According to JD Power, this is what American punters said they definitely or probably would want on their next vehicle:

1. Front-seat side airbags 70%
2. "Smart" frontal airbags 63%
3. Daytime running lights 61%
4. Run-flat tires 59%
5. Electronic traction control 55%
6. Rear-seat airbags 45%
7. Adaptive cruise control 43%
8. Emergency notification and 911 dialing 38%
9. Proximity sensor 38%
10. Navigation system 34%

Note that none of them asked for more power, increased MPG, or lighter, more responsive cars (instead of silly-sized 4wds). Nope, just more 'safety' features and dumbing-down rubbish.

If, for example, you must have daytime running lights, just switch on your dipped beam. Not that hard really.

Proximity sensor - I presume the Mk 1 Human Eyeball is no good for this?

Run-flat tyres? Not that hard to change a wheel, now is it. And you get the bonus of being able to continue your journey as far as you like, rather than going at 50mph for a maximum of 100 miles (or whatever the current restrictions are)which is what happens with a run-flat.

Some of the others seem OK, but airbags galore? OK, they're useful, but surely it's more important to avoid the accident in the first place, through a combination of better brakes and driver training. But ABS remains only an optional extra for many US cars - surely it should be at the top of most non-expert drivers' lists.

I'm sure the great unwashed British public are exacly the same, mind you.

Grumpy Nick climbs off soapbox

 

Nick

This can't be right. Everyone knows that no American car will ever be bought without loads of cup holders.

 

I still remember a few years back when the American car surveys marked the then new Prosche 911 down in reviews as it had no cup holders.

Now why would you buy a Porsche 911. To have a McDonalds thickshake for company while you drive along at 180mph?!

 

180mph....a Porsche.....thick shake.....now that sounds like bliss to me !!

Brew.

 

.... but not without a cupholder

 

Depends which cross section of people they asked I suppose. I mean if the survey was done on people on this BBS, we'd all be screaming for the usual stuff (Koni suspension upgrades etc), but then maybe our priorities are different.

 

I cant see any gun racks listed !!

 

..and tires (sic) with white sidewalls...

 

sorry, but I disagree with you on run flats
I would much prefer them for the following reasons:

I have never had a puncture in 12 years, nor has anyone that I know, so the spare is basically excess weight. The one time I did have to change a wheel, I couldnt get the nots off cos they had welded themselves on.

If I was to have a puncture, its bound to be when its freezing cold and raining, and im bound to be where there are no street lights

I would much rather my missus could drive to a garage and call the RAC/AA etc than having to try and stop and do it herself, cos point 2 above is bound to apply

plus, with stuff like lpg becoming more likely, the space that the spare wastes could be put to better effect

robski

 

Robski,

Come on - you can't change a tyre? It's not that hard, even if the nuts are on really tight. I always have a 3 foot length of hollow pipe in the car to put over the standard spanner and provide additional leverage. Makes any nut come off really easily.

You say you haven't had a puncture in 12 years, so why pay for every tyre to have additional weight and complexity built into it? I see your point about the weight of the spare wheel & tyre, but at least it's not bouncing around on each corner of the car.

Nick

The other problem with run-flat tyres is that either people don't realise they have a puncture, or they leave it for ages before getting it fixed. Neither of these is a good idea.

 

Robski,

Exactly! I've had 2 punctures in 12 years of driving, approx 200k miles. Spare tyres are a waste, when a friendly AA/RAC man can sort you out.

Using the space for an LPG tank makes sense to me.

I might consider taking a spare wheel (in the boot) if I was going on a long journey, but not just day to day driving.

C

 

With some cars, Mercedes A-class FI, you can opt for a compressor and a can with some fluid. That way you keep the spare tire space free for tools and a jerrycan or whatever. Nothing is stopping you from buying such a repairfluid and leaving the spare in the garage. It only works for small punctures of coarse.

 

It's strange what people think of as safety features. Before I got my Scoob I was going through the huge long list of optional extras for BMWs and it was extra air bags, etc that came out on Top of my wants list (you think of your family and how could you forgive yourself if for the sake a measly few pounds for this airbag, in the evnt of a prang, etc, etc)

Anyway I got this Scoob, with only two airbags, and the other day I was rounding a bend and the car started to drift out. Ease off, oversteer, shimmy shimmy shimmy a few times and we (the Scoob and I) are through and clear, missing the bloke who had been in front but was now upside down on the other side of the road.

And I had probably been going faster than him

Handling like that is what I call Safety.

JD

 

JayDee

You're right in that it is much better to have safety features that prevent a problem from occurring (like ABS) rather than features that help you after the event (like airbags). However, a while ago manufacturers worked out from surveys that customers are more willing to pay for features that they can see (hey don't ask me why) so they will prefer an airbag that sits in front of them (and has a nice SRS logo on the steering wheel) to ABS which is hidden. Stupid but apparently true.

Luckily nowadays both are standard on most cars.

 

NickF,

yeah I always carry 3 foot lengths of pipe about, not!

And these nuts were tight!! put it this way, me and 3 mates could not shift these nuts to the extreme that we managed to shift the car on the handbrake. It can happen now a days with these compressed air guns if the garages do something stuiped.

Im more worried about my missus having to do it than me.

If they were used more I am sure they would a be improved and b once the suspension was tuned to use them you wouldnt notice a difference.

I also agree that the more airbags the better, accidents will happen so the more safety the better. If your in a que of traffic on the motorway, and a truck crashes into the back of your car, how would driver training improve that one!?

robski

 

Personally I want a shed load of Stealth Technology in mine

BTW airags are a serious health hazard if you are a short @rse (like me) or wear glasses (like me).

DJ

 

DJ

Don't forget the button on the dashboard that summons the James Bond (You Only Live Twice) helicopter which removes annoying vehicles from the road and dumps them in the sea....