I think daytime running lights should be standard on every car. Too many people don’t remember to or are too ignorant to turn there lights on when visabilty is poor. They think “I can see so that’s all that matters”. Also a compass should be on every car.
Big, juicy bugs always hit my view area when I’m in a truck with substandard wipers and washers-Kevin
Given enough time some of this stuff probaly will be standard,thanks and keep it coming folks-Kevin
Just buy one and put it in your trunk.
The trouble is, most people DON’T know to adjust their rear drum brakes every so often. The average person doesn’t get the concepts of preventative maintenance or normal wear - they expect things to magically keep working forever. Car manufacturers’ marketing divisions certainly don’t help with this!
Given all the technology in cars today, it should also be possible to have the computer limit the car’s performance with the donut installed. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve been cruising along the freeway at 65 and had someone blast past me with a donut on their rear hub - and it’s obvious, thanks to the donut being on a steel rim with a big yellow placard saying “DO NOT DRIVE MORE THAN 50MPH OR MORE THAN 50 MILES ON THIS DONUT”, while the rest of the rims are alloy… it always scares me when I see someone driving fast on a donut.
headlights that come on when the windshield wipers are turned on. Headlights w/ wipers is becoming mandatory in more and more states and is a good safety measure, but people don’t think to turn them on as they should.
Car service manuals are essential. Would you believe there are FOUR manuals for my 2007 Camry and the dealer wants $100 each for them? What a ripoff! Cup holders should be standard along with stability control, traction control and a GPS.
You should be able to go to your car maker on the Web and get a free downloadable service manual(one anyway) ah yes more cupholders-Kevin
It shouldn’t be hard to have a heating/air conditioner control that really works. On my company supplied piece of s*** 1972 Ford Turino it at least had a control that you set and forgot about. It kept the car the same temp summer and winter.
Standardize the light/wiper/cruise controls on the wands. Going from car to car is aggravating and dangerous.
The headlights should go off when the ignition goes off.
I’d also like to see an external audio input on all audio systems. The iPod is ubiquitous.
I agree. My wife’s 2003 Windstar has a monitoring system and it has proved valuable. It makes up for the frustrating feature of automatically locking the doors.
First and foremost: when you turn on the windshield wipers, your lights should automatically turn on and I don’t mean the PARKING lights (there is a reason they are called "Parking Lights!), I mean the front bloodybedamned headlights.
Second, every vehicle, IMHO, should have a heads-up display of the speed, the engine warning light, the fuel gage, and the temperature gage (note: I said “gage” not “idiot light”) and the display should be in the lower peripheral vision of the driver (with adjustability) so that they driver doesn’t even really have to glance down to see it . . . it just is a subconscious sort of thing. This would reduce the eyes-off-the-road issue for many drivers (especially newer drivers). Also, I can attest from personal experience, it can help reduce speeding. (My wife used to have a tendency to let her speed creep up more and more the longer she drove but the HUD in her '99 Buick Park Avenue has pretty much cured that. 
Standard height bumpers and headlights
(OK, technically I’d like these to be required of all vehicles rather than just standard equipment.) No more blinding headlights behind you at a stop light because some joker jacked up his pickup 18 inches. And bumpers would usually meet in a front/rear collision, thus serving their intended purpose. What a concept!
following distance control make vehicle slow down if getting within so many feet of leading vehicle as spped requires
following distance control make vehicle slow down if getting within so many feet of leading vehicle as spped requires
A-Men real tires for real problems yes
emergency kit. which includes; reflectors, a small tool kit i.e. screwdriver, pliers electrical tape, zip lines, jumper cables etc.
A climate friendly kit if you live in the north a colapseble shovel, ice scraper, hand warmer. If in a warmer climate appropriate first aid items or survival items in case of breakdown in rural areas.
Vehicles need to be USER serviceable, and I mean screwdriver and pliers. Without leaving the vehicle dead in the water for a $500.00 ransom.
Yes youall may want some of these computerized ‘do it for you without interactive thinking’ accessories and functions. But geeze Detroit, at least leave a driveable/useable default in the thing.
Hand cranks are not 100% foolproof. Years ago, when electric windows were much less common, I remember sometimes having to lift the glass by hand when the mechanism broke or jammed. I sometimes had to jam a shim of folded cardboard between the glass and the rubber sill seal to hold the glass up by friction alone. This did not just happen in one isolated vehicle, but at least 4 that I can recall from the 40+ years I’ve been driving. And it could be a foreign or domestic car/truck.
I contend that manual cranks tend to allow more vigorous operation, resulting in more wear on the pivot points of the raising mechanism.