Rental car adventures

[tw]

You should get into any rental car at night. In the dark, find the headlights, ignition key hole, turn signals, brake pedal, the radio volume and frequency selector knob, seat adjustment, door handle, and the door unlock button ... in the dark. You should not have to search for these at the expense of watching the road. Otherwise, the car has serious design problems.

One Pontiac Sunbird would lock its doors when put into drive. I hate that. A button to unlock doors was forward in a narrow gap between the door and dashboard. It could not be seen except when that door was open. These are not accidents. These happen when cost controls a design.

Mushy handling is often due to no speed sensitive steering. Which every car even 15 years ago could and should have. One reason for not installing speed sensitive steering is a suspension so barbaric as to require extra strong power steering.

True measure of a car is to drive your ten year old car out of the airport. I cannot say how often my better driving and ten year old Accord felt after a week with that crap, new rental car designed in the accounting department.

[monster]

Originally Posted by tw

You should get into any rental car at night.

And a new record level of impractical advice is reached

[tw]

Originally Posted by monster

And a new record level of impractical advice is reached

The airplane gets to its destination that night. A rental car is first driven that night. Why should anyone spend a full minute searching to tune and adjust volume on its radio? Because the auto was designed by a GM bean counter; not an Apple or Hyundai engineer. Only the most naive, a lover of scammed consumers, or one who then learns the wrath of Steven Jobs would find that impractical.

Every essential function is easily found by touch - even in the dark. But only in better designed rental cars.