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Old 06-10-2013, 06:18 PM   #1
vbvbvb088
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Default Favorite car gizmos…

VK Calais dashboard
XF Ghia oscillating vents
XF systems test panel…not Y2K compliant
XF 45 ciggaret lighters
Holden ‘Trip Computer’…Camira
XA ‘cockpit’ dash
XD ‘Alloy Head’
XE rear windows – ‘Australian Design Award’ winner..
Landau vacuum headlights.
VL Calais pop up headlights
Ford P6 electric seats
Wide ended Mitsubshi Magna
Camira wagon – holds more than V/X series
VB SL/e headlight wipers
XE/XF door locks that illuminate
Economy Gauges
Horizontal speedos

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Old 06-10-2013, 09:21 PM   #2
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Default Re: Favorite car gizmos…

My '88 TX5 Ghia had the oscillating vents.

Also, my '82 Trans Am was set up so when you turn the ignition off, the instrument needles held their position until the ignition was turned on again and they reset.

It was the Knight Rider model, but wasn't black & didn't talk to me...

Another one, the stupid alarm on my current model Hilux - starts beeping loudly when the door is opened while the keys are in the ignition. Really annoying!!
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Old 06-10-2013, 11:27 PM   #3
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Default Re: Favorite car gizmos…

Couldn't help myself. Looked up the word 'gizmo' in dictionary and Wiki and it appears no one knows the origin of the word itself.
I guess a better word (and I'm not trying to be smart, promise) would be 'gadget'.
Keeping to the thread, my favourite gizmo was the good old Vacuum Gauge. When I put my Valiant AP6 together (many, many moons ago), I purchased a set of 3 gauges, Yazaki tacho, oil pressure, and a VDO vacuum gauge.
The vacuum gauge was far and away the most useful. I could set timing, see problems before they became problems. I wonder if it still has a place in the FG, my guess is yes.
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Old 06-10-2013, 11:32 PM   #4
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Default Re: Favorite car gizmos…

Nissan Bluebird from the 90's with head up display on windscreen.
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Old 06-10-2013, 11:43 PM   #5
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Default Re: Favorite car gizmos…

1999 AU Fairmont Ghia - complete dash board layout, VCT engine
2011 MC Mondeo - Ecoboost engine, dash interface, rear a/c vents in b pillars
1988 R31 Skyline Silhouette - RB30/Jatco combo,rear headphone jacks
1971 S1 XJ6 - fold down fuse panel in centre of timber dash
2001 Hyundai Grandeur XG - memory seats/mirrors/etc
1980 RS2000 - everything
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Old 07-10-2013, 02:27 AM   #6
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Default Re: Favorite car gizmos…

... I forgot to add the P6 (P5 s well?) console air con controls
XD/Xe air vents at rear of console
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Old 07-10-2013, 07:50 AM   #7
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Default Re: Favorite car gizmos…

AU "drive way lighting" or whatever its called. So simple but so damn handy. Although I get alot of people asking if I have left the lights on.
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Old 07-10-2013, 11:29 AM   #8
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Default Re: Favorite car gizmos…

Central locking...

I'm easily pleased :-)
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Old 11-10-2013, 07:39 AM   #9
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Default Re: Favorite car gizmos…

Quote:
Originally Posted by vbvbvb088 View Post
VK Calais dashboard
XF Ghia oscillating vents
XF systems test panel…not Y2K compliant
XF 45 ciggaret lighters
Holden ‘Trip Computer’…Camira
XA ‘cockpit’ dash
XD ‘Alloy Head’
XE rear windows – ‘Australian Design Award’ winner..
Landau vacuum headlights.
VL Calais pop up headlights
Ford P6 electric seats
Wide ended Mitsubshi Magna
Camira wagon – holds more than V/X series
VB SL/e headlight wipers
XE/XF door locks that illuminate
Economy Gauges
Horizontal speedos
What I like about all these, it doesn't make the driver thoughtless, unlike the current offerings.
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Old 12-10-2013, 09:55 PM   #10
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Default Re: Favorite car gizmos…

Quote:
Originally Posted by vbvbvb088 View Post
VK Calais dashboard
XF Ghia oscillating vents
XF systems test panel…not Y2K compliant
XF 45 ciggaret lighters
Holden ‘Trip Computer’…Camira
XA ‘cockpit’ dash
XD ‘Alloy Head’
XE rear windows – ‘Australian Design Award’ winner..
Landau vacuum headlights.
VL Calais pop up headlights
Ford P6 electric seats
Wide ended Mitsubshi Magna
Camira wagon – holds more than V/X series
VB SL/e headlight wipers
XE/XF door locks that illuminate
Economy Gauges
Horizontal speedos
Yep...all of them.
We had a VK Calais...loved the digital dash.

Our 1982 Celica has something that a lot of modern cars have now...when you get in at night, the footwells are lit up with soft lighting, which fades out when you turn the ignition key.

Quote:
Originally Posted by jaydee View Post
Nissan Bluebird from the 90's with head up display on windscreen.
And that's something which has puzzled me since they came out...why doesn't every car have this now? It's not rocket science...it's bloody easy and cheap to do. No idea why it isn't a standard feature in every car. The safety value should be obvious...you keep your eyes on the road and you can see speed and a bit of other vital info right there "floating" in front of you.
There is an app for the iPhone which turns it into a heads up "projector" but it requires you to leave your iphone sliding around on top of the dash in the sunlight...not the best idea.

