P
Paul_C
I've been prompted by the current thread in "How to drive an auto properly" to mention this subject.
As someone with an interest in older cars, maybe I've taken it for granted that people are aware of the variations in control layouts, but thinking about it carefully, I guess that younger folk who have never driven anything but a modern car (and particularly a modern European/Japanese car) may not realize that many of the current "standards" for control positions were not always so.
Here are some to get you thinking (and you might just get the impression that I'm not over-enthusiastic about modern ideas on control layout
):
1. Headlight dimming/dipping. We've already mentioned the move from floor switch to column stalk, but the latter has two distinct variations today. With one you push the stalk forward (away from the wheel) for high beam, pull back for low beam. The other variation, which I prefer, has a spring-biased switch so you pull it toward the wheel for high, then pull again to revert to low. Some British cars had different arrangements. The old Hillman Imp, for example, used a completely separate stalk on the left of the column (actually the stalks came out of the dash on these cars) with just a regular up/down movement. Up was high beam, down for low beam, and a sprung position below that for flashing. Overall though, I still prefer the floor switch.
2. Light switch. These always used to be on the dash, with the pull-out variety being common for many years (pull out one notch for parking lights, all the way out for headlights). I really dislike the modern trend toward putting the light swtich on what has already become an overcrowded column stalk. It's not as if you're reaching for the switch every two minutes and need it right by your fingertips, is it?
Some time ago I had to drive a car with the light switch incorporated as a rotary control on the end of the turn-signal stalk. If you went to signal a turn and hit the stalk at the wrong angle, you turned off your lights!
This thing even had a second ring on the fat stalk a little way back for the rear fog lights!
3. Horn. While we're around the column controls, I'm not keen on the horn being on the end of a stalk. The old-style chrome ring on the wheel was far better, and easy to tap from any position. Anybody who drives a lot of modern cars care to put a rough estimate on how many new cars still have some pad/button arrangement on the wheel instead of a stalk button? American cars firmly rejected the stalk horn and retained the old system -- at least I've never driven a U.S. model with a stalk horn.
4. Wipers. Another control which seems to have migrated onto column stalks in recent years. Are there any new models which still have the wiper control on the dash?
5. Parking brake. I'm sure there must be people here who have never driven anything without the centrally mounted floor lever, as fitted to just about all European cars for the last 30 years. When front bench seats were still common in British cars, the brake could often be found on the right-hand side, between the seat and the door the door. The 1961 Hillman Minx my family had for years was arranged this way.
Pull-out brake handles located just under the dash (with either a button in the handle, or a twist to release it) were also in widespread use on both British and American cars. U.S. models adopted an arrangement with a small pedal fitted hard up against the left side of the car, so you use your left foot to apply the parking brake. There is then a hand-operated pull out just under the dash to release it. This system is still in use on many American models (and in some cases has an automatic vacuum release).
6. Gear/Transmission Selector. A rare example of something which has migrated away from the column rather than to it! Column mounted selectors were always more popular in the U.S. than on British cars, but they could still be found (in decreasing numbers) on some British models until about the mid/late 1960s. In the U.S. at that time, floor-mounted shifts had something of an imported/sporty image about them (e.g. my old 1966 Plymouth Barracuda had a floor selector). Despite more widespread adoption of floor shift in later years, column mounted selectors are still in widespread use today in North America.
7. Ignition switch/Starter. Column mounted switches incorporating a steering lock have only been in use since about the late 1960s. Prior to that the switch was mounted on the dash, either to the left or the right of the driver, depending upon the model. European and American steering lock switches have also diverged on the sequence of positions. Modern European types are generally LOCK--ACCESSORY--IGNITION--START whereas American manufacturers adopted ACCESSORY--LOCK--IGNITION--START. This latter pattern in fact follows the arrangement which was most common on the dash-mounted types: ACCESSORY--OFF--IGNITION--START.
The starter position was not always incorporated into the keyswitch in the past either. Many British cars up until the 1950s had a separate starter knob or button on the dash which you press after turning on the ignition with the key.
