You are offered a brand new vehicle for free, but the catch is that you can only have one non-standard feature or option in it for the entire time you have the vehicle.
What feature or option is your must-have??
For me, I would have to say Cruise Control. For all the driving I do along long, boring stretches of road, it's nice to set it and forget it. An audio system would've also been a possible necessity until the advent of smartphone/bluetooth/unlimited data.
Yours?
Quote from: thenetwork on April 05, 2022, 10:02:17 PM
You are offered a brand new vehicle for free, but the catch is that you can only have one non-standard feature or option in it for the entire time you have the vehicle.
What feature or option is your must-have??
An audio system would've also been a possible necessity until the advent of smartphone/bluetooth/unlimited data.
I very much prefer to use my car's speakers to listen to music rather than having it play from my phone's speakers. Said phone is hooked up to the car either by aux cord, bluetooth or:
Because I drive a car that predates the smartphone era, I have this FM transmitter that accepts bluetooth signals from my phone and transmits is as an FM signal as to let me use my car's speakers.
Though if by audio system you are exclusively referring to a car's radio and CD capabilities, I could do without that.
The ability to select low gear on an automatic transmission.
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on April 05, 2022, 10:37:10 PM
The ability to select low gear on an automatic transmission.
I have grown addicted to autostick.
Cruise control is pretty standard nowadays.
Quote from: Rothman on April 05, 2022, 10:39:01 PM
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on April 05, 2022, 10:37:10 PM
The ability to select low gear on an automatic transmission.
I have grown addicted to autostick.
Cruise control is pretty standard nowadays.
It is pretty fantastic in my Challenger. I make due with just a low gear selector on my CVT Impreza.
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on April 05, 2022, 10:37:10 PM
The ability to select low gear on an automatic transmission.
The ability to select
first gear (or its CVT equivalent) on an automatic transmission. I've driven a car where you couldn't select first gear, only second or higher. The transmission had a first gear, which would kick in for acceleration. But you couldn't get it to kick in for engine braking on a long and/or steep downhill.
Quote from: oscar on April 05, 2022, 10:50:57 PM
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on April 05, 2022, 10:37:10 PM
The ability to select low gear on an automatic transmission.
The ability to select first gear (or its CVT equivalent) on an automatic transmission. I've driven a car where you couldn't select first gear, only second or higher. The transmission had a first gear, which would kick in for acceleration. But you couldn't get it to kick in for engine braking on a long and/or steep downhill.
To you point the CVT I'm referring to my Impreza generally does okay. That said, if the road is something akin to Mineral King Road where the speed is often under 25 MPH it really struggles to provide the engine braking I need. Fortunately the car also has four wheel disc which is way more than the typical compact segment rear drums.
Standard Transmission.
I guess I better not crash my current car.
Volume and next/last song buttons on the steering wheel. I'm constantly moving the volume up and down and skipping songs I don't want to listen to, so being able to do all that without taking my hands off the wheel is an excellent feature. Highly underrated.
Assuming a lot of the options others have mentioned are standard equipment, my choice is going to be heated/cooled seats, but if I can only have one then make them cooled. Living in the Southeast or Ohio Valley all my life, the summers can be downright unbearable and seem to last forever. Not being sweaty underneath my clothes after driving for a couple of hours in July or August would be really nice. Air conditioning can only go so far. Heated seats do the trick just fine when I need them, but if I forget to turn them on I generally get warmed up quickly enough by the regular heater anyway.
I would say that automatics with a L1 range (to prohibit upshifts out of first gear) are pretty much standard provision. Of the eight cars with automatics that have been in the family fleet since 1980, only one--my current daily driver--has not had it.
Cruise control is pretty much the only accessory I've considered retrofitting to a car that didn't already have it. I consider it indispensable for managing task load. And while it is more or less standard provision now, I've encountered rentals as recently as 2004 and 2005 that didn't have it.
I am a huge fan of four-wheel disc brakes as well, and it bothers me that starter models in the US still come with rear drums.
