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Those are all really good examples, however, IMHO the simple biggest ergonomic flaw was in the early 80s Ford decided to put the horn on the turn signal stalk. That is bonehead, defined.
The HVAC controls on the left is something Chrysler did in the 80s with the Omni/Charger
2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic / 2022 Ram 1500 Bighorn, Built to Serve
How could I have forgotten that one? That was boneheaded! Similarly, but not quite as bad, is on '69 and '70 Chevy models, to blow the horn you had to push one of two little buttons on the end of the center steering wheel bar. Thankfully, someone figured out by '71 that you should be able to push anyplace on the center bar to get the horn to work! I think 'rim blow' horns were a good idea executed poorly in cars I was familiar with that had them.
The only way I knew about Chrysler lugs was, a friend of my Mom's had a '65 full-size Dodge wagon and when she went to leave our house, it had a flat. My Dad, home not long from a day of work, went to change it for her and grumpily later complained about that 'feature'. He had only owned one Mopar, and that was a '37 Plymouth.
I think that's an excellent guess; I had forgotten about that. My parents' last Ford product was a '62 Fairlane, six with stick and it had a manual choke. I was surprised to learn years later that a same year Studebaker Lark had an automatic choke, but Ford products (at least Falcon and Fairlane) still had manual chokes. Which reminds me...why did Ford still have two steering columns visible into the early '60's...a small and a bigger one? Now, that isn't a matter of Ford not having any money (like Studebaker or possibly Rambler some years)--just...why?
And BTW, I'd just love to own a bone-stock '61 Ford Galaxie 500 Starliner hardtop, with the "two columns".
I like the instrument fonts on 60s cars, usually thin and tall, they just look cool.
For the cold light, I swear my 66 Galaxie had something like that...or maybe I just have bad memories of it constantly stalling until it reached full operating temperature.
I couldn't figure out what you meant by two steering columns. But the top is a rod for the gear shift or auto transmission selector. The bottom column is the actual steering column. Is that what you mean?
>My parents' last Ford product was a '62 Fairlane, six with stick and it had a manual choke.
The six-cylinder models had a manual choke. The V8s had an automatic choke. This was true in the 1960 Ford.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
W116/126/R107 etc had strange wipers too - 2 hinged near the middle, different lengths. W140 had wipers reversed from the normal pattern for LHD cars.
You are right. I remember a '65 Custom (stripper) that my high-school friend's father had as a company car. It had a cold light, which glowed blue. It amused the heck out of us, cut I never did find out what it was for. Maybe to explain why the performance of the six cylinder engine was even more pathetic than usual.
2009 BMW 335i, 2003 Corvette cnv. (RIP 2001 Jaguar XK8 cnv and 1985 MB 380SE [the best of the lot])
At least, that was my take on it. In some ways, I guess it's a good idea. With a gauge, there's really no way to tell once a car is getting warm, until you see the needle start to creep. And sometimes, that can take a long time!
You're right imidazo, by 'two columns' I meant the second, smaller shaft for the transmission selector lever. Sloppy wording on my part.
I knew that the early '60's Fords with a manual choke were only the sixes, and I actually had guessed that they were only the stick shifts (for some reason). But I was surprised that even six-cylinder Larks had automatic chokes at the same time, considering how poor Studebaker was supposed to be at that time.
I'm scratching my head, but I think I'll probably come up with more oddball stuff over the years, that's not related to styling or no developmental money.
We had a 96 Town and Country at work and the first time I drove it in the rain it caught me off-guard. They did work well clearing that monster windshield.
2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic / 2022 Ram 1500 Bighorn, Built to Serve
The temp guage went away so now you get a blue light, which turns off once engine temps reach normal levels.
Nowadays, I usually don't wait more than 30 seconds to let a car warm up. Unless it's a *really* cold day, and/or it's been sitting for a long time. Then I might go as long as a minute, and then, once I'm moving, just try to drive gently for a bit, until it gets warmed up better.
Console mounted window switches for MB also seem to attract attention.
Takes between 1-2 miles to turn off, depends on the outside temps, so it's pretty quick.
I think Ford was the first to put it on the steering wheel, my 79 Continental had it.
2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic / 2022 Ram 1500 Bighorn, Built to Serve
Of the downsized GM full-sizers for '77, I like the Bonneville a lot. The Buick had the dash I prefer but not by much and the styling on the Buicks wasn't as good as these. I like the Olds styling but not the interior, while the Chevy had cool styling on the coupe but nothing else that I liked.
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I always looked at that as a cost-cutting move. The '88 LeBaron coupe that we had, which I let the ex-wife take in the divorce, had the power window switches in the console rather than the doors. It probably does save a bit of money, as you just have the two switches in the console, rather than a master switch int he driver's door, and a switch in the passenger door.
