Black-out

[norseman]

Parked behind a 20 plate Vauxhall Corsa today I noticed the rear window had blacked out bands of the glass around five inches wide each side plus a narrower strip at both top & bottom.

All in all I estimate that something like 25% of the total glass area was blacked out .. so what the hell is the point of this, is it some form of daft 'image' statement or does it serve a practical purpose in which case why not just have a smaller window

 

[footprints]

Corsa = young (cool) driver need I say more.

 

[Mottie]

Parked behind a 20 plate Vauxhall Corsa today I noticed the rear window had blacked out bands of the glass around five inches wide each side plus a narrower strip at both top & bottom.

All in all I estimate that something like 25% of the total glass area was blacked out .. so what the hell is the point of this, is it some form of daft 'image' statement or does it serve a practical purpose in which case why not just have a smaller window

I think the blacked out edges around windscreens are to prevent the glue that holds them in from being damaged by the sun.

 

[norseman]

I think the blacked out edges around windscreens are to prevent the glue that holds them in from being damaged by the sun.

Sounds plausible, but this was way in advance of that. Glass area in cars has been getting smaller for years .. some are like mobile pill-boxes (well nearly) but now manufacturers are reducing what visible area there is.

I wish I'd had the facility at the time to take a picture of the Corsa, by way of illustration.

 

[Mottie]

Glass area in cars has been getting smaller for years .. some are like mobile pill-boxes (well nearly) but now manufacturers are reducing what visible area there is.

True. Sit in an old BMW 3 series and you think you are sitting in a greenhouse!

 

[norseman]

True. Sit in an old BMW 3 series and you think you are sitting in a greenhouse!

Ditto my '98 E39 & even more so, my range Rover Classic

 

[Stivino]

Glass area in cars has been getting smaller for years

Other than the glasss area getting smaller, it's the metal area being higher up for better crash protection. Remember when you were easily able to hang your right arm out of any car window when driving along, it's not so easy now.

 

[ReganAndCarter]

Sounds plausible, but this was way in advance of that. Glass area in cars has been getting smaller for years .. some are like mobile pill-boxes (well nearly)

I'm away at moment and driving nearly new hired Clio. The rear window is quite dark and about the size of a letter box. Reversing is like when I'm in my van - little idea of what's right behind you - rely on mirrors mostly. Must be a nightmare for learners these days having cars so difficult to see behind. My first cars were Dolomite and Montego. These had nice big back windows and were easy to place when reversing. Could see the corners of the boot too so a doddle.

One question re my hire car. It has stop start. If I park and put in neutral the engine cuts out. But if I unbuckle seatbelt before turning ignition off, the engine restarts. Can't work out why this happens.

The Clio's not a bad car for a 3 cyl French effort. I like that it's all traditional, ie. proper clutch, proper 5 speed gearbox, proper old school lever handbrake. No complex, impractical nonsense. Just like a washing machine, an efficient white box that does a good job and nothing else. Best of all - it's not a hugger, Ever Ready milk float thing!!

 

[ReganAndCarter]

True. Sit in an old BMW 3 series and you think you are sitting in a greenhouse!

Agree. Who would have thought it would be ok to design cars that are difficult to see out of. Plus the chunky windscreen pillars. Then the black/dark gloomy interiors for that funeral parlour ambiance. Plus rock hard German seats.

When will biscuit/light tan velour comfortable seats be making a comeback?

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

Other than the glasss area getting smaller, it's the metal area being higher up for better crash protection. Remember when you were easily able to hang your right arm out of any car window when driving along, it's not so easy now.

My car has to be one of the worst, in this respect. It has great crash protection, massive A pillars, you have to move about in your seat, to be able to properly see on roundabouts etc.. The rear-view is almost as bad, a tiny letter box, slit, through the internal mirror, with a high boot, and looking over the top of the head rests. The door mirrors, are not much help, because you cannot see the rear corners of the car at all, so you have to guess. Reversing, I rely heavily on the camera, and the sensors. A great cruiser on the open road, but big, awkward and clumsy in a confined space.

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

I have a Peugeot 207 courtesy car atm, letter box rear window and no clear view of the rear corners in the mirrors, awful car, it's not even big but parking is unpleasant. No idea where the bonnet ends, unlike my regular car this has no sensors they're kind of essential these days IMO.

 

[Stivino]

When will biscuit/light tan velour comfortable seats be making a comeback

Like this?

 

[Avocet]

I'm away at moment and driving nearly new hired Clio. The rear window is quite dark and about the size of a letter box. Reversing is like when I'm in my van - little idea of what's right behind you - rely on mirrors mostly. Must be a nightmare for learners these days having cars so difficult to see behind. My first cars were Dolomite and Montego. These had nice big back windows and were easy to place when reversing. Could see the corners of the boot too so a doddle.

One question re my hire car. It has stop start. If I park and put in neutral the engine cuts out. But if I unbuckle seatbelt before turning ignition off, the engine restarts. Can't work out why this happens.

The Clio's not a bad car for a 3 cyl French effort. I like that it's all traditional, ie. proper clutch, proper 5 speed gearbox, proper old school lever handbrake. No complex, impractical nonsense. Just like a washing machine, an efficient white box that does a good job and nothing else. Best of all - it's not a hugger, Ever Ready milk float thing!!

Stop-start is quite complicated in practice. There are a whole load of conditions that have to be meet, before it will do it. However, I think (and I'm not certain about this), that it starts up again when you take the belt off, in case you leave the car, thinking you've turned the engine off. If you come to a stop and the engine cuts out, you could then get out of the car and walk away, technically, with the ignition still on. They won't stop indefinitely. After about 10 or 15 minutes in stop-start, they will fire up again, so you could end up in the situation where you've walked away from the car and then it starts up and just sits there idling.

Also, there will be situations where a mechanic wants to work on the car with the engine running, and doesn't want the stop-start cutting in.

 

[Avocet]

My car has to be one of the worst, in this respect. It has great crash protection, massive A pillars, you have to move about in your seat, to be able to properly see on roundabouts etc.. The rear-view is almost as bad, a tiny letter box, slit, through the internal mirror, with a high boot, and looking over the top of the head rests. The door mirrors, are not much help, because you cannot see the rear corners of the car at all, so you have to guess. Reversing, I rely heavily on the camera, and the sensors. A great cruiser on the open road, but big, awkward and clumsy in a confined space.

I think the trend for smaller rear windows and higher waistlines started in the 1990s, when it became mandatory to have a three-point belt in the middle, rear seating position. The upper belt anchorage needs to be at least 450mm above the seat occupant's hip, and obviously, you need a substantial bit of vehicle structure to mount it to, so that started dictating the height of the top of the seat backrest and parcel shelf.

 

[ReganAndCarter]

Stop-start is quite complicated in practice. There are a whole load of conditions that have to be meet, before it will do it. However, I think (and I'm not certain about this), that it starts up again when you take the belt off, in case you leave the car, thinking you've turned the engine off. If you come to a stop and the engine cuts out, you could then get out of the car and walk away, technically, with the ignition still on. They won't stop indefinitely. After about 10 or 15 minutes in stop-start, they will fire up again, so you could end up in the situation where you've walked away from the car and then it starts up and just sits there idling.

Also, there will be situations where a mechanic wants to work on the car with the engine running, and doesn't want the stop-start cutting in.

Thanks for the explanation of stop start. No experience of it and what you say makes sense. There is a switch to turn stop start off, but it's no real problem. I'm based in the sticks at present and not much town driving so it rarely comes into play anyway.