Wing mirrors

Richard53

Captain_Flack. wrote: »

Lock the car and the mirrors fold in, but I'd hardly say the fiesta zetec is upmarket.

The cars I have seen were upmarket (Mercs etc). Hence the question.

Thanks for the information. Clearly I don't own a new enough car.

Captain_Flack.

Richard53 wrote: »

The cars I have seen were upmarket (Mercs etc). Hence the question.

Thanks for the information. Clearly I don't own a new enough car.

Volvo have been doing it for about 10 years and the last model fiesta went out of production over five years ago so it's not a new thing.

zappahey

facade wrote: »

Now what does amaze me is how far people can drive in complete darkness with no lights on at all- how on earth do they read the rev counter?

1. Many cars illuminate the dash with the ignition on, regardless of whether lights are on.

2. I suspect that many drivers don't know what the rev counter is for.

Richard53

Captain_Flack. wrote: »

Volvo have been doing it for about 10 years and the last model fiesta went out of production over five years ago so it's not a new thing.

New to me, though. Hence the question. Thanks.

Paul_the_Painter

My old (1996) impress did the auto fold, 3 setting from memory in - out - and auto. Girlfriend's Lexus has just in and out, but we are in the habit of using it.

Was once failed an MOT in a 1969 mini for only having 1 obligatory mirror, when the minimum requirement was 2. This was in the mid 1990's, and the car when produced only has the one mirror (interior). MOT man saw error of his ways at the retest.

Lum

Captain_Flack. wrote: »

Volvo have been doing it for about 10 years and the last model fiesta went out of production over five years ago so it's not a new thing.

My 1993 Nissan (actually a 1988 design) has this too, though it's not tied into the door locks, but done with a switch on the dashboard to fold them in and out. My old 1999 Subaru had it too.

Funny story with the last one, driving through central London, and some douchebag was trying to intimidate me into letting him* in by very carefully positioning his wing mirror closer and closer to mine until he was about an inch away, at 10-15 mph. So I press the button to fold them in and he resumes the process, getting as close as he possibly can. Only problem is this has now taken a lot longer than he originally planned so he crashed into the end of lane bollard.

* I presume this is the reason, I can't think of any other reason why you'd do this, but nor can I understand why you'd think it was a good idea.

27col

When I first started driving, any mirror other than the internal one, was considered a frivolous luxury.

thescouselander

27col wrote: »

When I first started driving, any mirror other than the internal one, was considered a frivolous luxury.

No doubt the same was thought about seat belts too!

27col

Actually, so were car heaters and rear window demisters. I remember buying a little heater for the rear window. It was made by Lucas and stuck on the window by means of suction pads. Absolutely useless at clearing mist from the window. Ah!. Those were the days. I certainly don't miss motoring as it was then..

Joe_Horner

27col wrote: »

When I first started driving, any mirror other than the internal one, was considered a frivolous luxury.

Up until June my Daf 32 daily driver had no external mirrors (and a tiny internal one!) It had never been drilled for them and it seemed such a shame to make holes in the wings or doors where they weren't needed.

Amazingly, I managed to drive it like that for over 2 years, in modern traffic including motorways the full length of the country, without ever having a problem or hitting anyone.

The trick was to turn your head to look - which you should be doing anyway to check your mirror blind spots Admittedly, that was far easier with upright, inch-wide, pillars all round and no headrests to get in the way of vision

It did have a heater, but no rear demist.