Hi; I have a 91 Civic and I will soon be shopping for a more modern used Civic or Corolla. There are two things I don't like about my car that I am hoping to get away in my new car. The first is the way the drivers side front door locks. You have to pull the handle to put the locking button down. I'm guessing this was meant to help people to NOT lock their keys in their car, but it has never prevented me from doing that. In fact, it is almost a daily nuisance as a try to get out of my car and hold my bag in my hand at the same time. Can this be avoided with a newer Honda? My current car does not have air conditioning. The defogging mechanism sucks. When it is raining and chilly/humid my windshield and other windows still fog up significantly. Will this not be the case with a car that also has air conditioning? Is there any way I can test defogging capabilities out while car shopping -- without having to wait for a rainy and humid day? Thanks in advance for any info Steve
Most newer vehicles use remotes for keyless entry and no longer require you to pull out the handle to lock even when in the car (power locks). As well, with AC most will use the compressor when using the defroster/defogger. If not, if you can manually turn on the AC while using them it will clear up the windows much faster.
Yes. But I had such a beast; it became, quite literally, an unconscious move. Methinks you're resisting it way too hard, if it's not automatic by now. pssssst--A/C *is* the defogging mechanism. The entire purpose of A/C is to remove moisture from the air (most people think the purpose of A/C is to cool the air, but that is not the case). Without A/C, you can't remove moisture from the air. Hence, you don't have any sort of defogging mechanism. You've been operating under a misconception.
Remote control solves this regardless of how the manual mechanism works. Most Civics and Corollas come standard with remote door lock control. Correct, A/C does the de-humidifying work. No. Trust us, it works just fine. However, you want to buy the car that has the best (coldest) A/C in your price range. Check the fans (feel the breeze) for max air movement, too. In my limited exprience, Toyota A/C is better than Honda A/C. Check the prices on Accords and Camrys while you're at the dealerships. Sometimes these cars are available at prices remarkably close to their smaller stable mates. I found the lower insurance premium cost for the Accord more than made up for the annual fuel cost differential.
In general, that is true. If you want to get the better A/C without doing a lot of legwork, just trust Toyota. Honda has come a long way, though. Of course, they had the longest way to come....
Well, someone has, anyway. Your statement will come as something of a surprise to those living in hot, dry climates. The *actual* purpose of AC is hinted at by the very acronym: "Air Conditioning." It's supposed to both cool *and* dehumidify the air, in order to keep it in bearable "condition," temperature and humidity-wise. Not one, both. It's the cold evaporator coils that do the dehumidifying.
Well, someone has, anyway. Your statement will come as something of a surprise to those living in hot, dry climates. The *actual* purpose of AC is hinted at by the very acronym: "Air Conditioning." It's supposed to both cool *and* dehumidify the air, in order to keep it in bearable "condition," temperature and humidity-wise. Not one, both. It's the cold evaporator coils that do the dehumidifying.[/QUOTE] The *main* purpose is to remove moisture, to allow the body's own cooling mechanism to work.
IMO,the intent of AC is to provide cool air,and the removal of moisture is only a secondary effect of providing cool air.(IOW,I think you're wrong) Remember that the hot interior of the car is not affected by moisture content.Thus the need for -cool air-,to pull out that heat. That is what makes you comfortable.(and keeps you from sweating heavily)
Cool air in and of itself is meaningless to the human body. The body's cooling mechanism depends on its ability to evaporate moisture--and if you have very damp air, if the dew point is low, then the moisture your body emits as a cooling mechanism has nowhere to go. If the moisture can't evaporate, the body can't shed heat nearly well enough. Certainly you've had those days where the air is quite cool, but there's a bunch of moisture; it's quite uncomfortable, isn't it? The point of A/C is to provide an environment where the body's evaporative cooling mechanism can work. The cool temperature of the air is secondary to the fact that the moisture is removed. It's the removal of moisture, and that your body's evaporative cooling mechanism is allowed to work, that makes you comfortable.
So, driving through Death Valley at noon on a July day with the windows open to let in plenty of that dry air, we'd be cool and comfortable, correct?
After 1998 the hold-the-driver's-lever-out-to-lock-the-door was gone. If you have power locks you can't lock the doors if the key is in the ignition. You can lock all doors when you push down the manual lock near the driver's door window. The defroster works best with the Non-Recirculating mode of the AC. sarita
wrong. ambient temperature DOES matter to the body. THAT is what makes one sweat,not how much humidity is present. not as uncomfortable as a hot interior of a auto,at 100-140 degF or even more,despite how dry it might be. wrong. the purpose of auto AC is to remove heat from the interior of the auto. moisture content doesn't matter in that respect. the heat is what makes a person perspire. not the humidity. if the air temp inside is 110 degF,it doesn't matter to the human body if the humidity is only 10%.
BTW,the air conditioning system is a HEAT transfer device; it works by moving -heat- from one area to another. moisture removal is secondary,a side benefit.
No, moisture removal--necessary for the body's evaporative cooling mechanism to work--is the primary goal. To remove moisture, one uses the concept of condensation--which requires a cool surface to move the moist air over.
So, driving through Death Valley at noon on a July day with the windows open to let in plenty of that dry air, we'd be cool and comfortable, correct?[/QUOTE] Cooler than with the windows closed, yes. Of *course* cool air is part of the equation--but it's not the primary part.
sorry dude, it's the other way around. you can dry air without cooling it. you can't cool it without condensation. moisture removal is simply an artifact of cooling. thermodynamics.
Both are somewhat true, though the temp is a bit more important, IMO. If the humidity is high, when you sweat, it does not evaporate, and therefore does nothing to lower your body temp. That is why it seems more uncomfortable to be in Southern Florida at 100 F than in Arizona at the same temp. BUT, so long as the temp is 100 F, you're going to be hot, and no amount of de-humidifying is going to change that. And in a car, the temp will be even higher. Therefore, you need cool air to reduce the temp, and some measure of de-humidification, especially in very humid climates, to help your body cool itself. Also, the warmer air is, the higher a percentage of absolute humidity it can hold. 70 degree air simply holds less moisture than 100 degree air does. If you can lower the temp on the inside of the vehicle, it will be less humid by definition...
