I have a few, list your own


1) Frameless windows. My only real complaint with my '97 TL is the frameless windows... if they're not adjusted just right, you get wind whistling.

2) 3 spoke steering wheels. Cant stand them, I dunno why Oh and dont get get me started on the new Civic's 2 spoke

3) The beltline that gets higher and higher each year. Pretty soon we'll be driving tanks and have a periscope. SUVs and pickups (and their high bumpers) killed the wonderful days where you could SEE out of your car and enjoy the view. See 3rd and 4th generation Accord for examples.

4) High dashes, especially in Honda products. It used to be a Honda hallmark, to have a low dash, you felt like you were in a sports car yet you were driving an Accord. The NSX was the closest thing you'd get to being in a jet fighter.

 

A pillars on the cls.

paint is too thin

least i've never had a rattle yet

 

1. wind noise and road noise KILL my impression of a car. i've done whatever it takes in my car(s) to eliminate it even if that means i lose performance

2. high wheel wells. nothing sucks more than a sedan or coupe that looks like a 4x4 pickup

3. crappy interior materials. not so much a gripe with foreign cars but anything made by GM is absolutely disgusting inside. even the new vette looks cheap inside but the engine makes up for it

4. cramped back seat space in a coupe. there is yet to be a coupe i've ridden in that i wouldn't mind sitting in the back seat for more than 15 minutes

5. car companies like mercedes, bmw, and audi need to stop trying to put every electronic function in one keypad. less buttons seems like a good idea but it's more of hassle to have to scoll through many different menus and hit several different buttons just to turn the defroster on, which in a normal car would just require hitting one button

 

I agree with everything, except the GTO is the best interior GM has ever put out, and caddy's are not that bad.

 

When leased our Murano, we thought is was a terrific alternative to the Lexus. Then came the wind noise!! Four words: Murano LOUD, RX quiet!!! (But the Mo ranks a perfect '10' in style points. )

Oh and to Bigman on his GTO comment. The goat's interior puts just about every other GM product to shame. If it came with Navi and a power moonroof, it could have taken a serious bite out of G35C sales.

 

1. Wheel gap that makes the car look like a 4x4

2. Shitty interiors. For me, interior quality makes or breaks a car. Spartan is fine, but don't try to stuff it with gadgets and shoddy materials ala GrandPrix GXP.

3. 4 spoke steering wheels on a sports car. Why? I'm glad that they finally gave the C6 a 3 spoke, instead of that horrid 4 spoke that came with it when they first came out.

4. Paint. We need better paint. Especailly the Japanese. My S2000 is already chipping in the front and has but ~7000 miles. Germans dominate in this area.

5. BMW/MB/Audi/Saab/Volvo/Jaguar/VW reliability in general. Yes there's a lot of new tech in these vehicles but things like power locks and window regulators have been around forever, and should have been perfected by now. Part of engineering is making something reliable and durable and the europeans just fail to deliver. Look at Lexus/Acura/Infiniti for an example of a reliable, luxury car.

 

Dissimilar fender flares. I HATE THAT. Perfect example: 2G TL. The front fender flares are higher and flared out more than the rears.

Foot e-brake. Really unappealing to me, and sometimes annoying to use. I'm just really accustomed to a handbrake.

 

Wind noise has to be a big one with me.

Another big one is when the exhausts hang too low.

 

RE: The high beltline. I wonder how much this has to do with safety and side crash ratings.

 

I agree with most of what has been posted, but have another.

Diamlerchrysler's continued promotion of it's so called hemi engines, and the majority of purchasers who don't realize this is merely a marketing ploy. A trademark. The "new" hemi doesn't have a hemispherical cylinder head and shares none of the basic architecture of the wonderful elephant motors of the past.

Terry

 

unfortunately more and more car makers are going with the foot e-brake

also hate digital speedos

and cars without telescoping steering wheel. i have long legs so i have to push the seat pretty far back and i hate having to stretch all the way for the steering wheel

 

I totally agree. they remind me of the 1980s

 

Its the main reason. The high bumpers on SUV's and trucks have basically killed lower sedans and coupes.

 

Several Dodge fanatics have gotten pissed at me for telling them that

 

it worked well on the prelude

 

HEMI or not..its still a great engine..

345HP...

 

Yeah, it's certainly amazing isn't it Ken? I think its a great engine, but most people who seem to think it's "real" have trouble explaining what the term hemi actually refers to. Hats off the DC, it certainly is a great marketing ploy. As of late, however, they've decreased "hemi" production by over 20% because of decreasing sales.

