I pride myself on taking care of my car -- not so much in the looks department as in keeping it running. After 22 years with my 1988 Ford Escort (purchased new), it was time for my third car. Over the years, after someone backing into the front corner, being on fire twice, a tree falling over it, and being rear-ended twice (the second rear-ending put the appearance into its death throes), it was time. Being a tall guy in a short world (at six feet, five inches), I don't just fit into any vehicle. After much research and test driving, I ended up in a 2012 Subaru Outback.
The transition from 23-year-old auto technology to the modern world was impressive and also disappointing. As I drove the car and adapted from a small car that was a snug fit to a large one that fit very well, my little paradise began to fall apart. All the cars I have owned have been manual transmissions. So is my Outback. Yet it didn't take long for the first monkey to start taunting me.
Emergency flashers are probably one of the least-used features on a car. So where was the emergency button placed? It was in the middle of the center console, behind the stick-shift, level with the shift knob and about two-and-a-half inches away when the lever is in a forward position. More so when I first got the car but still happening on occasion, when I reach for the shift, one of my fingers will skip off the button and turn on the emergency flashers. Sometimes I catch it and turn them off. Other times, I would be driving down the road and then notice the flashing lights on the dash. I have contemplated finding a clear piece of plastic to mount over the button to help prevent the unintentional fingering, but I have yet to do so. Why did they choose that placement? Maybe because it looks nice and provides nice visual symmetry.
The seat warmer switch is also a problem. While it is a nice feature on a cold day, why did they mount it facing up on the center console, between the seat and double-drink holder? Driving my mother to a doctor's appointment, I took a drink and put the cup back in the holder. I unknowingly hit the switch, and for the next 20 minutes, I was trying to figure out if the AC was working. There I was, hot, just sitting there driving while the AC was blowing reasonably cool air. In the meantime, I was getting hotter and hotter.
And don't get me started about the radio.
This entry was submitted by Richard Bedell and edited by Rob Spiegel.
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I was beginning to think my wife and I were the only drivers left who routinely set the emergency brake when we park our vehicles. When we were recently looking at used cars it was very rare to find them on the lot with the brake set.
Just an informal survey, but I would be curious as to how many drivers make it a habit to set the brake when parking.
I set the brake. The Ford Escort, I had prior, the emergency brake never worked that well the last 10-12 years so I also left the car in 1st gear (it was a manual). Doing this is now a habit with the Subaru as well.
I sometimes wonder how the placement of components is designed. I had a vehicle that did not have a tilt steering wheel, which isn't really so bad, except that the semicircular gauges prescribed the same arc as the steering wheel, so it was impossible to read the midpoint of the tachometer or the speedometer without slouching down in the seat, sort of like the gangster lean.
It is not a matter of "focal Point" or style John... the emergency button is just that: an EMERGENCY switch. By placing it at the center of the dash allows a front seat and even rear seat passengers to be able to see it directly, and be able to reach it and activate it quickly in case of an accident. Most european vehicles feature the switch in that logical, almost standarized place. (even the triangular logotype is standarized). But american designers fail to properly understand this. Thus, you can find it anywhere except in a central location!
And control placement is not only badly done in automobiles; one terrible mid-air crash has happened in Brazil between a B-737 and an executive jet, killing all the souls aboard the airliner.
One of the conclusions of the investigation, was that the damn transponder switch location was too close to the foot of the pilot on the executive jet when the pilot was resting his feet on the rest support, and it was too easy to disconnect the transponder with the foot tip without even noticing it! The damn stupid designers (monkeys!), directed by the even stupidier bean counters at the executive jet manufacturer (orangutans!) just decided to add a single line in the Pilot's Operationg Manual pointing to this (!!!)... and the design of the jet is still as it was, with the blessings of the FAA and everyone (another accident waiting to happen). Amclaussen.
Using it as an Emergency notification is just what it isn't and if you have emergency lights and horns on your car and your not an emergency repsonse vehicle then your illegal. The giant triangle switch turns on the hazard warning lights. If your parked on the side of the road with a flat tire, you are a hazard to all passing traffic, thus hazard warning lights should be operating. Hazard lights don't make it okay to speed to your destination.
For placement, I think the driver should have priority access to the switch. Not the passengers. On all american cars I have ever owned it has always been on the steering column. No where else.
I am no pilot, but sounds like wiring wasn't well placed in the plane. The transponder in a lear jet is usually hanging from the roof or in the middle console. Gives the radar scope a number next to the blip and changes as your handed off to different traffic control. Sounds like radar scope watcher miss routed.
While your language knowledge and semantics ("Hazard" vs. "Emergency") surely are better than mine (English is NOT my native Language), I was referring to a dangerous situation where the vehicle needs to be seen either travelling slowly or stopped. I never mentioned any use of horns, BTW. And the thing is that, even when a number of american cars have the switch somewhere on the steering column, the exact location and switch actuation varies. Lack of standarization abounds...
In many accidents, the driver becomes incapacitated, but other passengers (if any) can still easily actuate the "hazard" lights, specially in fog. My old 1967 Falcon had it on the left side of the column, and it was an inverted conical knob (that was pushed out when the steering was turned, turning it Off, wheter you still desired it to be On!). A latter 1978 Fairmont (same family of cars) had a different one. In both cases, the little knob lettering was too small and hidden from an easy view. From a design standpoint, a centrally located, big and clearly visible (illuminated)universal symbol, push-on/push-off is the best; regardless of cosmetics or style.
The accident I was referring to was not a Lear, but an Embraer Legacy 600 business jet colliding with a much larger B-737 from the Brazilian airline GOL, the bad placement of the transponder switch (susceptible to be actuated accidentally) was argued to explain or justify why the executive jet was travelling with the transponder off, thus rendering the Traffic Collision Avoidance (TCAS) system incapable of operating, rendering both planes unable to automatically detect each other. All 154 ocupants of the Boeing 737-800 perished. Amclaussen.
Using the parking brake together with the transmission in PARK (or Reverse or First) is a very good idea. On slippery surfaces, most vehicles can still move if one of the drive wheels slides (the differential allows the other wheel to turn freely!). And as most FWD vehicles use the rear wheels to perform the parking brake function, with rear wheel brakes being now of the disc type, the smaller, puny parking brake shoes become way too small to perform effectively when parking on an inclined ramp or pronounced slope... an accident waiting to happen! Therefore, I prefer to use Both! Amclaussen.
When your lab is only one scope, one meter, and one homebrew function generator and power supply, the scope is stage center. But this one wasn't working right.
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