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Similar to retractable extension cord reels- this one contains jumper cables, prewired to your vehicle's electrical system, with an on/off switch to prevent short circuits. All you do is extend the cable, connect to jumping vehicle and turn on the power switch. By using a switch, you also eliminate
the possibility of battery explosion when the final connection sparks (for those Darwinites that don't know to hook the last connection to the car frame away from the battery).
There's room under the hood of most vehicles to fit a small retractable cord reel- I can't see it being very hard to include this under the hood of almost every vehicle on the road. Could easily be standard equipment.
(Google did not find any vehicles that had this as standard equipment, although it did turn up a few custom rides with this feature)
Warn Industries: Booster cables
http://www.warn.com...ies.Electrical.html
24 Oct 02 | Jumper cables designed for permanent mounting in a vehicle. Scroll down the list just a bit, there's a pic of them. Now all you need is a retractor cord thingy. [bristolz, Oct 24 2002]
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Annotation:
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This has got to be _the_ most logical idea I have ever seen on HB! |
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What no more scouring the parking lot in tears looking for someone, anyone with jumper cables? + |
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A wonderful idea, but I bet it'll never be a standard feature in any production car. After all, what manufacturer would ever concede that their product might not start reliably? Too bad... |
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Sad indeed. I can't believe this hasn't been posted before, no searches found anything close. |
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Wait! On second thought, I can hear the ad copy now: "Leave your lights on overnight? No problem! With our standard built - in jumper cables, you're never more than a friendly stranger away from driving (insert car brand name here) style. And with our blah blah etc." |
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Sweet Nellie throws up both hands.."Stop I don't need no damm Dudley Duright, I have my own jumper cables." |
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Snarf: These'd work not only for those needing a jump but could be used by the good samaritan. So fitting them would not necessarily be a sign of unreliability but could imply the owner is just a good sort (perhaps worth a few of RayfordSteele's Mdes). |
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Great Idea!!! Maybe you could also install an auxilary
battery as well so that you could jump your OWN car.
With the way the world is in big cities asking for help isn't
necessarily safe any more. |
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What snarfy said (first anno). It'll never happen. |
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To fit the dress code at a "ties only" restaurant, a guy looks around for something to use as a tie but can find only jump leads to tie around his neck. He asks at the door, "How's this?" |
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The bartender replies, "Okay, but don't start anything." |
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"Man, I went to the bar last night and got jumped" |
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"You shouldn't have charged in there negatively." |
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"But it's so hard to be positive when you live in DC" |
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Fantasize -- you're less likely to be disappointed. |
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[thcgenius] A better idea is to have a second battery in the space where you would have the jumper cable reel located. This would eliminate the need to be in proximity of a charged source to begin with. I don't know of many car owners who do this but it is common for pickups and such to have this going here in Alaska. It' been awhile since temperatures have dropped low enough due to GW and all that the second battery hasn't been used for "jumping the main" in years. I'll have to go out and take a look under the hood to see the connections. |
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But back to your idea, still genuine I believe. |
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As far as manufactures rejecting your feature for the reliability factor it creates, that can be turned right around. It's all about the marketing. Promote your idea with the mind set that built in cables are that much more desirable for the latest model SUV "suburbanator" when showing off accessories, lending road help or driveway assistance to older model SUV suburbanators... you get the picture ...and a croissant. |
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reensure: Jazzercize -- You're more likely to be mocked/beaten with clubs. |
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Snarfy, Waugs: I'm confused. When was the last time that a dead car battery was the fault of the car manufacturer? Did Bill Ford Jr. come and turn your headlights on while you were asleep? Why *wouldn't* they want a device like this? Think of it from the airbag perspective: "Well, we don't want to install airbags in this minivan, because that might make people think our vehicle is unsafe in an accident..." |
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That's different. That's a safety issue. They want their vehicles to appear safe. Accidents happen and are generally not the fault of the vehicle. People know this, so airbags increase the appearance of safety. |
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Auto manufacturers don't want their products to appear vulnerable to breakdowns and mechanical problems, no matter what's at fault. Including jumper cables says to the potential purchaser, "this is a great car, but the battery we put in is probably a piece of crap, so we'll give you these cables just in case." |
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It's just not a *positive* signal, I would imagine the thinking goes -- irrespective of the greatness of this idea. Way below his conscious awareness, the consumer may have absorbed the meme "Ford (or whatever) = needing jumper cables." Never in a million years will Detroit go for this. Maybe in Japan or Germany... |
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I thought Ford = "Fix Or Repair Daily". (I drive a Ford, this seems true enough..) |
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"Found On Roadside Dead" is the one I heard my husband utter about Ford. |
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The Toyota 'MR2' is not a big seller in France. |
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oh okay, better spell it out: Em-Air-Deux. |
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GW - I suspect I'm being monumentally thick, but I don't get it. |
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mairdre or something? Adjective meaning ugly? [Been ages since I studied French] |
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Merde - francais for 'shit'. |
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Didn't Taco Bell rename the Chilito for a similar reason? |
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i think its best as NCO so if the person has a use for them he can specify them at no extra cost?>
thanks
Nick |
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