Perhaps refer them to:
http://www.automobilemag.com/feature...ine/index.html

It's a pretty good article. Many others seem to be far less flattering.

Terry

 

I hate the cupholders in my Cherokee....

 

1). Moon roofs being standard (like not a option in the TL. i hate moon roofs and they take up too much head room that i need)

2). poor interior materials. Comon. Is it that hard to make a decent looking material for a dash?

3). Road/wind noise.

4). wipers/headlight/blinker controls on the same stalk. (honda has teh perfect setup)

 

Lack of a dead foot pedal. One reason why I don't like driving the CR-V as much, can't believe Honda missed that one.

Those new taillights and headlights that "bubble" out, as if they were squeezed through the openings in the car.

Lift-up door handles.

Plastic door release. They feel so flimsy.

 

- Ashtrays not standard equipment anymore.

- Radio antennas. Should be standard practice to put them in the back glass by now.

- Headrests for the center seat rear passenger. Stupid looking.

- Blank plastic panels in lower level trims that replace the switches for options you didn't get. This also goes for the big black vents in the front dam where fog lights should be.

- My facination with the fact that BMW can't design a decent looking set of taillights if it killed them, and they seem to change them yearly. (The new 3s are looking okay.)

- Over-engineering vs. smart engineering. Electronic trunk openers, auto climate control = smart. Things like automatic door closers and a switch to electricly move your headrest up and down seem silly.

- Missing or stupidly placed left foot dead pedals.

- In general when a dealership puts their plaque/badge/sticker on the car - but even worse when they stick it in a stupid location or crooked.

- Cars where the angle of the windshield manages to catch the reflection of the dashboard vents.

- The almost complete elimination of the bench seat.

- Backseats in roadsters/convertables that are completely unusable and only there for insurance purposes.

- Lip spoilers on Audi TTs. I know they're there because someone made their TT fly off the Autobahn, but still.

- This general industry facination with circular headlights/taillights. Absolutely nothing wrong with rectangular lights.

 

I hate it when people think that their car is both automatic and manual because their automatics have the Sports Shift mode.

 

I hate it when I shut the car door and the windows rattle because the window is only half way down... I don't rememeber my ford making that much of a racket...

 

squeaks, rattles, and road/wind noise.

 

no cup holders
foot e-brake
bad navigation systems

 

Rattles!!!!
Wind & tire noise.
Majority (but not all) of Domestic interior designs.
Hard plastic interior pieces painted to look like metal.
Cup holders that are not descrete....like two big circles behind the gear shift between the seat without a cover to keep them out of site.
Giant wheel gap.
Foot ebrake
Moonroof controls located on the dash.
Steering wheels that have more than 3 spokes
Tach's that have the numbers 10, 20, 30, 40...instead of 1, 2, 3, 4
Honda/Acura paint quality

 

apparently it didn't cause its dead

I see no reason at all for extra spokes. 3 is great, 2 is even better. Makes for a lighter steering wheel that can be easily shuffle steered. There is a reason why all good sports cars have 3 spoke steering wheels.

There was an article in C&D about this (I think it was in the 10Best cars issue for last year). They're sentiments: less is better.

 

I hate explaining what the difference between a true SMG/DSG gearbox, and a manumatic is.

Normal people aren't smart enough to understand and think that I'm coming up with an excuse as to why I think a DSG Audi has a better tranny than their manumatic camry.

 

I know, especially when it's used liberally. I'd rather it be high quality plastic.

Another one I thought of: cupholders that are either too shallow to keep anything in place during hard acceleration or turn, or are too big that things slide around in it. And exposed cupholdrs are a no-no in my book. If it's not being used, cover it, it gives the console a cleaner look.

 

12V Accessory plug that does not stay on without the key in.

Tilt wheels that barely tilt.

Horrible turning radius (fiances Maxima)

No door lock button

Shitty factory speakers

 

Seatbacks that are not tall enough to support your entire back AND shoulders.

Headrests that aren't designed properly thanks to ^^. They'll never be positioned properly or high enough to work as intended.

Front seats that have no support and are mostly flat cushions (a la 1980's cars...and my '99 TL)

Buttons that are too small to use while wearing winter gloves. I don't want to hit it and the five other buttons around it, I just want to activate the one.

A-Pillars that are directly in my line of sight when looking through the windshield (driver's side pillar).

