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I don't want/need an old Mustang, a nice comfy german/swedish car is perfect for my needs.
Decent cars have metal pedals with rubber grips on the pedals
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Automatic Car gears
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I don't want/need an old Mustang, a nice comfy german/swedish car is perfect for my needs.
Decent cars have metal pedals with rubber grips on the pedals
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@Pookeyhead @ST4 Can you quit with the personal stuff please.
FTR, I drive an automatic and I do find brake lights a bit of a pain at traffic lights, especially from the big Volvo/BMW 4x4s but I leave mine in D and put the handbrake on. It also gives my foot a rest so it makes driving that much more comfortable for me.
FTR, I drive an automatic and I do find brake lights a bit of a pain at traffic lights, especially from the big Volvo/BMW 4x4s but I leave mine in D and put the handbrake on. It also gives my foot a rest so it makes driving that much more comfortable for me.
Pookeyhead
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My eyes are perfect when wearing glasses. Checked regularly.
Pookeyhead
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I don't want/need an old Mustang, a nice comfy german/swedish car is perfect for my needs.
Decent cars have metal pedals with rubber grips on the pedals
That's your rebuttal?
My point was a 45 year old transmission seems to be able to cope with what you're saying would damage yours. Stop being crap cars then.
My car has a rubber grip on a metal pedal... the grip split and came off... did you not read that part?
It is always reassuring to know that TP is full of driving gods
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Pookeyhead
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If you carry on at the same speed regardless of whether you can see or not is just stupid. Saying so doesn't make anyone a driving god... just sensible. Using your handbrake when stopped is equally valid, which is why the Highway Code states that you should. Having an automatic transmission doesn't exempt you from that rule.
dejongj
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Considering you are dazzled by it then either they are not or perhaps your windscreen needs good clean.
Pookeyhead
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Erm, did you quote the right post David?
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....Opinion based on tuition by very highly qualified Police Instructor and many miles/years of real-world experience.
You miss the fundamental point I made in my earlier post that you should not be dazzled if you don't look DIRECTLY into lights. But, of course it still happens occasionally and that's why I advised always doing your utmost to be aware of what's beyond.... As far in the distance as possible and not the bootlid of the car infront of you!
Always stay cool and never feel irritated by other road users - Those are too often fools who know no better
Yes, I agree that if you temporarily lift the throttle for a temporary vision impairment rather than stand on the brakes, it can buy you extra time. But you shouldn't drive as if there is a child in the road around every single corner - Can you imagine if everyone drove like that!?
Please note that I am not directing my opinionated criticisms at you personally - I have never been your passenger and therefore do not know your driving style.
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So we should all drive Micra's and Old Mustangs. As fun as the later sounds...it wouldn't work for me. My pedals are metal with small rubber spots. One comes off, your foot still can grip the pedal. Plus they are cool. Like my old Mercedes. Wonderful.
I love these threads
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Pookeyhead
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Exactly.
What's that got to do with it? If I'm travelling around a bend, and I'm dazzled by someone with main beam on, I have limited information regarding what lies ahead. I slow down. Can you actually reference something that suggests I should be doing otherwise please?
Always stay cool and never feel irritated by other road users - Those are too often fools who know no better
I'm always cool behind the wheel of a car. I coolly and calmly back off if I can't see clearly ahead. Again... can you give a valid reason why I should be doing otherwise?
But there might be a child around the next bend... or a broken down vehicle, or a motocyclist that's come off, or a felled tree, or herd of sheep, or.....
Again... provide a GOOD reason for not slowing down when your forward vision is obscured please.
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So we should all drive Micra's and Old Mustangs. As fun as the later sounds...it wouldn't work for me. My pedals are metal with small rubber spots. One comes off, your foot still can grip the pedal. Plus they are cool. Like my old Mercedes. Wonderful.
I love these threads
My Mustang isn't old.
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You talked of 45yr old cars earlier?
dejongj
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To be fair they were a bit different. And whilst it may be able to cope with that those slush boxes were rubbish in every other form. If you compare those to modern DSG style boxes then you'd be amazed.
