I completeely agree with the volume control on turn signals.
I’m not 80, I’m 60. but I’ve had a job wherein my hearing at the high end has been impaired. Who can hear those little blips?
Photo-sensitive automatic high-beam dimmers that would switch to low beams either in daylight or when hit by oncoming headlights. This would compensate for those oblivious drivers who don’t appear to know or care where the switch is.
Since so many people ostensibly buy SUVs to see above traffic, why not a telescoping boom with cameras–that way anyone in any car can see above the traffic
Tongue in cheek
Scrabbler
Rear window wipers.
ABS brakes
HID Headlights
Air dam that automatically deploys at 40 mph, retracts at 35 mph.
Low rolling resistance tires
Power outlets in the rear seat area
Trunk pass-thru
(1) An inverter with at least one 3-prong 110VAC receptacle. Inverters that plug into the cigarette lighter are readily available, but if they were purchased in bulk by a car manufacturer, the cost would drop to a trivial amount. I am told that at least one pickup truck does offer such receptacles — the model is supposedly aimed at people who work in the construction industry. A standard- installation inverter would not need to be THAT robust, but would be a huge convenience even on a smaller scale.
(2) A standard plug for pumping input from an MP3, etc., into the vehicle’s sound system. Some vehicles have this, but it must be so inexpensive to do that it would be almost no burden if it were done across the board.
(3) A band on all car radios that allow the user to tune quickly and automatically to the signal of NOAA weather broadcasts. These frequencies are readily offered on many ordinary non-vehicular radio units. No good reason they couldn’t be inexpensively made a part of automotive sound installations. Lives could be saved.
(4) A GPS “here-I-am” feature in a chip and an inexpensive transmitter, of the kind provided by law on new cellphones. In a car, it would ORDINARILY require driver activation, or but should also be capable of automatic activation in the event of airbags being deployed. This is sort of a “poor man’s OnStar.”
MJR
Tall overdrive gears. I just don’t buy the idea that a Miata really needs to be buzzing at 4000 RPMs on the highway. Put 5 close together and the 6th as far above the others as it safely can be. I don’t care if it accelerates like an economy car when I’m maintaining a constant speed for 100 miles.
I agree that for many seasoned drivers, in slippery conditions that they are prepared for, non abs brakes can be an advantage. For the inexperienced driver or some emergency , reactionary situations, give me abs. I still want the option to steer a little and will sacrifice a little distance to have it. I’m not that able or invincible any more.
Many car makers have come around in some models with a traction control disable switch. Maybe some would like one for ABS as well.
That cool real-time miles per gallon gauge that’s currently found on hybrids that helps the terminally frugal to get as far as possible on the least amount of fuel.
EXCELLENT ANSWER !!! & add a $1,000. fine if a seller fails to keep it up to date or fails to pass it on to the next owner…
Button on the dash: "Make that car burst into flames!"
My college buddy Mike had this idea a few years back. We often found ourselves stuck in the passing lane, unable to pass due to the slow moving vehicle in front of us going the exact same speed as the vehicle in the right lane. So he came up with the concept of a big red button on the dash board that reads “Make that car burst into flames!”
This way, when you get stuck behind a vehicle that isn’t following the rules of the road, you can hit the button, and naturally they’ll get out of your way.
Bigger horn: possibly a train horn why-not
Another thing may be bigger horns on minivans. I drove a Toyota Previa for 5 years in Denver and noticed that nobody even acknowledged it’s horn. That is, on countless occasions whilst being cut off in traffic, forced onto the 2 ft shoulder by the wall or ditch, I’d hit my horn in futility, warning them of my presence. I think it’d be difficult for anyone on the highway to ignore the sounding of something such as a train horn. After all, I live a mile from the tracks and those darn trains still wake me from a sound slumber. Imagine going down a highway and hearing a train horn! That would defiantly turn heads.
Grapple: for retrieving those perfectly good tie down straps at speed
How many times have you driven down the road, only to find to your amazement, a perfectly good tie down strap, rope, or chain, lying helplessly in the road? How many collisions have you almost caused, screeching to a halt in an attempt to recover such said items? I think just about every farmer in Kansas can relate in some way. So why not a grapple system in your car that could be quickly deployed to recover by reaching out and grabbing said items and store them until it’s possible to pull over to a safe place. Think of all the perfectly good tie down straps that could be reused, given a new home and a new life?
Terry, # 6, I love it!
Yep,sort of like the old E-gear concept,that and good aerodynamics is one reason(low weight also) new Corvettes can achieve respectable highway mileage-Kevin
Full support for my DC power tools. There is a great engine, excellent capabilities to produce electrical power, and my power tools can be plugged into the system. When the rechargable bettery goes dead, I should be able to just hook them up and run them off my pickup’s circuit.
I recently rented a Hyundai Getz and there was a shelf on the driver’s side under the steering wheel/column and it was most fantastically useful! I want one in my Subaru.
Combine that with a tall overdrive gear (in a lightweight car with close ratios on the lower gears and more power than it needs) and I’m sold.
Better yet, some sort of directional EMP device. Sure, it’ll only get slower, but they won’t be doing that again.
AUX-in ports so you can play your mp3 player through your stereo, and 4-wheel disc brakes with ABS so when you crash plugging it in you won’t be hurtling at such high speeds.
SFK,excellent suggestion-Kevin
I believe all new cars should come with an effective means of showing the MPG you are getting from your vehicle, similar to the system used in the Prius. There are many ways to influence your fuel effeciency, but without a meaningful way to monitor your fuel efficiency, you have no way to determine the effects of your driving habits.
I have a Prius and a Camry, and when I change from one car to the other I realize my driving habits change because I am not getting timely feedback on my driving habits when I am driving the Camry.
I would like to see front and side air bags on all models. These bags should be designed to envelop the driver and all passengers. I’ve been in two accidents in my life time. The first was with a 1975 LeMans in which the telephone pole won. Hit it hard enough to bend the A-frame and got pretty banged up with seat belts on. Just recently had the second one and 90 Grand Am SE. Got hit by someone runnning, and I do mean running, a red light and was able to walk away from it. If that had happened at the first accident, I may not be here today.