Six Annoyances I Wish The Auto Industry Would Fix, Now

A quick look back at 100 years ago, of course, reveals a staggering difference in the way humanity motivates around the planet, and the auto industry isn’t any different. Some things still work fine since the Model T days, like the concept of rubber around a rim, some air blown into it and off with you. Other features are head-scratchers. Here are some.

*Passenger seats that “think” your gallon of milk is a human being

How many times have you placed a bag of groceries, a laptop, a gallon of milk or anything else on the passenger seat, buckled up and got the dreaded “bong bong bong” indicating a non-existent person needs to put their seat belt on as you drive? Please allow drivers to disable it. We promise, we’ll buckle up junior. Otherwise, we don’t care if a dozen eggs go through the windshield.

*Self-canceling turn signals

Self-canceling turn signals were developed in 1940. There is scant information available about exactly why they were developed except the obvious one – to prevent people from obliviously driving for 5 miles while everyone around thinks they’re going to make a turn, and hates them.

Instead, when you’re trying to make a left turn off a busy highway, for example, the signal shuts off if you turn the wheel even slightly – because the system “thinks” you’ve made the turn. Then you have to take your attention away from the road and put the damned thing on again.

Wouldn’t it be better to eliminate the self-canceler and instead provide an annoying alarm like you hear if you don’t put your seat belt on? Or how about making the sound of the turn signal itself loud and annoying, so people shut it off themselves after they’ve made the turn?

*Sound systems that shut off when you shut the car off.

Until actual keys were done away with, one could shut a car off and immediately turn the key to “alt” so as not to interrupt music or news programs or what-have-you. GMC, for example, lets you shut off your vehicle and the sound system doesn’t quit until you open the door, or at the very least, it gives you some lead time before the sound system shuts down.

But with Toyota and some other automakers, you shut the vehicle off and the sound system quits there and then. You can press the ignition button again to get the ACC on, but it’s a sluggish affair and you will definitely miss the guitar solo from “Stairway.” So you’re obliged to sit there burning gas so as to not miss the end of the program. It adds up, pal.

*Shifter wheels

Of all the silly inventions of the last 25 years, the shift wheel is one of the silliest and most annoying. You cannot find a gear using a shift wheel without taking your eyes away from traffic and looking down for “D” or “R.” It’s especially irksome and dangerous when you’re trying to make a u-turn and need to change gears several times in a hurry, when it slows you down and you become a hazard.

*Nav systems that are as slow as they were in 2000.

I can’t remember the last time I used a in-built nav system in a vehicle, unless it was to evaluate it and report my findings. Other than that, I use my phone which is far quicker, more accurate, and you can shut the map off without having to go deep within the guts of the phone to find a way to turn the thing off.

*Steering wheels you can’t adjust

Virtually no high-end or exotic vehicle doesn’t provide a way for the driver to adjust the steering wheel to where their hands can comfortably reach it and their eyes can see the road and/or instruments without obstuction. Other manufacturers seem to just say “Here’s the wheel, you deal with it.” One deals with it by adjusting the seat but sometimes the best seat position doesn’t coincide with the best position for your short or long arms or legs, and seeing the road and your instruments. It’s not a matter of money, either – some economy cars have the feature.

Ride safe, folks.