Hidden Car Door Handles Are Officially Being Banned In China (caranddriver.com) 181
sinij writes:
Automakers have increasingly implemented door handles that retract into the bodywork for aerodynamic reasons, but they are now off limits in China.
My issue is with electronic-only door latch mechanism. It should be possible to open the door from both inside and outside the car in case of complete power loss.
modern cars are less safe (Score:2, Interesting)
Re: modern cars are less safe (Score:5, Insightful)
Better structural design, seatbelts, airbags, and collision avoidance systems make cars safer overall. But those stupid door handles need to go, we don't have to take the bad with the good.
Re: (Score:2)
You survive the crash but now you will burn to death instead.
Re: modern cars are less safe (Score:5, Insightful)
Add to that the stupid nagging systems that are just annoying, beeping and throwing up a text about something it thinks is wrong.
An annoyed driver is not a good driver.
Re: modern cars are less safe (Score:2)
Half of people are below average drivers. Those beeps and bells help the idiots comply with what should be common sense. Like put on your seatbelt, don't drive off with the door not fully closed, etc. Cars are mainly for the masses and aren't designed around the use cases of power users and experts.
Re: (Score:2)
It's like 4 or 5 gears on the floor and another ten on the horn
An Indian colleague refused to drive in Aberdeen, Scotland, because he thought it was unsafe to not use his horn al the time.
(Yes in the developed world you are likely to get fined for using it in a non emergency.)
Re: modern cars are less safe (Score:3)
I'm for it. If you're using your horn then at least you're not on your cellphone, probably.
Re: (Score:2)
In the west we're used to driving with relatively little driver to driver communication other than signal lights and brake lights. In countries where drivers use horns more, it really does increase communication between drivers about intention and whether or not another driver is willing to accomodate. For example in one country spent time in, to change lanes you signal (sometimes) but you usually just put your nose into the gap and honk. If the other driver is okay with that---and courtesy and etiquette
Re: (Score:2)
"Half of people are below average drivers. Those beeps and bells help the idiots..."
It's deceptively easy to assume you implied that below-average drivers are idiots. But what criteria?
- Warnings about vehicle state such as fluid levels are helpful and useful.
- Other warnings, such as detected vehicles in proximity, these are interesting warnings. Not so distracting to me as the lane-keeping steering hints...
- Simply put, if you're so easily distracted by these warnings etc., you're not an 'idiot', you're j
Re: modern cars are less safe (Score:2)
I was being hyperbolic for comedic effect. Don't need to read too much into it.
Infact, I believe the vast majority of people are idiots, myself included. It's a subjective opinion rather than objective measure.
Re: (Score:3)
Sorry, but two-thirds of all Americans are below average drivers. They are unable to drive their oversized vehicles, can't park, are texting while driving, and have *no* judgement.
Re: (Score:3)
Cars are mainly for the masses and aren't designed around the use cases of power users and experts.
Pretty much every aspect of society is designed around the lowest common denominator of intelligence and ability. It's rather painful sometimes.
Re: modern cars are less safe (Score:4, Interesting)
Who does that? (Score:3)
Most drivers. Let me guess you spend the majority of your time driving in the left lane.
Re: (Score:3)
It's the law in some places. Having taken the driving test in both the UK and Ontario, I can tell you it's the law in Canada. The US often has similar laws:
See point #3 in the passing section:
https://www.ontario.ca/documen... [ontario.ca]
Re: modern cars are less safe (Score:5, Informative)
This. Ours has lane following, among other features. Get near the line at the edge of the road, and it steers towards the middle of the road. Only, we live in the mountains, with roads too narrow to have a center line.
If you meet oncoming traffic, there is room to pass, if both cars are very near the edge. The lane following sees you getting close to the edge, and steers left, like it wants to crash into the oncoming car.
Turn it off? Sure, you can, but it resets every time you start the car. Sometimes you forget. Great safety feature :-/
Re: (Score:3)
To be fair, at 3C you can expect ice on bridges and overpasses. Need to allow for microclimes, the thermometer's error bars, and the fact that it is measuring air temperature rather than surface temperature.
