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[STEMO]

From the astra k forum:

https://www.astrakforums.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=6864

[Sir Tigger KC]

Yep. 

[VXL V6]

The Omega V8 had an LCD panel dash and heads-up display, shame it never reached production. I was impressed with the LCD panel Car SOS fitted in the Lotus.

[BazaJT]

Although undoubtedly cleverly done,I'm not so sure that what he's gained was worth the effort/expense of gaining it.However each to their own and all that.

[Marks DTM Calib]

Shockingly easy when you know how, to add it to our cars with Touch Pro, its just one extra cable and changing some config

[Doctor Gollum]

The Omega V8 display is probably a bastardised Corvette one

[Migv6 le Frog Fan]

I still haven't forgiven Vauxhall for not using the Senator digital dash in the Omega. Still miss it after all these years.

[TheBoy]

I still haven't forgiven Vauxhall for not using the Senator digital dash in the Omega. Still miss it after all these years.

I was never a fan. When I first got my Astra GTE, I thought it was really cool, innit?  But the novelty wore off for me, and I longed for traditional dials.

Full on LCD screens make sense, as the best of both worlds.  I'm surprised they aren't commonplace now.

[STEMO]

My Austin 1100 was well good with its horizontal red line gauges 

[Sir Tigger KC]

Was it the Montego or Maestro that was the first talking car?   

[STEMO]

Was it the Montego or Maestro that was the first talking car?   

They only knew one sentence..."I'm broke.....again"

The driver used to reply....."So am I, with you yer c**t"

[Keith ABS]

 Montenogo and Maestro Sir Tig
Differant english voice in both
The maestro was a bit husky
The Montenogo was quite prim
I had an early MG EFi Montenogo

[Migv6 le Frog Fan]

I still haven't forgiven Vauxhall for not using the Senator digital dash in the Omega. Still miss it after all these years.

I was never a fan. When I first got my Astra GTE, I thought it was really cool, innit?  But the novelty wore off for me, and I longed for traditional dials.

Full on LCD screens make sense, as the best of both worlds.  I'm surprised they aren't commonplace now.

I dont see how the novelty could wear off tbh. A very quick glance tells you your travelling at xxx mph. Traditional layout requires looking down for seconds to try and glean that info. Which means if you were travelling at xxx mph, they will probably be finding bits of you up nearby trees for weeks to come. 

[STEMO]

Most modern cars have a digital speedo if nowt else, I know both our astras have.

[Doctor Gollum]

Most modern cars have a digital speedo if nowt else, I know both our astras have.

I think there's a setting on mine for it, and it's about the same age as your lad

[BazaJT]

I was a fan of the digital dash in the Senator and the little button you could press to switch the display to metric for continental driving and back to imperial once on home soil.

[Marks DTM Calib]

I still haven't forgiven Vauxhall for not using the Senator digital dash in the Omega. Still miss it after all these years.

I was never a fan. When I first got my Astra GTE, I thought it was really cool, innit?  But the novelty wore off for me, and I longed for traditional dials.

Full on LCD screens make sense, as the best of both worlds.  I'm surprised they aren't commonplace now.

Its all about ASIL init.

The cluster has to meet a certain safety rating (some warning lights and speed is considered a safety item so has to be designed accordingly, hence why certain lamps are still separate on LCD clusters), this today makes it expensive when compared to dials (but road mapped chipsets may well change this).

You will note the Insignia display is actually a centre LCD with dials......makes it much easier from an ASIL perspective.

[TheBoy]

I still haven't forgiven Vauxhall for not using the Senator digital dash in the Omega. Still miss it after all these years.

I was never a fan. When I first got my Astra GTE, I thought it was really cool, innit?  But the novelty wore off for me, and I longed for traditional dials.

Full on LCD screens make sense, as the best of both worlds.  I'm surprised they aren't commonplace now.

I dont see how the novelty could wear off tbh. A very quick glance tells you your travelling at xxx mph. Traditional layout requires looking down for seconds to try and glean that info. Which means if you were travelling at xxx mph, they will probably be finding bits of you up nearby trees for weeks to come. 

The speedo on the Astra didn't update fast enough and was laggy, so was always a bit crap (as the only time I ever drove at a constant speed was when it was bouncing on the limiter in 5th - even to this day, it remains the only car I have ever owned that could do that).

Other issues were the other gauges like fuel was 6 or 8 segments, which I found wasn't granular enough to judge if I needed fuel before a medium length journey.

For me, the novelty wore off within a week or 2, to the point it started to annoy me.  Even the last Senator I drove, the dash I found frustrating.  A great idea, just not implemented as well as it could have been - though we have to remember this was 1980s tech.


