Stupid Car Features that Ruin Otherwise Good Cars

As a spinoff from my GS thread...

What are some car features that ruin an otherwise good car for you? I know it's dumb, I can think of two that come to mind that I just can't get over:

-Buick Verano: the chrome eyebrows over the rear tail lights

-Cadillac ATS: the 1997 Buick gauge cluster

Infotainment systems

Any car that has oversized flat areas around the wheel wells. I blame Nissan for starting this fulgy trend, illustrated by the, uh, car below. It wasn't the first Nissan to display this ugly feature, but it may be the most exaggerated. Come to think of it, every design element of this vehicle makes me want to puke. Hey wait, Juke...Puke. Now it makes sense!

Electronic throttles that don't act like averagely decent cable throttles.

Automatic transmission.

In reply to SilverFleet:Wow! It's great to have a tach in your great-grandfathers' car! Wonder if any of these cars' owners know what the funny gauge on the left with a red stripe is?

Lack of stick shifter (Alfa 4c, I'm lookin at you)

bgkast wrote: Infotainment systems

Certainly the FORD version!!

Traction control

Rupert wrote: In reply to SilverFleet:Wow! It's great to have a tach in your great-grandfathers' car! Wonder if any of these cars' owners know what the funny gauge on the left with a red stripe is?

LOL!

It's like they had a warehouse full of Park Avenue gauge clusters that they shipped out to have LCD screens installed to "modernize" them.

C5 Corvette skip-shift system, luckily there are kits to remove it.

Hungary Bill wrote: Lack of stick shifter (Alfa 4c, I'm lookin at you)

And now almost anything else Italian, plus German too!

DaveEstey wrote: Traction control

Ugh, the Toyota Tundra I until recently owned had the WORST traction control system I've ever had the displeasure of using. ANY wheelspin and it cuts the throttle entirely for 2-3 seconds, which is just fantastic when you are trying to cross an intersection when it's snowy or icy.

bravenrace wrote: Any car that has oversized flat areas around the wheel wells. I blame Nissan for starting this fulgy trend,

Nissan?

weight

/thread

In reply to GameboyRMH:

Thats in anything with a T-56 trans in (i.e. 4th gen camaro/trans am, GTO, etc.)GM wise anyways. But yes, luckily they make eliminators for them...or just unplug it. Now back to the the thread...GPS systems that cost more than the car payment to get updated. At least the last time I checked it was that way. But it may have been a few years.

Those mother berkeleying mouse belts of the late 80's early 90's!! Oh the GM skip shift was infuriating until I fixed it. Let's them squeak past the gas guzzler tax. I think they know it sucks and made it very easily bypassed.

Tire pressure monitoring systems. I do not wish to elaborate.

In reply to clutchsmoke:

Yeah, I'm thinking about pulling the bulb out of the cluster on my SX4 for that.

dinger wrote:

DaveEstey wrote: Traction control

Ugh, the Toyota Tundra I until recently owned had the WORST traction control system I've ever had the displeasure of using. ANY wheelspin and it cuts the throttle entirely for 2-3 seconds, which is just fantastic when you are trying to cross an intersection when it's snowy or icy.

That's what my ford transit work van does, it's horrible. I also can't stand center exhaust, like on the focus st, it just irks me. Also the center crease on the back of the mazda 3 sedan that runs right down the middle.

Side windows that are higher than the windshield.

dinger wrote:

DaveEstey wrote: Traction control

Ugh, the Toyota Tundra I until recently owned had the WORST traction control system I've ever had the displeasure of using. ANY wheelspin and it cuts the throttle entirely for 2-3 seconds, which is just fantastic when you are trying to cross an intersection when it's snowy or icy.

My Mazda 3 is like this. It is near impossible to get going in the snow, even with dedicated snow tires on, unless you switch it off. Which leads me to another annoying thing: Traction control that you cannot turn off.

Early GD Imprezas (such as the bugeye model) have one of the worst ABS systems ever produced...it's way too conservative, if you get close to locking up a wheel, it will gingerly apply the brakes until you eventually sludge to a stop.

GameboyRMH wrote: Early GD Imprezas (such as the bugeye model) have one of the worst ABS systems ever produced...it's way too conservative, if you get close to locking up a wheel, it will gingerly apply the brakes until you eventually sludge to a stop.

YES!!!! This was so berkeleying annoying. I remember there was a hill in town that had a stop light at the bottom, and there was a big bump before the stop line. If you hit the bump just right while applying the brakes, the car would chatter right through the damn intersection. I still have the letter Subaru of America sent out offering a reflash of the ABS system.

I dislike:

-auto dimming mirrors (not as good as the day/night flippers)

-automatic climate control (again, I'd rather adjust it myself)

-touch screens (I can reach over and adjust knobs without taking my eyes off the road. I cannot operate a touch screen without taking my eyes off the road)

-complicated radios (left knob should control volume, right knob changes station)