Saying that I agree the handbrake should be able to hold it stationary under normal circumstances. However no need to take it out of drive either.
Stationary in a long queue that isn't moving is a bit different than halted for the lights to change. And as @ST4 has said, if it stationary I'd have my engine off as well
Saying that in modern cars the handbrake is automatic anyway. And the lights will still be on.
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Pookeyhead
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To be fair they were a bit different. And whilst it may be able to cope with that those slush boxes were rubbish in every other form. If you compare those to modern DSG style boxes then you'd be amazed.
Saying that I agree the handbrake should be able to hold it stationary under normal circumstances. However no need to take it out of drive either.
Stationary in a long queue that isn't moving is a bit different than halted for the lights to change. And as @ST4 has said, if it stationary I'd have my engine off as well
Saying that in modern cars the handbrake is automatic anyway. And the lights will still be on.
Not all modern cars have automatic handbrakes... in fact, the majority do not.
dejongj
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It is a matter of time. Or to use your words
you should buy better cars :devil:
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ok chaps.... 10 years involved in a garage in a particular part of north London where a significant number of the customers opt for automatics [age, easier to drive them around gridlocked streets, financially strong enough to be less concerned about the generally lower fuel consumption] In 10 years, and assuming some will chose to use neutral when stationary, others won't, I have only had one car needing a torque converter replacing and that was under the manufacturers warranty in the first 3 years, ergo a manufacturing defect, not a driving error. Now, you can argue that those customers have obviously done far fewer miles than you lot with lunar mileage autos... and you would be right, but by definition, they have also done a LOT more traffic jams and traffic lights, given their mileage has been round the busiest city in the country - so many many more changes between D and N for those that drive that way [and D and P too if the number of times I sit behind cars where the reverse light flips on and off as we go to pull away] Frankly, any 'increased wear' on the TC or box is negligable, there are many things that are likely to fail on the car before those pack up due to your choice of whether to use N or not.
Meanwhile, one customer bought a dual clutch 'automatic' a couple of years ago. The basis of how it worked was explained, but the practicalities obviously not considered. She chopped it in for a full automatic within a year because the fact they roll backwards when in gear, on a hill, was apparently a 'design flaw' she couldn't live with [I should point out, where they live means that heading out of town north always mean using one of several steep hills that are often gridlocked particularly at rush hour] It was explained more than once but she couldn't get her head around the fact that what she was driving was in effect a manual that didn't have a clutch pedal, and as such, hill starts required application of the handbrake [or very quick feet
]
Meanwhile, one customer bought a dual clutch 'automatic' a couple of years ago. The basis of how it worked was explained, but the practicalities obviously not considered. She chopped it in for a full automatic within a year because the fact they roll backwards when in gear, on a hill, was apparently a 'design flaw' she couldn't live with [I should point out, where they live means that heading out of town north always mean using one of several steep hills that are often gridlocked particularly at rush hour] It was explained more than once but she couldn't get her head around the fact that what she was driving was in effect a manual that didn't have a clutch pedal, and as such, hill starts required application of the handbrake [or very quick feet
]
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Why if you have a modern car do you inflict a Micra upon yourself?
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....Sorry, David, but I think your line of questioning (or challenging) my opinions are getting rather pedantic.
I thought we were discussing temporary dazzling in the scenario where you have already seen beyond that millisecond event, whether in motion or at a standstill at traffic lights.
Indeed there might be an obstruction around every corner which you ever approach (in life as well as on the road). The whole process of driving involves taking risks. The art is to minimise those risks but also with consideration to safety of yourself and others. However, there is a point where efforts to minimise risk can be counter productive - Such as imagining their is a child on the highway around every single corner. If you know your car well enough and its braking power (subject to tyres and road surface etc) you should manage to stop in time anyway if you are staying within your vehicle's limitations.
Know your vehicle and its limitations.... Discover (off public road preferably) your own limitations.... And drive accordingly.
Enjoy driving.
dejongj
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Sometimes the simplest solutions are overlooked.
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Yes I was aware of that. My point is a Micra is a dull and tedious one. If I had a modernish ford Mustang, I'd just use that and use the costs of running a second car into the fuel costs etc of the bigger car.
