High-tech Mini vs my Austin 12 tank
I SYMPATHISE with the reader complaining about over-complicated modern cars (Letters). I learned to drive more than 50 years ago in my uncle’s 1937 Austin 12, a robust, seemingly iron-built tank of a horseless carriage that smelled of worn leather, old oil, a suspicion of petrol vapour and a welcoming whiff of rising damp. It was, of course, painted a befitting macabre black. It had a crash gearbox, brakes of a sort, no acceleration to get worried about and the road holding of a blancmange. The dashboard sported no dials to bother with except a speedometer and its steering wheel was worthy of a London bus. Yes, the Austin 12 was basic by modern standards but, boy, was it fun to drive! Skip decades of driving to my latest car, a Mini that is so technically complex I’m almost frightened to drive it lest it should realise my computer skills are, shall we say, basic. It is so high-tech that, doubtless, somewhere in the 300-page instruction manual, in combination with my wife’s smartphone, I could activate our toaster from a distance of 200 miles. If I fail to comply with its dratted computer demands, it’s likely to go into sulk mode and proceed no further. This happened when I attempted to reverse out of the drive without engaging my seatbelt. This beautiful piece of precision engineering has an unknown number of functions, of which I use only three. The others can go hang because I have no use for them — yet. Surely all car manufacturers should be required to produce a retro version of each model in their range: no frills, no silly gimmicks, just the basics and a proper, full-size spare wheel. who wouldn’t want to buy such a car?
dOuG JenninGS, Mickleton, Glos. oLDER cars didn’t have just one warning light on the dashboard for oil pressure. There was another equally vital one to indicate charging, which would come on if the fan belt broke. If you are happy to do shorter journeys, or longer ones in short hops, at lower speeds, without servo brakes, power steering and air con, and are prepared to have more regular maintenance, then drive a Morris 1000.
niCK WOOttOn, Wallasey, Wirral.
THE plethora of dashboard warning lights serve a dual purpose. As a retired motor mechanic, I know that for an older model, the cost of repairing any of the systems flagged up by the lights is quite often more than the market value of the car, thus ensuring the manufacture has built-in obsolescence. Pete WilliaMS, Hayes end, Middlesex.