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Door mechanism on modern cars

As passenger in a recent modern car, I discovered an odd phenomeon. The car doors are spring loaded, such that opening less than a defined angle e.g. 45 deg, the door wants to close. Opening further beyound that angle, the door wants to fully open.

This feature easily results in the car door hitting a car parked next to it. The occupant stepping out doesn't realise that the door will tend to spring open by itself when beyound the critical angle. Presumably this is intended as a "helpful" design feature, but with unitended consequences to say the least...

Reply to
johannes
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Based on a statistical sample of one, I don't think you can assert that

*all* modern cars are like that.
Reply to
Roger Mills

Indeed. The sample car was a recent Ford Fiesta. Presumably this may be a feature of all Fords, and there are quite many of those. Then the competitors will latch on.

Reply to
johannes

It's hardly new. What is a problem though is the fact that "standard" car parking bays haven't changed in width in donkey's years but cars have all got wider.

One day cars with come with ultrasonic "gap detectors" that will stop you opening your door too wide in these situations

Tim

Reply to
Tim+

just get a tesla and tell it to park itself :)

Reply to
MrCheerful

Very much depends on what you're parked next to.

I've had to get K to scramble across the seats in the Boxster to get into it for me and move it out of the space - because she's only a size

8 and 5ft tall whilst I'm taller and twice her weight!

I can't see your average Tesla owner giving a f*ck about making it difficult for drivers around them - they exist in their own smug superiority bubble.

Reply to
Steve H

Well I am a bit like Rowan Atkinson. I'd love to have a 911 but wouldn't want people to think I am the sort of person who would drive one.

Reply to
newshound

Buy an old watercooled 911. They're perfectly acceptable. I even reckon a 996 is acceptable as a 'modern classic' these days. It's just newer ones which make people think you have a micropenis ;)

Reply to
Steve H

Old school? Don't you mean air cooled?

Tim

Reply to
Tim+

Yes, that's what I meant.

Reply to
Steve H

All air cooled porkers come with substantial "classic" tax. All of them want to kill you.

Early water cooled are now rising in price. All the ones that were subject to bore cracking should have cracked by now. All the ones with IMS bearing issues should be much more easy to sort as it's now understood to be an alignment issue of a register on one of the cases.

The ones with the engine moved forward with angled driveshafts don't have murder in their hearts.

Reply to
Peter Hill

A new retailing site has just been built locally. The parking bays are quite a bit wider than I have come to expect.

Reply to
Harry Bloomfield

The only place near me with ?adequate? bays is Costco.

Tim

Reply to
Tim+

Same for me, the entire Lakeside retail park is otherwise sized for Moggy Minors.

However, 99+ per cent of our shopping happens in Costco, so it is not too much of a problem, and I use a cat d writeoff as my shopping car.

Reply to
MrCheerful

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