The Horror of Modern Cars

asicer said:
30 minute engine swap.
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I used to work with a guy who could take the engine (350 Chev, IIRC) out of his truck and put it in his boat to spend the day on the lake, and then put it back in the truck to go home. Took about 30 minutes each way.
 
MauleSkinner said:
I used to work with a guy who could take the engine (350 Chev, IIRC) out of his truck and put it in his boat to spend the day on the lake, and then put it back in the truck to go home. Took about 30 minutes each way.
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Just imagine what he could do with 3 friends.
 
My current 2017 Acura RDX vs my first car, a 1971 Olds Cutlass.

Love the Cutlass, but it rusted, got 16 mpg, was worn out around 125k, had weak drum brakes, handled vs today's cars rather squirrelly, was heavy, had to put in a new AC compressor from the junk yard, paint faded, etc. No air bags, no ABS, no shoulder harness.

So to be fair, today's cars / trucks do have a lot going for them. My Acura is at 100k and barely broken in. ABS, shoulder straps and airbags of course, much safter in a collision, no rust, paint is still good, 20 something MPG, can cruise all day at 80 mph rock solid, etc. It has had it's issues - 3 of the four door lock actuators went bad, had a trans torque lock up had to be replaced (supposed to be under extended warranty, but denied because the computer did have a fault code even though it didn't work - go figure).

All in all, I do think we've passed the point of diminishing returns on adding things that drive the price up.
 
Zeldman said:
Wish I still had my '70 C-10.

It came with a straight 6, granny gear 4 speed, heater, steering wheel, bench seat and not much else.

But I digress, it also got 9 mpg...
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Love the straight 6's,

At one time our two cars were an 89 Jeep Commanche with the straight 6, and a 95 F-150 with the 300cid Straight 6.
Drove the Jeep 250K miles over 20 years. replaced 1 clutch, 1 U-joint, 1 wheel bearing (wheel actually 2 after the shop I had do did it wrong), a maybe 3 water pumps, a leaking oil filter adaptor, a couple fuel injectors that started leaking, a one fuel pump, and one muffler. And of course brake and tires and needed.

Put about 100K on the F-150, replace a couple brake master cylinder and fan clutch. Only Sold it after my wife could no longer drive a stick shift due to a motorcycle accident.

Brian
 
asicer said:
Familiar architecture akin to the Conti-Lycoming engines we fly.
Minimal moving parts.
Fewer fluids to leak.
30 minute engine swap.
Almost no special service tools required.

How many of you complaining about modern cars have not ever had one of these?
VW_K%C3%A4fer_Baujahr_1966.jpg
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Ah, Adolph inspired and still revered.
 
asicer said:
Familiar architecture akin to the Conti-Lycoming engines we fly.
Minimal moving parts.
Fewer fluids to leak.
30 minute engine swap.
Almost no special service tools required.

How many of you complaining about modern cars have not ever had one of these?
VW_K%C3%A4fer_Baujahr_1966.jpg
Click to expand...
Only four long bolts holding the engine in. It's a SNAP to OH on a desk.
 
I am in the 'I will never but a modern vehicle' camp. Even my 2014 has to many computers for my liking.

When I rent 2025s and 2026 for work I hate them. It takes me 20 minutes to turn off all the 'we're here to help you' garbage that doesn't work. Lane assists? lol adaptive cruise control? NOPE. turn all the garbage off.

I'm still looking for a good used early/mid 2000s f150 crew cab 5 speed. Yeah, the triton engine is garbage but I learned everything I need to know from my first one.
 
One aspect of the "modern" car: some of the gadgetery actually allows for lower car insurance rates.

When I bought my 2020 hybrid (in 2020), I got my insurance bill for the new car. It was about $100 lower than what I was paying for my 2014 fiesta. I called the insurance agent to make sure the bill was correct and he told me it was. He had seen the amount before I got it in the mail and he doublechecked it. The reason for it being lower was due to the various safety gadgets (e.g., lane assist, crosstraffic alerts and the like).

