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Show ac: Ces’so - ries Those Mighty Trifles Americans Love 4: This year, engineers have developed something new in windshield wipers, By DONALD MacDONALD headlights, locks—and even ash trays IDDEN INSIDE the beautiful bodies of the 1965 cars are treasure-troves of —prightengineering ideas that contribute to pleasant, comfortable driving. rear window will be glad to know that most of the new softtops fea- ate the top. ture a special cover that seals this area automatically when the tailgate is lowered. Some Rambler about half of the dirty area, but Pontiac has an eccentric mechanism that causes the blades to give a final twist across the far corners of the windshield before returning. ‘but the “mighty trifles” which are different in each line. _ -For example, Chrysler engineers, noting how often owners added coin holders and tissue dispensers to the instrument panel, decided to Mercury offers a special sequence control on wipers for those days when showers come and go. Chrysler engineers have given the blade arms an air-foil configuration that causes them to hug the glass harder as your speed increases. build in these features. The coin dispenser is in the ash-tray cover; and a standard tissue dispenserfits in the glove compartment. How often have you had to make your passengers wait in the rain while you unlocked the driver’s Plymouth has added rubber tips to its bumper guards for those who ers which look much like the visor on. a suit of armor. The mechanically, minded male would usually prefer a nice, honest set of gages on his instrument panel, but his wife is better protected by the warning devices disparagingly called “idiot lights.” Imperial ‘has solved this controversy door and then climbed in and reached around to unlock the other doors? In the new Cadillacs, un- by installing a “sentry signal” that = simultaneously unlocks the others, and the process ere is reversed for locking. ——While-—ov-the—subject—of— locks, park by feel, and all luxury makes now install a mechanism that-attomatically releases the parking brake when the car is started. Cadillac sports a device that turns the headlights on-and off automatically. Do what you will with the handswitch, the lights stay on several minutes after you leave the car in order to give you lighted safety as you walk from the garage into the house. Since the invention of the station wagon, owners have complained about the way snow and rain adheres to the rear window Mercury’offers a system that automatically locks all doors as soon as SENTRY SIGNAL as well as the tendency of wagons te-suck in. exhaust gases when the rear window is down. This year Ford and Mercury have built into the rearmost bodypillars air scoops the forward speed reaches eight miles per hour. Both Ford and Mer- that keep the surface clean as well as dilute the exhaust fumes to the 4.tells you.to check your gages when}. point of harmlessness. _ “tury feature keys cut on both sides a « 4 ____——- Family Weekly, October 4, 1964 tailgate that opens and shuts like an ordinary door. Wagons of every make now boast another much-appreciated feature: sizable, lockable compartments where you can stow out of sight such tempting valuables as cameras and hunting equipment. To give you an idea as to how far ahead engineers are thinking, here are a couple of “far-out” con- veniences that Cadillac planned to offer this year and also the reasons why they were postponed. Cadillac figured it would be nice to turn its heating or air-conditioning system on a half-hour. or so before the owner used his car.. It would precool or preheat, depending upon the climate. The system was actually engineered but, to work, the engine had to start itself by a signal from a timer. This caused so much consternation from passersby, who. heard motors starting in unattended cars that the idea was abandoned. Another Cadillac idea was abandoned for a more important reason—the danger of family arguments; This was a device that would” ~~ automatically return the power seat supply, indicates trouble. Rambler, pioneer of the reclining. to the preferred position of theprimary driver as soon as another driver of different size had exited: id earsa electrically actuated headlight cov- models solve the problem by using a _one of them, even the gasoline seat, makeslife even easier with an ash tray that pulls out on ball 80 no matter which way you insert —thenrintock they-wil work: The- new Buick Riviera features to the body. Chrysler wagons fea- Windshield wipers usually miss conditioning and power windows, door aperture where the tailgate hinges fered by all, and Thunderbird adds a warning light which will not go off until you are belted in. versally available extras such as air WCking one ture real glass windows that fold down automatically when you actuSelf-retracting seat belts are of- ‘Wearen’t talking about the uni- Another wagon owners’ complaint has been the dirt-catching Convertible devotees who have struggled with the zippers on the _ driver,” M ~ After all, gadgets are supposed to makelife easier—not harder. |