On Mar 31, 1:40 am, "Speeders & Drunk Drivers are MURDERERS"
<beta...@earthlink.net> wrote:

Many caused by your love affair with red light cameras.

I'm indifferent on the high beam issue - both methods are good when well
implemented.  What I hate is when you have both the dimmer switch and
the little squeezy bulb for the windshield washers on the floor
(remember those?) and your shuffling around trying to find the right
thing to step on...

I *HATE* those "multifunction stalks."  Turn signals on a stalk = good.
 High beams = acceptable.  But when you cram cruise control, wiper
controls, and sometimes even headlight controls onto the same stalk with
the two aforementioned functions, you end up with a flaming bag of crap.
 My mom had a Renault once where you honked the horn by pressing the
end of the turn signal stalk.  Three guesses what I thought of that
ergonomic abortion, first two don't count.

I do like the seperate stalk on the passenger side of the column for the
  windshield wipers.  There's something to be said about putting them
in a standard location, which hadn't been previously done since the days
when you had a rotary knob in the exact center of the dash to control
the vacuum motor.

I think the most ergonomically wonderful car I've ever had was a Porsche
914.  The turn signal lever was METAL and it was a joy to signal lane
changes, it felt so nice and precise.  One could almost imagine Porsche
buying the switches from Swiss watchmakers who were hand crafting them
in their spare time.  Compare and contrast with the stalk on my Ford
pickup which feels like you could break it off with any r  Unfortunately
my 914 was built a year or two before the introduced the column mounted
wiper switch, but at least Porsche bothered to use little colored knob
inserts for all the switches which lit up with the marker lights.

nate

I'm an old geezer like you, and taking the dimmer switch off of the floor is
one of the better improvements to the automobile.

Technically, Low Beams should be used always, unless Hig Beams are actually
necessary. Low Beams are preferred, and the emphasis is that High Beams
should only be used when there is no oncoming traffic. You have the usage
patterns reversed.

I've owned plenty of cars with foot dimmer switches. I've even owned a
car with a windshield wiper switch on the floor. The big problem with
putting a switch down there is that they RUST and eventually fail.

On Mar 31, 2:44 pm, "DanK...@gmail.com" <DanK...@gmail.com> wrote:

Set the hand throttle, the spark advance, the choke, the parking
brake, prime the carb (maybe). Grab the crank and pull, then continue
to run around resetting until it's idleing properly.
(add a key for some of the newer old-ones.)

On Mar 31, 3:44 pm, "DanK...@gmail.com" <DanK...@gmail.com> wrote:

Don't forget the partr about fiddling with the 'tickler' to get a good
spark.

Harry K

I remember a couple of cars I had that had another button on the floor
that allowed you to change stations on the radio with your foot.
Avoided the need to either glance over at the radio or, in the case of
some cars now, look down at the steering wheel to press that button.
Everything new is not necessarily better.

Don't wrap your thumb around the crank.
(I gotta keep telling you damn kids.)

On Apr 3, 7:06 pm, websu...@cox.net wrote:

Then there are the various placements of the starter.  Back in the day
of the floor starter switch there could be a problem if you needed to
hit it and the gas pedal at teh same time.

Then Nash in ?48? put the starter switch _under_ the gas pedal.  You
had to floor the pedal to mash the switch.

Of cours then there was the stubborness of Ford keeping the switch on
the left of steering wheel long past when everyone else had it on the
right.

Harry K

On a related note, I noticed something interesting the last time I rode
a commuter transit bus: Turn signals and hazard lights are all operated
via good old fashioned heavy-duty foot switches.

The gas and brake pedals are under the right foot, and since buses are
automatics the left foot is free to operate the 3 foot switches: Left,
center for hazards, and right. They're arranged in a triangle shape, so
the driver can rest their foot between the three, pivot on their heel
slightly for left or right, or extend their ankle slightly for hazards.

It also explained how the bus drivers around here are so quick with a
couple "thank you" hazard blinks when you yield to them (as required by
state law).