Difference between hand compass and car compass?

The other day it came across my mind. There is a subtle difference between these two things. Hand magnet shows the direction by pointing it's arrow towards that direction. Where as the car compass points the arrow opposite to the direction we are heading so that we could see the direction symbol.

For example you are driving your car heading north. If you had a general compass, the arrow with north mark should point away from you towards direction north. But you are sitting inside the car and you can't afford to see the arrow from your side. It could be dangerous too to look at the magnet lying some where next to you. Of course, if you are walking then it's easy for you to keep it on your palm horizontally and see the arrow to figure out the direction.

Where as car compass would be hanging by windshield in front of you in your car. So when you are driving towards north, the car compass should let you know that you are driving north by showing you arrow with north symbol just like the other one does. That's why it shows the north arrow towards you exactly opposite to the direction you are going. Which means they put the symbols on the opposite arrows of original directions. For south you see north and vice versa.

The simple reason for this is the general compass would be some where so that you don't have raise your head upwards. Where as for car compass you need either to raise your head or align your vision with car compass hanging down a windshield.  Even if car compass shows the original direction north when you are driving north on the north side of the magnet, then how can you see the arrow with symbol as it would be away from you on the other side of the magnet. That's why they swap the symbols. Cool. Right?

Some times we just use things and we never think of these small things. For example, you have car compass in your hand and you try to go some where following that. That's it you end up in the wrong direction if you don't know the funda behind it. So be careful when ever you have a compass in your hand to know which one it is. Otherwise you might end up in trouble.