Something not previously mentioned in this thread that my Acura TL has and my wife's newer TLX does not, and that I often miss when I drive the TLX, is a button that toggles the dashboard lighting between the night setting with dimmed lights and the daytime setting where they're on full bright. In my TL, the dashboard is dark when the car is turned off, illuminates when you turn on the car, and then dims (to reduce glare at night) when you turn on the headlights. But sometimes you need the headlights during the day–rain or snow is the most common reason, and I use my headlights when I drive on two-lane roads that have passing zones. Turning on the headlights dims the dash lights too much for daytime driving, so there's a "MAX" button that kicks them up to full daytime brightness; pressing it again toggles them back to your preset night setting. The TLX doesn't have that; instead, it has a sunlight sensor and automatic wipers and it adjusts the dashboard lights based on what it thinks is appropriate for the outdoor lighting (I should add the car has DRLs, so the two-lane road issue doesn't apply). Problem is, the sensor is overly aggressive and dims the dashboard earlier in the evening than I would prefer, or sometimes it dims the lights in the rain when I think it's still fairly bright outside. There is no equivalent to my TL's "MAX" button to make it easy to override the sunlight sensor's logic (or lack thereof) and it always annoys the crap out of me when I'm driving her car and the lights adjust in a way I don't want.
One feature the TLX has that I do like a lot is a lane-change feature on the turn signals where you press the stalk slightly and it gives three blinks. I miss this feature a lot when I drive our other cars. (The three blinks is also just enough to release the lane-keeping assist. My wife is not especially diligent about using signals, and she complained once that the car seemed to fight her when she went to change lanes. I asked if she used her blinker and she said no; she did not seem to appreciate my reply that if she did what she was supposed to do, the car would not have fought her.)
Regarding other comments in this thread, I don't view cruise control as a "lesser-used feature"; i might have in the 1980s, but nowadays I think it's pretty standard. I like the adaptive cruise control in the TLX, but it's not a "must-have" because the conventional cruise control in my TL works quite well.
Auto dimming rear view mirror and heated steering wheel.
Quote from: 1995hoo on April 06, 2022, 07:49:53 AM
Something not previously mentioned in this thread that my Acura TL has and my wife's newer TLX does not, and that I often miss when I drive the TLX, is a button that toggles the dashboard lighting between the night setting with dimmed lights and the daytime setting where they're on full bright. In my TL, the dashboard is dark when the car is turned off, illuminates when you turn on the car, and then dims (to reduce glare at night) when you turn on the headlights. But sometimes you need the headlights during the day–rain or snow is the most common reason, and I use my headlights when I drive on two-lane roads that have passing zones. Turning on the headlights dims the dash lights too much for daytime driving, so there's a "MAX" button that kicks them up to full daytime brightness; pressing it again toggles them back to your preset night setting. The TLX doesn't have that; instead, it has a sunlight sensor and automatic wipers and it adjusts the dashboard lights based on what it thinks is appropriate for the outdoor lighting (I should add the car has DRLs, so the two-lane road issue doesn't apply). Problem is, the sensor is overly aggressive and dims the dashboard earlier in the evening than I would prefer, or sometimes it dims the lights in the rain when I think it's still fairly bright outside. There is no equivalent to my TL's "MAX" button to make it easy to override the sunlight sensor's logic (or lack thereof) and it always annoys the crap out of me when I'm driving her car and the lights adjust in a way I don't want.
One feature the TLX has that I do like a lot is a lane-change feature on the turn signals where you press the stalk slightly and it gives three blinks. I miss this feature a lot when I drive our other cars. (The three blinks is also just enough to release the lane-keeping assist. My wife is not especially diligent about using signals, and she complained once that the car seemed to fight her when she went to change lanes. I asked if she used her blinker and she said no; she did not seem to appreciate my reply that if she did what she was supposed to do, the car would not have fought her.)
Regarding other comments in this thread, I don't view cruise control as a "lesser-used feature"; i might have in the 1980s, but nowadays I think it's pretty standard. I like the adaptive cruise control in the TLX, but it's not a "must-have" because the conventional cruise control in my TL works quite well.
Regarding the three blinks thing, I take it that's different than the standard lane change feature where a slight push just temporarily gets the blinker going?