That's still no excuse for not being able to disable such warnings, of course.
Re: (Score:2)
Better structural design, seatbelts, airbags, and collision avoidance systems make cars safer overall. But those stupid door handles need to go, we don't have to take the bad with the good.
Better design bought on by better regulation (notably from Europe), seatbelts becoming mandatory were both huge improvements in safety, airbags are debatable as in some situations they can be more dangerous (I.E. if you drive with your hands in the "douchebag" position, meaning one hand at 12 o'clock, airbag goes off and you will eat your radius and ulnar and be lucky if it doesn't cause a lot of damage). If you take your car to a Run What You Brung track day, it's advisable to disable them (as you will be
Re: (Score:2)
Better structural design, seatbelts, airbags, and collision avoidance systems make cars safer overall. But those stupid door handles need to go, we don't have to take the bad with the good.
I'm puzzled: why the hostility to retracting door handles? I mean, I used to be a bit queezy about the idea of having a delicate mechanical system in my door but we seem to be pretty good building robust electric motors these days. (My first new car was an '88 Honda Accord which had pop-up headlights. I fully expected them to be the part which broke. They did not.)
You might or might not like the aesthetics but you do you. You might not like the risk of not being able to open your car if the battery is flat
Re: modern cars are less safe (Score:5, Informative)
You might not like the risk of not being able to open your car if the battery is flat but since I see these mostly on EVs, if your battery is dead you have bigger problems. Other than that's what's bad about them?
If your car crashes and catches on fire and you lose 12V power, your "bigger problems" include dying horribly in a lithium fire. Also, your "bigger problems" could include getting inside the car to pop the hood so you can change the dead battery. I'd rather not have to jimmy the lock or smash the window to do that.
They also suck in places with cold weather. Water gets behind them and they freeze, getting stuck. If you don't lock your car when brushing snow off off the roof, then you gotta try to pick compacted snow out from behind them. They are just a needless frivolity to save like .02% on aero efficiency.
Fortunately while my car has the idiotic things, they still mechanically operate the door latch when you pull on them, both inside and out, so I don't have to worry about getting trapped inside. There's also a mechanical lock hidden behind the handle, so if the battery is dead I can still unlock the car.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: modern cars are less safe (Score:2)
They were not flush, they had a very deep recess for your fingers to grasp the handle which allowed for turbulent air to form
Re:modern cars are less safe (Score:4, Insightful)
Touch screens should never replace buttons when it comes to functions that the driver needs while driving.
GPS is understandable. But the HVAC should not be "only touch screen" and same with things like fuel and speed gauges. Those should be analog gauges.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Re: (Score:3)
It's great that this works for you. It doesn't work for everyone. You seem to assume that you grasp other people's needs, while at the same time demonstrating that you do not. Here are some of the reasons why it doesn't work for me:
Re: modern cars are less safe (Score:2)
The car doesn't know that I just finished a workout and need it on the chill side. It doesn't know that I underdressed and need it a little warmer. It doesn't know that I need a blast of cold air to heighten my awareness when entering a hairy freeway interchange after a long monotonous drive.
There is no single right temperature, so while harping on the importance of HMI you might pause to remember its chief lesson: you are not the user.
Re: (Score:2)
Thanks for sharing your personal opinions and preferences. You may be surprised to learn it is possible - even likely - that other people may have different opinions and preferences, and even more surprised to learn that this does mean that they are wrong or ignorant.
Re: (Score:3)
No they aren't. They just have certain features that are worse for safety than their predecessors. Modern cars are still objectively safer (for the occupants) in America, and objectively safer (for everyone) in the rest of the world where people aren't obsessed with oversized pedestrian killers, than their predecessors.
You can see that in the road fatality stats. We haven't become better drivers.
Re: (Score:2)
Modern cars are less safe [youtube.com]
Demonstrably not. Look at car crashes from the '70s and tell me that again. If all cars had automatic breaking, I would have avoided at least two crashes which totaled vehicles.
