# Button start cars- why? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 20, 2011, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/button-start-cars-why/568333 "2011-01-20T16:17:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2011, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/button-start-cars-why/568333/61 "2011-01-22T13:49:43Z")
> [@](#): > > Funny, Europe is all about the fuel economy and emissions and the prevalent tranny there is manual, with diesel engines [my personal favorite combination] funny, the average personal vehicle in Europe is a lot smaller than it is here. and diesels are a _lot_ more accepted there. ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2011, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/button-start-cars-why/568333/62 "2011-01-22T15:01:01Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > funny, the average personal vehicle in Europe is a lot smaller than it is here. and diesels are a _lot_ more accepted there. Part of the problem was some legendarily AWFUL diesel cars produced by GM in response to the fuel crisis of the 1970s. They really damaged the public perception of the diesel. And to be fair, it’s only in recent years that particulate and NOx emissions on diesels have gotten adequately controlled. Early import diesels like the VW diesel Rabbit spewed soot and smelled. They were economical and reliable, but they spewed soot and smelled. With gas prices maintained low in the US, better fuel economy didn’t make up for it. In Europe, with very high fuel prices, people would put up with diesel emissions. I have one of the newer diesels that doesn’t spew soot and smell, and am quite happy with my choice. US diesel use in passenger cars may be expected to ramp up, but we have to overcome memories of horrible, hastily engineered diesel cars from domestic makers in the late 70s, and having followed behind one of those diesel Bunnies from the early 80s. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2011, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/button-start-cars-why/568333/63 "2011-01-22T15:39:50Z")
TTBOMK the EPA emissions regs and Euro standards aren’t yet aligned, and the higher NOx output of diesels is tolerated in Europe. EPA standards now clamp down very hard on NOx emissions to the point where aftertreatment is a bit expensive. right now either you do what Cummins does in the light truck engines and run so much EGR to control NOx that you hurt fuel economy, or you go with a urea-based SCR solution which (right now) costs $Texas. VW sells their TDI models but you can’t apply that to the industry as a whole. VW already attracts a different customer so it’s not like you can then claim that as evidence that people will flock to diesel-powered C-segment Fords or Chryslers. Fiat’s basically running Chrysler now, and even with the excellent small diesels in their portfolio they’re not sure if the business case exists yet outside of the trucks and Wrangler. Myself, if they offered a diesel/5-speed Jeep Patriot I’d be throwing my wallet at the nearest salesman. I don’t think the miserable old diesels of the '70s and early '80s are much of a factor anymore. the people who experienced them back then are going away now. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2011, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/button-start-cars-why/568333/64 "2011-01-22T21:31:41Z")
My XKEs in the early 60s had push button start. You turned the key and pushed the button. They started very well. ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2011, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/button-start-cars-why/568333/65 "2011-01-22T21:38:27Z")
I had a 1983 Datsun Nissan Sentra Diesel. Got 42 mpg in town and 48-51 on the highway. Best car I ever had. It only spewed sooty smoke when I floored the accelerator (which was only when accelerating). ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2011, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/button-start-cars-why/568333/66 "2011-01-22T21:47:50Z")
> [@california\_jobcase](#): > > I had a 1983 Datsun Nissan Sentra Diesel. Got 42 mpg in town and 48-51 on the highway. Best car I ever had. It only spewed sooty smoke when I floored the accelerator (which was only when accelerating). visible soot is only one of the harmful emissions from diesels. NOx is a bigger problem. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2011, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/button-start-cars-why/568333/67 "2011-01-22T22:31:41Z")
> [@md2000](#): > > I saw the results once of a “stop” button on a metal-smelting factory. As the molten metal began to pour, the guy hit the stop button. The PLC running the smelter unit had a bug that kept it to busy to change the motor setting, it just kept rotating the vat full of molten metal until all 60 tons poured all over the floor of the shop. Expensive clean up… The bug had been mention - slow and occasionally unresponsive equipment. They then did take the bug seriously and fix the problem, half a million dollars later. > > An “off” button should be a command, not a suggestion. Out of curiosity, what started the ladle pouring in the first place, operator error or another glitch in the software? ---
**Author:** ![qazwart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/5fc32e/32.png) [@qazwart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/qazwart)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2011, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/button-start-cars-why/568333/68 "2011-01-23T06:52:15Z")
> [@california\_jobcase](#): > > Cars used to be started with push (or step) buttons a great while back. Now “push to start” buttons are showing up in cars again. Why? Will tail fins come next? YES! Fins! I want my car to have fins! Let’s face it, back when they put tail fins on cars, they spent a lot more time making each car look unique. Cars had two tone paint jobs and came in a lot more colors. For example, I like VW, but their car colors are so bland: I just checked the Jetta. You can choose two different shade of white, two different shades of grey, black, and a blue so dark, it’s almost black. Oh, if you’re really into thrills, brown. And the interior? Black or beige. In the old days, you’d at least get a chance to get a matching interior. I want [dagmars](http://car--styling.blogspot.com/2009/01/car-styling-dagmars.html). I want fins. I want two tone paint jobs. I want futuristic tail lights like the ones on the [1957 Imperial](http://www.autos-1.com/chrysler/imperial-1957.htm) that looked like rocket engines. I want to be able to go to a parking lot and not end up trying to unlock someone else’s car because it looks just like mine. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2011, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/button-start-cars-why/568333/69 "2011-01-24T04:54:24Z")
> [@qazwart](#): > > I want to be able to go to a parking lot and not end up trying to unlock someone else’s car because it looks just like mine. And it isn’t even the same manufacturer. A friend of mine put it succinctly some years ago: “The best way to tell cars apart these days is to be able to read.” ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2011, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/button-start-cars-why/568333/70 "2011-01-24T05:09:22Z")
Even old keyed systems didn’t really need keys. In 1973, when I was in college, I had a 1969 Galaxie 500 that some car thief really, really wanted. The first time he jimmied the window, scooped out the ignition, and found that the steering column lock kept him from driving the car. I replaced the lock, but when he did it again I got fed up. I rewired the ignition so to turn it on you flipped a toggle switch I kept in the glove compartment, and then pushed a cheap pushbutton to start the car. Worked fine - until the thief came again, with a tow truck this time, and saved me $300 in unrelated repairs. Now I have a Prius with pushbutton ignition and like it just fine. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2011, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/button-start-cars-why/568333/71 "2011-01-24T07:34:12Z")
> [@qazwart](#): > > I want to be able to go to a parking lot and not end up trying to unlock someone else’s car because it looks just like mine. Could be even more! A few years ago, a Vikings football player was in the news. He had been driving around to various stores, looking for specific coins he wanted for his sons birthday. He came out of one grocery store, found a vehicle of the appropriate make & color in the lot, got in, started it with his key and drove off. About halfway to the next store, he noticed that the bag o coins he had left in the vehicle was gone. So he pulled over and called the cops. About the same time, the cops had received a report from another customer at the store that their vehicle had been stolen. Turned out that the keys were similar enough that the players key had unlocked & started someone else’s vehicle. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/button-start-cars-why/568333.md?page=3)