For as long as we have had an automotive industry there have been a variety of gadgets and gizmos you can buy to give you more of what you want in your vehicle. Unless you’re about to take the car out for a race on a track and attempt to win a prize of any kind it may be time to hit the brakes on all the add-ons that have made their way into cars that we see today. Here are some of the trends that could end and most of us wouldn’t shed a tear.
Gauge Overload – You should know what’s going on under your car and in the engine, but with a massive amount of readouts to look at and gauges everywhere you might suffer from information overload. Not only are too many gauges going to give you a lot more info than you need, some of them can get in the way of your visibility on the road.
Showy Spoilers – There is a time and place for spoilers and using them for racing is great because they serve a purpose. While there’s nothing wrong with a spoiler on a car you’ve built as a show car or a racing machine your touring sedan doesn’t need one and most cars look great without a spoiler on the back.
Fake Engine Sounds – Its no secret that some sports cars are built with fake sounding engines. This makes the car sound meaner than it really is. Let’s end that right now. I say we allow the turbocharged engines to sound natural and have the turbo sounds to them. There’s no reason to make a Mustang EcoBoost engine sound like a V8.
Fake Performance Badges – If you feel like you need to have the M or AMG on the back of your German car you need to have your head examined. Let the car be what it is and from the BMW and Mercedes-Benz brands that will be an amazing car that offers you great driving no matter what part of the lineup it comes from.
Fake Exhaust Tips – In order to make cars look more like powerful models automakers have put extra exhaust ports and tips on some vehicles that shouldn’t have been put in place at all. This looks good from a distance, but if you see the car operate you will know the exhaust isn’t coming out of all the ports, making for an unimpressive feeling.
Instant Adjustability – Most likely you drive your car in one mode all the time and rarely if ever check out the other modes. This is an expensive add on that isn’t needed on vehicles unless you have it for an AWD or 4WD vehicle to be able to engage the off road capabilities of the vehicle. Too much technology isn’t always a good thing.
Awkward Shifters – The shifter of a vehicle should move to the gear needed and FCA has learned that lesson well. While their shifter was interesting and returned to the center like a joystick from an arcade game it wasn’t appropriate for driving and the mindset many of us have. Let’s keep the shifters moving fore and aft until we see the world is ready for something different.
Race Parts – Do you really need race parts on your commuter sedan? Are the racing seats that much more comfortable than what was originally installed. Unless you plan to take your car out to the track you don’t need roll bars, racing seats or a five point harness in your vehicle, let it be the comfortable ride you need it to be and leave the racing stuff to those who will make use of it.
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