Quote from: J N Winkler on April 06, 2022, 01:45:12 AM
I would say that automatics with a L1 range (to prohibit upshifts out of first gear) are pretty much standard provision. Of the eight cars with automatics that have been in the family fleet since 1980, only one--my current daily driver--has not had it.
Cruise control is pretty much the only accessory I've considered retrofitting to a car that didn't already have it. I consider it indispensable for managing task load. And while it is more or less standard provision now, I've encountered rentals as recently as 2004 and 2005 that didn't have it.
I am a huge fan of four-wheel disc brakes as well, and it bothers me that starter models in the US still come with rear drums.
2005 was 17 years ago...
Quote from: Rothman on April 06, 2022, 08:50:14 AM
Quote from: 1995hoo on April 06, 2022, 07:49:53 AM
....
One feature the TLX has that I do like a lot is a lane-change feature on the turn signals where you press the stalk slightly and it gives three blinks. I miss this feature a lot when I drive our other cars. (The three blinks is also just enough to release the lane-keeping assist. My wife is not especially diligent about using signals, and she complained once that the car seemed to fight her when she went to change lanes. I asked if she used her blinker and she said no; she did not seem to appreciate my reply that if she did what she was supposed to do, the car would not have fought her.)
....
Regarding the three blinks thing, I take it that's different than the standard lane change feature where a slight push just temporarily gets the blinker going?
In every car (other than the TLX) that I've ever driven, the "slight push" requires that you hold down the stalk to keep the blinker on. That is, in our other cars if I just flick the stalk and release, I might or might not get a single blink of the indicator (depends on whether I flick the stalk for long enough for it to register). In the TLX, if I flick the stalk for a minimal amount of time by pressing it enough that it hits, but does not pass, the detent, the indicator automatically blinks three times even if I immediately release the stalk. Our other cars don't do that. I find it to be very convenient for lane changes.
Of course you can still push the stalk all the way down to put the blinker on continuously, which is what I do when I'm preparing to turn or when I approach my exit on the highway (but I do not keep the blinker on the whole time I'm sitting at a red light unless I'm either first or last on line). I just find the other feature very convenient for lane changes, especially on rural highways when there's not a lot of other traffic around.
If it's an automatic transmission, then count me as another who really hates not being able to downshift into 1st gear. It's not just for steep hills, but I use it most often in snowy/icy driving.
One that hasn't been mentioned yet is an oil pressure gauge, not just a warning light.
Cruise control I can easily do without. In fact, I pretty much never used it for the first 20+ years of my driving life–being of the mind that its use tended to lull me into a state of reduced alertness. It's only within the last three years or so that I've begun using it.
Oh, I got another one: A temp gauge! I have been in too many recent compact or subcompact cars that don't have one due to manufacturers saving space on the dash. Very annoying come winter.
Quote from: Rothman on April 06, 2022, 09:47:26 AM
Oh, I got another one: A temp gauge! I have been in too many recent compact or subcompact cars that don't have one due to manufacturers saving space on the dash. Very annoying come winter.
You mean engine coolant temp? OMG, yeah, I couldn't do without that!
Tape and CD players. I could play tapes in my Calais and Explorer, and CDs in my Tahoe and Equinox.
Quote from: Henry on April 06, 2022, 10:06:40 AM
Tape and CD players. I could play tapes in my Calais and Explorer, and CDs in my Tahoe and Equinox.
Wow. I didn't know anyone who still listens to cassettes. You'd think they'd be so worn out by now that the audio quality would be nil.
SXM radio. I assume that the service will die out, as the cost of replacing the satellites will be greater than the return. As long as you stick to places with good cell service, and mostly I do, you can get the same with car play/auto but I just like the simplicity of the SXM.
Quote from: SP Cook on April 06, 2022, 10:23:57 AM
SXM radio. I assume that the service will die out, as the cost of replacing the satellites will be greater than the return. As long as you stick to places with good cell service, and mostly I do, you can get the same with car play/auto but I just like the simplicity of the SXM.
I also love it. Driving in the mountains, there are lots of times where there's no data, and sometimes I forget to download stuff to my phone before I leave.