I'm curious though. Does a car with retractable handles not have a way to open the door from the inside if power is out? The cars I'm familiar with still have mechanical latches in the door in addition to power locks and the like. Are retracting doors fully open-by-wire?
If that's the issue, surely the Chinese government could address
complete power loss (Score:3, Insightful)
Anything else should be treated as kidnap AND attempted murder.
Re: complete power loss (Score:2)
complete moral loss. (Score:2)
It should be possible to open the door from both inside and outside the car in case of complete power loss.
Anything else should be treated as kidnap AND attempted murder.
Taking shit to 11, ala Spinal Tap? OK.
Next up, shark-swallowing lawyers start accusing the owner of the all-you-can-gorge Too Fat To Fail buffet chain of mass murder, and then where the hell are people gonna saddle up to and eat? Last time Big Bertha strapped on a feed bag at the church buffet they accused her of being a witch. Wanted to burn her at the medium-rare stake until Fire Marshall Bill realized the grease fire would need Moses to clap the cheeks of Poseidon around it in emergency response.
Well I
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2, Interesting)
It might be more difficult to break the glass from inside a car than expected especially if you are injured after the crash and the car is in a "weird" position.
There are some tools that will help you make the initial break, after which the glass usually breaks more easily: https://www.youtube.com/watch?... [youtube.com]
Re: (Score:2)
The persons inside/outside the car may be weak, ill or too panicked to break the glass. Especially if the car has reinforced glass windows. It's an action that is a lot more complicated than just opening the door, in a situation where every second may count. The person inside the car may hesitate to break the glass because they're afraid of flying glass shards, or because they don't understand the urgency of the situation and don't want to damage the car any further. Yes that would be extremely stupid but p
Re: (Score:3)
Really? And how is 5 year old going to understand that.
How many people need to die for nice aesthetics.
My guess is you are more selfish than me. Many believe that's a sign of progress. It's not. It's devolution, it's living like a primitive savage.
Re: (Score:2)
FWIW, primitive savages are generally extremely charitable to others in their tribe. It's people who live in larger groups not as closely related that tend to be more selfish.
Good (Score:2)
Riddance! Shame about mercedes whose exports to china are about to drop like a rock because of their stupid door handles.
Re: Good (Score:2)
Import them without the handles and associated electromechanicals as a manufacturing subassembly. Have someone in China attach a localized handle.
what will Tesla do now with their design? (Score:3)
Re:what will Tesla do now with their design? (Score:5, Insightful)
So that's a big safety fail. On top of that, only the front passengers have an accessible mechanical release. The rear passengers technically have one but it's under a hatch, under the lining at the bottom of the door bin. i.e. rear seat passengers will panic and die in an emergency.
So I don't see the handle being a problem but the lack of mechanical release is a major one, front and especially back. And if you're in a Cyber Truck (not in China of course) with your "unbreakable" glass, then don't expect anybody to be pulling you out of the fire, or the rising water in time to save your life.
The fix to these issues is simple and the default on most cars - the handles inside and out should be mechanical. In the loss of power, somebody might have to yank the door hard since the windows are frameless and seated into the door but they should still be able to rescue occupants.
Re: (Score:2)
Mechanical overrides ought to be mandatory, given that if there is a power loss, that could result in a person being trapped inside a car
Re: (Score:2)
Good. And it should be a safety recall (Score:5, Insightful)
For those cars that have them.
Deadly (Score:5, Insightful)
Last summer 3 teenagers burned to death in a Cybertruck near where I live. They were just home from college, borrowing their parents' Tesla, and probably didn't know where the manual override latch was.
A lot of safety is sacrificed for very little to no upside.
Re:Deadly (Score:5, Informative)
"In November 2024 (Thanksgiving Eve), a Tesla Cybertruck crashed at high speed into a tree and wall in Piedmont, California. It carried four college students (all teenagers/young adults around 19-20 years old). The crash caused a fire, and three of them died: Krysta Tsukahara (19), Jack Nelson (20), and the driver Soren Dixon (19). One survivor was pulled out after a good Samaritan broke a window.
