Car Eccentricities

[Sage]

I’m a very, shall we say, detail-oriented person, so I tend to notice little neat nick-knacks in cars that captivate my attention. So I thought I’d start a thread for anybody to talk about such things. Now, they have to be things that most people would never notice – for example, don’t point out that car A has eccentric styling, because that’s something that anybody would be able to see at first glance.

For example, I’ve always been fascinated by Mercedes’ Monoblade wiper.



For those of you who haven’t seen it in action, it doesn’t have a fixed swivel point like most wipers – as it reaches the corners, it swings out further, while retracting back at the middle and sides of the sweep. Really neat to watch (too bad I can’t find a video of it).

 

[JCE]

That wiper is seriously cool. Definately the most unique wiper system I've ever seen.

For me one of the most odd things I've ever seen that no one probably has ever paid much attention to is the way a early/mid 90's Corvette's popup lights actually work. I had a 1992 teal Vette and I thought it was cool the way the popup lights worked. The light does a 180º (?) turn, it looks like it does a double turn. This is the model of Vette I'm talking about--its the same year as my old one:

 

[land sea air]

Similar to the mono blade system (yay mine has that one) and even harder to notice is the system used on most (maybe all) Mercedes 126 sedans, it looks like a standard two blade setup until you turn them on at which point on wiper waits until the other is about half way around then comes out at a completely different angle. first time I saw it in action I thought something had broken.

 

[Sage]

Yeah, I love those wipers too! It’s the one where the pivot points are fairly close together, right?

JCE: I’m not quite sure I understand – do you have a pic with the lights up?

 

[JCE]

Yeah, I love those wipers too!

JCE: I’m not quite sure I understand – do you have a pic with the lights up?

That wouldn't really explain what I mean, like the Merc's wipers unless you've seen them the pic just doesn't do the justice.

Most popup lights just have the light come straight up, this Vette's light rotates 180º (?) in place rather than just popping up.

 

[Vonie]

I can't find a pic of it, but the AC vents in Saabs are the coolest.

 

[JCE]

I can't find a pic of it, but the AC vents in Saabs are the coolest.

Agreed. They are kind of cool.

*edit*
I love how the 9-5 Interior really does look like a damn airplane cockpit. Look how the center stack points in the direction of the driver.

 

[dylansan]

I think he's trying to say something like this?


perhaps the corvette's lights go the other way? I'm not sure.

 

[TopHat]

Yeah, I love how they can be set at any angle possible.

 

[ND4SPD]

That wouldn't really explain what I mean, like the Merc's wipers unless you've seen them the pic just doesn't do the justice.

Most popup lights just have the light come straight up, this Vette's light rotates 180º (?) in place rather than just popping up.

I know what you mean about the headlights, its quite neat when you see it work. I think you get a good view of how it works when you lift the hood up on those Vettes and see the swivel headlights just hanging there.

Here's a picture I found that kinda shows the way the lights work. This Vette has its hood up with the headlights off so the lights are upside down and the bottom of of the lights act as the cover you see from the outside, but when they turn on they rotate so that the bottom cover is now inside the hood and the headlights are facing the road.

 

[Sage]

Ahh, I geddit now.

 

[JCE]

I think he's trying to say something like this?


perhaps the corvette's lights go the other way? I'm not sure.

Yea, basically that's it.

I know what you mean about the headlights, its quite neat when you see it work. I think you get a good view of how it works when you lift the hood up on those Vettes and see the swivel headlights just hanging there.

Here's a picture I found that kinda shows the way the lights work. This Vette has its hood up with the headlights off so the lights are upside down and the bottom of of the lights act as the cover you see from the outside, but when they turn on they rotate so that the bottom cover is now inside the hood and the headlights are facing the road.

See, the light is facing the cabin so it rotates up/down (can't remember which) and forward--its rather cool to watch actually.

*edit*
And that's the same color teal as my '92 model.

 

[bennyrrr]

I always loved the way that Porsche wings would pop up at a certain speed. First time I saw it, I flipped.

 

[Boz Mon]

Anyone have a video of this mono-wiper in action? Now I'm curious.

 

[land sea air]

Yeah, I love those wipers too! It’s the one where the pivot points are fairly close together, right?

exactly Sage
heres some more, I love the Miura's functional "eyebrows" (around the headlights) that I believe are used for cooling the brakes
I also love the extremely simple, stylish, and durable airplane style AC vents on the 123 Mercedes.
(notice a pattern here? I love when something functional can add a small amount of form as well)

not exactly on topic but along the same lines: I HATE how even in it's final year of production (1995) the Mercedes 124 STILL did not have a back-lit instrument cluster!!! One of my very few interior niggles on the car.
EDIT: @ boz, the videos I could take on my phone would not work on the site and would be low quality anyways but imagine it like this: the pivot is perfectly central on the windshield with one long blade, when parked it is at its normal length but by the time it reaches 45 deg. its maybe 1" longer for better coverage of the corners. Then by the time it is at 90 deg. it has gone back to normal length in order to stay on the windshield. The same thing is repeated for the next 90 deg. to the other side of the window and then again on the return stroke. Its an elegant system of lobes if you look inside the unit. Surprisingly reliable too, if it makes noise spray some WD-40 on it and you're good to go for another 10k miles

 

[Pupik]

To me, this is the part of the car that makes the 3rd-generation Ford Taurus one of the most original and brave designs in the automotive world. I profess that I still gaze at them for an extra moment every so often. The 2000-model year restyling was a brutal design crime, in my opinion.



