We saw a tv programme last night which had a 1953 Morris Minor in it. The dash had a speedo and about two lights.
Today I see Audi have done this. I was distracted looking at the photos, never mind on the road! Is this a good thing, I wonder, or am I already becoming a Luddite?
www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/mar/29/audi-builds-hi-tech-virtual-cockpit-into-the-new-tt
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How long before we hear "But my speedo was minimised officer" on a "Traffic cops on TV" programme.
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In the early days of this webnet thingy there was a page in circulation called "If Microsoft Made Cars", crashes three times a day, can't get reverse if they paint new white lines on the road, etc etc. I feel that scenario is now becoming a reality with all the electronic mumbo jumbo they're building into the things now, most faults on modern cars seem to involve plugging into a computer and spending a fortune replacing all the bits the software tells you might be wrong before giving up and flogging the heap to someone else.
Just give me a comfortable reliable old barge that can be fixed on the drive with a socket set and some screwdrivers.
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>> In the early days of this webnet thingy there was a page in circulation called
>> "If Microsoft Made Cars", crashes three times a day, can't get reverse if they paint
>> new white lines on the road, etc etc. I feel that scenario is now becoming
>> a reality with all the electronic mumbo jumbo they're building into the things now, most
>> faults on modern cars seem to involve plugging into a computer and spending a fortune
>> replacing all the bits the software tells you might be wrong before giving up and
>> flogging the heap to someone else.
>>
>> Just give me a comfortable reliable old barge that can be fixed on the drive
>> with a socket set and some screwdrivers.
>>
>>
>>
If it was reliable,it wouldn't need fixing!I am astonished that on my new car with electrnic this,that and the other,everything worked first time and still does which is more than new cars I bought in the past that didn't have a fraction of the "goodies" now fitted.I go back to when heaters were extra.Decokes/valve grind at 9,000 miles etc..Bought a new car last summer,set off for the South of France with 160 miles on the clock.It ran perfectly and still does.If I tried that trip in an old(new)car,I would have needed half a part's department in the boot-just in case!
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Here's another one from 1953.
I helped 'restore' it this week, using this stuff.
www.frost.co.uk/liquid-plastic-interior-coat-aerosol.html
Amazing stuff, which you can get colour matched. I raised an eyebrow, but the owner has done a complete interior with it previously so he wasn't too worried.
It's leather covered, but was very scruffy and the wrong colour. Looks really good now, though the light in the workshop has messed with the colour here.
Can you see what it is yet?
goo.gl/ODXY8n
goo.gl/LqS2Pp
Not a brilliant photo, but the three little gauges are amps, oil pressure & water temp, fuel.
Last edited by: Manatee on Sat 29 Mar 14 at 12:19
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Tesla did it for their saloon, I think they got google to design it.
Last edited by: sooty123 on Sat 29 Mar 14 at 12:33
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>>Tesla did it for their saloon
Did what?
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Sorry I meant the fancy TFT screen. There's one on the dash and a touchscreen panel in the centre consol ish.
tinyurl.com/ndq5p2u
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Good spot Crankcase, I don't think it was in the picture file name!
120. Same age as I am.
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This got me to thinking. For some time now my wife and I have harboured an ambition to do a 'Long way down' or 'Long way round' type trip when work, family, financial commitments allow.
It's nothing more than a notion at present but I'm pretty sure it'll happen in some form at some point in the next decade.
The question we vaguely ( and quite happily ) wrestle with is the choice of vehicle. Notional values include being big enough to sleep in if required, fixable in areas with basic facilities while being rugged enough to stand up to what might well turn out to be a twelve month or longer trip.
Kind of default choices seem to be LR Defenders or their Japanese equivalents but I sometimes think something like an old but fettled Volvo 240 estate or some such might be the trick.
Simple mechanicals, comfortable, big enough to live out of long term etc.
Dunno, like I say it's just a dream at present and I guess you could attempt it in anything really.
Maybe I'll start a thread on it if we ever get closer to a real plan.
Last edited by: Runfer D'Hills on Sat 29 Mar 14 at 13:44
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You might get some ideas here Runfer. Not quite the same thing, but the rally stories are all linked from here, on Alastair Caldwell's website. He has made a point of using "unsuitable" cars.
www.alastaircaldwell.com/formula1/1991-a.htm
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I suggested that idea on this forum years ago - that the "dashboard" could be replaced by a desktop, and you could customise any control or style you wanted.
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That's what you can do with the Torque app for Android hooked up to the ELM327 bluetooth EBDII.
Total cost around £10 + your choice of Android phone/tablet.
