johna's automotive blog

What happened to the spare wheel and tyre?

2021-01-23T12:00:00+10:00

I recently saw a letter published in the NRMA's Open Road magazine where a member wrote in to thank the NRMA road service for their help with a flat tyre.

They explained how they had a puncture out of town and the NRMA came to their rescue by arranging their car to be towed to a nearby town and organising a taxi to take them there too. A local workshop then stayed back after hours to help and get them back on their journey.

What great service NRMA, but one that may not have been needed if most modern cars had not dispensed with being equipped with a spare wheel and tyre.

In the early years of motoring - basically, the entire twentieth century - cars were equipped with a spare wheel and tyre of equal size and capability to the other four. In the event of a puncture, the motorist (sometimes with the assistance of a passerby or a road service organisation) would replace the disabled wheel and tyre with the spare and then continue on their journey, usually in a matter of minutes.

Then over time vehicle manufacturers decided that carrying a spare took up valuable space, added weight and, possibly most importantly, added cost, so they started using alternatives such as space-saver spares, run-flat tyres and sometimes nothing but a can of tyre sealant.

All of these replacements had limitations. Space-savers limit the speed you can travel and can not be used for long distances, and seriously limit the vehicle's handling capabilities and safety.

Run flats also limit speed and are intended for only a short-range, and are not capable of surviving major tyre damage. They can also suffer from availability problems meaning you might make it to the next town but have to wait a day or two for a replacement tyre to be shipped in.

Tyre sealants can be a bit hit and miss. They can be a quick and easy fix sometimes but do have drawbacks. Tyre fitters are not fans of these products, as they have to deal with the resulting mess, and often tyres cannot be repaired once sealant has been used. They also have a limited shelf life so might be of no use when needed if not checked and replaced on time.

It seems that the march progress is resulting in vehicles that are merely an appliance and when they need attention of any sort, it is expected that they will be taken care of by experts rather than owners. Drivers are no longer expected to change their own wheels, or even check the oil as many cars no longer have an oil dipstick. Just add fuel (or plugin) and drive and call someone when something goes wrong.

Are these changes good or bad? Are manufacturers giving us what we want, or is it being dictated to us?

What's with cars with hidden rear door handles?

2019-10-30T12:00:00+10:00

Am I the only one that thinks all of these cars with hidden rear door handles don't look right?

I think this trend started with the 1997 Alfa Romeo 156, but it is now quite a common feature to have hidden rear door handles.

The Toyota C-HR, Suzuki Swift, Hyundai Veloster, Honda HR-V, Renault Clio and the Holden Barina have them, and maybe more.

Note that the 156's replacement, the 159, did not have hidden rear door handles.

It is supposed to make the car looks like a sporty coupe without rear doors, but really? To me, it just looks like a sedan with rear doors with no handles, particularly on light coloured cars where the door frames are still obvious.

Most of these models don't look like sporty coupes anyway because they are too long.

Personally I think it looks odd, and having rear door handles would make the car look more symmetrical and better.

I've added a Photoshopped image of how the 156 might have looked with regular rear door handles.

The car of the future will be advertising-supported

2018-02-22T12:00:00+10:00

You’ve seen it before on the Internet, some sort of service where you can either pay for it or get it free if you don’t mind seeing some advertisements. Well, the car of the future might be the same.

When you buy your new car, would you pay a couple of thousand dollars extra for an infotainment system, or would opt to get it free in return for access to your trip data and advertisements being played every now and then?

Many cars are already collecting data while you are driving. This may already be being wirelessly transmitted to and used by car makers to monitor the condition of the vehicle or for other purposes.

Car makers are considering the possibility of monetising this data and insurance companies, mechanics, petrol stations, and fast-food restaurants are interested.

The possibilities for what can be done with your data are endless… It could be determined where and when you usually shop, eat, get petrol, and have your car serviced or washed.

Imagine stopping at a set of traffic lights and seeing an advertisement for a fast food restaurant just up the road offering a discounted meal.

Or having observed that your car has been at a mechanic a few times recently, you start seeing finance company offers or new car advertisements.

At the recent 2018 CES Telenav launched an in-car advertising platform for car makers. Their system shows relevant ads to customers based on information from the vehicle, including frequently travelled routes, destinations, and time of the day.

Drivers are encouraged to pick up a discounted meal on the way home or are alerted to sales at stores near their destination. In addition, if the car is low on fuel, nearby petrol stations along the driver's route are shown, potentially with discount offers.

If you are concerned about the safety implications of drivers watching ads, Telenav's system will only show ads when the vehicle is stopped, such as at car startup, traffic lights and upon arrival. The ads automatically disappear whenever the car is in motion or when users interact with other in-dash functions such as music or phone calls.

Do today's cars have too many driver aids?

2015-04-28T12:00:00+10:00

Most of the driver aids I believe are good things. Anti-lock braking system in particular, as well as the various traction control and stability control systems are very worthwhile, as unless you are practising controlling these things regularly you are unlikely to be able to control the car in the situations that these systems cut in.

But what about wipers that come on automatically in the rain, lights that come on at night (or in tunnels, or under underpasses), blind spot monitoring systems, and even satellite navigation. Let's have a look at these one by one.

Auto wipers

Really, this is just laziness. We are not talking cars from many decades ago where turning on the wipers meant reaching down to the dashboard, or perhaps even manually turning the wipers to clean the windscreen. All modern cars have the wiper control very close to where your hands sit on the steering wheel.

Personally, if I haven't driven in rain for a while, I like to let the screen get wet enough so that the wipers are less likely to scratch the windscreen when they are first turned on.

Auto lights

Given the number of people I see driving with no headlights on this might be a good feature. I might have even done it myself once or twice. But I find some of these systems annoying, some come on too early such as when driving under a short underpass.

Blind spot monitoring

Many motorcyclists would be happy for every driver to have these, but again it is a bit of laziness not to look over your shoulder before changing lanes. I wonder if people become dependent on this and don't look anywhere but straight ahead.

How reliable are these systems? If the camera gets dirty or blocked somehow is the driver aware? Is this possible?

Satellite navigation

Personally I like to know how to get around without navigation aids and generally study the map before going somewhere I don't know. But I know of people who put 100% of their trust in navigation systems and have no idea where they are, which direction they are going, or how close they are to their destination unless their navigation systems tells them. And they also seem to be wrong a significant percentage of the time.

I kind of understand if you are in a foreign country or state that they can be useful but again given the amount of times they get it wrong I would find it very difficult to put my trust in one.

I heard Alex Roy (US transcontinental record holder) say in an interview that he has so little trust in these systems, and based on his substantial experience and research, he uses around 5 systems simultaneously.