Friday, June 13, 2014

Detroit should try these new features

Detroit cars need something to help sales.  They don't do styling anymore, they don't race NASCAR or NHRA.  They paint them all gray or mud color.  So here are my ideas for a better car that would sell better.

1.  A "vent" mode that actually brings in fresh air.  Right now, the duct work for "vent" runs near the hot engine, and so the vent air comes in as hot air.   Tolerable in the winter, but a pain at any other time of year.  To keep the interior cool, short of rolling down a window, I have to run the air conditioner.  Which isn't the end of the world, but air conditioner air always smells damp and musty.  Fresh air smells much better.
2.  A "close all" button for the power windows.  Nice summer day, I roll down all the windows to enjoy the fresh air.  End of the drive, park the car, and I gotta push four "up" buttons to get the car rain tight so I can leave it.  Not only push "up" but hold it down till the glass gets all the way up.  I'd like a single button, that I touch once, and walk away while all the windows roll up, nice and rain tight.  
  I know the safety guys would freak on that one, fearing that some one or some pet would have its head out the window when a kid pushed the close all button and strangled the some one or some pet, but there oughta be a way. 
3.  Car thermometer accuracy.  Especially right around the freezing point.  It's night, we have precip. Big question, is that black slickness on the road ice, or just rainwater?  Makes a difference.  So how good is that thermometer?  Is the sensor placed somewhere out of the wind and road splash?  Away from the heat of the engine?  On my Mercury not so good.  Park the Mercury in the sun and the the thermometer will read 10-20 degrees high until you get the car moving and some air flowing over the sensor. 
4.  A windshield washer that holds a full gallon of washer fluid.  They sell the stuff by the gallon.  It would be so nice to pour in a gallon, and chuck the empty bottle.  Can we do that?  Nooo.  You always have a quarter of a bottle left and you gotta open the trunk and stow it.  PITA.

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