'I was kidnapped by my car'

[FROSTYBALLS]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-67005620

Hopefully the Police won't 'charge' him ...... even though it could be assault and 'battery'.

[Cyker]

Those are shocking puns!

 

[FROSTYBALLS]

Bet he was really wired, and the atmosphere was electric. No current update though ...

[Yugguy1970]

Don't be negative, I'm sure there will be a positive outcome.

 

[Haliotis]

They could have put a crowd of ‘Just Stop Oil’ protesters in front of it, preferably glued to the road waiting for it to arrive.

[Shared]

10 hours ago, FROSTYBALLS said:

Bet he was really wired, and the atmosphere was electric. No current update though ...

 

Watt !?

Ohm my god ..

[Yugguy1970]

The best part is the RAC bloke's reaction:  ""He said he had never seen anything like it and decided he was not willing to turn the engine on to see what was wrong."

 

[Haliotis]

My C-HR keyless entry allows only the driver’s door to be opened in the first instance, unlocking all other doors by pressing the key fob ‘unlock’ twice, or by releasing the front passenger door only from the inside.

On a few occasions the double click of the fob has only released the driver’s door.  Reading the original post, I cannot help wondering if my car could lock us in.  I. Would prefer a manual handbrake, and conventional key-operated ignition.  Quite frankly, I find the keyless entry system to take at least as long to operate as a conventional key fob and ignition key, and more awareness required in the process of locking the car and walking away.  Plus the additional fiddling with a Faraday purse.    So what made the car manufacturers come up with this silly keyless system in the first place?

[Big_D]

2 hours ago, Haliotis said:

So what made the car manufacturers come up with this silly keyless system in the first place

Probably to make it easier and more convenient for drivers to get into their cars?? Nowadays, it seems everything is about making it easier and more convenient, so we don't actually have to do anything.

[Basil-BarryC]

2 minutes ago, Big_D said:

Probably to make it easier and more convenient for drivers to get into their cars?? Nowadays, it seems everything is about making it easier and more convenient, so we don't actually have to do anything.

Yep, now manufacturers are using mobile phones for vehicle entry, let’s see how that works in practice. I can remember when phones were just for talking to someone 😀

[Big_D]

And, what happens when you change your phone? Will you need to re-register everything to unlock your car. Also, what happens if your phone has a flat Battery. 

Maybe I'm one of the few whose life is not ruled by their phone. I often go out without it.

[Bper]

Using a manual key takes effort to take it out of your pocket and insert it into the lock. The displacement of the air carrying out this procedure does lead to climate change. 

This was scientifically proved by Nicola Sturgeon. She encounted the same problem when she found a camper van in her mother-in-laws front drive and tried to move it a number of times over a  two year period.😂

[Yugguy1970]

23 minutes ago, Big_D said:

Probably to make it easier and more convenient for drivers to get into their cars?? Nowadays, it seems everything is about making it easier and more convenient, so we don't actually have to do anything.

It's yet another "solution" for which there never was a problem.

[Cyker]

The problem is we're not the mass market they target - It's for the same sort of person who wants a gigantic SUV with 40" rims to drive to the shops through congested narrow roads and who, if you asked what car they owned, would unironically reply something like "A red one."

 

[Yugguy1970]

I'm not against tech but don't like change for change's sake.  

For instance, I think the radar cruise is a very useful innovation for safety. However I think cornering lights are beyond pointless.  Sequential indicators - pointless.  Touchscreen menus for basic controls - dangerous. 

My work is implementing SAFE and Agile processes.  They do have their place but on of the SAFE mantras is "relentless improvement".  NO.  Relentless improvement means instead of just turning a physical knob which you can do without looking, you have to navigate 5 submenus.  Gesture control - who ever asked for that?  No, I don't want to just press a button, I'd rather waggle my fingers in midair like a really **** wizard.

