At 10:03 29-07-98 +1000, Rick Ashworth wrote:
As far as I can gather, this state of affairs exists so that you could
lock all your valuables in the boot when visiting a mechanic or hotel
and just leave “the servants” with the one key which would only operate
My Buick has two keys - doors+ignition (so you can get in and drive), plus
glovebox+trunk (so you can store valuables that the valet cannot access -
or, you could provide such a key to the bellboy to fetch luggage, but not
drive the vehicle).
Most newer cars have lost touch with this logical arrangement, and now you
need to give BOTH keys to the valet if they are to secure your auto and
re-enter it. Alas, even with both keys, it seems most valets (at least in
the San Francisco region) don’t - some even leave the keys in the ignition,
as I found that the Altamira Hotel in Sausalito does - so they can pack
cars in deep and move/re-move/move-again cars to access other ones - yikes!
LOGICALLY, there should be a key which gets you in the doors, the glovebox,
and the trunk (so someone can get stuff out of the car, but can’t drive
it), and another that gets you in the doors and the ignition (valet).
Seems that those “dimpled” high-security keys would make a lot of sense
here - any given lock would act on one set of pits in the key, and all the
locks would be independant of each other (looking for pits in different
locations on the key) - “keying alike” would simply be cutting a key coded
for the pits required by each of the locks. Thus, IF you wanted it, you
could have a key made which ONLY opens the boot, but not the glovebox or
the cabin, OR you could have a key that does everything - or something in
between. I know I would like to have a key in my pocket that is the ONLY
key I’d need.
BTW - when I go somewhere I expect to use a valet, I bring along a spare
set of keys - I NEVER leave my only on-hand set with the valet.
Cripe - the technology is here, and there ARE several technologies to
choose from (ignition for example could still utilize something like the
electronic chips found on some newer vehicles - to drive, one can assume
you’ll need power, whereas it wouldn’t be appropriate to drive the door or
boot locks by a system requiring electricity since if your battery were
flat, you’d be locked out, unable to correct the situation).
Automobile makers seem to like to pride themselves in innovation, but they
seem to consistently overlook the basic stuff.
— http://jaguar.professional.org/
Sean Straw '88 Jaguar XJSC 5.3L V12
Marin County, California '69 Buick GranSport 455 V8
