# Foibles and Quirks about Makes of Cars **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 13, 2016, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foibles-and-quirks-about-makes-of-cars/748844 "2016-03-13T06:31:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Rocketeer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocketeer/32/4437_2.png) [@Rocketeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rocketeer)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2016, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foibles-and-quirks-about-makes-of-cars/748844/121 "2016-03-21T15:53:40Z")
> [@california\_jobcase](#): > > Certain large Oldsmobiles used the front left wheel as well. Probably the front-drive Toronados? ---
**Author:** ![Rocketeer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocketeer/32/4437_2.png) [@Rocketeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rocketeer)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2016, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foibles-and-quirks-about-makes-of-cars/748844/122 "2016-03-21T15:55:06Z")
> [@dougie\_monty](#): > > Oh. I thought you would have attached one end of some kind of string to the old cable, and a new cable to the other end, and drawn the old cable out so that the new one would be properly threaded in. (I used this technique to replace the cotton draw cord in the frame on the traverse rod on a window once.) Clever, but not necessary in this case; the speedo drive cable is fairly stiff, and you can push it through the sheath without any trouble. ---
**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:** [March 21, 2016, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foibles-and-quirks-about-makes-of-cars/748844/123 "2016-03-21T22:05:00Z")
> [@Rocketeer](#): > > Probably the front-drive Toronados? The one my friend’s mother had was some version of the Delta 88, mid-70s. He figured it out while trying to do doughnuts in snowy parking lots- the rear wheels would spin, but the speedometer wouldn’t register! ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2016, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foibles-and-quirks-about-makes-of-cars/748844/124 "2016-03-21T22:25:23Z")
It’s still so strange to watch a front-drive car getting a smog test and see the front wheels spinning at high speed while the rear wheels don’t move at all. The Ford Taurus I recently junked was one of those. ---
**Author:** ![Pushkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2016, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foibles-and-quirks-about-makes-of-cars/748844/125 "2016-03-21T23:48:34Z")
> [@DMC](#): > > Some 9-5s had a [Night Panel](https://www.cars.com/articles/2010/11/what-does-this-button-do/) button. The 9-3s as well, although I remember being a bit disappointed that it didn’t dim the HVAC controls either leaving me ensconced in darkness with only the speedometer showing within the car. It’s a little thing, but my Mum’s had a Rover 45, made by a car firm that didn’t quite take to turning down market, that they kept fake wood trim on all models and had little metal caps on the valves on the wheels. I mention it because one day, someone took the time to remove them all and replace them with rubber caps instead, I presume in a car park while nobody watched. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foibles-and-quirks-about-makes-of-cars/748844.md?page=6)