I think it's time to discuss something that we should've brought up a long time ago: the stupidest automotive feature.
Oh, sure, we've discussed the worst automotive feature, and the best automotive feature, and the automotive feature you wish you had, like spiked tires that could cut through ice and offending road users.
But what about the stupidest feature?
I ask this because I think there are a lot of unnecessary automotive features out there in today's world; items that have no basis or bearing for real life use, or customer desire, brought to us by automakers who are hellbent on coming out with a vehicle that offers the highest possible level of gadgets and equipment so they can use the phrase "BEST IN CLASS" over and over in their ads.
Interestingly, however, I don't believe the stupidest feature is one of these newfangled ideas that seems to exist for the sheer sake of existing. I believe the stupidest feature is actually an oldie. And it is: a retractable spoiler.
For those of you who don't know what a retractable spoiler is, allow me to explain. You're cruising along in your Porsche, or your Bugatti Veyron, or your Volkswagen Corrado, and you hit a certain speed, which is usually something inexplicable like 47 miles per hour or 87 kilometers per hour. And then the spoiler shoots out for no apparent reason other than to alert drivers on the road that you're in a sporty car.
I've never really understood the purpose of this retractable spoiler. Ninety-nine percent of the time, when you see it sticking out on a Porsche 911, the driver is just cruising down the interstate. That's because the spoiler is designed to deploy based on speed, not driving style, apparently in some bizarre effort to keep your car on the road should you begin to experience the effects of a massive windstorm.
The funny thing is these spoilers are never adequately sized to actually do anything. They're just there to be spoilers, so you can tell your friends you have a cool spoiler that extends out at speed as if you're in a race car, when in reality the spoiler is the size of a license plate and it wouldn't have any effect on any vehicle larger than a Hot Wheels.
So why does this spoiler exist? I really do think it's for bragging rights. But that's not the worst part.
Oh, no. The worst part is that the retractable spoiler in most modern Porsche models actually can be extended at the push of a button. I want you to consider this. If you decide you need a spoiler on the back of your car, Porsche actually lets you push a button in order to extend it and get you ready for all that serious track use.
Except, of course, this isn't how anyone uses the spoiler. The only people who actually push that spoiler extender button are the same type of people who drive around wealthy shopping areas looking around to ensure people are looking at them. These are the worst people in the world. The spoiler button is not a spoiler button. It is an asshole button.
So what people do, when they push the asshole button, is they cruise around — not on the race track, or even a drag strip — but just around town, driving like normal, making sure everyone sees how cool their car is because they have a spoiler. Nothing makes a Panamera V6 look cooler, they think, than if you extend the rear spoiler.
But surely, the retractable spoiler is not the single stupidest feature in the world. There are a wide range of stupid features, and I'm sure I can count on you to inform everyone of your personal favorites. However, I must warn you: it's going to be hard to top the asshole button.
The post QOTD: What's the Stupidest Automotive Feature? appeared first on The Truth About Cars.
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