The key claim in multiple wrongful death lawsuits (filed in 2025 by families of two victims) is that the Cybertruck's electronic/retractable/flush door handles contributed to the deaths. Allegations include:
The power-dependent electronic handles (and buttons) failed after the crash/power loss.
No easily accessible exterior mechanical handles existed for rescuers to open doors quickly.
Interior manual releases (cables) were hidden/obscure (e.g., under a map pocket liner), hard to find amid smoke, fire, and panic.
Victims reportedly survived the initial impact but were trapped and died from smoke inhalation and burns, not crash injuries.
These lawsuits blame Tesla's design choices for turning a survivable crash into fatalities, and the issue has drawn scrutiny (including from NHTSA investigations into Tesla door systems). Tesla hasn't been found liable yet—the cases are ongoing."
Another issue (Score:3)
Why did the fire break out in the first place? Was it bad design of the batteries? Its by no means the first time a tesla has gone up in smoke in a crash.
Re:Another issue (Score:4, Informative)
Why did the fire break out in the first place?
I believe the parent stated the crash caused the fire.
And before we start with the debates around battery designs, perhaps we keep in mind 150,000 ICE cars catch fire every year in the US. Thousands every day. You don’t hear about them on the news because we’d need a small army doing nonstop 24-hour fire reporting, which would probably send driver paranoia soaring after listening to the news team at Fires-R-Us for more than 15 minutes.
Not defending Teslas design choices. Just putting the statistics with Tesla and all EV fires in a bit of reasoned context. They do need to consider fire risk and emergency ingress and egress as critical design elements. My daily jewelry would be reduced to a glass break hammer encrusted with the finest tungsten driving that thing.
Re: Another issue (Score:5, Insightful)
This just highlights the idiocy of Tesla's design choices even more. Many ICEs catch fire yes, but their occupants can get out of the vehicle when it happens. Tesla's design makes a positive into a negative.
Re: (Score:3)
Fire breaking out when you have a fuel tank and pipes full of a highly flammable liquid are not a surprise. Batteries however should not catch fire unless seriously damaged and it should be quite possible to design a battery compartment that would survive anything short of an IED going off underneath.
Re: (Score:2)
Batteries however should not catch fire unless seriously damaged and it should be quite possible to design a battery compartment that would survive anything short of an IED going off underneath.
We are making the batteries out of one of the most reactive elements on the planet. Making them totally fire proof is almost impossible. Yeah, we could encase them in tungsten or something, but we don't for the same reason we don't make fuel tanks out of a honeycomb of depleted uranium - it's an unacceptable tradeoff of weight for safety. If we wanted to be absolutely safe we'd all drive around in tanks, or better yet take a bus or train.
Some risks you just have to accept as part of the design tradeoffs.
Re:Deadly (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Deadly (Score:5, Insightful)
The problem -- as usual -- is that Elon Musk has ordered his company to satisfy his pathetic manbaby concept of what's "cool" instead of what's sound engineering and safety practice. That not only includes doors that can be immediately and obviously opened by manual action from either side, but breakable windows. (Most rescuers carry tools expressly designed to punch out windows. You want those tools to work on your vehicle first time every time.)
The Cybertruck is the automotive equivalent of the Titan submersible: if you get in one, you should fully expect to die and be pleasantly surprised if you don't.
Re: (Score:3)
"The Cybertruck is the automotive equivalent of the Titan submersible"
Good analogy. The cybertruck however isn't just dangerous to its occupants , its sharp edges are a danger to any pedestrians it might hit which is why it fails safety checks and can't be sold in most EU countries.
Re:Deadly (Score:5, Interesting)
Indeed. And to rescuers: there's an analysis circulating in the rescue community that examines the Cybertruck from the point of view of rescuers trying to approach it and extract victims. Those sharp edges you mentioned are included in it, as are the slanted roof, the windows, the doors, the steel panels, the batteries, and more. The conclusion is that it might be the most dangerous consumer vehicle for rescuers to encounter.
Re: (Score:2)
One survivor was pulled out after a good Samaritan broke a window.