Quote from: kphoger on April 06, 2022, 09:52:22 AM
Quote from: Rothman on April 06, 2022, 09:47:26 AM
Oh, I got another one: A temp gauge! I have been in too many recent compact or subcompact cars that don't have one due to manufacturers saving space on the dash. Very annoying come winter.
You mean engine coolant temp? OMG, yeah, I couldn't do without that!
All you get at best usually in the compact segment is what Motorweek used to refer to as an "Idiot Light." I always thought it was odd to call it that when that's the only instrument you had on the car.
I would say Bluetooth integration because I want to listen to music and audiobooks from my smartphone while I'm driving, and skip the terrestrial stations, but Bluetooth is practically a standard feature in cars manufactured in the last 12 years. I don't even touch the CD player in my car.
However, one feature which will be a "must have" when I purchase a new vehicle (probably 2027) is Android Auto integration, and if I had a iPhone, it would be Carplay.
A full-sized spare tire!
Quote from: kphoger on April 06, 2022, 11:05:07 AM
A full-sized spare tire!
I have had to build one for my last three daily drivers. Absolutely worth taking up extra trunk space for the convenience of being able to quickly change and keep moving.
Quote from: SP Cook on April 06, 2022, 10:23:57 AM
SXM radio. I assume that the service will die out, as the cost of replacing the satellites will be greater than the return. As long as you stick to places with good cell service, and mostly I do, you can get the same with car play/auto but I just like the simplicity of the SXM.
It's the opposite for me - I prefer streaming it via CarPlay because, if I'm getting it via the car stereo, then I have to back out of CarPlay to do anything other than flip through my presets, and if I do that, then Google Maps won't tell me if I have a turn coming up.
To answer the original question, CarPlay.
Quote from: kphoger on April 06, 2022, 09:40:12 AMOne that hasn't been mentioned yet is an oil pressure gauge, not just a warning light.
I used to have a 1986 Nissan Maxima with both a voltmeter and an oil pressure gauge. No vehicle we've had since has had either, and to be frank, we haven't really missed them. Issues with the electrical system really need a measuring device with more precision (like a DVOM) for diagnosis (especially since the difference between fully charged and empty is on the order of 1 V for lead-acid battery chemistry), and the oil pressure gauge in the Maxima turned into a repair liability (the oil pressure sensor needed to be replaced at least once when the gauge was found to be pinned to zero despite there being no other signs of deficient lubrication).
Quote from: Rothman on April 06, 2022, 09:47:26 AMOh, I got another one: A temp gauge! I have been in too many recent compact or subcompact cars that don't have one due to manufacturers saving space on the dash. Very annoying come winter.
I suspect widespread adoption of variable-speed cooling fans has made them an easy target for elimination. My current daily driver has an old-school hard-start fan, meaning the temperature gauge is exciting to watch when the car is idling in heavy traffic--the needle goes almost all the way to the red until the coolant reaches the trigger temperature for the fan, and once the fan turns on, the needle sinks like a rock to just above the thermostat opening temperature. Newer cars have soft-start fans, so essentially all the gauge shows is the needle moving gradually to just above thermostat opening temperature, where it stays pinned.
As with volts gauges, temperature gauges don't really have enough precision to inform a yes/no decision as to whether the thermostat needs to be replaced.
Quote from: J N Winkler on April 06, 2022, 01:51:37 PM
Quote from: kphoger on April 06, 2022, 09:40:12 AM
One that hasn't been mentioned yet is an oil pressure gauge, not just a warning light.
I used to have a 1986 Nissan Maxima with both a voltmeter and an oil pressure gauge. No vehicle we've had since has had either, and to be frank, we haven't really missed them. Issues with the electrical system really need a measuring device with more precision (like a DVOM) for diagnosis (especially since the difference between fully charged and empty is on the order of 1 V for lead-acid battery chemistry), and the oil pressure gauge in the Maxima turned into a repair liability (the oil pressure sensor needed to be replaced at least once when the gauge was found to be pinned to zero despite there being no other signs of deficient lubrication).
Quote from: Rothman on April 06, 2022, 09:47:26 AM
Oh, I got another one: A temp gauge! I have been in too many recent compact or subcompact cars that don't have one due to manufacturers saving space on the dash. Very annoying come winter.
