Driver aids

I read a little piece in this weeks auto car, that said,
The E.S.P. ( electronic stability programme) is 25 years old in 2020. Just wondered what other driver aids, people knew of that were now getting on a bit. Which we take for granted in this day and age.
Thoughts.

Servo brakes , PAS , ABS ,low tyre pressure warning system , reversing cameras , lane departure warning( more of a pain than a boon ) , heated screens , synchromesh, rev limiters - it’s a helluva long list…

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Yeah when you come to it, it is a very long list.
But do we need them all?

They are not essential to travelling from A to B but the only thing I’;d do without , as hinted above ,is lane departure . ABS must have saved thousands of lives , despite the pub bore telling you his cadence braking is better . It really isn’t -that’s why ABS is banned from F1 .

PAS- I am a serial critic of the MX5’s awful steering but like most modern cars it’s got EPAS and its weight and geometry mean you;d need to be an athlete to park . But God above I miss the steering of my Seven .

Synchromesh - I have driven cars without it , and hence my double declutching and heel and toe is up to scratch but really , why would you do without ?

Reversing camera - useful on a big car , can’t say I need one on the MX5 , but I rarely have tight parking issues where I live

I’m no ;luddite and driver aids are just that - steering apart , there’s no penalty unless your prefer your shirt to be a hairy one …

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Am I right in thinking that it was Ford that introduced the electrically heated windscreen? Anyway whoever it was it was a long overdue development! Much better than the scraping, hot air saga that otherwise ensues!

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I always thought it was Skoda that introduced that,so the owner could keep his hands warm while pushing it

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That would be the rear screen though, wouldn’t it? :thinking: And that had been around for years! :smiley: Unless of course they were pushing it backwards!?!?!? :crazy_face:

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Sorry. My fault for not reading your previous post properly

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The worst one ever invented is the one that sits in my passenger seat! :flushed: :laughing:

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Double declutching, they were the days, I didn’t drive until I was twenty one, then I learnt to drive on an old AEC double decker bus with a crash box. They were the days when if you passed you PSV license ( public service vehicle ) you got your car license with it. I started my driving lessons on Monday and passed my test the following Friday. I did exactly the same when I did my HGV.
Do we include Dash cams now📸

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When in 1994, after three decades of driving/nursing/repairing old bangers, I finally bought my first brand new car (with a grant from work because it had moved to a distant site) the prime essentials on the shopping list were:
. ABS (usually an optional extra),
. RDS radio, (traffic news was a godsend)
. central locking by key, (family…)
. high top gear at least 25mph/1000rpm (hard to find a car with it, but super relaxed on the motorway at 80),
. multipoint fuel injection petrol (usually optional extra), (diesel cost 8-10% more to own/run on the spreadsheet!)
. No PAS, (I still hate the dead spot so many have, often wandering around on the motorway)
. No aircon, (I needed every penny saved, but now I don’t care and enjoy my comfort).
It was going to do 400miles a week commuting round the M25 to work.

I ended up with a 1.4 Astra LS hatchback, and paid extra £800 for the ABS, and £1200 for the SE engine option. The GLS would have had ABS, PAS, aircon, 1.6 and cost a bit more, but in March 1994 that single-point fuel injection engine was less powerful, less economical and less wiling to rev.
205,000 miles later a few years after after having retired I scrapped it when it had its first breakdown - bits fell out of the clutch housing.
ps. I only needed the ABS three times, but it paid for itself on each occasion.

Yes, as an essential Defensive aid.
I’ve added them to both cars.

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It was only around 10 years ago I owned my first car with sat nav built in, I guess a good deal of mid range cars have that feature now. It’s a must have feature for me now when choosing a car but not the only of course.

Stand alone sat nav are ok but a faff, best one I ever had was the little Garmin one, it was like a little pod sitting on the dash or screen, ideal for bikers too it did the job no fuss.

Now you have said Sat nav, do we include Bluetooth we don’t even need a entrainment unit to provide that you have a Bluetooth buddy that you can take from car to car. Also these days you can have sat nav on your mobile

Our little Garmin Nuvi still beats hands down all the built-in satnavs I have had the misfortune to try to use - that in our Mazda3 is awful, but not actually the worst!
And I don’t have a free Smart phone contract so the new systems which depend on stealing vast amounts of OUR expensive phone data allowance are useless to me.

I recall all three of my early cars had a foot operated windscreen washer.
A rubber bulb down by the clutch pedal.

1973 Hilman Hunter
1976 Ford Escort
1980 Ford Fiesta

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Hillman hunter hey, I had one of those, it was auto with 1725cc alloy head, can’t remember if it was a G.S. Or a G.L. It had a walnut covering to dash, centre console and door caps with sports seats with built in head rests a bit like tombstone seats and all the instruments had chrome surrounds and it had rostyle wheels. Had crossplys when I picked it up, soon changed them to radials.

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Thank God for airbags! This happened to Mrs B this morning!


Had to get my car in the shot!

Barrie

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Blimey, what happened? I Hope everyone is OK!

That has to be the best looking Mk3 I’ve seen!

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:grinning: thanks! Mrs B was on the roundabout, the traffic lights were out, 500 yds from home! There is a road (A62) runs through the middle and guy just ploughed through, never slowed, looked or whatever! She’s fine but feeling stiff, every airbag was triggered, front, sides, curtain, rear! That alone would probably write the car off, plus all the frontal damage, engine pushed out of alignment etc. Anyway, can always get another one!
Barrie

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