Auto or manual

The only time I would consider buying a car with power steering is if I needed a hip replacement.

You steer with your hips? :eek:

edit: before you say you do, I do too.
It’s called a motorbike.

The only car I can think of without would be a Lotus, which I can steer with my knees being 6’3” also require a chiropractor after driving one.
 
I would say an auto comes into its own in city driving, stop start.
Any advantage is countered by being blinded by all the auto drivers sat in front, with their foot on the brake and their overly bright LED lights.
Presumably there's also some muscle wastage on the now-unused left leg or something, too...

edit: before you say you do, I do too.
It’s called a motorbike.
I'm pretty sure you steer that with your hands... That is how countersteering works, after all. If it were hip-controlled, I'd not be able to rise up on the pegs and moon the riders behind me!
 
Any advantage is countered by being blinded by all the auto drivers sat in front, with their foot on the brake and their overly bright LED lights.
Presumably there's also some muscle wastage on the now-unused left leg or something, too..

Don't worry about muscle wastage, my car displays the brake lights when I am stationary even if my foot isn't on the brake and the car is holding me using the handbrake. Many other cars also do this. There is absolutely nothing I can do about it.
 
Don't worry about muscle wastage, my car displays the brake lights when I am stationary even if my foot isn't on the brake and the car is holding me using the handbrake. Many other cars also do this. There is absolutely nothing I can do about it.
I know. How those cars were approved for UK roads, I don't know (but can guess)...

The way car manufacturers are also ******* up the driving experience is another almost completely different matter, along with stupidly bright headlights and touchscreen controls on every damn thing... The only thing I can blame the drivers for there is buying the damn things and validating the manufacturer's retarded decisions, like the rear light clusters with the dim indicators encircling the bright red lights where they're barely visible at all.

But those who can avoid dazzling drivers behind should, as per the Highway Code, do exactly this.
 
I'm pretty sure you steer that with your hands... That is how countersteering works, after all. If it were hip-controlled, I'd not be able to rise up on the pegs and moon the riders behind me!

nope, I just lean mainly.
Counter steer to swerve or adjust my line
 
nope, I just lean mainly.
Counter steer to swerve or adjust my line
So you go to shift your bodyweight... and the first thing that moves are your shoulders, which magnify and transfer that movement through your arms to your hands on the grips, thus counter-steering. Many riders think they steer by leaning or putting knees out or something, but it's all just countersteering when you actually look at the movements.

Anything else and the bike just will not lean, given that this is how it stays upright in the first place. Otherwise, you'd instantly lowside just from taking one hand off the bars to click your visor open.
 
Don't worry about muscle wastage, my car displays the brake lights when I am stationary even if my foot isn't on the brake and the car is holding me using the handbrake. Many other cars also do this. There is absolutely nothing I can do about it.
That's interesting - I didn't actually know that some cars do this. I'm not sure why - apart from to warn that the car is stationary?
 
That's interesting - I didn't actually know that some cars do this. I'm not sure why - apart from to warn that the car is stationary?

It has auto hold functionality where it apply the handbrake when stationary and release it when you move off. Whilst it's doing this, it illuminates the brake lights. I think all manufacturers of cars which have this functionality (Which is virtually any modern auto now) have this too.
 
I can tweak mine for auto hold if I press the brake pedal when stopped rather than letting car stop and auto hold, this prevent the brake lights staying on. Nice to avoid the red faces behind in drive thrus :p
 
Can confirm, ours does this too.
Annoyingly, you have to enable auto hold by pressing a button each time you get in the car. I'd much prefer the system I experienced in a Mercedes about 10 years ago, where you simply pushed the brake pedal harder and auto hold would be enabled, then you could remove your foot. There are times when I don't want to car to autohold, this seems a more elegant solution than having to press a separate button.
 
Can confirm, ours does this too.
Annoyingly, you have to enable auto hold by pressing a button each time you get in the car. I'd much prefer the system I experienced in a Mercedes about 10 years ago, where you simply pushed the brake pedal harder and auto hold would be enabled, then you could remove your foot. There are times when I don't want to car to autohold, this seems a more elegant solution than having to press a separate button.
Porsche is the same activation method as Mercedes, i really like this way of doing it which may come from years of driving autos without the feature at all. I dont actually want hold most of the time as i am edging around in traffic or parking lots just edging around on the brake, but when i do want it, you just jab the brake when stopped. Ive also got a BMW with auto hold and have this same annoyance, it just isnt nice to use, so generally it never does get used.

e: on topic: this doesn't avoid the lights staying on though :p
 
Porsche is the same activation method as Mercedes, i really like this way of doing it which may come from years of driving autos without the feature at all. I dont actually want hold most of the time as i am edging around in traffic or parking lots just edging around on the brake, but when i do want it, you just jab the brake when stopped. Ive also got a BMW with auto hold and have this same annoyance, it just isnt nice to use, so generally it never does get used.

e: on topic: this doesn't avoid the lights staying on though :p

Indeed. It would also make Auto Stop/Start a bit more intelligent. Currently, our ASS is engaged if you're at a stop with your foot on the brake. But if I'm sitting at a junction and want to edge forward, there's been a couple of times where the ASS has kicked in just as I lift my foot off the brake to move off, which has led to a momentary panic as I commit to pulling out, but find the ASS is still sorting itself out. If ASS only activated when Auto-hold was also enabled, it would mean I could have a bit more control over the ASS, by making sure the engine only shuts down when I know I'll be still for a while, and have activated the auto hold.

Why are some of you sniggering back there?

Regarding lights, I don't see why with all the developments around automotive lighting, someone hasn't yet built in a simple link between the brake lights and the parking sensors of a car, so that if you're at a standstill with your foot on the brake, but another car is sitting behind you, then it dims the brake lights to reduce dazzle.

EDIT: scratch that, I do know, it's cost, but still, it would be a nice feature, especially as lots of people seem to complain about it.
 
I have the same grievances with auto stop start. I hate this feature. Same reason as you, it cuts in (or should that be out) just as you are about to move off, or cuts in (out) when you just stop for slightly longer than a moment at some lights which are about to change.

Rubbish rubbish feature. Thankfully codable.
 
I have the same grievances with auto stop start. I hate this feature. Same reason as you, it cuts in (or should that be out) just as you are about to move off, or cuts in (out) when you just stop for slightly longer than a moment at some lights which are about to change.

Rubbish rubbish feature. Thankfully codable.

Ironically, it's one of the few things which work better on a manual car than an automatic car. On a manual, stop/start systems only kick in when the car is in neutral (or the ones I've driven, anyway), so there's no risk of it activating while you might be considering moving off. If, on an automatic, it was tied to the auto hold, then I wouldn't have an issue with it at all.
 
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