IIRC, the PT Cruiser convertible, which had roll-down rear windows, had all four switches in the console, so rear seat passengers had no control at all of the windows back there.
I guess those center-mounted switches are okay once you get used to them...I just never did!
I remember the rocker style cruise switches on old Ford wheels.
IIRC, the normal PT had window switches high on the dash - that was odd. My mother had one as a rental several years ago, and that drove her nuts.
I like the Buick's dashboard for its style, but didn't like those silver-faced gauge faces, or the big clock mounted on the passenger side. By the time 1985 rolled around and my Grandparents bought their LeSabre, the gauge faces were black, and the clock was digital, in the radio face. Two other minuses of the Buick dash...the glovebox was really tiny for a full-sized car, and I don't think Buick offered extra gauges, as Pontiac, Olds, and Chevy did.
With Chevy, I preferred the Impala to the Caprice, and for the same reasons as the Catalina versus Bonneville. The grille just seemed a bit less fussy and pretentious.
Style-wise overall, I think the Olds Delta 88 would be my least favorite, but I think I'd be happy with any of those B/C bodies...as long as I didn't get stuck with an under-sized/undesireable engine.
Actually, that would make sense, for a car that's sold in world markets. But I guess if MB is putting them on the doors, we whiny Americans much have raised enough of a ruckus!
We had a 1963 Chevy and my parennts used the cold light in the winter as a signal that it was time to turn the heaters and defroster on.
My 87 Daytona had the two window switches in the console - right next to the driver power seat switch. The first day I had it, my girlfriend (now wife) tried to put raise her window but wound up using the power seat switch. She's cursing that the window doesn't work while I'm slow moving towards the steering wheel....
I remember there was a period of time when most Ford products had that dumb idea. I may be wrong, but I seem to recall running into it on a different brand rental once also, maybe a Plymouth or Dodge?
I always wanted a horn in the driver's seat cushion :P
That came with the original Escort. Remember it was a world car and in Europe horns were stalk mounted.
Don't worry - you already have one. As you get older, it activates itself....
The same may be true of the Chevy but I am less sure of that.
The cold light was featured on most full-size GM cars of that era I think. I know our '63 Pontiac had one, sort of a lime-green color IIRC. Seemed rather useless but interesting.
The stalk horn was a Euro thing that I think Ford tried copying on the Fox platform to give it a Euro sensibility. We had an Austin 1100 in the late '60s that had one, and our family had a number of Bristish cars that had it also. Dumb use of the multifunction stalk concept.
One thing that always bothered me (this is an expansion of the list): we owned a '68 Volvo and it had one inidcator light on the dash for directional signals, not two. All it told you was that something was flashing, but not if it was the left or right directional. I guess it saved something in cost but it always struck me as a dumb concept.
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Talking about cruise control: my '78 Delta 88 has a cruise on/off rocker switch towards the center of the dash, with a button on the end of the turn signal stalk to set speed. Always seemed odd to me.
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Honda also had the moonroof control to the left of the steering wheel at some point.
2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic / 2022 Ram 1500 Bighorn, Built to Serve
Plenty of obscure stuff here, too. Video is 9 minutes and lots of engine noises.
http://www.youtube.com/embed/owvxPNNUQkM?feature=player_embedded
Here's one--why didn't early Corvairs and Tempests have a 'park' feature in their automatic transmissions?
Why did AMC use vacuum wipers 'til '71 I believe? Sheesh!
Someone earlier mentioned liking the 'opposing' windshield wipers. I don't know why, but I always equated that with large or expensive cars, so I liked that feature too. Our Venture vans had that feature (can't recall on the Uplander...it probably did), and that was also a feature I liked on the '88 Buick Regal when it came out. I'll assume the Cutlass Supreme, Grand Prix, and Lumina were like that too.
Did any model year Corvair with Powerglide come with a PARK position? I think my mom's Corvair Monza was a 1966 and the dash-mount lever just had the R-N-D-L selection. Might have been different with the Tempest having the front engine layout.
BTW, my '57 Desoto has no "park", either. You just pull the handbrake, which then clamps down on the driveshaft. For 1960, I think Chrysler started including a separate lever that you'd push to put the car in park.
So that's what Ralph meant by "unsafe at any speed."
Silly automatic Corvairs had no PARK to put in!
Searched for an interior pic of a '66 Corvair with powerglide. Resolution too big to post it here but click on the link to show R-N-D-L detail on the dash.
edited to add: Does your '57 Desoto have reverse position at the top of the shift quadrant or the bottom?