That?s right, we’re throwing open the doors to ideas. No matter how wacko, we want to hear from you!
We realized we haven’t heard from you guys in ages. Other than via your hate mail, of course.
What feature, web application, service, or time-killing idea do you feel is missing from cartalk.com? (Sorry, Jim in Boise, that "Tom and Ray as living pi?atas? concept was nixed by OSHA, though wholeheartedly endorsed by NPR.)
Share your ideas right here!
Tom and Ray
And what is wrong with hate mail? OK, one little wish: to have a time and date show on the posted question or comment.
You mean as in “10/16/2007 12:56:27 PM,” which is the time you posted your reply? I think they’ve already got that one covered, unless you want them to specify the time zone.
On the main Cartalk web site I’d like to see the test drive notebook updated more often, and more prominent.
And with new cars! I don’t care what your '52 MG is like. I like to read many different reviews from many different sources on new cars. Even your opinions are worth something, but you don’t seem to be doing this any more.
I’d like to see a separate “Miracle” forum for the same questions that keep coming up about oil & gas additives, mileage gadgets, and perhaps even the great dino vs synth oil debate.
I’d like to see the number of posts a user has made and how long they’ve been a member, next to their name when they post something. And for replies to be in chronological order, no “nesting” of posts…waay too easy to miss a new post that way. People can quote someone if they want to make sure their response is directed.
Tom and Ray, is that really you? Of course the popularity of your show has been built on your great sense of humor, but I’d like to see a little bit more hard-core technical info- maybe a discussion of new technologies like CVT transmissions or variable valve timing(with a humorous twist of course!) I just recently registered with your website and I’ve already received valuable car repair advice. Thanks for being there!
they need to have different forums such as off topic, and other stuff
I was an addicted reader/poster on the old Rand&Rave, Car Questions, Tow Truck Drivers Reading List, etc. That format was outstanding. Why was it trashed? Could it be revived?
Do you see a time and date on Tom and Ray’s post? I don’t.
The website as it stands, is great. This forum… is showing promise but just lacks so much still. Here’s what I’d like to see on the forum in order to bring its level of functionality back up to, say, that of any other reasonable forum software.
Display the date of the original post when viewing the post: Hellokit mentioned this. I can’t see when you guys posted your comment! That’d really be pretty handy.
Mouse over previews: This is standard forum fare. Rather than having to click a topic to read it, you should be able to hover your mouse over it and see a small preview in a pop-up.
List whose post a reply is addressing: This is so so so important. I like how replies cascade here. That is, I like how a reply indents beneath what it replies to. Unfortunately, that only applies to the first couple of replies. After that, they stack up with no distinction. It would not take a lot to add a little tag line with “re: user name”. Again, that is standard fare.
Longer display for links in posts: This isn’t a big deal, but under the current system, links in posts are truncated very short. At least show the domain part of the link before truncating. This could actually kind of a liability.
Display more recent posts in profile: This was mentioned too. It seems really strange that only 3 recent posts show up in the View Profile mode. Especially with the large volume of posts on this board, it makes if nearly impossible to go back and find a post you’ve made that is over a few days old.
Personal messages: Since the idea here is to cut-down or eliminate external moderation, you invite lots and lots of off-topic chatter on the board if there is no personal message system.
More robust search system: This speaks for itself. Click the search button on this forum, then click the search button on any other forum, and tell me what this one’s missing. I tried to go back and find the last thread that invited user feedback on the forum. I tried several pieces of search criteria, came up with nothing, and gave up in frustration.
As I have said in other posts: I can understand how you’d like to keep control of your own code, and that’s why this forum software was constructed. But you have to realize that you’re missing tons of “modern” features because of that, and the development of those features (which have come to be seen as basic comforts) has been very, very slow or non-existent. That’s very unfortunate.
First of all, I think you folks have done a truely good job of making requested changes. It’s good to see responsive people out there.
I’d like to see a forum on the automotive business. Who’s buying who, what’s coming for the future, when are the Chinese copymobiles coming, etc. A nontechnical business forum on the industry.
I miss the way that the old online forum showed how many posts each user had and the funny classifications, like “Worried about you division.”
We need a serious discussion on how to steal cars, preferably written by car thieves themselves so we know how best to protect ourselves.
I would like to see a webcam or better yet, maybe two. One in the studio while Tom and Ray are actually “on the air” and one where the rest of the staff is.
No. No time and date on the OP.
What I would like to see is, before anyone can ask a question about their vehicle, they must include the make, model, and year of the vehicle in the question before the question be even asked.
All too many times a person will ask a general question about their vehicle, but not include this basic information.
Tester
Something I’d love to see is access to the TSBs from the various car manufacturers. On line shop manuals would be cool also; I know enough about copywrite laws to make me think it isn’t going to happen, but if that would be my wish. jkd
The mechanic’s listings are so good and useful, that I would like to see a few similar ones for new car dealers, used car dealers, parts suppliers and finally, salvage yards. There are some good ones in each category as well as some stinkers. Be nice to presort for the good ones.
Ok…this will not get me any points - I would like to see a few items regarding recommended car repair facilities for us Canadians. Contrary to popular belief, we do drive cars up here…not just snowmobiles. What we lack is home-grown talent like Tom & Ray…which is one of the reasons we listen to the show (yes…“we”…you guys have more than one listener up here, although trying to set up an antenna on the top of an igloo can be a bitch). You guys have a great show…keep up the great work.