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Back When Automotive Interior Designers Weren't So Slick: SECU- RITY Indicator Lamp
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How The Stile Bertone Mantide Got Angular Rear Wheelarches

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that ain't the way to have fun, son
11/08/09

In reply to Back When Automotive Interior Designers Weren't So Slick: SECU- RITY Indicator Lamp

Um, this is incredibly advanced for some of us.

The above pic comes from a '95 Mercedes E320, a car which retailed for $45K-50K back in 1995.

I wish for a hyphenated label! The "alarm activated" light is the right-most item.

I wondered what it was when I bought it in January, 'cause while it looked OEM, the car is 15 years old...so you never know what stupidity is lurking.

Fortunately, it blinks every few seconds when armed, so the first night, I figured it out.

Please note the rocker switch which uses vacuum release to flop the rear headrests to the parcel shelf.

I have to admit, this is an advance over the '89 W126 I had which had -0- indication of an OEM alarm system. Imagine my further embarrassment when I found this out during trying to get it unstuck, moving sand/rock by hand in the Vegas desert landscape. #1980s
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donkeyassman - loves his W124 400E Benz
11/16/09

@that ain't the way to have fun, son: I love that button that flops the headrests down, completley unnessecary. Does yours have the power rear window sunshade as well #1980s
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that ain't the way to have fun, son promoted this comment

that ain't the way to have fun, son
11/16/09

@donkeyassman - loves his W124 400E Benz: Mine lacks the power sunshade, and while the headrest retract button is overkill, which is vacuum-powered BTW, it's nice to have both good rear-seat headrests and the ability to flop them down from the front seat. #1980s
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Turboner
11/08/09

In reply to Back When Automotive Interior Designers Weren't So Slick: SECU- RITY Indicator Lamp
"Cruise cont" almost sounds nasty ;) #1980s
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ApolloV
11/08/09

In reply to Back When Automotive Interior Designers Weren't So Slick: SECU- RITY Indicator Lamp

What I find interesting is that the mirror, dimmer, and general layout in that part of the dash hasn't really changed that much in a 2007 Infiniti M35. Same with Hondas (the sunroof switch was in the same spot until just recently), and Toyotas have used the same digital clock for at least 25 years (why do I know all this). #1980s
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P161911 probably shoudn't have promoted this comment ApolloV was starred ApolloV was unstarred

If FromaBuick6 has to watch one more Chevy commercial, he's going to punch Howie Long in the face
11/07/09

In reply to Back When Automotive Interior Designers Weren't So Slick: SECU- RITY Indicator Lamp
For some reason this reminds me of the middle seat belt buckles marked "CENTRE" on a string of Japanese cars my parents owned throughout the '80s and early '90s.

Man, I miss boxy gray dashboards with fake stitching, squared off, airbagless steering wheels and haphazard buttons placed with no consideration of ergonomics. #1980s
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F1Morgan
11/07/09

In reply to Back When Automotive Interior Designers Weren't So Slick: SECU- RITY Indicator Lamp
Well yeah in Japanese it would be 1 or maybe 2 characters, one above the other. I just asked my wife who is Japanese, so obviously the Maxima was not the car it is today! Of course its good they spelled it correctly, I lived in Japan and many big companies release thins with incorrect spelling in other languages.... #1980s
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Joe-Btfsplk
11/07/09

In reply to Back When Automotive Interior Designers Weren't So Slick: SECU- RITY Indicator Lamp
I had the pleasure of owning an '87 Maxima sedan. This car was SOLID! I drove it for over 300,000 miles with no major issues....a quality design, built well, with quality materials. #1980s
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Novaload promoted this comment Edited by Joe-Btfsplk at 11/07/09 5:25 PM Joe-Btfsplk was starred Joe-Btfsplk was unstarred

skitter
11/07/09

In reply to Back When Automotive Interior Designers Weren't So Slick: SECU- RITY Indicator Lamp
Twenty-three years late
I will suggest Anti-Theft
as a solution. #1980s
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SmaartAasSaabr
11/07/09

