Somewhat related but does anyone else like driving in the dark? Like no other cars back roads in the middle of nowhere, the only light is from my instruments, radio, and headlights? Fucken peak especially out in the truly middle of nowhere with minimal light pollution with the cosmos visible.
Then you pull aside, roll down the window, and hear nothing but the buzzing and chirping of whatever nature’s out there. It’s just… zen.
I’ve always lived in pretty densely-populated areas, but a few years back I got to drive around eastern Arizona for a few hours at night. It was so dark and so empty, I felt like I was flying through space. I could’ve gone into a trance, had I not been somewhere unfamiliar (I had to keep some focus in this unfamiliar area with spotty cell reception, where I was alone, at night.)
The Prius (and more historically Saab) used to have a near blackout mode which shut off interior lights and dash indicators, basically only leaving the indicator that shows your headlights are on. It was wonderful to drive with the blackout mode and just have your eyes perfectly adjusted to the light outside the cabin.
I drive a lot of retro cars and can say that while there usually wasn’t a dedicated mode you could turn down or off all of the interior lights. For example my 2001 Jeep Cherokee it’s just turning the light knob (same applies for the '91) as for my 2001 Toyota Tacoma it’s a matter of turning the dedicated knob that’s funnily enough the same spot as the one on the Cherokee.
I was carving out the exception because if you turn off all the interior lights, they’re just off. Saab at least had a system that monitored things and turned them back on if there were issues.
Jeep would sense the water temp rising out of control and day “lol u turned the lights off dude.”
Yes! I wish I could drive with out headlights but I know it’s too dangerous. I have incredibly good night vision even in my late 30s, I don’t need light at night why am I forced to use it??
The lights are also so others can see you, not so relevant when you’re really out away from civilization but there are many laws that require headlights to be on when windshield wipers are used
Agreed, I love this part of long drives to out of the way destinations. Definitely better in older cars without obnoxious touch screens.
I enjoy some games that can simulate this too, like Elite Dangerous scooting around in the lander on the dark side of some barren planet deep in uninhabited space. Not the same as the real thing of course, but I still enjoy it.
Somewhat related but does anyone else like driving in the dark? Like no other cars back roads in the middle of nowhere, the only light is from my instruments, radio, and headlights? Fucken peak especially out in the truly middle of nowhere with minimal light pollution with the cosmos visible.
I try, but then that fucking clown shows up…
Then you pull aside, roll down the window, and hear nothing but the buzzing and chirping of whatever nature’s out there. It’s just… zen.
I’ve always lived in pretty densely-populated areas, but a few years back I got to drive around eastern Arizona for a few hours at night. It was so dark and so empty, I felt like I was flying through space. I could’ve gone into a trance, had I not been somewhere unfamiliar (I had to keep some focus in this unfamiliar area with spotty cell reception, where I was alone, at night.)
The Prius (and more historically Saab) used to have a near blackout mode which shut off interior lights and dash indicators, basically only leaving the indicator that shows your headlights are on. It was wonderful to drive with the blackout mode and just have your eyes perfectly adjusted to the light outside the cabin.
I drive a lot of retro cars and can say that while there usually wasn’t a dedicated mode you could turn down or off all of the interior lights. For example my 2001 Jeep Cherokee it’s just turning the light knob (same applies for the '91) as for my 2001 Toyota Tacoma it’s a matter of turning the dedicated knob that’s funnily enough the same spot as the one on the Cherokee.
I was carving out the exception because if you turn off all the interior lights, they’re just off. Saab at least had a system that monitored things and turned them back on if there were issues.
Jeep would sense the water temp rising out of control and day “lol u turned the lights off dude.”
That sounds really really nice.
Yes! I wish I could drive with out headlights but I know it’s too dangerous. I have incredibly good night vision even in my late 30s, I don’t need light at night why am I forced to use it??
The lights are also so others can see you, not so relevant when you’re really out away from civilization but there are many laws that require headlights to be on when windshield wipers are used
Agreed, I love this part of long drives to out of the way destinations. Definitely better in older cars without obnoxious touch screens.
I enjoy some games that can simulate this too, like Elite Dangerous scooting around in the lander on the dark side of some barren planet deep in uninhabited space. Not the same as the real thing of course, but I still enjoy it.