Quirky car controls

mcwhirter · 01-09-2008 10:02pm #1

Anyone know of cars which have quirky controls.
One I remember was the alfasud which had the right hand stalk down movement for the heater fan and twist for the wipers?
The alfa 90 had electric window switches on the roof headlining, it surely can't be just italian cars which have the quirks?

Any more odd designs?

mike65 · 01-09-2008 10:06pm

The entire Citroen range until about 1982.

The Mercedes "all in one" stalk is/was not a clever piece of work.

Mike.

peasant · 01-09-2008 10:07pm

anything made by Citroen before they merged with Peugeot and became PSA

for example ...Citroen CX

EDIT ..baahhh ...mike beat me to it

Victor_M · 01-09-2008 10:08pm

Saab's and their years of putting the ignition under the hand brake. Do they still do that these days by the way?

crosstownk · 01-09-2008 10:09pm

Do a bit of googling on the Citroen CX. That'll satisfy some of your quirky needs

Stereo in the centre console - freaky wiper controls.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citroen_CX

EDIT - beaten to it long ago......

crosstownk · 01-09-2008 10:11pm

Victor_M wrote: »

Saab's and their years of putting the ignition under the hand brake. Do they still do that these days by the way?

Yep - 9-5 has it. I'm not sure, but I think the 9-3 has opted for convention these days.

peasant · 01-09-2008 10:11pm

My camper (Iveco) has the horn integrated into the stalk that controls the lights. The beautiful bit about that is that you can flash the lights and beep the horn all with one finger ...now guess, which one falls most ergonomically to hand?

yepp ...it's the middle one

...gotta love the Italians !

peasant · 01-09-2008 10:12pm

Victor_M wrote: »

Saab's and their years of putting the ignition under the hand brake. Do they still do that these days by the way?

On some models you could also only pull the key out when it was in reverse gear (or "P" on autos)

crosstownk · 01-09-2008 10:14pm

peasant wrote: »

On some models you could also only pull the key out when it was in reverse gear (or "P" on autos)

Yep - this also locked the gear lever in reverse (manual) rather than the conventional steering lock.

L1011 · 01-09-2008 10:14pm

peasant wrote: »

My camper (Iveco) has the horn integrated into the stalk that controls the lights. The beautiful bit about that is that you can flash the lights and beep the horn all with one finger ...now guess, which one falls most ergonomically to hand?

yepp ...it's the middle one ...gotta love the Italians !

Standard on Fiat's with steering wheel radio controls AFAICT - my Dad's GP has it, and his older Stilo did too.

My car has its gearstick about two foot off the usual location...

blackbox · 01-09-2008 10:15pm

On my BX 16V the switches for the rear electric windows were placed on the console between the front seats where they could be operated by front or rear passengers.

Clever, simple & effective - I used to love Citroen controls, especially the 1st generation AX.

blackbox · 01-09-2008 10:16pm

Fiat 127 windscreen washer - it was a rubber bulb on the dashboard: odd, but it worked well.

pburns · 01-09-2008 10:22pm

The late '80s/early 90s Isuzu Gemini had lights and wiper buttons on pods that came out to meet the finger-tips each side of the instrument binnicle. There was only one simple stalk for the indicators AFAIR. Quite brilliant ergonomically actually.

Can't find a pic. I think the CX had something similar.

Hagar · 01-09-2008 10:25pm

The old mini used to have the headlights operated by a floor switch near the clutch AFAIR.

mike65 · 01-09-2008 10:26pm

Did not the Alfa 75 also have the switches on the roof? Same era so probably did.

Mike.

peasant · 01-09-2008 10:29pm

blackbox wrote: »

Fiat 127 windscreen washer - it was a rubber bulb on the dashboard: odd, but it worked well.

My Renault 4 had the same bulb ..on the floor, next to the clutch.