Last edited by: gmac on Sat 29 Mar 14 at 14:26
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The V40 has a TFT display....pretty customisable...has three main modes, Eco, Elegance, and Performance. It sits in the latter most of the time. It is very good at what it does and gives you something to fiddle with when you're bored. Apparently the software prioritises as to what is displayed according to the need. At least you get a decent engine temperature gauge if you want one. Two issues only with it. You cannot dim it down until the car decides the ambient light is low enough for it to take its own action....the other is a minor gripe...it should have a classic black and white mode...that would make it perfect.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcjE4lyG09Y
Demo here.
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Saabs use to have (may still do so) the means to black out all the non-essential dashboard's lights to save being distracted by them. IIRC it was something to do with Saab's aviation manufacturing connection.
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>> Saabs use to have (may still do so) the means to black out all the
>> non-essential dashboard's lights to save being distracted by them. IIRC it was something to do
>> with Saab's aviation manufacturing connection.
Bit of a gimmick but I liked it. They still have it. In 1994 on my 900SE there was a prominent button marked BLACK PANEL. Everything went dark except the speedo. Individual things would light up if relevant, e.g. the fuel gauge if fuel went low or the tacho if using a lot of rpms.
I loved that car, best seats I ever had even if it was mocked as a Cavalier in fancy dress.
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I had the same car, '94 V6 SE automatic. 26.9MPG whether you drove it like you stole it or driving Miss Daisy.
Handling straight out of the Vauxhall shaped hole in the hedge catalogue, a fantastic long distance car though.
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Is this a good thing, I wonder, or am I already becoming a Luddite?.......
Well it's certainly clever and it will help sell them. Most of the info it's offering seems to be already available. If I wasn't paying and owning out of warranty I would quite enjoy playing with the gizmos. As it is, I'd steer a wide berth especially with VAG electrics behind it and a few years of hot/cold cycling, a bit of damp and the odd dry joint.
I may be odd, but when driving I'm quite happy with my own thoughts and the noise of the engine and road. A bit of music occasionally and a Garmin plugged in when I need it. Definitely no blue-toothed phones, the damn thing controls my life enough as it is. Driving is "me" time, which is why I love my bike so much, just me, 2 wheels, an engine and the road!
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In 1994 on
>> my 900SE there was a prominent button marked BLACK PANEL. Everything went dark except the
>> speedo.
I wish HGV manufacturers would offer something like that so that you don't get the whole damn dashboard reflecting into your mirrors when you're reversing at night.
In my current Renault you can reduce the display but as soon as you touch any button (like changing the switch from forward to reverse) the whole damn lot lights up again.
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Thanks M. Interesting website that. I wouldn't think I'd ever be in a position to afford such exotica though. That old Alfa is rather nice !
Sorry about the drift CC !
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Drift is pretty much the reason I come here, don't know about anyone else. Never know what you're going to learn next.
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>>Kind of default choices seem to be LR Defenders or their Japanese equivalents
I had a very difficult project installing a fibre optic cable over the top of the Andes. Very cold, very high and very hazardous. Consequently we used vehicles we could rely on.
I don't think you could have got anybody into a Landrover using a shotgun. They are kind of cool, but they are awful, unreliable and uncomfortable things.
And a Volvo 240? Are you nuts?
I guess it depends on your goals. If its a "survival" trip designed by Heat Robinson, then fair enough. But if you're actually after both getting places and enjoying the journey, think hard.
Last edited by: VxFan on Mon 19 May 14 at 01:20
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>> I don't think you could have got anybody into a Landrover using a shotgun. They
>> are kind of cool, but they are awful, unreliable and uncomfortable things.
>>
>> And a Volvo 240? Are you nuts?
>>
>> I guess it depends on your goals. If its a "survival" trip designed by Heat
>> Robinson, then fair enough. But if you're actually after both getting places and enjoying the
>> journey, think hard.
>>
In most of the remote places I have been to Land Cruisers seem to be the motor of choice.
www.tacomahq.com/135/toyota-bravest-trucks/
And in Australia if you plan on going that far. :-)
Last edited by: VxFan on Mon 19 May 14 at 01:37
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I think Landcruisers are starting to lose the plot a bit. I have a couple of them, and the slightly older one is big, tough, reliable and largely metal.
The newer one is plastic rather than metal, overly and needlessly complex, and seems to have endless need for adjustment and correction. Albeit that it is certainly more comfortable and has loads more "stuff".
The newer one took a slight ding on a mountain track the other day, the sort of thing that I've done hundreds of times (sadly, and to my wife's disgust). Rather than it just being a ding, it shed half its wheel arch and the rear plastic bumper cover / spoiler / pretty bit.
