I'd argue 2013 has been a good year for car lovers, but there were a few things that could piss you off even after you've just witnessed what the latest generation supercars can do. These ten could be improved on for 2014.
10.) Zero outward visibility in modern cars
I used to believe that back-up cameras and blind spot sensors were for lazy people who don't know how to park.
Not anymore. Old cars (like the ones above) had great visibility all around. Modern cars are like fortresses from the inside, with high beltlines, small greenhouses and C-pillars the size of Australia. Good luck without all those cameras!
Suggested By: Green Pig, Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons
9.) Bernie Ecclestone's ideas
Bernie Ecclestone is annoying enough standing still. When he starts talking, it gets worse.
Bernie, giving double points at the last race of the season is cheating, and it won't make you taller, bad boy!
Suggested By: Arch Duke Maxyenko, Great Job, Photo Credit: Getty Images
8.) Non-standardized bolt patterns
Standards are great. If they are the same all over the world, they might even work. Just ask a German near you!
Suggested By: Kate's Dirty Sister, Photo Credit: trailertiresupercenter.com
7.) Excessive warnings
It's not a new phenomenon, but one that just doesn't want to go away. msatlas explains:
I wear my seatbelts religiously, but sometimes you just need to move a car around a parking lot, or some other totally low-speed short distance trip. I don't know if it's government mandated or what.
My '06 Mazdaspeed 6 had a particularly annoying seatbelt dinger that at least eventually shut off. My '13 BMW 135is has an everlasting seatbelt dinger that doesn't soudn quite as bad as the MS6 but it NEVER shuts off. It also has a stupid chime when you turn on the car, I guess to say hello, and then it has a different chime that it chimes in with if the temp is 37 F or below, and it flashes a snow flake on the little info screen between the gauges. Because it might snow if it's 37 F or colder. I live in Wisconsin dammit, it always might snow.
My '99 Jeep Grand Cherokee, no such dingers. It's fantastic.
You heard the man, just get a Cherokee.
Suggested By: msatlas
6.) BMW giving the US a wagon, but not really
Some of you got the "Bloated BMWs" card out of the pack once again, but One Quick Turbo Brick pointed out another issue with the Bavarian wagons in the USA:
BMW finally agrees to bring the 3-series wagon but then:
Only offers it in 328 guise...no 320 or 335
Only offers it in AWD...and yet the X1 comes in RWD. WTF?
Only offers it with the 8-speed auto
Then prices it a whopping $9k more than the 3-series sedan and $10k more than the X1
Yet, us wagon aficionados will get blamed for not buying it when BMW discontinues it on US shores in a year or two when in reality, it makes horrible, horrible financial sense to buy one. The whole purpose of a wagon is provide 95% of the dynamics of a sedan with the added practicality of a d-pillar at a slight cost (read $1k-$2k) penalty.
So, here's the thing: That 8-speed is fantastic. AWD is safer. The numbers don't matter at all. So, if you're a 54-years old dentist, BMW's decision makes sense to you. For the rest of us, ultimate driving machine my ass.
Suggested By: On Quick Turbo Brick, Photo Credit: BMW
5.) US Import Laws
...are moronic. Just stop the mindless destruction by starting to use the same standards as Europe. And use the metric system while you're at it. It's better.
Suggested By: Vin, Photo Credit: Getty Images
4.) The lack of diversity
Some say that for decades American cars were rubbish because the Big Three had a monopoly (trinopoly?) and no competition whatsoever in most segments.
Things have only gotten worse. Small companies and single-market vehicles like rear-wheel-drive Aussie sedans are all dying off. If you want to start a new car company but you aren't Elon Musk, you have a better chance if you spend your money on lottery tickets instead.
Today's business environment just makes it nearly impossible, and that's a real shame.
Suggested By: Unquantified, Photo Credit: Jalopnik
3.) Blaming the millenials lack of interest in cars
They do care about cars.
Just listen to what KamikazePigeon has to say about this.
Suggested By: KamikazePigeon, Photo Credit: Getty Images
2.) Electric or electrically-boosted steering
It's the fake rubber vagina of the automotive world, and there's no need for it apart from boosting even faker emission numbers.
My 2011 Ford Taurus SHO has electric steering. It lacks any feel what so ever and completely ruins what would be a pretty fun car. I vote for this too.
The Scrambler says it can be done:
The 2014 Hyundai Sonata has electric steering and features a button on the steering wheel that supposedly allows you to select one of three modes, Comfort, Normal or Sport. None provided any feedback or indication what the front wheels were doing. The only difference I detected in my between the three was an artificial on-center feel.
Suggested By: Patrick George, Photo Credit: Raphael Orlove
1.) Electric parking brake
Forget impressing the girls with handbrake turns for a second! As far as I remember, the handbrake/parking brake/emergency brake is there as the last line of defense in case your main brakes fail.
Now, I know modern brakes are pretty bulletproof compared to the ones you find on classic cars, but which would you trust more? A cable linked directly to you rear brake or a computer?
Stop doing it.
Suggested By: willkinton247, Photo Credit: Kia
Welcome back to Answers of the Day - our daily Jalopnik feature where we take the best ten responses from the previous day's Question of the Day and shine it up to show off. It's by you and for you, the Jalopnik readers. Enjoy!
Photo Credit: Cadillac