Car features so good all cars should have them?

[David]

I'm curious what car features do some manufactures get right that others should copy.

I'll start:

1. One of my favorites is the intermittent windshield wiper control on the air cooled 911. It's so simple but so perfect. Almost infinitely adjustable from super slow to fast.

2. The cruise control on a BMW. It's on a stalk on the lower left where most German cars correctly put it but the best part is that it applies the brakes when pulled all the way back and it increases and decreases speed in increments of 5 mph when held a little longer. Drives me crazy that modern Porsches don't do this but maybe it's a patent thing.

[unclebilly]

IM wipers were a patent thing...

I prefer the cruise controls on the steering wheel like my WRX has,

Every car should have functional Bluetooth with proper noise cancelling. The Bluetooth in my 2018 WRX is so bad, I normally just use the speaker phone mode on my iPhone because nobody can hear me due to road noise if I use Bluetooth.

[GH85Carrera]

The intermittent windshield wiper control on the my 85 911 works great, and is one of my examples of a feature "stuck" on a car as a work around. Like the AC, heater and fresh air being 100% automatons systems. What other car can run the heater, the AC and fresh air all at the same time?

I drive a 85 911 and a 1986 El Camino. The Elky does not have electric windows or door locks. My wife's 2017 Macan is like a space ship. I would say the integrated Apple Play is a feature all cars should have. I can run my phone from the car's display. The Macan has no GPS built in, but with Apple Play, the GPS is always up to date, and I can use whatever app I prefer. So Waze, Google Maps, or Apple Maps or whatever I want for road trips or finding a friends house in a neighborhood that is a maze.

[bivenator]

One touch windows.

[LEAKYSEALS951]

A spare tire

[Seahawk]

Heated seats. I'll never own a DD without them.

My 96 LC doesn't have them so I bought an aftermarket kit.

I am a simple man.

[pwd72s]

Originally Posted by LEAKYSEALS951

A spare tire

Bingo! And the jack and lug wrench.

[wdfifteen]

Intermittent wipers!
I wish there were consistent controls across models.
Most show a series of parallel lines that indicate the interval between wipes. On some cars the long line means a long interval between wipes, on some others the long line means more wipes per minute (short interval). It used to be a pain when I was renting a lot of cars.

[cassisrot]

I really like my twin turbos ��

[masraum]

Originally Posted by David

I'm curious what car features do some manufactures get right that others should copy.

I'll start:

1. One of my favorites is the intermittent windshield wiper control on the air cooled 911. It's so simple but so perfect. Almost infinitely adjustable from super slow to fast.

2. The cruise control on a BMW. It's on a stalk on the lower left where most German cars correctly put it but the best part is that it applies the brakes when pulled all the way back and it increases and decreases speed in increments of 5 mph when held a little longer. Drives me crazy that modern Porsches don't do this but maybe it's a patent thing.

1 Yep, the infinite adjust ability of the old 911 was great. My boxster does the same, but automatically. I have to turn the wipers on, but once I do, the speed adjusts. I think I can them kick them into 2 constant speeds as well.

2 Yep, similar to our 2018 outback. If the cruise is on and set, a quick bump of the stalk increases/decreases to increments divisible by 5 (if you're at 62, it'll go to 65, then 70, etc...). If you hold the stalk, you can increase/decrease 1mph at a time depending upon how long you hold the stalk. And if you drop the speed by enough (10mph, I think) then the car will brake. So if I get off the interstate at 80, and then drop the cruise down to 40, it'll brake from 80 to 50 then coast from 50 to 40.

[dad911]

Downloadable MP3s for engine sounds on electric/hybrids cars. I hate the fake engine sound when backing up our Rav4

[herr_oberst]

A dead pedal.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by GH85Carrera

The intermittent windshield wiper control on the my 85 911 works great, and is one of my examples of a feature "stuck" on a car as a work around. What other car can run the heater, the AC and fresh air all at the same time?

I really liked the HVAC and controls in my old '88. I've never understood the folks that complained about the controls. I thought they were fantastic.

Originally Posted by bivenator

One touch windows.

Absolutely, one touch windows for every window, not just the driver's.

[red-beard]

Backup Camera

[svandamme]

windshield wiper..

I don't want stages , interval, slow fast faster
Just a frigging dial. 0 - 11

analog control

[masraum]

Originally Posted by dad911

Downloadable MP3s for engine sounds on electric/hybrids cars. I hate the fake engine sound when backing up our Rav4

I think the "fake engine sound" belongs in the other thread, things that need to be removed from all cars.

[widebody911]

It seems the industry is going the opposite direction. This technology existed in the 50's

https://www.theverge.com/2021/3/28/22351901/bmw-high-beam-assist-assistant-dlc-paid-update-ota

[911 Rod]

Rain sensing windshield wipers than also sense speed. My BMW had them and they worked really well when an oncoming truck threw slush at you.
Auto headlights.

[1990C4S]

A clutch pedal.

[Flat Six]

Heated seats. At the end of our first date, my (now) wife said she was a little cold so I turned up the seat heaters in the Audi I drove then. I'm positive that sealed the deal and scored me a second date.

One-touch windows. Up and down. All windows.

Full-size spare tire.

Owner's manual with actual technical specifications in it.

Engine oil dipstick. Trans fluid dipstick.

Battery located where you don't have to dismantle the interior to get to it.

Ability to easily and permanently disable auto-stop feature.

Cargo hooks and hold-downs in the trunk/storage area so your groceries don't go rolling around in those plastic bags.

[Edit]: Passenger side mirror that automatically rotates down when selecting reverse so you can see curbs, kids, etc. near the passenger-side tire and bumper area.