It was one thing that worried me when I decided to go for an XJ, though I'm pleased to say its responsive, clear and doesn't piss me off, although the software needs improving (things like the user option to flick it to KPH leaves the speedo in MPH, but brings up an insert with a digital KPH). That and the fact its been known to reboot whilst driving (JLRs usual low battery glitches), and it takes about 5s for it to bring all the dials back - that was properly annoying before I changed the battery .

The S-Class digital display is pretty good as well, though lacks a bit of clarity due to the scatter gun approach MB used to get as much info as possible across the the drivers half of the screen.

[Doctor Gollum]

Arguably, if you're driving properly at speed, then you should be driving to the road rather than the speedo. This remains true whether is a fast, twisty B road or and empty autobahn. 99% of your focus should be ahead of you. 

[TheBoy]

Arguably, if you're driving properly at speed, then you should be driving to the road rather than the speedo. This remains true whether is a fast, twisty B road or and empty autobahn. 99% of your focus should be ahead of you. 

Being a reformed character, I now drive purely by looking at the speedo. As exceeding the speed limit kills, ergo, staring at the speedo to ensure not exceeding a limit means I can't kill.

[YZ250]

Being a reformed character, I now drive purely by looking at the speedo. As exceeding the speed limit kills, ergo, staring at the speedo to ensure not exceeding a limit means I can't kill.

It's good to hear that you are more concerned about the safety elements of speeding and less concerned about the big fine and points that follow such an indiscretion. 
Not everybody can change their attitude to safer driving as quickly as you so well done for that. 

[STEMO]

I try....I really do. But the pressure release valve in my head keeps blowing. It's a medical condition, you know.

[Andy B]

The thing that p's me off with Merc is that they insist you have a digital kph display somewhere. On my R Class, this was where Europe & the States could have a continual outside temp display but I had to scroll through umpteen pages to get to it. You used to be able to get someone with STAR to make it such that you could toggle between outside temp & kph, but then Merc made it so you couldn't. The ML is better.

[TheBoy]

Being a reformed character, I now drive purely by looking at the speedo. As exceeding the speed limit kills, ergo, staring at the speedo to ensure not exceeding a limit means I can't kill.

It's good to hear that you are more concerned about the safety elements of speeding and less concerned about the big fine and points that follow such an indiscretion. 
Not everybody can change their attitude to safer driving as quickly as you so well done for that. 

Looking up to you, as I do, once I learnt you had applied to go on such a course, it didn't take me long to also get booked on one.  So thank you YZ250, its all down to you 

[Andy B]

Being a reformed character, I now drive purely by looking at the speedo. As exceeding the speed limit kills, ergo, staring at the speedo to ensure not exceeding a limit means I can't kill.

It's good to hear that you are more concerned about the safety elements of speeding and less concerned about the big fine and points that follow such an indiscretion. 
Not everybody can change their attitude to safer driving as quickly as you so well done for that. 

Looking up to you, as I do, once I learnt you had applied to go on such a course, it didn't take me long to also get booked on one.  So thank you YZ250, its all down to you 

Just the one? I've been invited to attend two of them ..... 

[TheBoy]

Thats just greedy, Mr B

[STEMO]

Anyone who hasn't done one is just a very poor driver.......in my opinion, of course 

[Doctor Gollum]

I think I have only been invited to one, but have done enough commercial training to drive appropriately.

By appropriately, I mean not getting caught

[henryd]

I wasn't offered a course back in the day when I got done, was more concerned with keeping my license as at the time there was talk of a ban , as it was a first offence I got away with 3 points and 60 squid

[VXL V6]

I wasn't offered a course back in the day when I got done, was more concerned with keeping my license as at the time there was talk of a ban , as it was a first offence I got away with 3 points and 60 squid

Yes, same here.... Fortunately I managed to get the average speed down quite considerably with some very sedate driving on a stretch of road where it would not have been possible / safe to pull me over!

[STEMO]

How many of us got pulled over in the days when a stern talking to was enough? I know I did. On one occasion, after a few bevvies, I was told to go straight home and that the bobby would be checking the car was there as he went about his business.

[TheBoy]

How many of us got pulled over in the days when a stern talking to was enough? I know I did. On one occasion, after a few bevvies, I was told to go straight home and that the bobby would be checking the car was there as he went about his business.