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Meanwhile, one customer bought a dual clutch 'automatic' a couple of years ago. The basis of how it worked was explained, but the practicalities obviously not considered. She chopped it in for a full automatic within a year because the fact they roll backwards when in gear, on a hill, was apparently a 'design flaw' she couldn't live with [I should point out, where they live means that heading out of town north always mean using one several steep hills that are often gridlocked particularly at rush hour] It was explained more than once but she couldn't get her head around the fact that what she was driving was in effect a manual that didn't have a clutch pedal, and as such, hill starts required application of the handbrake [or very quick feet
....Good (usually German!) cars with DSG semi-automatic gearboxes have a feature called 'hill assist' which automatically takes up the slack to stop rolling backwards - Another reason to stay in D-mode at traffic lights and road junctions with foot on brake pedal and NOT using the handbrake. The gearbox/clutches system is designed for such operation.
Audi originally designed and tested the DSG system in their classic Quattro rally beast back in the 1980s but it wasn't introduced until early this century.
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It would, but there isn't a semi-automatic restriction on a driving licence.
If you take a driving test using a bus from the 1970s fitted with a pre-selector gearbox, you would get an automatic only licence, even though you have to manually select the gears. As you don't have control of the proportion of power delivered to the wheels, it's not considered manual.
Semi-automatic is not new at all. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preselector_gearbox
Steve.
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A Mustang isn't that big. Not a million miles wider than my old E class Mercedes and probably not much longer, which would easily fit in any parking space.
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Is it good, or is simply adding another level of 'assistance' and pandering to idiocy, the same sort idiocy [or perhaps ignorance is a better word] that makes too many modern drivers think they are gods and push their cars beyond the laws of physics where no amount of electronic gadgetry can help? Either way, it makes NO difference to the point that if you are told how it works and what to do and still don't do it, the flaw is the loose nut behind the wheel, not the car.
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....But some people love cars, both practical and 'impractical'. We are called 'enthusiasts' and invariably love driving (as long as it's not a boring over-practical box on wheels with poor performance! And regardless of its size).
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I know that but that doesn't mean that practicality goes out the window. The point was that Steve questioned why David drove a Micra when he owned a Mustang. Is it so difficult to consider that one is for the enthusiast in him and the other is for practical everyday driving?
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Yes, but why not have something small and practical to get to work and back and do the shopping in, saving the fun driving car for times when it is actually likely to be fun to drive. It is what loads of people do...I just wish the chelsea tractor driving muppets of Londinium would do the same then we wouldn't have to spend so much time sitting around burning fuel waiting for them to try and get it in a parking space, get through gaps, and generally be an obstruction because they think they are driving something the size of a bus.
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....DSG is excellent in my opinion. It depends on the driver as to what level of 'assistance' it offers. If you only drive in D-mode (equivalent to fully automatic), then it's merely another level of mind-numbing assistance. I intensely dislike many of the assistance features which usually serve to switch off the alertness and focus of the driver.
However, if you 'think manual' and shift gears exactly as you would in a manual car, it is no different except that all gearshifts are faultless and faster than humans can manage. I only slip her into D-mode for built-up 30mph zones or if in a traffic jam crawl.
Agreed - The most important factor in all this is the driver!
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Hmmm. They're not that huge, honestly. Depends on what you are used to. These small coffin cars aren't for me
dejongj
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I think you've got a point. I've "rolled" a few times in another car where it didn't have the feature of automatically applying the brakes. But hey that is where the training kicks in and you quickly do it manually.
Certain technology is amazing though. Like today we had very very strong winds taking my daughter to the stables, our 4x4 was just amazing. The technology really helped. Active suspension, side wind control. It felt like defying science. So stable whilst my little golf was pushed all over the place. Technological advances can be very good and shouldn't be stopped in my opinion.
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i love my old ( alright very old ) vectra auto ,,,i dont have to put my tea or sarnie down and faff about changing gear when going around roundabouts . and i dont take my foot off the brake when in a queue unless im there for more than a couple of minutes