Ok, BangShifters, I know you have to have at least one item that you immediately thought of the second you read the title, didn’t you? That one thing that you saw the first time you sat down in a certain car that made your “WTF?” meter peg out, the one you couldn’t believe actually made it past all of the committee meetings without one person raising their hand and asking why. That’s what this Question Of The Day is all about.
Here’s the trigger: this weekend I decided to pay karma back for all of my recent luck by helping my brother move back home after getting discharged from the military. It’s not that he needed the help moving as much as he needed a driver: He owns a car and a motorcycle. He couldn’t fit all of his stuff into his well-seasoned Toyota Solara, and there is no way in hell either one of us is riding his bike nearly 600 miles in thirty-something-degree weather. So he rented a GMC Savana box truck from U-haul and a motorcycle trailer, and gave me choice of vehicle. I hate GM vans with a passion, but compared to the Solara, it looked perfect.
The second I hopped in, I noticed that this half-van-half-backyard shed had an A-pillar gauge. Once I realized what I was looking at I started laughing. U-haul felt it was a great idea to mount an “MPG Calculator” gauge in the Savana, hoping that the driver would pay attention as they drove, and would focus on keeping the needle in the green zone. Keep in mind, this is a 4.8L powered van that probably weighs north of 5,000 lbs. stock, probably weighs significantly more with the bodywork, and has the aerodynamic properties of a thrown brick. The only time that gauge wasn’t pegged in the red, I was coasting down a hill. What a joke. I might make a concession for a hybrid car to have said gauge, because it lends credibility to the whole “hybrid” lifestyle thing, but seriously…a moving van?
economy gages are, of course, just glorified vacuum gages so I can kinda cope with the idea but the one that used to make me wonder why was the Chrysler one ( at least locally in Australia and I’m sure you guys got them too) was the amber light on top of the r/h front fender that lit up when you really buried your boot – same idea as a vacuum gage but everyone I knew that had this used to bury the right foot trying to get it to light up… you know, to make sure it still worked n all…I reckon you’d SAVE fuel by just disconnecting the dumbass thing.
The gas gauge on my best friend’s 96 Cavalier. It tells the driver no useful information at all, and it would’ve been cheaper for Gubbermint Motors to have just left the damned thing off.
85 mph speedometers. What was the idea, to give everyone a valid reason to say, “No, Officer, I had no idea I was going that fast!”?
Heck, mine caps at 80mph. There are places in the Country now I can legally go “I have no idea”, haha.
I dunno, when you’re driving a 22R powered 4×4 pickup or 1/2/3F powered Land Cruiser, 85 might as well be the speed of light, you’ll never ever reach it.
“Apply brake to shift from park”
airbags
reverse cameras
catalytic converters
the government
I used to think a reverse camera was useless too, until i backed up to a trailer with one….
airbags? useless?
“Low Fuel Economy” warning light in 1975 460 powered Ford F-trucks.
Really? As if I didn’t already know, now you gotta flash a light at me to telling me? lmao
Speedometer in a diesel VW Rabbit
Agreed!
the blindspot cam the turns on when you put your left turn signal on in a honda accord. To view the screen you have to turn your head right to make a left turn… Actually the entire honda accord is the worst option I’ve ever seen
Shift lights. I’m not talking race cars. My 89 S-10 and 92 Metro with those stupid shift lights. Or maybe the skip shift thing GM did in the late 80s early 90s?
They have the same gauge in the 26 foot truck I rented this summer. Nothing like trying for fuel economy in a giant truck with a 496 big block in it…
Oh! I’ve got this one and it will infuriate everyone; the manual transmission.
It’s outdated, less efficient than current DCTs or conventional automatics, slower, clutch/pressure plate/flywheel are essentially consumables. It really is a pointless option on cars.
That being said, I have one just because I like it and it’s more involved driving. Amen to analog cars.