Re: Do people want a hard copy of the owners' manual for their car?

[voxwoman <voxwoman -at- gmail -dot- com>]

I think that's what On-Star is supposed to do. At least that's what their
recent advertising implies:  'Hello, I see that you were in an accident. We
are notifying the authorities"

On Thu, Sep 24, 2009 at 12:42 PM, McLauchlan, Kevin <
Kevin -dot- McLauchlan -at- safenet-inc -dot- com> wrote:

>  Pamela Nelson
> >
> >
> > My husband and I share a car, and we periodically have to
> > rent another for a day or two. One time I rented a car in the
> > morning and later on could not for the life of me figure out
> > how to switch on the headlights. After a good five-ten
> > minutes of fiddling around, I finally turned to the
> > operator's manual, which solved the problem.
> >
> >
> >
> > I don't know if it's because we've only owned American cars
> > and this particular rental was a Japanese make, or what. And
> > I'm not sure what I would have done if the manual had not
> > been in the glove compartment - call the rental 24-hr
> > roadside assistance number, I guess.
> >
> >
> >
> > I know I would have been very unhappy if the only help
> > available was a CD version of the manual.
>
>
> On the other hand, if it was on flash memory and displayed via the
> "standard" dash-mounted everything-display screen, it would be available as
> long as the car had power.
>
> If the car didn't have power, you'd have more serious problems than a
> glance at a paper (or OLED) manual would solve.
>
> Granted that it'd be tough to see that manual from under the car, but how
> many people these days:
>
> a) do their own under-the-car mechanics (intricate enough that they need a
> manual with them under there) and,
>
> b) get the info they need from the usual glove-box operator manual (as
> opposed to buying an aftermarket book or heisting a shop manual?
>
> Somebody said "shrink-wrapped", but at the very least, cars are appliances
> these days.
>
> What I need to know to operate my leased car is:
>
> a) how to operate the controls that are accessible from the cabin seats
> b) how to operate the seats (fold-downs and such)
> c) how to replenish the windshield washer fluid
> d) how to top up the tire pressure (and to what level) - though despite
> frequent checks, I almost never need to actually add air (see below)
> e) how to contact the manufacturer's (GM... any other maker?) or the
> generic (AAA, CAA, or whatever it's called in your country) roadside
> assistance.
>
> Even low-end new cars are getting tire-pressure monitoring displayed to the
> dash. My last couple of vehicles told me when they wanted service, based on
> sensor input, time-since-previous, driving history/style, etc. All service
> is done by the dealer (I lease). Each time I get a new car, I buy winter
> tires on separate wheels, and all rotation, balancing, pressure-check, etc.
> is done by the dealer... who even store my off-season wheels-and-tires for
> me.  At the same time as the tire stuff or during a requested-by-the-car
> oil-change, they also check brakes and ball-joints, rubber boots and other
> likely-to-wear items.
>
> Since I'm in Canada, we have daytime running lights as soon as the vehicle
> starts. Recent vehicles have switched the headlights on at dusk (or in
> tunnels and parking garages) and off in daylight without my input, and off
> when the vehicle is off and nobody is aboard.
>
> I think it won't be long before cars come with built-in
> (possibly-context-sensitive) Help, and no paper manual, and it won't be a
> loss.  I just hope they don't have a "Clippy".... "You seem to be having
> trouble finding the windshield spray control..."...    Eeeeewww!  Of course,
> if it's that nice British lady who gives the GPS turn-by-turn instructions,
> that might be ok.    :-)
>
>
>  - Kevin
>
>
>
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>
> Free Software Documentation Project Web Cast: Covers developing Table of
> Contents, Context IDs, and Index, as well as Doc-To-Help
> 2009 tips, tricks, and best practices.
> http://www.doctohelp.com/SuperPages/Webcasts/
>
> Help & Manual 5: The complete help authoring tool for individual
> authors and teams. Professional power, intuitive interface. Write
> once, publish to 8 formats. Multi-user authoring and version control!
> http://www.helpandmanual.com/
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Free Software Documentation Project Web Cast: Covers developing Table of
Contents, Context IDs, and Index, as well as Doc-To-Help  
2009 tips, tricks, and best practices.
http://www.doctohelp.com/SuperPages/Webcasts/

Help & Manual 5: The complete help authoring tool for individual
authors and teams. Professional power, intuitive interface. Write
once, publish to 8 formats. Multi-user authoring and version control! http://www.helpandmanual.com/

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