I suspect widespread adoption of variable-speed cooling fans has made them an easy target for elimination. My current daily driver has an old-school hard-start fan, meaning the temperature gauge is exciting to watch when the car is idling in heavy traffic--the needle goes almost all the way to the red until the coolant reaches the trigger temperature for the fan, and once the fan turns on, the needle sinks like a rock to just above the thermostat opening temperature. Newer cars have soft-start fans, so essentially all the gauge shows is the needle moving gradually to just above thermostat opening temperature, where it stays pinned.
As with volts gauges, temperature gauges don't really have enough precision to inform a yes/no decision as to whether the thermostat needs to be replaced.
Oil pressure gauge – This has informed me more than once that I was running dangerously low on motor oil, as I began to see the needle dip while idling at red lights, but I was able to add oil before reaching the really critical point of a warning light coming on.
Temp gauge – This has informed me more than once that I was running dangerously low on coolant, as I began to see the needle rise while driving at moderate speeds, but I was able to add coolant before damage was done to the radiator.
Volt gauge – Because of this, I know that my current battery will be due for replacement before too long, as I'm seeing the needle dip more often than it used to. The alternator still gets it charged up while I'm driving, but it seems to need that charging-up more often than it used to.
I'd be inclined to say automatic transmission. Yes, I can drive manual, but personally, I find it more of a pain in the ass than something that adds enjoyment to the driving experience. But since that's a standard feature on almost all cars these days, I'll go with this one:
CD player.
Every car I've owned has had a sunroof. I think it'd feel a bit odd if I ever got a car without one other than a dedicated track car.
Quote from: Hot Rod Hootenanny on April 05, 2022, 11:29:24 PM
Standard Transmission.
I guess I better not crash my current car.
:wave:
Quote from: JayhawkCO on April 06, 2022, 10:32:48 AM
Quote from: SP Cook on April 06, 2022, 10:23:57 AM
SXM radio. I assume that the service will die out, as the cost of replacing the satellites will be greater than the return. As long as you stick to places with good cell service, and mostly I do, you can get the same with car play/auto but I just like the simplicity of the SXM.
I also love it. Driving in the mountains, there are lots of times where there's no data, and sometimes I forget to download stuff to my phone before I leave.
i'm decidedly old school about music. my car has cd and tape (99 camry), though the tape deck long ago went 'glup'. and i live in the mountains, so the last 10 miles of my drive home has no cell service. 256 gb sd card in the phone with like 10,000 songs on it, and a bluetooth-fm doohickey does me just fine. my co-workers give me a hard time about it, but i'm also not burning up my 4g in town, either.
Some sort of recorded music. I like the ability to read a flash drive on my current car, I can carry all my albums that I've bothered to digitize and still have room for more. But if it was CDs or tapes, I could like with that too.
Quote from: kphoger on April 06, 2022, 11:05:07 AM
A full-sized spare tire!
I'm happy with a donut. Fix-a-flat ain't cutting it for me!
If I had to pick a more original answer, heated side mirrors. Apparently this is standard-issue for all Volkswagens, and I pretty much keep it on 24/7 with my Golf. Keeps them completely clear of rain.
Call me a millennial, but Apple CarPlay. Save me all the trouble with a lot of automakers' wonky and slow default infotainment systems and the never-ending plethora of different phone mounting gadgets out there. It's pretty convenient to have the phone apps you use every day displayed on your car's screen, too.
A lot of our answers have
not been lesser-used options.
Quote from: jakeroot on April 07, 2022, 02:10:38 AM
If I had to pick a more original answer, heated side mirrors. Apparently this is standard-issue for all Volkswagens, and I pretty much keep it on 24/7 with my Golf. Keeps them completely clear of rain.
In my previous car, it came on automatically with the rear defrost button. I didn't know that for several years (apparently my wife did but just assumed I did too), at which point I realized I had unnecessarily spent a bunch of time (cumulatively) scraping ice from the side mirrors.
