Kenzie: 10 dumbest options for your car

[distr0]

http://www.wheels.ca/reviews/article/782517

[b.rabbit]

I just read that article too.

1. Remote car starters - Agree. Save the environment!

2. Fog lights - Indifferent.

3. Sunroofs - Disagree, I love my MOONroof.

4. Leather upholstery - Agree, never liked leather.

5. Rear view mirror fashions - Only agree if the thing is blocking a good portion of your view.

6. Transponder ignitions - Agree.

7. Paint protection - Indifferent.

8. Undercoating - Indifferent.

9. Rear deck spoilers - are these the ricey spoilers? If yes, then I agree too.

10. Steering wheel covers - Agree

[SilentJay]

The picture used for foglights is from a 2010 speed3 :P

[dentinger]

this is the stupidest article i've ever read. i can think of way more stupid items to have on a car.

anyways...

1. Remote car starters - sure, it may be a bit stupid, but im sure everyone prefers a warm car over a -20 degree car.

2. Fog lights - really? do i really need to explain this? increased light = better visabilty for you and others on the road.

3. Sunroofs - again, really? it allows natural light in the car, which i really like.

4. Leather upholstery - its a luxury item. i'd take it over cloth any day of the week. its easy to clean, and as long as you take care of it, it'll last a very long time.

5. Rear view mirror fashions - this on i agree with, but they mention parking passes in the article. find me a better spot for my parking pass.

6. Transponder ignitions - sure, whatever.

7. Paint protection - best technology in the world? yes yes, my mazda3's paint is just as good as an Aston Martin or Maybach.

8. Undercoating - the writer of this article obviously doesnt live in canada.

9. Rear deck spoilers - sure, but it's part of a body kit. dont like it? then take it off.

10. Steering wheel covers - some people prefer some more grip. ive seen some stock steering wheels, that over time, become quite slippery.

[She_Prime]

My dads (old) ford escort wagon is a prime example of Adam's #10 example. That wheel became so slippery near the end of it's life that I almost couldn't drive it at one point ( I had already had my Mazda but my dad took it to work that day for some dumb ass reason)

he now has an 09 focus and I haven't really driven it much to tell if it's going to have a similar fate.

As for the list- I totally agree with everything Adam said (except the leather part)

[kevcol74]

Kenzie is an idiot, always has been since "Kenzie's Corner" on the Motoring 94 or whenever he got that little p0rtion of the show. He nit pics about the stupidest things, and praises even worse ones.
I don't know how anyone even still publishes what he writes anymore!!

[STeeLy]

Fog lights actually work if they're yellow... Yellow will cut through the fog much much better than white light as white light will most likely reflect off the fog.

I also do not like leather... exactly for the reasons stated in his article

A factory sunroof shouldn't leak

Rear view mirror ornaments... Parking pass is fine, because it doesn't block your view all that much... but if you're hanging like fuzzy dice or stuffed animals off of it, no, definitely not.

[JSI]

Mazda needs to take a long hard look at number 7 and 8.

.........he doesn't like everything I like about my car. Sunroof (Moonroof WTF is the dif), leather, fog lights and spoiler, although not really a rear deck spoiler I'm sure he doesn't like hatch spoilers either.

[Default User]

Hahaha - my old Daily driver/beater had ALL of these (except transponder key - what are those) The best part is, other than the sunroof, I PAID to get aftermarket fogs, starter, leathers, etc installed

Eff him!!! He don't know nuttin'!

[bunchi]

what's wrong with steering wheel covers??? I love those furry fluffy pink covers :chuckle

[Flagrum_3]

Fog lights actually work if they're yellow... Yellow will cut through the fog much much better than white light as white light will most likely reflect off the fog.

I also do not like leather... exactly for the reasons stated in his article

A factory sunroof shouldn't leak

Rear view mirror ornaments... Parking pass is fine, because it doesn't block your view all that much... but if you're hanging like fuzzy dice or stuffed animals off of it, no, definitely not.

Fogs will never work 'properly' if your headlights are on!, that's the problem! If anyone's never driven in real heavy fog and I mean "you can't see ten meters in front of your car fog" then you wouldn't know that no lights is actually better then headlights anyday as headlights shine light too high basically blinding you...Now if the headlights or daytime running lights were designed to shut off when the fogs were activated then it would make sense.

As for Kenzie's idea on undercoating or oil spraying he's just out to lunch lol.


_3

[Xerox]

I only read his rant on the sunroof and found his arguments to be complete BS so I didn't bother reading the rest of his article.

He must have been driving some crappy cars to be having the problems he mentioned (many leak and most all rattle?). His comment about it causing buffeting is BS too. It can easily be remedied by cracking open another window to allow air flow. Even if you don't have a sunroof buffeting can be caused by having one window open too - so is he going to rant about power windows next?

His suggestion then is to buy a convertible instead? He just ranted about how sunroof adds weight. I would think that the additional parts needed to reinforce a car with no roof would weigh a tad more. And convertible weather is pretty lacking in Canada (since he lives in Canada I would expect him to know this).

What an idiot.

[Dave_The_BMXER]

Mazda needs to take a long hard look at number 7 and 8.

.........he doesn't like everything I like about my car. Sunroof (Moonroof WTF is the dif), leather, fog lights and spoiler, although not really a rear deck spoiler I'm sure he doesn't like hatch spoilers either.

Moon roof = glass

[Unoriginalusername]

Moon roof = glass

no, the moon roof on my matrix xrs was plexiglass as real glass was found to shatter during hard corning when the chassis flexed.

Moon roof goes inside a bay in the roof, a sun roof retracts outside of the vehicle like on our Mazda5.

I have had either a sun roof on my accent gsi, matrix xrs and mazda5 and have never had a leak or any issue. Kenzie is a moron

[Xerox]

no, the moon roof on my matrix xrs was plexiglass as real glass was found to shatter during hard corning when the chassis flexed.

Moon roof goes inside a bay in the roof, a sun roof retracts outside of the vehicle like on our Mazda5.
...

I don't think Dave meant that it has to be of glass material. Maybe a better word would have been transparent.

My understanding was that in the olden days sunroof = non-transparent panel that opens to let sunlight in.

Moonroof = transparent (the idea being so that you can keep it closed at night and still see the moon when you look up).

But I think now-a-days the words are interchangeable because they are really all transparent.

As far as I know the panel sliding into the roof or outside on top of the roof has nothing to do with the name. That's just determined by car design (roof line, head room, cost).

That's my understanding anyway. Could be wrong.

[Dave_The_BMXER]

Ya I meant transparent. :)

[slam525i]

no, the moon roof on my matrix xrs was plexiglass as real glass was found to shatter during hard corning when the chassis flexed.


Can anyone confirm that? Really? That scares the crap out of me.

[fatsock]

1. Remote car starters -

Have you not had to start your car at lunch while at work when its -30 degrees hoping that by starting your car at lunch it might start so you can drive home after work, and had to sit in your car while it warmed up...or do you just push a button while eating a sandwich!