Nothing really to do with an S2000 (thankfully), but VBH tells her top 10 most annoying features in a modern car...

http://cars.uk.msn.com/features/photos.asp...5431&ocid=today

Thankfully, the S does not possess any of these silly features (that I am aware of), perhaps that's why she is sat in one....

 

Except for the boot handle and start button that is....

 

But I do agree with most of these. Especially the night vision thingy and the brake light/hazzard flashers thingy.

I think that having a tv screen in the middle of your dash is downright dangerous. My prejudice is that the people who buy most of the cars that have this 'feature' will be looknig at the screen and not the road.

And the brake light thing is just stupid. If you cant tell that a car is slowing down in front of you you shouldn't be driving. Also, I thought it was illegal to use your hazzard lights whilst the car was moving. Am I wrong on this?

 

Vicky butler henderson does actually own a s2000 so that could be her car

 

I get the feeling that they found 3 genuine silly things about modern cars, but they wanted to make a top 10 list so they had to shoehorn some other stuff in there.

Electronic key fobs aren't tricky if you have more than 3 braincells.

Having handles on boots has long been known as a way for thieves to steal items from the boot when you're stationary in traffic, so most the time they auto lock with a third button on a keyfob to open them – except poor VBH's poor ghost writer has trouble with the tricky things.

Flashing hazards on hard breaking might be silly if badly calibrated, but I've found them damned useful in the dark on the motorway last week when the cars had a sharp stop in front of me and I saw some flashing hazards. In fact, if it's not automatic then many drivers will manually hit the hazards if there's a sudden stop ahead.

Reversing videos might be silly on a Mk2 golf with more glass than a greenhouse, but they are damned useful on a bigger vehicle. Not needed, not imperative, not a replacement for eyes and ears, but a useful addition.

Indicators that blip 3 times each tap – fantastic. The same people who click them at the wrong time are probably the same people who would forget to turn them off otherwise. Stupidity will always beaten technology.

Mirrors that flip when you reverse. That's fantastic. Much less chance of crunching the nice alloys on the kerb now. Perhaps a bit over the top on some cars, but hardly worth writing an article about.

A totally agree with the TV screens though.
Unless you're driving a landy over rutted fields with random sheep running in the way (or armed insurgents) you really don't need a night vision TV.
Auto wipers are a waste of time too.
Same with electronic handbrakes, no hill starts and I've no idea what you'd do if you had a flat battery with the brake on.

Keyless start – meh, she looses all credibility there.
There's nothing quite like pressing the happy red button ™ after a long day at work.

 

Agree with most of what you say but the handbrake on hill starts is ok. It releases automatically when you drive off, or it did on my Audi.

 

[QUOTE=gt750boy,Nov 12 2010, 09:28 AM]And the brake light thing is just stupid.

 

There used to be a big American car that lived near where I grew up, it big American brake lights which were a harizontal bank of 5 lights on each side.
I don't know whether it was standard or modded, but the brake lights worked like a graphic equalizer – the harder the car braked the more lights would come on.

Considering the speed we drive, the stopping distances and the gaps we leave on the motorway it's not a bad idea to know if the car in front is just slowing down or breaking hard.

Of course, the sensible option is to leave an adequate and safe gap between you and the car in front. Last time I left a safe gap 2 cars and a lorry pulled into it.

 

track days would be fun with hazards flashing at every braking zone....

I have long thought that a graduated brake light intensity is a good idea...not dissimilar to the 'graphic equalizer' mentioned above.

Brush the pedal to slow and you brake lights will 'glow'....mash the pedal to STOP and your lights will burn bright red, much like a fog light...

better not get me started on fog lights though, now its darker for longer, it seems the fog light brigade want to drive around in the city with full fog attack on to blind everyone.

I can hand on heart say that I can count on one hand how many times I have needed to use fog lights for safety (once in fog, a handfull of times in heavy rain).

As soon as Michael Fish mentions morning fog, we have to endure weeks of fog lights blinding us all....they get the main beam as a courtesy jesture from me.

 

I think some people must just switch them on and then forget they are one.
My Audi has an idiotproof feature where the fog lights are integrated with the switch for the headlight, when you turn the headlights off the fog lights are also turned off and won't come back on automatically with the headlights.

My surf on the other hand has separate buttons that need to be manually turned off.