Quote from: jakeroot on April 07, 2022, 02:10:38 AM
If I had to pick a more original answer, heated side mirrors. Apparently this is standard-issue for all Volkswagens, and I pretty much keep it on 24/7 with my Golf. Keeps them completely clear of rain.
Heated mirrors are so useful. My 18 year old Subaru has them and I found myself using them throughout the winter.
My personal vehicle is bereft of many modern options, but it also has just enough which I use for any drive lasting an hour or more, so it's tough to think of one that I don't use frequently. Putting down all four power windows is a feature I don't use much, but it sure beats using window cranks...but that's essentially standard now.
The ability to raise/lower a window for 45 seconds after the ignition is off is another one I don't use to often, but it's handy. On hot days while my car sits in a closed garage, I tend to lower the driver's window. Or if the car just needs to "air out".
I miss having some sort of center console storage; I don't use it frequently in every weekly rental, but sometimes it's handy to collect/store a bunch of things for a long drive.
Quote from: formulanone on April 07, 2022, 09:36:30 AM
The ability to raise/lower a window for 45 seconds after the ignition is off is another one I don't use to often, but it's handy. On hot days while my car sits in a closed garage, I tend to lower the driver's window. Or if the car just needs to "air out".
Yep. Sometimes I forget that I've left some windows cracked until after the key is out of the ignition switch. It's handy to not have to fumble with the key again just to put the windows up.
Quote from: BlueOutback7 on April 07, 2022, 09:32:23 AM
Quote from: jakeroot on April 07, 2022, 02:10:38 AM
If I had to pick a more original answer, heated side mirrors. Apparently this is standard-issue for all Volkswagens, and I pretty much keep it on 24/7 with my Golf. Keeps them completely clear of rain.
Heated mirrors are so useful. My 18 year old Subaru has them and I found myself using them throughout the winter.
Insane that an 18 year old Subaru can have them yet so few modern vehicles have them. Subaru definitely understands northern climates.
Quote from: interstatefan990 on April 07, 2022, 03:53:40 AM
Call me a millennial, but Apple CarPlay. Save me all the trouble with a lot of automakers' wonky and slow default infotainment systems and the never-ending plethora of different phone mounting gadgets out there. It's pretty convenient to have the phone apps you use every day displayed on your car's screen, too.
And for navigation, the giant screen mounted in the dash is light years better than getting your directions on the tiny phone screen. Plus we don't have to go through an endless array of dashboard phone mounts before we find one that works.
Something I like a lot now that I've become used to it is an auto-dimming rearview mirror.
I also like how two of our Acuras' memory-seat functions (the third Acura doesn't have that feature) apply not only to the driver's seat, but also to the sideview mirrors and the radio presets. I'd like it if the rearview mirror could be linked to that system as well. My wife is a good foot shorter than I am, so regardless of adjusting the driver's seat, we still wind up adjusting the rearview.
Quote from: abefroman329 on April 07, 2022, 11:36:26 AM
Quote from: interstatefan990 on April 07, 2022, 03:53:40 AM
Call me a millennial, but Apple CarPlay. Save me all the trouble with a lot of automakers' wonky and slow default infotainment systems and the never-ending plethora of different phone mounting gadgets out there. It's pretty convenient to have the phone apps you use every day displayed on your car's screen, too.
And for navigation, the giant screen mounted in the dash is light years better than getting your directions on the tiny phone screen. Plus we don't have to go through an endless array of dashboard phone mounts before we find one that works.
Nah. I don't like looking down away from the road.
I like to have some sort of control over what I'm listening to. I don't care for radio and only listened to it when I needed it for traffic conditions. I've gone from cassettes to CDs to iPods to my phone for playing music (and more recently podcasts) over my car stereo systems over the years.
Quote from: skluth on April 07, 2022, 12:30:11 PM
I like to have some sort of control over what I'm listening to. I don't care for radio and only listened to it when I needed it for traffic conditions. I've gone from cassettes to CDs to iPods to my phone for playing music (and more recently podcasts) over my car stereo systems over the years.
We use the radio to help wake us up if we're felling groggy, so not being able to control what's on actually helps. Flipping through the radio stations and then finding a new one when we get out of range: that's part of the experience for us.
