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Originally Posted by jinojohnt 1. Rear Wind Screen: Outer boundary of rear wind-screen is always painted black, so I don't get full visibility through the glass. Maruti 800 and Alto doesn't have this blackened edge, but this 'feature' is common among 'new generation' hatches. |
Maybe it's to support the rear defogger?
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Originally Posted by jinojohnt 2. Cabin light: Why can't the cabin light be placed (centrally) on the dash board? The current position only serves to point the light on my eyes. Try switching on the cabin light while you drive, if you don't understand what I mean. |
A roof mounted cabin light will help illuminate more area than a dashboard mounted one. Typically the cabin light is used for searching for small things dropped into the footwell of the front/rear passengers. A dash mounted light is pretty much useless in these cases.
An option I can think of is positioning lights in the footwell or bottom of the doors so they don't create a driving hazard. But considering the cost implications, and the fact that you should not have to use the cabin light for more than a few seconds while driving, it's hard to find a better place for the cabin light.
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Originally Posted by jinojohnt 3. A/C vents: Why can't the a/c vents be designed like cassette a/c on the center of the roof? It would ensure uniform cooling rather than directing cold air just to the face. |
Cost would be a major factor. Routing the air pipes through the roof (via the A or B pillars) would be too costly. They would also be very difficult to fix or clean. Try changing the direction of the vents, or simply switch off the vent on the side and direct the central vents straight back to avoid getting the air in your face.
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Originally Posted by jinojohnt 4. Rear Drum Brakes: Why can't we have rear disc brakes rather than drum brakes? Atleast as optional? |
Disc brakes would add a lot of cost (setting up as well as replacements). Also I doubt if a rear disc brake would be as good as a drum brake in holding a car stationary on a slope with the handbrake.
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Originally Posted by jinojohnt 5. Inside Rearview mirror: Why can't we have a long convex mirror rather than the plain mirror inside so that I'll get a wider view of the traffic behind? |
As someone pointed out earlier, it's important to know the distance between your car and the vehicle following you. A convex mirror would distort it. Plus the internal mirrors are usually quite adequate in covering the rear. For adjoining lanes you could always use the wing/ORV mirrors.
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Originally Posted by jinojohnt 6. Headlamp leveller: Why can't we have an automatic headlight dimmer (at half the cost) made mandatory, rather than the current mandatory auto leveller function? |
How would they work? Depending upon its implementation it could either be a great feature or a hazard. If the headlamps dimmed automatically, how does the driver signal the oncoming traffic? What if the driver couldn't see what's ahead because the headlamps dimmed?
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Originally Posted by jinojohnt 7. Antenna: Protruding antenna looks ugly. Why can't some other part serve as antenna? How about the wiper arm? |
And when you replace the wiper arm, you shell out a couple of hundred extra bucks because the antenna goes with it.
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Originally Posted by jinojohnt 8. Glove box: Why can't the glove box be placed between the front seats (along with the park brake lever) so that the front passenger can get more knee room? |
Inadequate space between the seats (specially in the hatches), plus it may interfere with the handbrake operation. I personally believe operating the glove box would also be easier than a centre-mounted box.
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Originally Posted by jinojohnt 9. Wheels: Why can't the wheels be designed like bicycle wheels? Perhaps to save weight? |
Perhaps to ensure they support the vehicle's weight? The rims are expected to last the lifetime of the vehicle. Considering the kind of terrain a vehicle will go over, the rims have be strong enough to carry the vehicle through all the potholes, uneven surfaces and other such. I doubt if a bicycle type design would provide enough strength. If it did you would have seen steel pressed rims looking like the alloys and alloys getting even thinner.
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Originally Posted by jinojohnt 10. Hatch door: Why is a hatch door needed to access the boot, if the rear door is extended to the back corner (Perhaps they can try this in a Tata Nano)? |
And have things fall off when the rear passenger decides to open the door? I may be carrying something which I don't want my passengers to be able to touch/see/take away.