The aerodynamic indentation across the side of the car tops it off, even if it was put on a bland car. I've always thought of it as the "insect-fish" school of design, but I suppose the reaction to the brave design wasn't what average people wanted in their average car.

 

[land sea air]

To me, this is the part of the car that makes the 3rd-generation Ford Taurus one of the most original and brave designs in the automotive world. I profess that I still gaze at them for an extra moment every so often. The 2000-model year restyling was a brutal design crime, in my opinion.



The aerodynamic indentation across the side of the car tops it off, even if it was put on a bland car. I've always thought of it as the "insect-fish" school of design, but I suppose the reaction to the brave design wasn't what average people wanted in their average car.

Agreed, our extra car is a 99 Taurus and I still notice little things now and then that make me stop and look twice, makes the overall blandness much easier to live with IMO. Too bad ours has so many dents and dings its hard to tell whats design and whats deconstruction

I was looking for a vid of the wipers and I found a pic of someone who fixed his to park vertically while still being fully functional. very cool indeed but I wonder what it would do to visibility, I'll try and get it on the site.

 

[skip0110]

I can't find a pic of it, but the AC vents in Saabs are the coolest.

Heh I have those vents in my Impreza

They work pretty good too, easier to use than the kind with the closure dealie under then vent.

There is a little rubber thing on the tranny tunnel of my car that I think is great; if I slide my foot over to the right while on the gas the rubber grips the side of my shoe and maintains that throttle position with very little effort. Kind of hard to explain but I find it very convenient.

 

[YSSMAN]

One thing that has always gotten me is in my Volkswagen, if I leave the lights on by accident the car begins to beep this crazy tone at me to let me know that I've left them on. I can't recall too many cars that do that, or at least to that extent.

A bit of a seperate thing that may some people know about and others may not is the MidGate on the Chevrolet Avalanche and Cadillac Escalade EXT. It allows the SUV with a small bed to be opened up and have its capacity enlarged to a full-size bed for larger items.

You can have the bed opened as pictured, but with the back covered, and that is always quite useful in the colder weather or when it may be raining etc. Each one of those panels that cover the bed can individually hold up to 250 lbs, which is rather impressive for what amounts to a few plastic pieces.

In the summer time we often take out the rear window, fold the bed open, and remove all the pannels. Its kinda like having a "convertible" in some strange way, and you'll get an odd look sometimes, but I still like it.

...Its part of the reason why I love the Avalanche so much...

 

[land sea air]

One thing that has always gotten me is in my Volkswagen, if I leave the lights on by accident the car begins to beep this crazy tone at me to let me know that I've left them on. I can't recall too many cars that do that, or at least to that extent.

Its a German thing, my car, my gf's car, sister's and friends BMWs. All do it

 

[Sage]

Pupik: I’m not sure what you’re talking about… At first I thought you were talking about the indentation, but then you mention that as an add-on in your second paragraph.

As long as I’m on a windshield wiper high, I can’t help but mention this:



That is the only cool Camry in the world, just because of those double rear wipers. I love that.

 

[Boz Mon]

What about the fact that its a wagon? That definitely adds to the coolness factor. And I am serious.

 

[Sage]

Absolutely. Station wagons are sexy as hell. 👍

 

[1X83Z]

To me, this is the part of the car that makes the 3rd-generation Ford Taurus one of the most original and brave designs in the automotive world. I profess that I still gaze at them for an extra moment every so often. The 2000-model year restyling was a brutal design crime, in my opinion.

The '00 redesign was a crime?! The redesign you posted, which occurred in 1996, is the single worst redesign in automotive history. To this day I get depressed thinking about it - and I'm not joking. I saw "Breach" the other day - a '96-'99 Taurus is featured prominently. I couldn't stop thinking about how Ford destroyed that car throughout the whole movie.

 

[3-Wheel Drive]

On the subject of Merc wipers, I've always liked the headlight wipers on some of the older models.

 

[TopHat]

I love how the Camrys rear quarter has a kink, its really a great design feature...

 

[harrytuttle]

I think he's trying to say something like this?


perhaps the corvette's lights go the other way? I'm not sure.

Seems like it does the double-flip to keep the same countours (as much as possible) whether the headlights are up or down. Neat. And it avoids the left/right winking (out-of-phase headlight flippage) that the Probe suffered from.

 

[1X83Z]

I love how the Camrys rear quarter has a kink, its really a great design feature...

Unless you're trying to see out the windows. My father categorically rejected this vehicle based solely on that design feature, which is really more of a styling gimmick:

 

[Keef]

Pupik: I’m not sure what you’re talking about… At first I thought you were talking about the indentation, but then you mention that as an add-on in your second paragraph.

As long as I’m on a windshield wiper high, I can’t help but mention this:



That is the only cool Camry in the world, just because of those double rear wipers. I love that.

Wow, I've never noticed that before. That's the wildest setup I've ever seen, but of course, I'm always amused by rear window wipers. They're just so weird. I might also like the Camry wagon because I can count on one hand the number of those cars I've seen in my life. Seriously. Vipers are more common in my area.

 

[1X83Z]

Wow, I've never noticed that before. That's the wildest setup I've ever seen, but of course, I'm always amused by rear window wipers. They're just so weird. I might also like the Camry wagon because I can count on one hand the number of those cars I've seen in my life. Seriously. Vipers are more common in my area.

One of my friends had one. About three years ago, knowing the vehicle had two rear wipers, I told him it was the only wagon that had that feature in history. He disagreed and bet me. I won the best, of course; today he still hasn't paid me. I desire the money plus interest.