Quote from: Ned Weasel on April 06, 2022, 10:02:13 PM
CD player.
I used to think that was indispensable. Many of my older cars had six-disc CD changers. But nowadays your choice for new cars is a single-disc CD player or no CD player at all. My newest car has a single-disc player. All the other songs I want to play are now on my iPhone, to be played through my car's entertainment system. Ripping your favorite songs onto an MP3 player is an option I haven't tried out, but one of these years ...
Quote from: jakeroot on April 07, 2022, 02:10:38 AM
Quote from: kphoger on April 06, 2022, 11:05:07 AM
A full-sized spare tire!
I'm happy with a donut. Fix-a-flat ain't cutting it for me!
I'm not happy with a donut. Both my cars have mounted full-size spares in their trunks, much as I dislike how much trunk space they hog:
-- For front-wheel drive vehicles, donuts aren't recommended on drive axles, but rather the recommendation is the PITA option of moving a rear wheel to replace the deflated (or worse) tire on the front axle, then putting the donut on the rear axle. When I didn't do that after one of my front tires was shredded, mounting the donut on the front axle caused hideous sounds from strain on the FWD system.
-- Donuts are pretty worthless for unpaved roads, especially if you get a flat a long way from pavement or from home, since gravel does a number on the not-great-to-begin-with donut tire tread life. Both of my cars have been on long trips on gravel roads.
Quote from: jakeroot on April 07, 2022, 02:10:38 AM
If I had to pick a more original answer, heated side mirrors. Apparently this is standard-issue for all Volkswagens, and I pretty much keep it on 24/7 with my Golf. Keeps them completely clear of rain.
My wife has back issues and needs power retractable mirrors to deal with the various drive-thru facilities. You can now get them on more SUVs and XUVs, but we've given up on those because (yup!) my wife has back issues. There is an aftermarket for power retractable mirrors, but they are usually a few years behind the new car market. And unfortunately, those cars and minivans that can be upgraded are nearly impossible to find in the used car market. I've been trying to suggest that we purchase a suitable vehicle a few years in advance and let me drive it until we can get it upgraded. Otherwise, we are looking at an add-on package that nearly doubles the sales price. All of which means that we get heated side mirrors in the deal! (We only need that three or four times a year here in North Carolina).
Quote from: Rothman on April 07, 2022, 12:12:36 PM
Nah. I don't like looking down away from the road.
That's going to happen regardless of whether you use a mounted phone or CarPlay. Unless maybe you have one of those fancy head-up projector displays, but that's still a relatively rare feature in cars today.
Quote from: interstatefan990 on April 07, 2022, 02:36:49 PM
Quote from: Rothman on April 07, 2022, 12:12:36 PM
Nah. I don't like looking down away from the road.
That's going to happen regardless of whether you use a mounted phone or CarPlay. Unless maybe you have one of those fancy head-up projector displays, but that's still a relatively rare feature in cars today.
This is AARoads, so "just memorize your itinerary, you dingaling" is considered a valid option.
Quote from: Scott5114 on April 07, 2022, 04:13:24 PM
Quote from: interstatefan990 on April 07, 2022, 02:36:49 PM
Quote from: Rothman on April 07, 2022, 12:12:36 PM
Nah. I don't like looking down away from the road.
That's going to happen regardless of whether you use a mounted phone or CarPlay. Unless maybe you have one of those fancy head-up projector displays, but that's still a relatively rare feature in cars today.
This is AARoads, so "just memorize your itinerary, you dingaling" is considered a valid option.
Sigh. I love driving (under good conditions) but any attempt to memorize a complicated itinerary on my part is going to be doomed to failure. I sketch my own map to take with me, but more than 3 or 4 turns and I have to pull over and refresh my memory.
How about one that hasn't been mentioned: the USB ports or at minimum cigarette lighter stay functional without the car running. Cars where you can't charge a phone with the car not running just infuriate me.
Quote from: Scott5114 on April 07, 2022, 04:13:24 PM
Quote from: interstatefan990 on April 07, 2022, 02:36:49 PM
Quote from: Rothman on April 07, 2022, 12:12:36 PM
Nah. I don't like looking down away from the road.
