First and foremost I'm not posting this in the Ford newsgroup in order to discriminate against any particular make for shortcomings as all Brands of Autos suffer from the same problems that I'm going to bring forward.
#1 Oversized transmission cooler with low pressure bypass valve for driving in hot weather, towing, hilly terrain, etc.
#2 Magnetic filters for transmission, motor, radiator, and power steering fluids.
#3 Bypass oil filters used in conjunction with the already standard flow through filters. FILTERS NEED TO BE LOCATED IN A CONVENIENT LOCATION FOR EASY REPLACEMENT!!!
#4 Oil coolers for cars with and without superchargers or turbochargers. (After all, when the motor oil gets too hot it will break down and this will wear out the engine rapidly.)
#5 External spin-on transmission filters instead of internal for easier replacement.
#6 Oil sump pans with louvers/air veins on them for increased oil cooling.
#7 Oil change reminders on dashboard that uses a computer w/sensors in order to decide once oil is contaminated enough to warrant changing - it also would need a 500 mile warning ahead of time in case your on a long distance trip. (GM already uses something like this on all of it's cars and it has saved millions of tons of crude oil.)
#8 Low Oil Level warning lights. The Low oil pressure warning lights simply are not enough. By the time pressure drops too low it's already too late and engine damage has already occurred in some shape or form. (Most motorists are stupid and never check their oil level.)
#9 An extra electric cooling fan pointed at the alternator in case it's tucked away in such a way that it doesn't get enough cool air flow inside the engine bay.
#10 FOG LIGHTS STANDARD
#11 Purple warning/hazard lights that flash just like the Hazard/Safety lights that are already standard. These purple warning lights warn other motorists that YOU or ME as a driver is somewhat compromised but are still needing to continue driving only with extra caution. EXAMPLE: Sudden downpour and I or YOU happen to have tires that are worn or not suited for wet season. Or wiper blades happen to be old and don't clear the windshield, OR defroster is not working properly all of a sudden. Or let's say we I or YOU had a flat tire and so now were driving on a donut sized tire on a major interstate in Nevada where big rigs want to go 85+MPH while ME or YOU are forced to go 55 - 60 mph because the donut spares are only rated for 55 MPH tops, going faster MAY damage the cars differential. (These purple warning lights show other drivers that the compromised driver is being extra careful and so if they are driving a little slow than the lights add to the needed communication for other motorists to go around when it's safe to do so.) On the road, communication is the key for safety! We need more warning lights than the standard safety flashers, it couldn't be more obvious.
#12 FULL SIZE SPARE TIRE W/a warning dash light that goes off if the spare tire for some reason becomes under inflated while it's stored under the trunk bed.
#13 Warning dash light for under inflated tires. I have seen too many motorists on the road driving around on under inflated tires. 5 times out of 10 the tires explode while I'm driving close enough to witness it happen - just like watching a horror movie. On light truck on up, tires explode when under inflated. On passenger cars they are less likely to fail but they do have thread separation which is still dangerous only not as bad as a blowout.
#14 The option for motorist that know how to properly maintain their cars in the first place to be able to buy their cars new without all the idiot lights in order to not have to pay as much as the motorists that don't know the difference between a cam shaft and a drive shaft. Motorists need to be able to pass a maintenance competency test and if they do poorly on it, they need to drive the "dummy" car by law or face a stiff penalty. This should eliminate 90% of all the broken down cars on the road that cause more accidents, bottle necks, and traffic fatalities & injuries.
#15 Foldable side mirrors mandatory. Motorists should be required to fold in their mirrors (both of them) when parallel parked. This protects bicyclists on the road and pedestrians on the sidewalk. This also helps improve auto traffic safety because side view mirrors are one less obstacle on the road to worry about.
#16 All vehicles need to be required to have under armor. In other words, steel plates/shields need to be installed beneath the undercarriage stock by the factory. This will protect the fuel line, fuel filter, and gas tank(s) from rupturing from road debris and other road hazards. Vehicles made with gas tanks in unsafe locations by the manufacturer should be banned from being sold in North America. Gas tanks need to be made as "fuel cells" like the ones used on racetracks, strong, sturdy, and impenetrable. The under armor will also protect the brake lines from rupturing from road debris further protecting against failed brakes and sudden loss of brake pressure.
#17 Front and Rear sway bars mandatory
#18 Rollover bar(s) mandatory on all cars integrated into the roof and body/chassis so in most cars it wouldn't be obvious
#19 Disc brakes front and BACK mandatory
#20 Engine block/oil heaters mandatory with both plug in and timer that runs off of the cars SECOND battery for the purpose. This would save fuel as the engine would already be preheated and this would increase longevity.
And #21 Electric oil pump on timer to lubricate engine before start up each morning. Used in conjunction with engine block heater.
If all of the above could be done in a reasonable amount of time traffic fatalities would go down 80% guaranteed. Cars would have an average life span of 30 years instead of 10 years as they are now.
It's just like buying more expensive furniture instead of the cheap stuff the breaks easily. With the more expensive furniture you can keep them longer and they stay nice longer. In the long term you save lots of money despite the initial higher cost.