Tech in your car?

My car doesn't even have a radio.

Happybunny said:

My car doesn't even have a radio.

Click to expand...

Ah, but yours is a seriously cool car, - I seem to recall that you posted a picture of it here at some stage.

Indeed, it strikes me as being the sort of vehicle that the wonderful Patrick McGoohan would have driven in the iconic 1960s TV series 'The Prisoner'. (Take a look at the opening credits to see what I mean).

No, I generally prefer to pay attention to the road while driving.

NOOOOO..

The less tech the better I also do not have a radio, or carpet most of the year for that matter.

Wow, an 86 Camry! I can only assume that you have taken great care of the vehicle. That's a lot of custom work. Are you a "car guy" with mechanical skills and have you done the work yourself? Post some pics.

In my teens and early 20's I was into having a great audio system in my car and spent a good deal of money (my parent's money) getting things just how I wanted them. As I've aged though, cars have become more of a simple tool that depereciate in value so I dont' invest in customization. You know, marriage, kids, limited income, etc., in other words, I'm boring when it comes to this kind of stuff. However, I do like to live vicariously through others and it's always cool to see when people do things like you have done. All the best with your continued upgrades and fine tuning.

OllyW said:

Haven't you got a Cobra? I doubt you'd be able to hear it anyway.




It was a Lotus 7 in The Prisoner.

Image

Click to expand...

Actually, I'm not quite sure what Happybunny actually has (or drives) - I just recall a that he posted a picture of a low slung, open topped car, rich with character and redolent with mystery.

Thanks for posting that picture of Patrick McGoohan driving during the stunning opening credits of The Prisoner: I hadn't known it was a Lotus 7 but that particular TV series (The Prisoner) was one of my all time favourites; I remember watching it avidly with my brother in the late 70s when it was broadcast.

OllyW said:

It was a Lotus 7 in The Prisoner.

Image

Click to expand...

Yep, in fact, the character built it himself

(huge fan of the show, and actually got to visit Portmeirion in Wales where it was filmed)

I think the magical year where you could reasonably not use CDs was 2008. My 2013 has USB ports and Auxiliary ports. That's non-tech package, by the way.

D.T. said:

Yep, in fact, the character built it himself

(huge fan of the show, and actually got to visit Portmeirion in Wales where it was filmed)

Click to expand...

Likewise, I'd class myself a huge fan of the show. Loved it as a teenager. Gripping and brilliant stuff.

Back on topic, while I am not a particular aficionado of uber tech in cars, I do love a car that comes equipped with a good sound system (for radios, CDs, or iPods……)

AustinIllini said:

I think the magical year where you could reasonably not use CDs was 2008. My 2013 has USB ports and Auxiliary ports. That's non-tech package, by the way.

Click to expand...

No no, my car is the one with the non-tech package. It has a radio and a tape cassette player. Seriously. Well at least the radio has FM so I can use the older iPods with an FM transmitter adapter on it; i never bothered with the cassette adapter you could use with an iPod. Amazing that my 2nd gen iPod nanos will likely still be working when the car goes to the scrapyard. Anyway I've managed to completely skip the CD generation in cars.

I've got GPSs in both cars!!

Intermittent wipers. The future is here.

Huntn said:

I've got GPSs in both cars!!

Click to expand...

We have *intermittent wipers* on both cars.


No we’re not from the future.

----------

Ray Brady said:

Intermittent wipers. The future is here.

Click to expand...

Holy hell man, that is one of the craziest same-thing-at-the-same-time posts I’ve ever made.

D.T. said:

We have *intermittent wipers* on both cars.


No we’re not from the future.

----------



Holy hell man, that is one of the craziest same-thing-at-the-same-time posts I’ve ever made.

Click to expand...

The first car I owned with intermittent wipers... You'll never guess unless you look it up. Timeframe: 1975. Some of our forum friends from Europe might know.

I'll pass on the techie stuff in my car. Self-driving cars can be controlled remotely, while you think you are the one driving. Search for it; just in the news this week.

Ray Brady said:

Intermittent wipers. The future is here.

Click to expand...

My lights turn on at night or when I pass through a tunnel all by themselves. I must be from wayyyy off into the future.

I have a cassette player in my car...

In all honesty the most techy thing i have added to my truck was the alarm system and the electronic brake controller.

Huntn said:

The first car I owned with intermittent wipers... You'll never guess unless you look it up. Timeframe: 1975. Some of our forum friends from Europe might know.

Click to expand...

Not the answer you'll be expecting but my old '67 VW sometimes used to have intermittent wipers... when there was a heavy snowburst going through the mountains it would occasionally blow a fuse. And then another fuse... and then another fuse. And when I was out of fuses then the intermittent wiper was a rigged up de-snowing device operated with left hand out the window. Even the dog stopped wanting to ride with us when that happened. Guess the breeze in the back seat was pretty stiff.

Um, I modded my stereo so I could directly plug an aux cable into it.

LizKat said:

Not the answer you'll be expecting but my old '67 VW sometimes used to have intermittent wipers... when there was a heavy snowburst going through the mountains it would occasionally blow a fuse. And then another fuse... and then another fuse. And when I was out of fuses then the intermittent wiper was a rigged up de-snowing device operated with left hand out the window. Even the dog stopped wanting to ride with us when that happened. Guess the breeze in the back seat was pretty stiff.

Click to expand...

lol.

I don't know the first car with intermittent wipers, with delays, but the first one I saw them on was a 1975 Fiat Spider. At the time that was high tech.

Huntn said:

lol.

I don't know the first car with intermittent wipers, with delays, but the first one I saw them on was a 1975 Fiat Spider. At the time that was high tech.

Click to expand...

Ooooooh.

Er, actually, I remember the Fiat Spyder; what a snappy, snazzy, sports car. (I have even been driven in one…….a red one, which ate up the road, mind you, my recall of the intermittent wipers……is entirely absent….)

mobilehaathi said:

Um, I modded my stereo so I could directly plug an aux cable into it.

Click to expand...

Our 4Runner has an aux input (3mm) inside the center console/armrest, and while not technically sophisticated, it works outstandingly well: better than Bluetooth, 30-pin interfaces, no lag, the device just works and outputs to the stereo. I can listen to music, podcasts (including 3rd party apps). There’s also a power plug in there, so you can charge and aux at the same time

When I was writing this, I just remembered, I added the same to the X5 we used to own! Actually scored the OEM box off FleaBay for like $50 (the dealer wanted $200+).

Just what it came with - USB port for my iPod, touch screen navigation, and voice command. No CD player.