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What is a Feature? - READ ONLY

147 messages,  Last post on Apr 15, 2007 at 3:28 PM

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Messages Page 1 of 15

#1 of 147 Features? by ubbermotor

Feb 23, 2006 (10:40 am)

What constitutes a feature? A big knob and a TV screen that makes you think if you could just find the quarter slot, you could play Tempest? Headlights that can’t be shut off while the car is on? Airbags that explode from every direction, pushing the Dixie straw from your coffee into your brain? A DVD player in the back of your seat so you can listen to Shrek 2 for the 3000th time? I guess a clutch is asking to much.

#2 of 147 Bingo by john_324

Feb 23, 2006 (11:06 am)

"I guess a clutch is asking to much."
 
Yeah, tell me about it. Going after the domestics, other non-features that I'd like:
 
- manual transmissions available on the optional engines.
 
The Big 3 are famous for this...sure, you can get a stick, but only if you order the wheezy 4-cyl base engine.
 
- real "sport packages"
 
I love it how just about every run-of-the-mill "sport package" seems to begin and end with some upgraded, bling-bling alloy wheels. How about some better shocks, lower springs, sway bars, etc.?
 
- "Spoiler delete" feature
 
Kudos to Ford for finally offering this on the Mustang...though I'm holding my breath to see if Dodge is going to offer us a limited edition Charger Roadrunner edition with towelrack spoiler in back and aero-nose in front...

#3 of 147 not the clutch by nippononly

Feb 23, 2006 (11:58 am)

but everything else you said is a "feature", yes. Plus all the stuff like power package and cruise, and the other options you can order for the car. Plus stuff they like to boast about, like "magic" or fold-flat seats, coin and cupholders, all that sort of stuff.
 
Basically, anything not totally basic to the powertrain, anything without which the car would still run and move, that they can put in the glossy brochure and promote is a feature. At least, to my way of understanding.

#4 of 147 My favorite tactic is... by john_324

Feb 23, 2006 (2:25 pm)

...when manufacturers want to bulk up the features list of their econo cars, they mentally revert back like 25 years and list as "features" such then-cool but now pretty-standard ammenities as side mirrors, spare tire and radio.

#5 of 147 Re: My favorite tactic is... [john_324] by rorr

Feb 23, 2006 (2:30 pm)

Replying to: john_324 (Feb 23, 2006 2:25 pm)
The way things are going, having a spare tire really WILL be a feature....

#6 of 147 spare tires by nippononly

Feb 23, 2006 (4:49 pm)

we do have mainstream manufacturers boasting if they have a full-size spare instead of a donut now. That must be a feature!
 
On the features list of the base-model short cab Tacoma, Toyota lists "two outside mirrors"! Guess that's a feature.
 
In the upcoming Yaris, rear defogger will be a "Feature" which is optional! Talk about stepping back 25 years...
 

 
A feature which I loved in my old Matrix, which I have never had before or since: flip-up glass in the rear hatch that opens separately from the door.....wellll, actually my 4Runner has roll-down glass in the rear door, but it's not quite the same. That is a "feature" that is fairly rare among midsize SUVs, which I am very fond of.

#7 of 147 Front-wheel drive... by 210delray

Feb 23, 2006 (8:41 pm)

...has been listed as a feature in the not-too-distant past.

#8 of 147 and now by nippononly

Feb 24, 2006 (9:08 am)

RWD is being listed as a feature again! How funny.

#9 of 147 Re: My favorite tactic is... [john_324] by ubbermotor

Feb 24, 2006 (9:09 am)

Replying to: john_324 (Feb 23, 2006 2:25 pm)
A real spare is a must have feature in my mind. Along with rear defrost, int wipers, heat and automatic timing advance.

#10 of 147 hold the phone by nippononly

Feb 24, 2006 (9:26 am)

"heat and automatic timing advance"
 
Hasn't automatic timing advance been in every model since the mid-90s because of emissions standards? I could be wrong, but I thought so.
 
As for heat, I wonder what the last car without heat was....I kinda figure every car since at least 1970 and maybe further back has had heat. Those early VW Beetles had pretty primitive heat that ran off the engine's blower for air cooling, and didn't provide much heat until the engine was real hot, and not much unless you were moving either (there was no fan to force the air out for heating the cabin).
 
In the last couple of decades, it has been real hard to find cars with a real spare and not a donut - now full-sizers are finally making a bit of a come-back, and I'm glad. Ubber, what have you bought since 1985 that had a full-size spare? Just curious. Do the Caravan or Sebring have one?

Messages Page 1 of 15

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