That's going to happen regardless of whether you use a mounted phone or CarPlay. Unless maybe you have one of those fancy head-up projector displays, but that's still a relatively rare feature in cars today.
This is AARoads, so "just memorize your itinerary, you dingaling" is considered a valid option.
If it's just me and the boys on a camping trip, then I do indeed memorize the route. But, if my wife is with me, I just tell her to whip out her smartphone and give me directions if I've forgotten.
When my pastor and I flew into Monterrey two weeks ago, we were picked up at the airport by my best friend and his pastor. None of us had ever driven in Monterrey proper before, and I had planned lunch at a restaurant in Barrio Antiguo (Monterrey's Old Town). My friend had his GPS device mounted to the windshield, but I just gave him turn-by-turn directions along the way instead. Sometimes my directions contradicted what GPS wanted him to do. At one point, he turned to his pastor and said ConfÃo en él más que en el Garmin. :)
Quote from: kkt on April 07, 2022, 04:17:54 PM
Quote from: Scott5114 on April 07, 2022, 04:13:24 PM
Quote from: interstatefan990 on April 07, 2022, 02:36:49 PM
Quote from: Rothman on April 07, 2022, 12:12:36 PM
Nah. I don't like looking down away from the road.
That's going to happen regardless of whether you use a mounted phone or CarPlay. Unless maybe you have one of those fancy head-up projector displays, but that's still a relatively rare feature in cars today.
This is AARoads, so "just memorize your itinerary, you dingaling" is considered a valid option.
Sigh. I love driving (under good conditions) but any attempt to memorize a complicated itinerary on my part is going to be doomed to failure. I sketch my own map to take with me, but more than 3 or 4 turns and I have to pull over and refresh my memory.
With me, it really depends on where it is. I know the highway system of Oklahoma well enough I can remember a route across the state, even with a lot of turns, because I already know where most of the numbers are. When I go out of state, though, I will usually jot down the itinerary on a piece of paper. For example, my itinerary for my trip to the Natchez meet said something like "1. Go to Louisiana. 2. I-49 south to I-220..." If anyone else had to follow it, they'd feel like they were doing a technical in
Great British Bakeoff.
Quote from: JayhawkCO on April 07, 2022, 04:23:20 PM
How about one that hasn't been mentioned: the USB ports or at minimum cigarette lighter stay functional without the car running. Cars where you can't charge a phone with the car not running just infuriate me.
I have seen some vehicles that can be either/or as far as charging while the ignition is off. All you do (per the manual) is to add or switch a fuse in the fuse box.
I thought I remember having a vehicle having an either/or daytime running light option using the fuse box method as well.
Quote from: Scott5114 on April 07, 2022, 04:38:13 PM
With me, it really depends on where it is. I know the highway system of Oklahoma well enough I can remember a route across the state, even with a lot of turns, because I already know where most of the numbers are. When I go out of state, though, I will usually jot down the itinerary on a piece of paper. For example, my itinerary for my trip to the Natchez meet said something like "1. Go to Louisiana. 2. I-49 south to I-220..." If anyone else had to follow it, they'd feel like they were doing a technical in Great British Bakeoff.
Heh, during my second or third year at UVA, long prior to the sat-nav or online mapping era, I gave someone directions to my apartment from Northern Virginia by saying, "Take Route 29 south to Charlottesville, bear left at the triangular intersection, and take the first right after the big parking lot, then it's the last building on the right." He had no problem finding it.
USB port and on-board software that can read the thing properly. Quite a few late 2010s cars I've tried have had trouble with music nested into folders three levels deep while my 2011 SUV can do it just fine.
Quote from: interstatefan990 on April 07, 2022, 02:36:49 PM
Quote from: Rothman on April 07, 2022, 12:12:36 PM
Nah. I don't like looking down away from the road.
That's going to happen regardless of whether you use a mounted phone or CarPlay. Unless maybe you have one of those fancy head-up projector displays, but that's still a relatively rare feature in cars today.
Not with the dash mount I use. Keeps my phone's screen up and the screen is small enough not to block my view yet large enough to be legible.