ON PET PEEVES ABOUT NEW CARS

ONE MORE THING

Jerry Garrett at the New York Times has a heart-felt piece titled "Five things I hate about new cars", and it's worth a quick read.  I found myself in vehement agreement on his fifth item in particular:

"Finally, if cost is a factor in fixing my list of nitpicks, here’s a cheap one: How about more automakers putting that little arrow on the fuel gauge to remind me which side of the car the fuel filler is on?"

That one is such a brilliant suggestion, it may be even worth it to see if it could be patented.  And it's one that can be implemented by owners of existing cars.  Just get one of those adhesive signature markers and tape it somewhere unobtrusive on the dash, pointing to the the side the gas tank door is located.

I'm sure most of us could add one or more items to Jerry's list.  The one I'd lob in to beg all auto makers to curb their lawyers from implementing those endlessly annoying legal disclaimer splash screens on the navigation screens. 
Most cars are set up so one has to hit an "I accept" or "I agree" button on a screen or two of legalese EVERY TIME one starts the car. 
Just make me sign a document acknowledging the legalese when I buy the car, and/or hire other smart lawyers to provide the auto companies the liability protection they obviously crave. 
But stop taking away a few seconds of my life every time I start my car.
Feel free to adds other issues you feel particularly strong about.

Comments

[Shefaly]

What a can of worms these discussions are opening! :-)

You know in those cars, which have keys with memory that allow seat etc to adjust to the driver whose key is put in the ignition? How about something similar for frequent passengers too? Everytime I get in the front seat after a tall person gets has sat in my seat, I need to adjust things like seat height, leg room and headrest all over again. Me no like.

And why is it that the mirror light in the visor comes on without the key being in ignition, but not the light in the glove compartment?

Oh and while on visors, no matter how I adjust the seat height, as a petite adult, the sun is *always* in my eyes!

[Cotter Cunningham]

totally agree - FWIW, my Toyota has a little arrow next to the gas gauge to remind me the filler is on the left - and i still have to look every time.