...
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Malfunctioning xenons are an extra pain in the ass compared to halogens, that's for sure.
 
The screw just adds to the look.

Anyway, Bugsy had the manual headlight height adjustment slider while having motorised adjustment and self-levelling rear air suspension with height sensors. I always wondered why they could link the headlights straight to the rear sensors, either they couldn't be bothered or assumed the system would develop faults. With Land Rover I can believe either!
 
I saw one of those Lincoln LS-based Thunderbirds today. I was driving in the opposite direction, but it had one of those awful chameleon paint jobs/wraps where it changes from green to purple at the edges of curves, but where almost the whole car is mid-transition brown...kind of gross.
 
NecroJoe said:
I saw one of those Lincoln LS-based Thunderbirds today. I was driving in the opposite direction, but it had one of those awful chameleon paint jobs/wraps where it changes from green to purple at the edges of curves, but where almost the whole car is mid-transition brown...kind of gross.
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:puke:

Not a real big fan of that car to begin with, but damn.
 
I like that Thunderbird from a distance. I'd much rather have the Lincoln LS. Interior is dated, but the exterior has a timeless design.
 
Did the Koenegsegg Freevalve design/technology ever find it's way into a production car?

I wonder if it ever will, with their recent focus on electric tech:

MSN

www.msn.com
 
I know I'm not supposed to mend things on the moribund Benz, but I couldn't help myself. One of the puzzling things about the car was that the oil cap wasn't held on by anything. It just seemed to be pressed in place and it barely held in there, probably for the grace of goo. I looked into the matter and noticed the oil filler neck had broken in an interesting way. It had probably became stuck and since the valve cover has a little detent to keep the neck from detaching together with the cap, the neck had simply split where it forms a collar for the tabs in the cap.

Luckily a new one was 20 bucks and took a minute to fit by lifting the plastic tab over the detent and turning the whole thing loose. The cap and the detached collar were easily parted so I could reuse it, too. This should keep the engine from puking any oil when the C280 is driven with intent. I'll also try and remember to remove the new neck so I can post it online for half price when the car is eventually scrapped.
 
Here's a random thought on cars:

A company spends literally millions designing and engineering a car, to end up with THIS on the front grille:
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I mean, it looks like it had a badge in there, but someone removed it and replaced it with a the first piece of plastic they found lying around.
I know it is because of the radar cruise or whatever, but it looks HORRIBLE when car companies do this.
 
Redliner said:
I know it is because of the radar cruise or whatever, but it looks HORRIBLE when car companies do this.
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Yeah this annoys me to no end, because a lot of companies are doing it that way. some are even worse / more noticeable.
which is something I don't get... because in my car, the radar is just hidden behind the plastic bumper. get's fucked up by snow/ice buildup, ofc, but I can't imagine that thing above being any better in that regard. May only be cheaper to fix in case of a crash, I dunno.
 
I wonder what design characteristics are best able to avoid situations like this (primarily when driving in snow)?
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NecroJoe said:
I wonder what design characteristics are best able to avoid situations like this (primarily when driving in snow)?
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Heated sensors like on air planes. I only get this error when I’m driving at speed for hours at a time. VW put the forward collision sensor on the front badge and it collects snow…

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Well, as we discussed before, we're on the way to heated headlights. Why not incorporate the radar(s) into those?
 
I had the exact same thing in very heavy snow, but only once in 4 yrs time in the Golf. You need a very special set of circumstances to get this effect (very cold and very snowy so the snow doesn’t melt when touching the car.

Just wiping it off by hand fixed the ‘error’ for me and gave me active cruise control back
 
NooDle said:
I had the exact same thing in very heavy snow, but only once in 4 yrs time in the Golf. You need a very special set of circumstances to get this effect (very cold and very snowy so the snow doesn’t melt when touching the car.

Just wiping it off by hand fixed the ‘error’ for me and gave me active cruise control back
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Same here. Had it happen maybe a handful of times over the three winters and 65000 km I’ve owned the car.
But yeah, heating could help. Or just wiping the crap off. Yup.
 
There's some version of the Volvo XC60 that I always thought had the sensor behind the grille, but it turns out it's just empty plastic. The sensor gubbins is all in the windshield apparently.

No, I don't get it either.

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Matt2000 said:
Well, as we discussed before, we're on the way to heated headlights. Why not incorporate the radar(s) into those?
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Heated headlights?!?! Back in my day we called them sealed beams and we were all the happier for it I tells you.

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