The VW van I currently drive has the wahser reservoir inside the drivers door, in the floor,next to the step, coverd by a rubber mat (you'd never find it if you didn't know it was there) ...and the hydraulics reservoir for the brakes inside the dashboard, behind the speedo

Anan1 · 01-09-2008 10:58pm

Victor_M wrote: »

Saab's and their years of putting the ignition under the hand brake. Do they still do that these days by the way?

There was actually a very good reason for that, it was so the keys didn't shred your knee in an accident!

Anan1 · 01-09-2008 10:59pm

mike65 wrote: »

Did not the Alfa 75 also have the switches on the roof? Same era so probably did.

Mike.

The Giulietta definitely did.

colm_mcm · 01-09-2008 11:05pm

The old Saabs had a transmission lock instead of a steering lock, that's why you had to put it into reverse when you parked it.

The 9-5 still has this feature, but it also has an electric steering lock

The 9-5 has an electronic key that slots in behind the gear lever, but just has the electric steering lock, so you don't have to park it in reverse.

My weird controls observations:

Peugeot Boxer: electric window switches on the roof

Nissan Almera: heating and radio controls use the same buttons

Citroen Berlingo/Xsara: only 1 electric mirror

Fiat Multipla: handbrake on right hand side of drivers seat (think Pug 806 had this too?)

RobAMerc · 01-09-2008 11:12pm

Older 911s look like someone someone caught the switches and threw them at the Dash - wherever they landed they stayed.

The Renault 4 had the gear stick sticking out of the dash.

Older Mercs had a hand brake pulled from the dash, and now have foot ones.

Many motors I have driven have a rubber foot pump for the window wash.

Some Alfas have had their electric window switches and the check panel on the roof ( I think as a reference to aircraft )

Anan1 · 01-09-2008 11:32pm

RobAMerc wrote: »

Older 911s look like someone someone caught the switches and threw them at the Dash - wherever they landed they stayed.

And they weren't sitting in the driver's seat when they threw them...

galwaytt · 01-09-2008 11:34pm

crosstownk wrote: »

Yep - 9-5 has it. I'm not sure, but I think the 9-3 has opted for convention these days.

No it hasn't - my mid 06 9-3 Tid still has it there.....:D

crosstownk · 01-09-2008 11:40pm

galwaytt wrote: »

No it hasn't - my mid 06 9-3 Tid still has it there.....:D

Well there's the proof I didn't Google.................. Oh wait it's not one of those threads

:D

colm_mcm · 01-09-2008 11:43pm

crosstownk wrote: »

Well there's the proof I didn't Google.................. Oh wait it's not one of those threads :D

you mean one of the ones that gets locked after a few minutes despite the person that locked it starting a similar thread himself only a few hours earlier?

Fishtits · 01-09-2008 11:47pm

00 Golf, radio located at shin level...

peasant · 01-09-2008 11:52pm

colm_mcm wrote: »

you mean one of the ones that gets locked after a few minutes despite the person that locked it starting a similar thread himself only a few hours earlier?

stop stirring it ..NOW

dingding · 02-09-2008 12:14am

Original mini with long switches on the dash with centre key.

alias no.9 · 02-09-2008 12:15am

pburns wrote: »

The late '80s/early 90s Isuzu Gemini had lights and wiper buttons on pods that came out to meet the finger-tips each side of the instrument binnicle. There was only one simple stalk for the indicators AFAIR. Quite brilliant ergonomically actually.

Can't find a pic. I think the CX had something similar.

Original Fiat Uno had the same dealey with the controls on little pods to the right and left of the steering wheel. One stalk for the indicators, switching between the high/low beam lights and horn.

alias no.9 · 02-09-2008 12:17am

The old fiat 500 and early 126's had a lawnmower style pull starter between the front seats.

copacetic · 02-09-2008 12:22am

foot operated 'hand' brakes still in mercs? pure pain in the arse for no apparent reason.

colm_mcm · 02-09-2008 12:33am

peasant wrote: »

stop stirring it ..NOW

Point taken, fair play for deleting your own thread.

Quirky car controls

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