Live data from Hacker News

Congratulations, Mini, you made the stupidest turn signals ever

jalopnik.com

181–190 of 448 posts

Re: Congratulations, Mini, you made the stupidest turn signals ever

#181
Mini’s statement only highlights the absurdity (emphasis mine):

>With regard to the turn indicator light pattern, there should be no trouble at all for a driver to understand, when seeing the full rear of the car, which direction is being indicated

So what about when you can only see half of the car? Like when it’s changing lanes or pulling out of a parking spot? You know, like those times when a signal is MOST useful?

Absolute idiocy.

Re: Congratulations, Mini, you made the stupidest turn signals ever

#182

My wife thinks my anti-modern-mini rants are incredibly funny. But I think the car is a list of lazy mistranslations of a design classic. Thanks for adding another example to my list of mini shame.

I remember seeing my friend’s Isuzu Trooper 4x4 in a parking lot next to a “Mini” that dwarfed it. I don’t hate minis, but that moment made me realize what a silly brand they are.

Re: Congratulations, Mini, you made the stupidest turn signals ever

#183
post #162

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can one just swap the two lights inside? Barring that, maybe some sort of diffuser sheet inside?

Diffusers also make the light more dim.

If they're made by the manufacturer, chances are they'll use the proper brightness for the lights, or they wouldn't pass the safety approvals.

Re: Congratulations, Mini, you made the stupidest turn signals ever

#184
post #177

I'm a taillight enthusiast, but, I must say, it never even occurred to me that these look like an arrow, even after watching the gif. It's much less awful than the Mini Clubman, which, like so many new vehicles, have decided to install brake lights and signals IN THE BUMPER. My understanding is there's an EU (?) regulation that taillights must be visible when the trunk/hatch is open; eg, for roadside emergencies wher…

What goes into being a tail light enthusiast? I can’t wrap my head around this concept. He used the term Blinkie in the article but I thought it was a joke. Are you a blinkie?

Re: Congratulations, Mini, you made the stupidest turn signals ever

#185
post #178

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I do hope that all it takes is a few customers in a showroom asking the salesman "does it come without those stupid fucking indicators?"

The salesperson doesn't care, and the dealership sells whatever the manufacturer ships to them. The Mini dealer isn't about to start stocking Kias instead of Minis.

That's my question though.

If anyone at Mini sees their 2019 model sold N in the first 6 months, and their 2021 model sold N/2, does anyone at corporate ask the dealerships to explain?

I hope someone would care. What if 90% of potential buyers jumped off when they saw the mileage numbers. Or after the test drive. Or when they heard how long delivery would take.

You know, any process optimization whatsoever.

Re: Congratulations, Mini, you made the stupidest turn signals ever

#186

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sure, go ahead and play stupid.

To be honest I think the author is playing stupid pretending to be confused by a simple indicator light.

Safety features should not be fun or cheeky. They should be intuitive and obvious.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stroop_effect

Re: Congratulations, Mini, you made the stupidest turn signals ever

#187

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>> when seeing the full rear of the car, I suppose the Mini designers have never driven in fog, poor lighting, storms, or at night? (When you might not see the full rear of the car) Imagine if you can only see the car's taillights and you see a blinking arrow move the opposite way it points. What would you think you saw? Or better yet, if one of the taillights is out, what would a driver behind the Mini think?

> I suppose the Mini designers have never driven in fog, poor lighting, storms, or at night? (When you might not see the full rear of the car) The full rear of the car is still illuminated.

The comment above is clearly controversial, I can't think of driving at night behind a car and not seeing both rear lights, and usually illuminated license plate and illumination coming from the rear window pane. Overall that gives me a full sense of the width of the car.

The indicator light would be relatively to the left/right of the car, and typically would look like a single bulb due to distance and diffraction.

Re: Congratulations, Mini, you made the stupidest turn signals ever

#188
post #11

So the left turn signal is an arrow pointing to the right? And the right turn signal is an arrow pointing to the left? How does that pass, well, anything at all without someone saying “that might not be the best idea”!

I've worked in places where, if it's a senior VIP's idea, nobody questions it. You just do it. Doesn't matter if it's good, clever, high-value, safe, ethical, legal, or even possible. You just do it and don't ask why, or so much as hint that it's a terrible idea. Everyone just whistles and pretends it's great. I would hope that this wouldn't be the case in a car company, where safety needs to be a huge part of the wh…

In Kaizen, if you don't find a problem, there is a problem. Might as well point out the problem.

https://harishsnotebook.wordpress.com/2015/08/16/what-do-you...

Re: Congratulations, Mini, you made the stupidest turn signals ever

#189
post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I had to just laugh at your comment. It’s either brilliant sarcasm or you just might be the guy that designed this.

No not joking. They seem to follow the same predictable pattern as every other turn signal I've ever seen. Not sure what the fuss is.

Now imagine you’ve never seen this before and you’re driving in fog so thick that you can only see the light and not the car.
Post reply on HN