Last edited by 2011G6E; 12-10-2013 at 10:04 PM.
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Old 13-10-2013, 04:11 PM   #11
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Default Re: Favorite car gizmos…

The 351 Cleveland engine in my XE ute.
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Old 13-10-2013, 05:25 PM   #12
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Default Re: Favorite car gizmos…

leyland p76, you can fit a 44 gallon drum in the boot!
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Old 13-10-2013, 05:33 PM   #13
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Default Re: Favorite car gizmos…

Love the safety lock on the old Sorento that needs your foot on the brake pedal to shift it out of park....handy now that my daugher understands you pull the shifter back and release the handbrake to make it go (never let her sit in a drivers seat unsupervised though).

Funny seeing her try to start it with a house key though, doesnt understand yet that different keys do different things. Lucky I dont drive an old VN
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Old 13-10-2013, 05:45 PM   #14
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Default Re: Favorite car gizmos…

The invention of day/night rear view mirrors!
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Old 13-10-2013, 05:56 PM   #15
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Default Re: Favorite car gizmos…

All the car gizmos these days are good, but to be honest , i miss the days of basic motor cars , when power steering and AC was an option, and only posh vehicles would have power windows, that said, power seats with heating is pretty flash gizmo for us southerners.
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Old 13-10-2013, 09:04 PM   #16
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Default Re: Favorite car gizmos…

I love a gizmo. But these days it is more about stuff I can use than think 'wow!'.

Bluetooth, auto headlights, intermittent wipers, cruise control, usb connection, single tank for front and rear wipers, middle seat lap sash seat belts, auto dipping rear view mirror (as above), and in the Mondeo I had, heated outside mirrors, heated seats, and auto wipers.
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Old 14-10-2013, 11:03 AM   #17
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Default Re: Favorite car gizmos…

My 1966 Chrysler 300 has power windows, power drivers seat, tele-tilt steering column, a/c, automatic on/off headlights ("headlight sentinel") floor shift auto with console and "performance meter" (vacuum gauge),sure-grip LSD, high performance 365hp 440 ALL factory fitted!
Options also available for it were am/fm radio, power aerial, "reverborator" (stereo effect), power quarter windows, cental locking, ,vacuum boot release, separate front and rear a/c & heating, front disc brakes, auto-seeking radio (foot controlled button for changing station), automatic dipping headlights, 3 or 4 speed manual trans, so "gizmos" are not a new thing.
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Old 14-10-2013, 12:14 PM   #18
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Default Re: Favorite car gizmos…

Pop up headlights on a P5 LTD or Landau. They are pure awesome.
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Old 15-10-2013, 11:43 PM   #19
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Default Re: Favorite car gizmos…

"power quarter windows"...what the

p.s. some folk here wouldn't know what quarter windows are. Gotta see them in action.
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Old 16-10-2013, 10:20 AM   #20
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Default Re: Favorite car gizmos…

Radial ply tyres
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Old 16-10-2013, 10:49 AM   #21
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Default Re: Favorite car gizmos…

Don't forget the 4 wheel steering in the 90s Mazda 929

My personal favourite is the XF/ZL/FE gizmos. There is also some pretty cool things in the Explorers too.
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Old 16-10-2013, 11:00 AM   #22
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Default Re: Favorite car gizmos…

Heated seats on a cold winters morning!
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Old 16-10-2013, 11:05 AM   #23
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Default Re: Favorite car gizmos…

Steering wheel, manual gear shifter and accelerator pedal......
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Old 16-10-2013, 11:08 AM   #24
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Default Re: Favorite car gizmos…

Quote:
Originally Posted by Forevermore View Post
Don't forget the 4 wheel steering in the 90s Mazda 929
Aaah yeah there was also the MX6 and the Honda Prelude IIRC.

One was electro-hydraulic and the other was mechanical.
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Old 16-10-2013, 11:51 AM   #25
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Default Re: Favorite car gizmos…

XF Starwars dash
NC Fairlane joystick stereo fade/balance control


What was special about the XE rear windows to win an award?
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Old 16-10-2013, 05:07 PM   #26
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Default Re: Favorite car gizmos…

Quote:
Originally Posted by MAD View Post
XF Starwars dash
NC Fairlane joystick stereo fade/balance control


What was special about the XE rear windows to win an award?
There used to be stickers that stated 'Australian Design (Award?) Winner'.
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Old 16-10-2013, 09:45 PM   #27
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Default Re: Favorite car gizmos…

I think that was for the whole car not just the rear window... unless I just missed the joke
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Old 16-10-2013, 10:29 PM   #28
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Default Re: Favorite car gizmos…

12 volt batteries
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Old 17-10-2013, 04:26 PM   #29
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Default Re: Favorite car gizmos…

Quote:
Originally Posted by Streets View Post
I think that was for the whole car not just the rear window... unless I just missed the joke
I think it was for both the XD & XE range. From memory something about the innovative use of plastics for fuel tanks & bumpers.
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Old 17-10-2013, 11:48 PM   #30
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Default Re: Favorite car gizmos…

Quote:
Originally Posted by noosacuda View Post
Options also available for it were am/fm radio, power aerial, "reverborator" (stereo effect), power quarter windows, cental locking, ,vacuum boot release, separate front and rear a/c & heating, front disc brakes, auto-seeking radio (foot controlled button for changing station), automatic dipping headlights, 3 or 4 speed manual trans, so "gizmos" are not a new thing.
You don't have all these?

Driving a 300 taxi, then

My favourite "gizmo" (read option) is the clock in an XY.
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