1982 Matra Murena 2.2 - WTH?

"Don’t knock the horn on the turn signal stalk! You can flash the high beams and lay on the horn at the same time while never taking your hands off the wheel. Came in handy on the Turbo Esprit a few times!"

All classic Minis except Mk1's have the horn on the stalk, very hard to 'panic' toot in a sudden situation...😵 I always change them over to Mk1 style in the center of the steering wheel, where it should be...
 
My dad's Jag XJ6 also had the horn on the turn signal stalk. The problem is that our muscle memory is to go for the center button on the steering wheel in a panic so putting it anywhere else is just not going to work well. Then again, if you are in a bad encroachment situation then beeping the horn is going to be too little too late.

I spent a lot of time riding my motorcycles with my left thumb hovering on the horn button.
 
kmead said:
Come on, look at how a Peugeot is designed and choices made in the interior controls. Who puts the horn on the turn signal stalk (besides Ford on the first generation Fiesta)?

I do love French cars, they ride well, yet handle well, have interiors which are sumptuously comfortable, the designs are lovely and markedly different. The design of everything is French and often times concieved and executed like no other country’s products.
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I have a fondness for the 1st gen Fiesta's. I have several as a poor teenager (back when you could buy a running, driving car for 300 bucks). We used to call it the Ford Fiesta with the inconvenience package (like the rubber ball mounted next to the clutch you had pump with your foot to squirt washer fluid!) Awesome in the snow with the 4 12" tires I bought at Montgomery Wards for 99 bucks. The last 1 being an "S" model that my GF at the time drove with the oil light on & seized the motor. Quote "but I checked the oil & it was full..."

The most comfortable car I ever sat in was my Dad's Renault 16. Ugly, terrible car but super comfy seats.
 
Found the brochure I picked up at the dealership!

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carl said:
My dad's Jag XJ6 also had the horn on the turn signal stalk. The problem is that our muscle memory is to go for the center button on the steering wheel in a panic so putting it anywhere else is just not going to work well. Then again, if you are in a bad encroachment situation then beeping the horn is going to be too little too late.

I spent a lot of time riding my motorcycles with my left thumb hovering on the horn button.
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Regarding reactions and reflex memory. I currently drive two vehicles fairly regularly. One has the horn button in the middle, the other has two thumb buttons on the wheel spokes (just inside the rim so you reach the horn without taking your hand off the wheel). Historically I've never used a horn, but in this area drivers are extremely bad so it comes in handy when someone is driving straight at you. The problem is I tend to forget which vehicle I'm when a "panic" situation happens and I seem to reach for the wrong location (center vs spokes).
 
JKIDD said:
I have a fondness for the 1st gen Fiesta's. I have several as a poor teenager (back when you could buy a running, driving car for 300 bucks). We used to call it the Ford Fiesta with the inconvenience package (like the rubber ball mounted next to the clutch you had pump with your foot to squirt washer fluid!) Awesome in the snow with the 4 12" tires I bought at Montgomery Wards for 99 bucks. The last 1 being an "S" model that my GF at the time drove with the oil light on & seized the motor. Quote "but I checked the oil & it was full..."

The most comfortable car I ever sat in was my Dad's Renault 16. Ugly, terrible car but super comfy seats.
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1st gen Fiesta. The "world car", basically a imported rest-of-the-world Ford product. I've always thought of the ROW Fords as being much better than American Fords (two completely different brands/products). I wish they would import more ROW models. I guess maybe they are? Isn't the little Transit Connect a ROW model? (I really like that tiny van).
 
Dr.Jeff said:
1st gen Fiesta. The "world car", basically a imported rest-of-the-world Ford product. I've always thought of the ROW Fords as being much better than American Fords (two completely different brands/products). I wish they would import more ROW models. I guess maybe they are? Isn't the little Transit Connect a ROW model? (I really like that tiny van).
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The 2013 to 2020 Fusion was a world car. It was known as the Mondeo elsewhere.
 
JKIDD said:
I have a fondness for the 1st gen Fiesta's. I have several as a poor teenager (back when you could buy a running, driving car for 300 bucks). We used to call it the Ford Fiesta with the inconvenience package (like the rubber ball mounted next to the clutch you had pump with your foot to squirt washer fluid!) Awesome in the snow with the 4 12" tires I bought at Montgomery Wards for 99 bucks. The last 1 being an "S" model that my GF at the time drove with the oil light on & seized the motor. Quote "but I checked the oil & it was full..."

The most comfortable car I ever sat in was my Dad's Renault 16. Ugly, terrible car but super comfy seats.
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I had three Fiestas two 1980s and a 1978, loved them, two ‘S’s and a Ghia. There hasn’t been another car with better vision out. My 124 Sport Coupe is a close second.

I autocrossed the snot out of them, the Kent engine was amazing. The water pumps and the drive shaft extension attachment to the block, not so much.
 
JKIDD said:
The Escort was a world car. That 1, not so much...
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I thought the US Escort was different from the world models? But I've never followed American cars in general so I'm not well versed in such specifics. My understanding is the early generations of Escorts were different, so maybe at some point later they became the same?
 
Dr.Jeff said:
I thought the US Escort was different from the world models? But I've never followed American cars in general so I'm not well versed in such specifics. My understanding is the early generations of Escorts were different, so maybe at some point later they became the same?
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The 1980 Escort was a world car.
 
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