Random Thoughts... [Automotive Edition]

Yeah the 508 is not spacious enough inside to sell in the States, similarly as the Mondeo/Contour was. It's also not quite laid back enough in my opinion, but it demands constant attention.
 
If someone knocked on my door and offered me a free third gen. Delcia there's no way I could turn them down. Would have to have the chrome roo bars, lights and snorkel though. They're so far into cheese territory that they're practically out the other side, I'd happily drive one, ironically if necessary.

3.2 5 cylinder derv burner is probably awful but I'll take the sound of a 5 banger any day.

Edit: I watched the new Wheeler Dealers, now I want an X1/9. It's like the predecessor to the Smart. Cheaply made, relatively badly built, slow and can have lots of issues. Perfect!
 
Last edited:
So my father managed to let his car be snowed in... from the inside. Apparently he somehow managed to accidentally push the opening button on the key while it was in his pocket for severl seconds, so the car opened all four windows. While it was snowing.

He dried the car as best he could by using the heater on full while driving and after that, by placing an electric heater in the car when parking it in the garage (luckily in the house, so relatively warm and, more importantly, dry) later, with windows open. I told him to take the floor mats out and let them properly dry, giving the floor below them also an opportunity to dry up.


Suffice to say, he's learned his lesson about unnecessarily keeping the key in his pocket while at home...
 
I’m always worried of something similar with my mother because she seemingly doesn’t always know what closed is on her sunroof. She’ll press the button sometimes with the sun shade closed. I’ve been over sometimes and will see the back bit of the glass lifted up...
 
Question : how’s the smell? I have never had this before and am curious whether every beverage you ever spilled /sweat/fart you’ve let out is still there in the fabric.

I’d imagine cloth seats and old cars would be worse here, but does that sort of thing ever really disappear?

Also, don’t modern cars with rain sensors etc close windows automatically when they detect rain? Mine does anyway, it even informs me of it by app.
 
Question : how’s the smell? I have never had this before and am curious whether every beverage you ever spilled /sweat/fart you’ve let out is still there in the fabric.

I’d imagine cloth seats and old cars would be worse here, but does that sort of thing ever really disappear?

Also, don’t modern cars with rain sensors etc close windows automatically when they detect rain? Mine does anyway, it even informs me of it by app.
Sort of. My gti and alltrack have them but they won’t roll up the windows, there’s even settings in the ecu that I can see that pertain to exactly this issue. I can’t get it to work and it’s deeply frustrating.
 
My Skoda Octavia used to randomly close the windows even after i deliberately opened them via the remote before leaving on a hot day. It also sometimes liked to turn the wipers on (at full “overtaking a semi in heavy rain” warp speed) if you left the rain sensor on, even if the sensor hadn‘t seen a single drop of water for half an hour.

Related: VWs around 2000 had the same remote window opening feature, but by twisting and holding the key in the door instead of via the remote. Apparently rain liked to get in, short the lock out and open all the windows. And obviously this never happened when the weather was nice...
 
Sort of. My gti and alltrack have them but they won’t roll up the windows, there’s even settings in the ecu that I can see that pertain to exactly this issue. I can’t get it to work and it’s deeply frustrating.

Does one-touch open and close work?
 
Does one-touch open and close work?
From the door button/lever, yes. I also enabled the remote window control as well. Because I imagine with stupid US regs, it's verboten here and is disabled, but not removed from the cars infotainment options. :|
 
Just asking because my Skoda always lost the one-touch and remote opening if the battery had been disconnected.

You recalibrated the windows by opening and closing them all the way, one window at a time, and keeping the button pressed in either direction for an additional five seconds or so.
 
Just asking because my Skoda always lost the one-touch and remote opening if the battery had been disconnected.

You recalibrated the windows by opening and closing them all the way, one window at a time, and keeping the button pressed in either direction for an additional five seconds or so.

Yes, I forget this everytime I've enabled it for friends and coworkers, but yes I have done that.
 
From the door button/lever, yes. I also enabled the remote window control as well. Because I imagine with stupid US regs, it's verboten here and is disabled, but not removed from the cars infotainment options. :|

How/why is this verboten?
 
How/why is this verboten?
From what I read, the concern is fingers getting pinched on the roll up. Protect the lowest common denominator and all....
 
How/why is this verboten?

I'm guessing because VW doesn't want to be sued by someone that had their head in the window when someone else closed it remotely. Something that in the rest of the world would be written off as "your own dumbass fault".

As far as I know, USDM customers can't have pivoting headlights and some of the modern "scrolling" LED indicators are verboten because the first segment that lights up is too small. Taillights can't be on a moving body part (which makes my car illegal) and so on and so forth. Not saying that Europe doesn't have its own set of regulations that manufacturers have to follow.
 
I just saw two Volvo S90’s one after the other at the traffic lights. I bet the driver of the second Volvo thought to themselves “wow, someone else bought the sedan too!” ?
 
I am both confused and curious.


1609959746537.png
 
I just saw two Volvo S90’s one after the other at the traffic lights. I bet the driver of the second Volvo thought to themselves “wow, someone else bought the sedan too!” ?
Just a glitch in the Matrix. :p
 
I'm guessing because VW doesn't want to be sued by someone that had their head in the window when someone else closed it remotely. Something that in the rest of the world would be written off as "your own dumbass fault".

As far as I know, USDM customers can't have pivoting headlights and some of the modern "scrolling" LED indicators are verboten because the first segment that lights up is too small. Taillights can't be on a moving body part (which makes my car illegal) and so on and so forth. Not saying that Europe doesn't have its own set of regulations that manufacturers have to follow.

Even if that happened, it would be the one pressing the button who is responsible/liable? It’s not like the car did it by itself?
 
Top