Digital speedos are weird, but I could probably get used to it over time.

 

Ok I reregistered after a very loooong hiatus from the Boards just so I could say a few things to this and a few other topics.

1) Speedometers that flat out lie or are so overly optimistic when one considers the actual top speed a car can manage.
2) Crummy floor coverings, I can buy a cheap rug from Ikea that lasts longer than the mats most car makers sell for far more money.
3) Interiors with Leather on the "seating surface" only, come on already first they whack you over the head with the price of the leather, then the stuff is cheap as hell and to top it off most of the damn seat is not even covered in leather instead it is pleather.
4) Factory radios, great I found a car I like.......problem is I have to buy the car with the factory radio even if I do NOT want the piece of junk.
5) ABS,SRS,TCS, and on and on and on it goes with the abbreviation salad, having driven 35 different cars most without this stuff I fail to see why I have to pay premium prices for things I do not want in my car. Safety is fine as long as i can choose how much of it I want.
6) Chrome, whatever happened to real chrome???? the junk they sell today is just that..........JUNK!
7) Buttonmania inside the car. I want to buy a car not a rolling testament to some gone berserk car engineer who thought it might be fine and dandy to build a car with tenthousand buttons. Worse yet the beloved multi function contraptions gaining popularity.
8) Car seats, engineers can squeeze power out of virtually no displacement, they can fit enough gears in an automatic to satisfy even diesel truck drivers, ya think these same yoyo's could build decent seats???? not a chance. At least here in Germany we can order decent sport seats directly from the dealer but forget the price.Do I really need to blow an extra 2 or 3 large just to get a decent seat??
9) Pillars, ever notice that cars seem to be getting more and more difficult to see out of?? No wonder at the rate the cars are going eventtually you will need a periscope and extra long curb feelers just to negotiate the local mall. Drive an old car you will see what I mean.
10) And my top Gripe is.............. rear view Mirrors............. for the love of God Almighty ya think a room full of aerodynamics engineers with millions in windtunnels standing around might be able to build a rear view mirror that sheds water like in the good old days, does not hold a half litre of water that rains out after the car is dried.

11) Bonus Gripe. Radios with mini buttons. Remember when a radio had two big knobs and a few preset buttons? I do ............. was damn nice !! you could operate the radio without a degree in electrical engineering as a prerequisite for tuning in a station.

Have a happy day and just think I get to drive as fast as I damn well please LEGALLY here in Merry Germany where Beer is good and no speed limits are better.

Jens

 

I think it relates to pedestrian safety, but I am not sure. Anyway it annoys me too.

Road noise over rough or only wet pavement is the other thing. This seems to be a bigger problem with Hondas.

Oh, and welcome back Jens. Thanks for all the tech tips.

 

....sounds like the 00-03 Maxima. My 02 Maxima has the turning radius of a cargo ship.

 

And HELLOOOOO to Texas SpeedyV6.

 

On my CL-S in particular:
Sun-roofs that don't go back all the way (I know there is no room for it, but it still bothers me)
Sport-Shift modes that shift from first to second automatically
Bose apparently can't put Bose type sound quality into their automobile sound systems
Road lamps!? give me some damn fog lights with my "luxury" car!
Anything plasitc or fake in a $30k+ car

and as of last sunday...Sub-par transmissions

 

LOL yea, I agree, technology is becoming absurd. Soon our cars will wipe our asses and burp you while it parrallel parks itself

Some of my gripes.......

. Like many I hate the foot E-Brake
. A horrible turning radius (I used to on a 2001 Maxima)
. No low end Torque (Im impatient, I want my power NOW)
. Hard Leather seats and seats with a vertically split seam in the middle
. Larg SUV's with no purpose other than to place large rims on them

 

Cars are still self-destructing pieces of crap. Product failure is inevitable and in fact, part of the design.

Although obviously improved, we're essentially using the same internal combustion engine of 100 years ago with the same rolling tires and moving parts.

I was promised a Jetson commuter vehicle decades ago. Where is it?





....and poor turning radiuses as well as most of the other stuff people have mentioned.

 

Wait I forgot one........The fact that every car now has at least 300hp. Im exaggerating of course but I find it pointless when I see a minivan that can do 0-60 in 5 secs. EVERYTHING is fast now......sorta takes the fun out of it

 

Even Toyota Avalon's and Altimas can hit 60 in less than 6 seconds. Strange stuff. :shakehead