@skitter: better yet, a drawing of a lock #1980s
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P161911 probably shoudn't have promoted this comment SmaartAasSaabr was starred SmaartAasSaabr was unstarred

P161911 probably shoudn't have
11/07/09

@SmaartAasSaabr: I was actually thinking that SECU-RITY was much better than some vague and indecipherable symbol. At least the Japanese labeled all their buttons. I've had a couple of BMWs that had buttons that I never did figure out what they did. #1980s
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Nitrous Oxide
11/07/09

In reply to Back When Automotive Interior Designers Weren't So Slick: SECU- RITY Indicator Lamp
Sheesh... it would only occur to a mathematician to write SECURITY in a diagonal. #1980s
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badco/LoJ
11/07/09

In reply to Back When Automotive Interior Designers Weren't So Slick: SECU- RITY Indicator Lamp
The rocker switch with the OFF position at the top is fantastic.

Nice find. #1980s
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crinklesmith
11/07/09

In reply to Back When Automotive Interior Designers Weren't So Slick: SECU- RITY Indicator Lamp
I grew up in a 85' wagon, the first year they switched to front wheel drive. I will always have a place in my heart for those grey velour covered buckets, with oversize buttons to hold the padding in, the factory stereo that was completely aluminized, with 6 million little knobs, and the equalizer, which was mounted under the stereo, and had a separate slider with a metal knob for each band! It had the absurd cubist mag wheels too. Great car, my dad drove it for 350,000 miles, and never had a major issue, even with the auto tranny. He bought a new 94' SE after that one, and still has it, it stays in the garage as he drives a Titan around most of the time. BTW, I would never buy that bloated monstrosity they call the new Maxima, they screwed them up in 2004, and have just been getting worse ever since. #1980s
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Ford Tempo Fanatic
11/07/09

In reply to Back When Automotive Interior Designers Weren't So Slick: SECU- RITY Indicator Lamp
I love it. Just look at that fake dashboard stitching! The 1980s were truly a great decade for automotive design; inside or out. #1980s
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Ford Tempo Fanatic was starred

haxor911
11/07/09

@Ford Tempo Fanatic: fake stitching! the 80's was great decade for music not automotive design. I guess fake stitching is like todays chrome colored plastic pieces. #1980s
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Ford Tempo Fanatic
11/07/09

@haxor911: Hey now, I'll take an honest-and-true 80s anything over the fake stuff of today. Technology be damned, the pinnacle of automotive design was the mid-80s. After that, it was all down hill. #1980s
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Ford Tempo Fanatic was starred

Novaload
11/07/09

@Ford Tempo Fanatic: Do you love it enough to look away from a Tempo? Or are you just cheatin'? #1980s
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Ford Tempo Fanatic
11/07/09

@Novaload: Tempo still reigns supreme, but I can find good in most 1980s cars. Except J-Bodies. #1980s
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Ford Tempo Fanatic was starred

pauljones
11/07/09

@Ford Tempo Fanatic: I respect you, man, but you're an odd duck.

The problem I have with the 80s is that you literally could not tell any car from any manufacturer apart.

Is it a Camry? An Accord? A Maxima? A Celebrity? Seriously. If you were to set all four of the above cars side by side, you would not be able to tell them apart. At all. I've actually seen all four of them at once.

The only good designs to come out of the 80s were the BMWs in general F-bodies, Supra Mk III, Corvette, Mustang, Taurus, Prelude, AE86, 2nd gen 300ZX, and the NSX.

Otherwise, it was all crap.
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Edited by pauljones at 11/07/09 6:29 PM pauljones was starred pauljones was unstarred

skitter
11/07/09

@pauljones: I've actually seen all four of them at once.

How can you be sure? #1980s
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pauljones
11/07/09

@skitter: I actually wiped the dust off and saw the badges with my very own eyes. Not the badges couldn't have been swapped with no way of knowing.