The coffee machine at Listers.  You don't press the button, you just hover your finger near it.  EVERYONE who uses it thinks that is the stupidest idea possible.

[Roy124]

11 minutes ago, Yugguy1970 said:

However I think cornering lights are beyond pointless.  Sequential indicators - pointless.  Touchscreen menus for basic controls - dangerous. 

Cornering lights ?

On indicators,  good on motorways for lane changing, less good as turn indicators.

On a main road, approaching a T-junction on your left,  what is the intention of the car at the junction?

If you can see his right indicators he might turn right.  If you see no lights he might turn left or right.

Similarly,  if he sees you indicating left you might be turning left, you might be going straight ahead, or even change your mind.

[FROSTYBALLS]

I agree some cornering lights are pointless.

However, we've had cornering headlights on our last two i20s - additional H7 bulbs set at a different angle in the headlight cluster with their own reflector, and they do provide useful extra illumination to the side when steering. 

[Bper]

Does this not beg the question whether technology in cars has become a help or hinderance.

 

[FROSTYBALLS]

Sequential indicators are nothing new. They were first fitted to the 1964 Ford Thunderbird  - 59 years ago ......

[Roy124]

An idea:

In India it seemed that every car had its horn wired into the brakes and accelerator.

It occurs to me that when using cruise control and lane assist on a motorway the indicator lights should flash as you depart the lane.

[Rhymes with Paris]

I understand what sequential indicators are, but what are cornering lights please?

[Cyker]

Steerable headlights basically; They either light up extra headlight segments in the direction you're steering, or actually swivel the headlamp slightly in the direction you're turning.

Very fancy, but kindof an extravagance - I can't think of a situation where the default beam wasn't wide enough that I'd felt I needed such a gizmo! Maybe the beam is narrower on some cars so on those it's more useful...?

[Haliotis]

4 hours ago, Big_D said:

Probably to make it easier and more convenient for drivers to get into their cars?? Nowadays, it seems everything is about making it easier and more convenient, so we don't actually have to do anything.

But it isn’t easier.  To enter the car, you first have to take the fob out of its Faraday bag. Then you need to keep it either on your person or in the vehicle to start the car. And you still have to press the start button.  It has now taken longer than using a conventional fob and ignition key.

To leave the vehicle, you press the stop button, get out of the car, then move out of range of the sensors before using the fob to lock the car, and then place the fob in its Faraday bag.  No saving time, and more operations to achieve the same result that an ignition key provides.

As for cornering headlights.  When I first had the car, I thought that I was over steering, and nearly wandered of course when I acted to correct an over steer that in reality did not happen.

Sequential flow of indicator LEDs.  I have always understood that flashing indicators have a tolerance of how many times a second they flash, and this is written into the specification for UK motor vehicles.  I have never seen anything to say this change has received legal status.

Guy says it all - “I’m not against tech, but don’t like change for change’s sake.”  I fully agree because, when it happens like that, the change is frequently a backward step!

[Rhymes with Paris]

Ah thanks Cyker, I have heard of those on old Citroens from the 70s maybe xm or Citroen Maseratis.

But maybe they called something else then.

Sounds like another thing to go wrong to me, but then I am a motoring luddite.

[Guest]

Cheap Chinese trash ~ Modern MG for you.  It might be fine on silly plastic ware for home to save a few £, but you do not want that quality in anything your life (or your family's lives) depend on.  People need to understand where the cost-cutting is going when it comes to these Chinese and South Korean brands who offer so much more features / kit than an equivalent Ford / Peugeot / Toyota or established world brands.  Hint, most of it will come down to cutting extensive testing and quality control.  Not to mention (especially with EVs) the labour practices and environmental sins committed to make them, especially in China..  

Just for clarity, when I say China, I'm referring to its government who pumps this crap out and misuses its people / robs them of their human rights to make this happen. No insult or disrespect intended for the people of the nation who are just as victim as anybody buying the stuff are.