Seems the window was defective. I thought Musk said it couldn't even be broken with a sledgehammer.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: Deadly (Score:2)
A lot of safety is sacrificed for very little to no upside.
What are you taking about? Musk got to show how cool he is by doing something different again. You don't want Musk to be innovative? Won't someone please think about Elon?
Dumb when unjustified. (Score:2)
Last summer 3 teenagers burned to death in a Cybertruck near where I live..A lot of safety is sacrificed for very little to no upside.
Uh, can anyone explain the upside specific to that model? It sure as hell wasn’t because aesthetics.
It ain’t flat door handles preventing that thing from hitting 200MPH. It’s Holmes dressed in the latest design by Drag Coefficient riding shotgun saying, “No Shit, Sherlock. It’s a bloody line-reject lunchbox with tires..”
Re: Deadly (Score:2)
Were they stealing the car at the time? Because that'd be great karma (b**ch!).
Aesthetics (Score:5, Insightful)
for aerodynamic reasons
No one is doing it for the aerodynamics.
Re: Aesthetics (Score:2)
Bingo. For aerodynamics, they would find a bigger pay off with wheelwell covers, and those are somewhat rare. Especially on any cars catering to trends and aesthetics.
Re: (Score:2)
A lot of EVs have little slots in front of the front wheels to allow air to pass in and push away from the wheels. So the need for wheel well covers is mitigated.
Flush door handles do make a small difference, as so cameras instead of wing mirrors. Next to the rapidly falling cost of batteries and improvements in the drivetrain they aren't really a big deal though, and are mostly done for aesthetic purposes.
Re: (Score:3)
It's not just drag, although that's a factor. It's also wind noise. A lot of money is spent making cars quieter. This is especially important for EVs, where they are quiet enough that the door handles become significant. They are also quite near the occupants' heads. But if you can hear the wind moving over something, it's also creating measurable drag.
Re: (Score:2)
Rear wheelwell covers were a thing in the 70s and early 80s for some manufacturers. The problem is if you need to change a wheel they're a right PITA.
Re: (Score:2)
Rear wheelwell covers were a thing in the 70s and early 80s for some manufacturers. The problem is if you need to change a wheel they're a right PITA.
They (wheel spatsare also downright dangerous if you happen to live somewhere with snow. The space behind the cover becomes a cavity where the snow can get packed in, until the cover pops off while driving. Losing pieces of your vehicle in traffic is generally not good.
It also reduces cooling airflow to the brakes, although that should matter less for an EV.
Re: (Score:2)
Even if they were doing it for aerodynamics there is a way to make the handle accessible. AMC (American Motors for you youngsters) used a door handle that was flush to the door with a recessed pocket behind it so you could pull the handle. The only time it failed for me was after an ice storm coated the whole side of the car in ice. The other side of the car was still accessible though.
Re: (Score:2)
Found an example.
https://www.amclives.com/produ... [amclives.com]
I had a 1982 Eagle that had similar handles.
Now if they could only ban... (Score:5, Insightful)
... touchscreen controls for common tasks such as altering the HVAC or radio/media settings and put back buttons. For some reason the authorities in most countries see m to think its dangerous using a touchscreen phone but perfectly ok to use a touchscreen car interface while doing 70mph.
Re:Now if they could only ban... (Score:5, Insightful)
Buttons are better, but dials or levers are better yet. Hitting a stupid toggle button that’s indistinguishable from the rest of the row of toggle buttons multiple times to change the temperature is just a stupid idea. I’m looking at you, Mercedes.
Re: (Score:3)
Re: (Score:3)
If you're altering your HVAC then touchscreens aren't the issue, but your defective HVAC system is. There's no reason for HVAC to be anything other than set and forget. It's trivial to design fast acting accurate temperature control systems.
I've not touched the HVAC settings in my car in 2 years now. It's the same summer, winter, rain snow or shine. As it should be. You know how you're dressed when you get in a car, there's no reason you can't set the desired comfort level before you drive off.