So the "modern" car isn't necessarily all bad.
 
kyleb said:
I’ve already got a TR-6. Don’t need the equally problematic but slower analogue.
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How do youlike those rear tranmission counter shaft bearings? I learned how to rebuild those transmissions out of necessity!!
 
Bob Noel said:
One aspect of the "modern" car: some of the gadgetery actually allows for lower car insurance rates.

When I bought my 2020 hybrid (in 2020), I got my insurance bill for the new car. It was about $100 lower than what I was paying for my 2014 fiesta. I called the insurance agent to make sure the bill was correct and he told me it was. He had seen the amount before I got it in the mail and he doublechecked it. The reason for it being lower was due to the various safety gadgets (e.g., lane assist, crosstraffic alerts and the like).

So the "modern" car isn't necessarily all bad.
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Havn’t had an accident in almost 70 years of driving. Closest I’ve come is when being distracted by all the CR@P allegedly protecting me from myself in a modern car.

There should be a master switch to turn off all the “new Improved” BS and let me drive undistracted. OTOH, Car Play and GPS beats an 8 Track and a AAA Trip tik but its easy to turn on-off and ignore if required :cool:
 
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Luigi said:
How do youlike those rear tranmission counter shaft bearings? I learned how to rebuild those transmissions out of necessity!!
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Never dealt with the transmission or the diff. Replaced tons of u-joints and have built/repaired/replaced everything else on the car. I think...
 
asicer said:
Familiar architecture akin to the Conti-Lycoming engines we fly.
Minimal moving parts.
Fewer fluids to leak.
30 minute engine swap.
Almost no special service tools required.

How many of you complaining about modern cars have not ever had one of these?
VW_K%C3%A4fer_Baujahr_1966.jpg
Click to expand...
Mine was the Super Beetle.

The were very few parts to break on those things. The windshield washer fluid reservoir was pressurized by air from the spare tire.
 
X3 Skier said:
Havn’t had an accident in almost 70 years of driving. Closest I’ve come is when being distracted by all the CR@P allegedly protecting me from myself in a modern car.

There should be a master switch to turn off all the “new Improved” BS and let me drive undistracted. OTOH, Car Play and GPS beats an 8 Track and a AAA Trip tik but its easy to turn on-off and ignore if required :cool:
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My car has all the collision avoidance sensors, cameras, and logic. I keep thinking there should be a yellow mushroom button to enable “zombie mode” because sometimes something just needs running over.
 
AV8R_87 said:
Some of you would've banned gear synchros and electric starters back in the day, because only wimps need such aids.
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Turn signals, outside review mirrors, air conditioning, power steering, etc. I'm talking about the 1950 Ford I drove as a kid. It even had a choke. And good luck starting that flathead engine when it decided to vapor lock.
 
Mom had a 67 VW Beetle. As a 16 year old, that was fun to drive. Stick shift, no AC, had something of a radio, had a heater after a long time when the engine got hot enough. OK, for dates, I used Dad's 71 Olds Cutlass, but for putzing around, the VW was fun.

For 67 it had the "extra feature" of back up lights. Oh, and when we had to jump start it for the first time, I remember Dad and I spending a bit of time looking for the battery - finally found it under the rear seat.
 
kyleb said:
C) The complicated electronics thing is real. Even a windshield replacement on a modern car is stupid expensive because they not only have to replace the windshield but also have to recalibrate all the sensors, which can run a couple thousand bucks.
D) That used Miata I've been contemplating sounds better and better all the time due to its <relative> simplicity.
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I have several times told the sales guy that I want the simplest possible options, with the least electronics and "tech" that they will provide. They always give me a funny look, right up until I tell them that I design that junk for a living and I don't want any of it on my car.
 
