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Congratulations, Mini, you made the stupidest turn signals ever

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

#401

Post by mns »

Bud wrote: post #26
omarqureshi wrote: post #2

Since the mini is a BMW and BMW drivers are notorious for never using turn signals, this should not be an issue, right?

The MINI is actually not a BMW, although it is true that it is made by BMW. Nor are MINI drivers really very much like BMW drivers, in fact I'd say that overall as a population, they are quite different. (I had a MINI from 2002-2020. Put about 300k miles on it.)

Well, technically, at least in Germany, they are the same. I have a 2021 Mini and it was surprising when I got some paper for taxes to see that the state considers it as BMW car.

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

#402

Post by useruser1234 »

dwighttk wrote: post #373
Reason077 wrote: post #347

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Usually yes. But in urban areas (where there are lots of street lights, and lots of cyclists), people often forget to turn their lights on. I guess it's becoming less of a problem now that most cars have auto lights, but I still see cars driving around without lights pretty regularly.

Yeah I’m astonished at how often people drive with headlights off. Why is it even an option for lights to be off when in drive? I can understand wanting to turn them off sometimes, but not while moving.

No lights on shouldn’t even be an option. Even with older cars I’ve always turned them on. My current car won’t even allow you to turn them off.

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

#403

Post by dunco »

userbinator wrote: post #363
dunco wrote: post #346

Lenovo have committed a similar crime with their camera shutter design that includes the red dot from the thinkpad logo, totally ignoring that a red dot/light in the context of a camera has been used to indicate a recording state for a long time. Lenovo's Camera is in the off/disabled/shuttered position when the red dot is visible. Although of little consequence in reality, the idea that some exec thought this would…

totally ignoring that a red dot/light in the context of a camera has been used to indicate a recording state for a long time That's a separate recording light, not a red dot right in front of the lens. Lenovo's Camera is in the off/disabled/shuttered position when the red dot is visible. I've never found this confusing, and in fact the red dot covering the lens makes it more obvious that the shutter is deployed.

The red dot is quite bright, in a well lit area I don't know if I could distinguish it from a dim LED. On my carbon X1, there is an infrared camera or sensor right next to it, so in my case I actually have the IRlens and the dot adjacent to one another as you might expect on a recording device.

I wouldn't go so far as to say I was confused by it, just thought to myself "huh, that's kind of silly"

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

#404

Post by weird-eye-issue »

zarzavat wrote: post #399
weird-eye-issue wrote: post #376

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How is it "horrible"? It's not confusing at all

If a car is braking and signalling at the same time, isn't that confusing?

I can't say I've ever even thought about it because it's never been a problem. I mean it's a blinking light

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

#405

Post by CRConrad »

Schlaefer wrote: post #251
misnome wrote: post #233

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is what I _hate_ about the Audi striping indicators. Yes, they are actually useful when you see them when they are indicating. However, when they have the hazard lights on, they still stripe. So if it's still and you can't see the left indicator, it feels like a very strong statement that they are trying to move out.

I'm still confused how they made it through regulation. Image you're a security-engineer and read "On average the indicator light runs at only 50% because we think it looks cool."

Have you measeured their area? Betcha they're at least twice as big as the smallest ones on the market -- whichever vehicle those are on -- so 50% of these is still more visible lit-up area than 100% of those.

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

#406

Post by CRConrad »

thiht wrote: post #216
mthoms wrote: post #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 usef…

> 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? You either see which side of the car you're seeing, or you don't and the shape of the light doesn't matter. When you drive, you don't interpret the light of the turn signal, you interpret where it is. For me that's one thing that looks stupid o…

> You either see which side of the car you're seeing, or you don't and the shape of the light doesn't matter.

Huh? I don't understand your reasoning. To everyone else, that seems to be precisely the situation where the shape of the light does matter, because it's the only context you have to go on. Care to explain your thinking?

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

#407

Post by CRConrad »

rconti wrote: post #207
ThePadawan wrote: post #185

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

I'm sure they do, but as a car enthusiast, we're forever frustrated, because the number of people who care is simply miniscule. I always bought used cars and it's frustrating that, of course, the manufacturers/dealers only care about people buying new. But now, having bought a new car, I realize they STILL don't care about my opinion, because people who care about the car-like-appliances they buy are in such a minori…

> Go try to buy a new car and the sales people simply don't seem to care about you wanting a difficult to find color combination from another dealer.

This, and similar complaints about the buying process, always feels so weird to me as a European. Parting with such a huge amount as the cost of a new car, AFAIK pretty much nobody in Europe ever picks a pre-made one from the lot; it's always ordered to spec, with the exact colours and equipment and options you want. What's the huge rush for you Yanks that you don't do it that way? "But that takes weeks!" -- yeah, so what? If you're getting a new car, don't you usually know that a few weeks beforehand?

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

#409

Post by CRConrad »

kalleboo wrote: post #67
sircastor wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I got really frustrated when I started to see 3 rapid flashes when a Toyota or Kia driver put on the brakes on the Highway. What had been a common signal for “you’re a little too close” was now shown every time the driver pressed the brake pedal. I guess I could’ve complained to one of the manufacturers, but what do they care? I’m not buying their cars.

> What had been a common signal for “you’re a little too close” I've never seen or heard of this. But seeing cars that flash their brake light under heavy/emergency braking is common (typically high-end European brands)

> > What had been a common signal for “you’re a little too close”

> I've never seen or heard of this.

If you're being annoyingly tailgated, rapidly tap your brakes a couple times to signal the tailgater that you have brakes -- if you need to use them for real, he'll crash into you, so he should back off.

Used to be standard communication in Northern Europe, i.e Germany up through the Nordics, but may have fallen somewhat out of the public consciousness recently (Geroffmylawn, damn millennials, etc).

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

#410

Post by CRConrad »

tannhaeuser wrote: post #235
sircastor wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I got really frustrated when I started to see 3 rapid flashes when a Toyota or Kia driver put on the brakes on the Highway. What had been a common signal for “you’re a little too close” was now shown every time the driver pressed the brake pedal. I guess I could’ve complained to one of the manufacturers, but what do they care? I’m not buying their cars.

> 3 rapid flashes [...] a common signal for "you’re a little too close" That's new to me as EU driver. What I tend to do is hit brakes three or more times in a rhythmic fashion to signal there's traffic jam ahead; specifically on Autobahn where speeds go high with distances often way too low, instead of turning on alarm blinkers.

I think that was exactly what was meant: A manual[§] signal. Only the context the GP meant, and that I've also seen it used in, was usually a more personal "You're driving too close on my arse; back off a bit to create a safety margin" rather than your warning of stau ahead.

___

[§]: Well, pedal.

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