I agree with
Re: (Score:2)
Tell me your male without saying so. Large numbers of females will have issues with your misogyny around the issue of hot flushes. Not that I am female, but I do have compassion for others and eyes to observe their problems, unlike you. That is just one example as to why you might need to change the setting on the move. I can come up with others if you so desire.
The assumption that HVAC can be constant is not borne out by the realities of the human condition. If it works for you, that's fine, but your arrog
Re: (Score:3)
Re: (Score:2)
If you have functional and working climate control, then yes you can.
Until someone else gets into the car.
Maybe you have dual zone climate control, in which the passenger can change their own temp and maybe also vent settings. Maybe you don't. It's actually pathetic for any modern car with more than 2 seats to not have at least 3 zones (at least one for the rear — two zones back there means two air ducts and it can be hard to fit them both in the center console.) It's neither expensive nor difficult.
Re: (Score:2)
It's not about zones - it's about toggling the defroster, or outside air circulation to control humidity. Sometimes you need to toggle the temperature up to an uncomfortably warm level to keep the windshield from icing up, but once it's deiced, or if the precipitation lets up or conditions otherwise change, you'd like to turn it back down to 68.
Re (Score:2)
Auto can decide to not heat the front windshield, thereby fog. Same with not circulating air to the side windows, again fogging. Another important option is to reduce the temperature to 16-18C as you are at the last 5 minutes of driving, to remove moisture buildup.
Do your car have decent HEPA filters? Its the difference between needing to manually hit recirculation when entering long tunnels, or not.
if I find myself in a wrecked car (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
And the doors won't open I am going to be kicking the hell out of some windows
How much acrobatics does it take to get into a position where you can aim a kick at a window? For a typical overweight driver? In a crowded car? Full of smoke? With a broken leg? When you start to panic?
Re: (Score:3)
In fact, my first and main thought was 'pleasedontcatchonfirepleasedontcatchonfirepleasedontcatchonfire'
I was able to crawl out because the drivers side window shattered as it rolled over.
Why not both options? (Score:3)
You can have flush handles on the outside AND a mechanical method of opening the door from the inside. The Tesla model 3 and model Y have the flush outside handles that actuate an electronic solenoid that unlatches the door. On the inside, one normally just presses a button to do the same from the inside. However, on the arm rest in front of the power window buttons there is a physical latch that you can pull up that mechanically unlatches the door. It's only on the front doors though. Room for improvement.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts... [youtube.com]
Re: (Score:3)
I think the point is to ALSO have a mechanical exterior latch that safety/rescue personnel have available that isn't disabled by a electrical failure too.
Re: (Score:2)
You can have flush handles which present themselves when the car is unlocked and ALSO still can be actuated when NOT popped out. They just can't come out parallel. You can use a lever action instead which pops out when you press on the leading end of the recessed handle, and also use an actuator to push it out when wanted.
I don't know if any manufacturer has actually done this as I don't keep up with every car any more, but it's not even difficult to imagine. (I don't visualize, so if I can imagine a mechan
Re: (Score:2)
You can have flush handles which present themselves when the car is unlocked and ALSO still can be actuated when NOT popped out. They just can't come out parallel. You can use a lever action instead which pops out when you press on the leading end of the recessed handle, and also use an actuator to push it out when wanted.
My Hyundai does this. It's got a lever handle that sits flush when closed and pops out when unlocked, but you can still manually pull it open and it is a mechanical actuator. I still don't like it them, for one they advertise to the world when I've left my car unlocked. For the second, if I ever forget to lock them when cleaning my car off after a snow storm, or heaven forbid, leave the car unlocked during a snow storm, they get hopelessly crudded up with snow and/or ice and don't retract all the way.
Re: (Score:2)
Honestly, if it's not possible to open the door using the same old latch you use every frikkin day, then it's the basis of a deathtrap.
Yeah. But there's a simple fix (for smart designers). Make a small movement of the handle engage the electronic system (pulling up or out on the handle). In the event of an electrical failure, continuing to pull up/out disengages the mechanical latch.
Combined with "unbreakable" windows (Score:3)
Aerodynamic? (Score:2)
What a joke.