The Celebrity was the easiest to identify, however; it was the only that was falling apart at the seems. #1980s
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Ford Tempo Fanatic
11/07/09

@pauljones: Camry, Accord, Maxima, Celebrity. Think man. What do all four of those automobiles have in common? They aren't Fords. Really, the only good designs to come out of the 1980s were from the hand of Ford and Chrysler designers. GM the Japanese could suck it with their appliances. That's not to say I wouldn't take a 1980s Maxima over a brand new Maxima, but everything is relevant. But when you're talking 1980s, the cars Ford was churning out were anything but dull.

All Wheel Drive Tempos, SHO Taurus', Mercury's with light up grills, even sportified Escort EXPs. It was all there. The F-Bodies and Corvettes too weren't much in comparison to, say, the SVO Mustang. We're talking about a high output 2.3L with forced induction that could wipe the floor with a V8 equipped Camaro. Everything about 1980s cars, especially from Ford, was innovative. If not the best, but hey, they tried new things. Which is more then can be said for automakers these days. #1980s
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Ford Tempo Fanatic was starred

Novaload
11/07/09

@Ford Tempo Fanatic: Actually I had a 86 Sunbird that was high-end (for what it was) and was really nice, clean and sporty design with really nice trim and wheels and a factory awesome cassette player. If I ever find a picture of it, I'll post it. You wouldn't recognize it as a funky J. But it is the exception. #1980s
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SmaartAasSaabr
11/07/09

@pauljones: Accords with pop-up headlamps, Celebrities with the concave rear and distinctive taillights, Maximas with the strange lights... they all seemed pretty distinct to me... #1980s
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pauljones
11/07/09

@SmaartAasSaabr:
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pauljones
11/07/09

@SmaartAasSaabr: #1980s
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pauljones was starred pauljones was unstarred

pauljones
11/07/09

@SmaartAasSaabr: #1980s
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pauljones was starred pauljones was unstarred

pauljones
11/07/09

@SmaartAasSaabr: #1980s
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pauljones was starred pauljones was unstarred

pauljones
11/07/09

@SmaartAasSaabr: You were saying? #1980s
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Ford Tempo Fanatic
11/07/09

@pauljones: Still all far more appealing then a 2009-anything. The Chrysler Sebring looks much more distinct when compared to a modern Nissan Sentra, but really now. Come on. #1980s
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Ford Tempo Fanatic was starred

Murilee Martin
11/07/09

@pauljones: The Fiero was a good design. Badly executed, unfortunately. #1980s
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If FromaBuick6 has to watch one more Chevy commercial, he's going to punch Howie Long in the face
11/07/09

@pauljones: I've never mistaken any of these cars for each other. But I'm also a huge nerd.

A lot of Japanese cars the overly similar styling in this era. The late-80s Camrys and 626s are a good example. At the same time, GM completely gave up on making any of their cars look the least bit different. It's bad when you can't tell the difference between an Eldorado and a Grand Am. #1980s
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If FromaBuick6 has to watch one more Chevy commercial, he's going to punch Howie Long in the face
11/07/09

@Ford Tempo Fanatic: I'd definitely argue that Fords were the best engineered, best styled American cars in the '80s. Unfortunately, they weren't the best built; cars like the Taurus had a lot of substandard parts that just didn't have much durability and they just didn't last. Meanwhile, GM cars of the era were completely lacking in any sort of (good) innovation and generally felt as though not one person, from the very first design sketch until the moment it rolled off the assembly line, gave a rats ass about making a car anyone would want to buy. Yet, so many of those souless GMs absolutely refused to die, in spite of poor engineering, wretched drivetrains and abysmal build quality.