StraightnLevel said:
I have several times told the sales guy that I want the simplest possible options, with the least electronics and "tech" that they will provide. They always give me a funny look, right up until I tell them that I design that junk for a living and I don't want any of it on my car.
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As a fellow practicioner of self-deprecation, I appreciate that conversational inject of letting them know you suck at your job. :thumbsup:
 
AV8R_87 said:
Some of you would've banned gear synchros and electric starters back in the day, because only wimps need such aids.
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There was a very vocal debate amongst car enthusiasts about traction control and whether or not you wanted someone who couldn't figure out how to get a car moving in the ice & snow to have to try to steer or, God forbid, stop in the same ice & snow.
 
WDD said:
Better question is do you want the average driver coming at you without traction control or ABS.
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Based on what I’ve seen in 27 winters in Steamboat Springs CO, it makes no difference. Idiots driving in snow and ice as if it was 70 degrees and clear roads aren’t going to be saved by traction control or ABS. Seems like most of the cars in the ditch or otherwise are sporting rental tags and probably being driven by people with little or no snow driving experience.
 
Larry in TN said:
It sounds like a lot of people have the wrong modern cars. There are some out there that are designed well and make using the car easier, not harder.
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What's on your list? Camry? Corolla?
 
WDD said:
What's on your list? Camry? Corolla?
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anyone want to take bets on which car(s) he would pick?

(really not being snarky and snide - I just think it's predictable... but I've been wrong many times in the past...)
 
Bob Noel said:
anyone want to take bets on which car(s) he would pick?

(really not being snarky and snide - I just think it's predictable... but I've been wrong many times in the past...)
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I don't know Tennessee Larry well enough to guess. Lada? EM-50 Urban Assault Vehicle?
 
One of my first cars was a Volkswagen square back. Really liked that car, but I carried a very comprehensive toolbox in my trunk, which was used quite often on the road. In a fast paced life like I live today, a car like that would be completely impractical.
 
AV8R_87 said:
Some of you would've banned gear synchros and electric starters back in the day, because only wimps need such aids.
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my 42 Ford GPW is just to manly for todays male population.

Wet canvas is the only perfume i need to smell
 
hindsight2020 said:
As a fellow practicioner of self-deprecation, I appreciate that conversational inject of letting them know you suck at your job. :thumbsup:
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An unwarranted assumption! He may be a creator par excellence of gadgetry and at the forefront of his field, but the brief is to create from pennies what realistically requires dollars, to be assembled by the disinterested and hung-over, and used by the lowest common denominator. :D
 
the true genius would be able to sneak properly designed and properly function gadgetry past the mindless managers.

an even higher level of genius would be able to make the mindless managers think all that stuff was their idea.

(I'm not disparaging straightnlevel)
 
hindsight2020 said:
As a fellow practicioner of self-deprecation, I appreciate that conversational inject of letting them know you suck at your job. :thumbsup:
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I think that you misunderstand. My job is to remove as much of that crap as possible from systems so that they become more reliable. [I run R&D for a large industrial manufacturing firm.]

Sensors and displays tend to have shorter lives than properly designed electromechanical systems, so we remove them whenever and wherever we can. Meanwhile, government is mandating more and more of this garbage in our vehicles, which increases repair costs, increases insurance prices, reduces reliability, and shortens their useful life. Which is easier to repair - a 1970 Mustang, or a 2015 Ford with "MyTouch"? Where do you get new displays and repair parts for the 2015?
 
Hey, if one car company can do a good job of integrating technology into their cars then others can, too. Maybe some others already have.

I think a lot of legacy car makers, not just American ones, have relied too much on subcontractors for components. Makes it too hard to integrate everything seamlessly. Too few do their own software and user interfaces in-house.

My kids drive my old Mazda3s. One is a 2015 and the other is a 2018. Mazda did a descent job with the integrations. Haven't driven a newer model to see how that has evolved since 2018.

Technology should make the car, and its systems, easier to operate, not harder.
 
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