I used to reckon on at least one tug a week back in the day.  Trouble is, every one of them resulted in having to show docs at the cop shop

[Andy B]

How many of us got pulled over in the days when a stern talking to was enough? I know I did. On one occasion, after a few bevvies, I was told to go straight home and that the bobby would be checking the car was there as he went about his business.

I used to reckon on at least one tug a week back in the day.  Trouble is, every one of them resulted in having to show docs at the cop shop

I used to make an almost weekly trip from home to Rosyth in my MKIII Cortina ..... I'd get stopped at least once each way  3 times one way was the record.

[YZ250]

How many of us got pulled over in the days when a stern talking to was enough? I know I did. On one occasion, after a few bevvies, I was told to go straight home and that the bobby would be checking the car was there as he went about his business.

I used to reckon on at least one tug a week back in the day.  Trouble is, every one of them resulted in having to show docs at the cop shop

I used to make an almost weekly trip from home to Rosyth in my MKIII Cortina ..... I'd get stopped at least once each way  3 times one way was the record.

I was always getting pulled over in my MKIII Cortina. I blamed it on my spotlights, twangy aerial and wider wheels but my Dad said that it wasn't normal to be stopped so often so it must be my driving habits that caught their attention.
One day he called out " I'm just going down the Chip Shop, I'll take your car as you're blocking me in on the driveway". The Chip Shop is only a quarter of a mile away but he was gone for quite a while. When he returned my Mum asked what had taken him so long, and he replied that he'd been pulled over.    I said "See, I told you it was the car and not my driving". 

[Andy B]

...
I was always getting pulled over in my MKIII Cortina. I blamed it on my spotlights, twangy aerial and wider wheels but my Dad said that it wasn't normal to be stopped so often so it must be my driving habits that caught their attention.
One day he called out " I'm just going down the Chip Shop, I'll take your car as you're blocking me in on the driveway". The Chip Shop is only a quarter of a mile away but he was gone for quite a while. When he returned my Mum asked what had taken him so long, and he replied that he'd been pulled over.    I said "See, I told you it was the car and not my driving". 

 

[Sir Tigger KC]

How many of us got pulled over in the days when a stern talking to was enough? I know I did. On one occasion, after a few bevvies, I was told to go straight home and that the bobby would be checking the car was there as he went about his business.

I used to reckon on at least one tug a week back in the day.  Trouble is, every one of them resulted in having to show docs at the cop shop

I used to make an almost weekly trip from home to Rosyth in my MKIII Cortina ..... I'd get stopped at least once each way  3 times one way was the record.

I was always getting pulled over in my MKIII Cortina. I blamed it on my spotlights, twangy aerial and wider wheels but my Dad said that it wasn't normal to be stopped so often so it must be my driving habits that caught their attention.
One day he called out " I'm just going down the Chip Shop, I'll take your car as you're blocking me in on the driveway". The Chip Shop is only a quarter of a mile away but he was gone for quite a while. When he returned my Mum asked what had taken him so long, and he replied that he'd been pulled over.    I said "See, I told you it was the car and not my driving". 

Sounds like you had a classy Cortina! 

Was the aerial one of those big fiberglass affairs that clipped back to the gutter? or maybe a big magmount CB aerial? 

Furry dice? Sunshade strip with names? Kevin & Sharon?     

[TheBoy]

I was always getting pulled over in my MKIII Cortina. I blamed it on my spotlights, twangy aerial and wider wheels but my Dad said that it wasn't normal to be stopped so often so it must be my driving habits that caught their attention.
One day he called out " I'm just going down the Chip Shop, I'll take your car as you're blocking me in on the driveway". The Chip Shop is only a quarter of a mile away but he was gone for quite a while. When he returned my Mum asked what had taken him so long, and he replied that he'd been pulled over.    I said "See, I told you it was the car and not my driving". 

Poor fella was just a victim of mistaken identity. PC Plod thought it was the reprobate son driving, and up to no good. Obviously.

[YZ250]

Sounds like you had a classy Cortina! 

Was the aerial one of those big fiberglass affairs that clipped back to the gutter? or maybe a big magmount CB aerial? 

Furry dice? Sunshade strip with names? Kevin & Sharon?     

It was chavtastic. Wolfrace alloys, Cibie Super Oscars (2 up, 2 down rally style), twangy DV27 CB aerial, rear window louvre (yeh, that's embarrassing now I think of it) and rear for lights that were switchable for extra brake lights. Oh, and 3 sets of musical airhorns.    The engine was modified 2.0 with a custom made zorst.  It was very tidy but thinking back I was cruel to it the way I drove it. 
And yes TB, It may surprise you, being the quiet person that i am, I did drive in a way that drew attention to myself.