Total Motorcycle Community Forums

darsek wrote:How about the Lexus (I think) that can parallel park for you?!!! Really? If you can't manage to acquire the necessary motor skills to parallel park maybe you shouldn't be driving a *&%#@! car at all

I watched Oprah Winfrey demonstrate this car's parking ability on her stage. The Lexus rep had to keep barking at her to "ease off the brake". If you let off the brake too quickly, like any other car, it won't get the right angle and will smash into something - like MY CAR!! I don't trust the average Lexus owner to manage this car very well. Also, I've lived in Chicago - where you learn to either get your car parked or move on and let someone else take the spot. If people have to wait behind this Lexus for the three minutes it takes to park it, there is going to be a whole new breed of road rage in the world, especially in an urban setting. There just isn't a lot of time or space to doink around with parking.

As for the other stuff - safety is safety, and comfort is comfort. I don't utilize nearly enough of the features on my new car to even make the features worth the while, but I couldn't pick and choose which features come with the model of car that I wanted. I like some of the features, and some I don't like. I like the fact that the front, passenger airbag will either be off or on depending on the weight that is detected in that seat. So if my 70-lb., 9-year-old daughter is in the front seat, the airbag won't deploy and whack her face off.

Lazy driving habits aren't going to go away any time soon. It's going to get worse - with or without blindspot detection. If someone doesn't trust themselves enough to check their blindspots thoroughly and can afford this extra feature, then kudos for them. I do have concerns though, as was mentioned, with what happens when the detection system is faulty and the driver isn't checking at all. I guess there's another sensor to warn the driver when the other system is broken?? My goodness...

Cheers,
Loonette

Personally, I think Volvo's on to something. Most cagers don't aim their side mirrors at their blind spots -- they're looking straight back, where they can't show a passing motorcyclist at all.

Young minds, fresh ideas, be tolerant.

Have you guys seen this car's other feature? The lock/unlock/panic remote also has a heart beat monitor built in. So if you're alone at night and heading to your car in a dark empty parking lot then you'll know that there's someone in the back seat!

or that you left your ipod on near the sensor and it's screwing it to hell.

Heart monitor??? Weird.

I think the new features are neat if it means less accidents no matter who is there.

The execution of all of the Volvo ads for these new features is totally ridiculous. It shows oblivious idiots swerving around without a care for who or what is there. The guy with the blind spot is one thing - the commercial for "you're approaching the vehicle in front of you too fast" sensor is crazy. These people are speeding along, that sensor goes off because there is a truck in front of them, so they just go around it without looking around to ensure nothing is in the other lane. I guess they're relying on that sensor too.

I think the reason the ads "pee" me off so much is because it has the bad drivers down perfectly and bad driving pisses me off.

bad driving pisses me off.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaah-men.

Geoff, I'm ignoring my first reaction of your post being a parody one and going to pick it apart.

Ninja Geoff wrote:Manual mirrors suck because they're a pain in the "O Ring" to get set up right.

If you're adjusting them more than seasonally, something is wrong. Either with the mirrors or you.

Ninja Geoff wrote:And some people (such as myself) like to be able to change where the mirrors are pointing depending on what/where I'm driving. If I suddenly find myself on the highway for extended period, I'll point the left mirror so it's pointed further back so I notice things coming from further away (gasp, I check them every handful of seconds). It's a "dog" in the Ranger, they're manual adjust. And anyone who's tall and has driven a smaller truck knows how useless that little mirror hanging from the windshield can be on the highway. Sure, if i slouch down, it's brilliant, but then I can't see very well, and the non-adjustable steering wheel (with an airbag no less) gets in the way as well, and can interrupt with seeing the guages clearly.

I've driven quite a few cars and trucks but have yet to come across this adjusting issue. I also don't see why the rearview mirror isn't working out - don't you have a natural position to sit in whenever you drive?

Ninja Geoff wrote:And man, I really wish my seat was power adjustable, up, down, left, right, tilt, etc, cause then I could get in an EXACT position that I'M most comfortable driving at. I drove my roomates 99 alty around for a bit, power EVERYTHING, and boy, could I see everything perfectly. I could adjust the seat to the T. The mirrors were spot on, and as it was a car, the rearview mirror wasn't useless for some reason!

Have you thought it was a car designed for point A to point B, safely, rather than hauling a load of whatever in the truck bed? Trucks have different priorities and passenger fit and feel comes about dead last. I would wager you would feel the same in the exact same model year Altima without power everything.

Ninja Geoff wrote: Oh, crank windows are a "dog" to open when you're driving. Ecspecially the ones on the other side of the car.

Do you have problems walking and chewing bubble gum? It's honestly not too tough to crank down a window unless it's defective.

Ninja Geoff wrote:Oh and brake assist. A 400 lb motorcycle is one thing, but do you really want to force that pedal down to stop a 3,000 lb rolling mass of steel, aluminum, and iron? I'll take some power assisted braking, thank you very much.

My 3400 pound 70s car would like to have a word with you. The manual braking works just great in that. It's a bit harder to push but we're not talking something your grandmother can't do.

Ninja Geoff wrote: Oh, and give me ABS. For the love of all that is good in the world, why would I NOT want something that helps me stop better and safer in bad weather and road conditions?

I prefer the car doing what I tell it to. Aside from that, ABS is expensive to fix, tougher to bleed, increases stopping distances on some surfaces and adds yet more weight to a vehicle.

Ninja Geoff wrote:Power locks? Is there seriously an issue with power locks? WTF? I'd LOVE power locks. Say I'm a little old lady sitting at a stop light and some punks come running up to her car. Think she can hit all four locks in time if they decide to join the poor woman for a ride? No. Just one little button push away, and she's reasonably safer.

Weight. More complexity to the car. Another expense for the auto manufacturer. Your little scare story is cute and all, but since every door but the one said little old later entered the vehicle in is already locked, all she has to do is reach over and lock her door. Same amount of effort, but without the drawbacks of yet more electrical crap in a vehicle.

... and we'll call that good.

Alright, I love my power seats and mirrors... I wish I had a manual 6 speed, but it's an automatic, unfortunately... ABS helps in the snow and ice, but not much else to me... Windows, either way, although power is nice so that you can get a nice airflow through the car without having to be too distracted, and also helps to keep annoying friends from opening your windows and yelling things at the pretty girls you're passing... Power locks are just convenient... don't need them, but they're nice... That's my
Wrider

I'm not saying I[/i] want the things on that laundry list, or that any individual here does...just that these things are showing up on cars, and the auto mags are lambasting any car that doesn't have them.

We got our '99 Volvo with a 5-spd, because we could, and because we wanted to. We also got manual seats, because I'm 5'10" and my wife's 5'0", and she needs the seat all the way up, and I need it all the way back, so if we had a power seat we'd burn out the motor.

We rented a Buick once that had a warning chime built in it to beep when you'd been driving for more than 3 miles with your blinker on. I tried it. I almost gouged my eyes out before the beeper went off -- I mean really, try driving for three miles with your blinker going "click clack click clack," It's maddening.

While I think manual vs power features in a car are a matter of preference rather than 'what is better' - I have to completely disagree with you, Skier, that you should only be adjusting your mirrors seasonally. It's very convenient to be able to angle them to each situation you're in - whether it's parking, highway driving or local roads, etc.