That's probably enough for now. Comments anyone?
As someone with an interest in older cars, maybe I've taken it for granted that people are aware of the variations in control layouts, but thinking about it carefully, I guess that younger folk who have never driven anything but a modern car (and particularly a modern European/Japanese car) may not realize that many of the current "standards" for control positions were not always so.
Here are some to get you thinking (and you might just get the impression that I'm not over-enthusiastic about modern ideas on control layout
):1. Headlight dimming/dipping. We've already mentioned the move from floor switch to column stalk, but the latter has two distinct variations today. With one you push the stalk forward (away from the wheel) for high beam, pull back for low beam. The other variation, which I prefer, has a spring-biased switch so you pull it toward the wheel for high, then pull again to revert to low. Some British cars had different arrangements. The old Hillman Imp, for example, used a completely separate stalk on the left of the column (actually the stalks came out of the dash on these cars) with just a regular up/down movement. Up was high beam, down for low beam, and a sprung position below that for flashing. Overall though, I still prefer the floor switch.
2. Light switch. These always used to be on the dash, with the pull-out variety being common for many years (pull out one notch for parking lights, all the way out for headlights). I really dislike the modern trend toward putting the light swtich on what has already become an overcrowded column stalk. It's not as if you're reaching for the switch every two minutes and need it right by your fingertips, is it?
Some time ago I had to drive a car with the light switch incorporated as a rotary control on the end of the turn-signal stalk. If you went to signal a turn and hit the stalk at the wrong angle, you turned off your lights!
This thing even had a second ring on the fat stalk a little way back for the rear fog lights! 3. Horn. While we're around the column controls, I'm not keen on the horn being on the end of a stalk. The old-style chrome ring on the wheel was far better, and easy to tap from any position. Anybody who drives a lot of modern cars care to put a rough estimate on how many new cars still have some pad/button arrangement on the wheel instead of a stalk button? American cars firmly rejected the stalk horn and retained the old system -- at least I've never driven a U.S. model with a stalk horn.
4. Wipers. Another control which seems to have migrated onto column stalks in recent years. Are there any new models which still have the wiper control on the dash?
5. Parking brake. I'm sure there must be people here who have never driven anything without the centrally mounted floor lever, as fitted to just about all European cars for the last 30 years. When front bench seats were still common in British cars, the brake could often be found on the right-hand side, between the seat and the door the door. The 1961 Hillman Minx my family had for years was arranged this way.
Pull-out brake handles located just under the dash (with either a button in the handle, or a twist to release it) were also in widespread use on both British and American cars. U.S. models adopted an arrangement with a small pedal fitted hard up against the left side of the car, so you use your left foot to apply the parking brake. There is then a hand-operated pull out just under the dash to release it. This system is still in use on many American models (and in some cases has an automatic vacuum release).
6. Gear/Transmission Selector. A rare example of something which has migrated away from the column rather than to it! Column mounted selectors were always more popular in the U.S. than on British cars, but they could still be found (in decreasing numbers) on some British models until about the mid/late 1960s. In the U.S. at that time, floor-mounted shifts had something of an imported/sporty image about them (e.g. my old 1966 Plymouth Barracuda had a floor selector). Despite more widespread adoption of floor shift in later years, column mounted selectors are still in widespread use today in North America.
7. Ignition switch/Starter. Column mounted switches incorporating a steering lock have only been in use since about the late 1960s. Prior to that the switch was mounted on the dash, either to the left or the right of the driver, depending upon the model. European and American steering lock switches have also diverged on the sequence of positions. Modern European types are generally LOCK--ACCESSORY--IGNITION--START whereas American manufacturers adopted ACCESSORY--LOCK--IGNITION--START. This latter pattern in fact follows the arrangement which was most common on the dash-mounted types: ACCESSORY--OFF--IGNITION--START.
The starter position was not always incorporated into the keyswitch in the past either. Many British cars up until the 1950s had a separate starter knob or button on the dash which you press after turning on the ignition with the key.
That's probably enough for now. Comments anyone?
Kept it for 8 months and got fed up with the media !