The other one would have just had a bit of dented metal.
The accident I had this week was in the older and metal one. Its still driveable. In fact it only needed its front number plate replaced. I cannot imagine what would have happened if we'd been in the other one.
If we had an easy way of posting pictures I'd show you what I mean. (you listening, Stephen?)
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I suspect your older one is similar to the chassis cab flatbed utes which are common in Aus.
cloudlakes.com/gallery/2695501-toyota-land-cruiser-70.html
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Missed the edit:-
This is the version used by the Aussie police for drunks, our lot could learn a thing or two if we didn't have a "My rights over rules everyone else's" policy.
australianpolicecars.webs.com/photos/Outback-Ute-in-Newman/02.jpg
Last edited by: Uncle Albert on Sat 29 Mar 14 at 20:47
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My brother in law has a Nissan Pathfinder which he bought new 5 years and now quite a lot of miles ago. It has been pretty well behaved given the 'knackered Navara' reputation.
I dunno, we'll just up and do it some time I suppose with whatever we've got or can afford. We did a three thousand mile 4 week European road trip in a Westfield for our honeymoon and then did it again the following year. Amazing what you can pack in a holdall small enough to bungee on the back of a Westfield !
Yeah I had a Land Rover 90 3.5 V8 back along. Didn't actually give much trouble in truth but I take your point on the comfort element.
Wonder if an auld Qashqai would make it round the world?
;-)
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You make a good point of course. An older, but not too old, Landcruiser, or Hi-Lux for that matter, is likely to be an great deal.
I had a Pathfinder, it always performed very well, although they're not that big. But I planted it into the back of a parked Subaru estate at one point, and the destruction occurring to both cars ensured I've never had another of either.
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Hmmmm ok, so, Landcruiser or a Hi-Lux with a cabin type thing over the load space. Foam rubber mattress in the back, coupla flasks. Getting there as a plan....
I've already got an atlas, won't need much else really. Foot pump maybe eh?
;-)
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Don't buy a six year old black Hilux, a friend has just traded one in, it has had a noisy back axle from new despite various fixes.
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Humph what about an older Octavia 4x4 estate?
You like estates
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Have you been drinking?
;-)
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Caravan - you need a caravan.
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>>Caravan - you need a caravan.
The local shed draggers are starting to come out of hibernation. :-(
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>> Have you been drinking?
>>
>> ;-)
>>
There must be something in his Irn Bru. :-)
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I've given my wife permission to dispose of me humanely if I ever so much as get a tow bar fitted !
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I know a guy who in his late 50's, job going west, pension knackered, tired of the rat race and who had never sailed in his life.
He and his wife went and got themselves trained and qualified to sail an ocean going yacht. Sold their house, bought a small flat to keep as a uk base and chucked a lot of the rest of the money into a 90 foot sailing yacht.
That was about ten years ago. They're still on the boat. Been round the world a few times, winters in the Southern Hemisphere, summers in the north.
They make a bit of pocket money by having paying guests on board when they need to.
He keeps in touch by email. He's in NZ I think about now. Heading for Hawaii I gather.
Their grown up children come and find them a couple of times a year and holiday on the boat.
But are they happy I ask myself?
;-)))
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The Aussies have pretty well always banked on Toyota models' outstanding reliability.
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>> 120. Same age as I am.
From your posts I'd not got you down as a day over 100.
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>> We saw a tv programme last night which had a 1953 Morris Minor in it.
>> The dash had a speedo and about two lights.
>>
And it had a switch that allowed you to turn those lights off.
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All very well but had an accord with the factory touch screen system nav for a few days (4-5 years ago)and the screen would only display one thing at a time.
If you want to change the ventilation settings you have to switch to ventilation mode to do it through the touch screen, then if you were using it switch back to navigation. SImilarly if you wanted to switch from radio to CD but had the HV showing on the display.
Right pain in the neck, I want something easy to use, not style over function. After all most of the time I spend looking out of the big window at the front.
Or are they going to do something similar to what apple have just announced - put a camera in the front of the car and play the view ahead on the screen so you don't have to take your eyes off the display?
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At the other end of the production chain Ford (at least) are now using virtual reality headsets to help design the car in the first place. They can mock up dashboards, controls - in fact the whole car - and then sit in it or walk around it and see what works and what doesn't before anything is built at all.
What a time to be alive.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cnh1m7mmlyE
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I still think that they designed the Focus Darth Vader front grille with a chain saw.
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Progress of the dashboard - Old Navy