So in short, Ford built great cars that were hampered by quality that was decidedly not job 1, while GMs run bad longer than most cars run at all. And, Chrysler? Well, Chrysler was and still is pretty much on the same 5 year "A few exciting products followed by complete garbage and near backruptcy" business plan it's been using since 1955. #1980s
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pauljones
11/07/09

@Murilee Martin: I concede the point. In retrospect, there are a few other good ones I missed as well, including the Fiero and the Miata. #1980s
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P161911 probably shoudn't have
11/07/09

@pauljones: Are you saying the 2000s are better? Sure there are a few distinctive designs, but I can't tell a Kia from a Honda from a Nissan from a Toyota, especially when it comes to mini-vans. Certain models are better than others, but since the mid-80s pretty much all vehicles in the appliance class have had a similar generic look that has changed somewhat with the times.. I would argue that overall for about the last 15 years we have had one of the greatest periods of automotive design stagnation. Most designs from the mid-90s until now look about the same. There are a few standouts like the current retro-muscle car craze, but I challenge you to find any other time that most 15 year old cars don't look dated. I drive a 14 year old car and most people think it is new. Think of how different any 1935 model looked from a 1950 and how different that 1950 looked from a 1965 model, how different a 1965 model looked from a 1980 model, big difference again in 1995. You could bring out half the designs from 1995 and call them 2010 models and you would be hard pressed to see any substantial differences from most of the other 2010s. I'll admit that there are a few exceptions to this but it is true for the vast majority of cars. #1980s
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Ford Tempo Fanatic
11/08/09

@If FromaBuick6 has to watch one more Chevy commercial, he's going to punch Howie Long in the face: I'm not going to argue that Ford build quality in the 1980s wasn't that great.. But I will argue that GM wasn't much better. Or equal. Actually, I think they were worse built. Especially towards the close of the decade and on into the early 1990s. I speak based on personal experience alone, so I shouldn't be too sure. Maybe the three I've had encounters with were just lemons? Either way, I've owned a 1994 Chevrolet K2500. Cheyenne trim, with no options whatsoever. 350/5spd with heat and a two speaker AM radio. Somehow, that truck has managed to break down more then both my 1990 F-150 and 1989 Tempo combined.

I didn't even know it was possible for manual, crank 'em windows to break until I owned that Chevy. #1980s
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Ford Tempo Fanatic was starred

SmaartAasSaabr
11/08/09

@P161911 probably shoudn't have: To make a '95 look like a 2010 you would need to make the headlights bigger, tailights bigger and the badge on the grille and trunk magnified by 20x. #1980s
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P161911 probably shoudn't have promoted this comment SmaartAasSaabr was starred SmaartAasSaabr was unstarred

The Dead Inside Grp. Co. Ltd.
11/07/09

In reply to Back When Automotive Interior Designers Weren't So Slick: SECU- RITY Indicator Lamp
It also looks like this car has "Cruise Continue" #1980s
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Novaload promoted this comment

Potatosw✭tter
11/07/09

@The Dead Inside Grp. Co. Ltd.: It has Cruise Continence. You press that when the passenger asks for a rest stop. #1980s
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The Dead Inside Grp. Co. Ltd.
11/07/09

In reply to Back When Automotive Interior Designers Weren't So Slick: SECU- RITY Indicator Lamp
NissanEng1: "How do we make this flashing red light for the alarm system fit in a switch blank?"

NissanEng2:"We use what the white devils would call a 'hyphen'"

NissanEng1: "They use these all the time in normal written English?"

NissanEng2 (thinking about his pachinko and sake date in 5 min): "Oh yeah, it's a big thing over there"

NissanEng1: "done." #1980s
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tonyola
11/07/09

In reply to Back When Automotive Interior Designers Weren't So Slick: SECU- RITY Indicator Lamp
I liked these boxy Maximas - particularly the '87 and '88 models with the raked-back nose. Had I been able to afford a Maxima in the day, I would have happily bought one to supplement my CRX. Notice the dash - a full complement of six needle gauges. Somehow, Maximas became less special and appealing after 1994 - seems that the sportiness was being slowly bled away. #1980s
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theeastbaykid
11/07/09

In reply to Back When Automotive Interior Designers Weren't So Slick: SECU- RITY Indicator Lamp
That's not an '87 Maxima dash--that's the startup screen for Windows 7! #1980s
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Novaload
11/07/09

@theeastbaykid: Bill Gates tracks everything on the internet for negative references to his products. You better set your Secu-Rity system on "High" for the next few days. #1980s
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