How aerodynamic must a ground vehicle be when its speed is regulated to be 80MPH or below by law. I'm not talking about stretches or highway with no limit, just average normal roads.
Concern about aerodynamics at that level, for the average car or SUV is beyond ridiculous. It transforms into matter of Idiots marketing Stupid to Idiots.
Re: (Score:2)
How aerodynamic must a ground vehicle be when its speed is regulated to be 80MPH or below by law. I'm not talking about stretches or highway with no limit, just average normal roads.
As aerodynamic as possible, of course.
Concern about aerodynamics at that level, for the average car or SUV is beyond ridiculous.
That might seem true if you've never driven a car before, or don't know anything about vehicle aerodynamics. Drag becomes the major factor in vehicle energy consumption well before 60 mph, let alone 80.
Re: (Score:2)
Ah, I seem to have encountered one of the people impressed by marketing idiots. If the drag from door handles becomes significant, I suggest restricting speed to below supersonic.
You can in no way justify any concern over the drag from a door handle. You can try as much as you want, but you can not in any way rationalize that concern with regard to passenger vehicles to a sane person.
Re: (Score:2)
You can in no way justify any concern over the drag from a door handle.
Frontal area is the single biggest factor in the drag calculation, and having things stick out increases that.
HTH, HAND.
Re: (Score:2)
LOLS
Keep trying to convince people that door handle drag is significant. We all need a laugh.
Re: (Score:2)
LOLS
Keep proving you're an ignorant troll [arstechnica.com].
No wait, don't, just fuck off. We don't need your willful ignorance on Slashdot.
Re: (Score:2)
LOLS
Keep proving you're an ignorant troll [arstechnica.com].
No wait, don't, just fuck off. We don't need your willful ignorance on Slashdot.
The article you linked proves the opposite of your point:
That’s plenty of safety risk, but what about the benefit to vehicle efficiency? As it turns out, it doesn’t actually help that much. Adding flush door handles cuts the drag coefficient (Cd) by around 0.01. You really need to know a car’s frontal area as well as its Cd, but this equates to perhaps a little more than a mile of EPA range, perhaps two under Europe’s Worldwide Harmonised Light vehicles Test Procedure.
So yes, while frontal area is the primary contributor to drag, door handle loss is so small that it is basically a rounding error. Certainly not worth designing a handle that gets people killed.
Getting a handle on the issue (Score:3)
Just reinforces my stance against Tesla (Score:3)
Whenever I order a taxi, I ask specifically that the cab not be a Tesla.
At first, it was only because I know that Teslas has broken driver-assist features. Later, it was reinforced by their apparent ties to fascism.
And now this.
I've heard that there are other car brands with car handles that retract into the body ... but that they still have a manual mechanism that allow you to push on one end to make the larger part of the handle pop out, so you could pull it.
Why hasn't Tesla upgraded their door handles to do this?
Agree (Score:2)
I actually agree with this. Car crashes happen, and are often accompanied by fire. There needs to be a way to open the door when the vehicle has no power.
15 Needless Deaths, so far... (Score:2)
https://www.tesla-fire.com/ [tesla-fire.com]
Re: The Electronic-Only Door Latch Mechanism Manif (Score:5, Insightful)
It's ok to criticize a bad idea.
Re: (Score:2)
Haters gonna hate, even if we added retractable AM antenna's on our cars.
You know it's possible for a hater to hate a bad thing, right? Being a "hater" doesn't inherently make you wrong. Being wrong makes you wrong.
If you can't see the difference between a retractable antenna and a retractable door handle, someone else can explain it to you.
That said, the real issue is door handles that electronically actuate the release mechanism instead of mechanically doing so.
Re: (Score:3)
Even in the US all electronic door latches have a mechanical override - it's just like the trunk lid which have a mechanical override inside the trunk.
The worst was the Mustang Mach-E where the mechanical override is hidden behind the seat and hard to find. Couple that with a digital owner's manual and people might not know where the mechanical override is.
Of course, it's only available on the inside of the vehicle, but an emergency is not the best time to be trying to find where it is.
Even Teslas had this