The Horror of Modern Cars

StraightnLevel said:
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?
Click to expand...
I worked for an industrial equipment manufacturer for 25 years before retiring. The mechanical items would wear or break. We could always replace, repair, rebuild, or re-machine parts. Some of the equipment we sold and maintained might have been as old as I was. But the electronics and associated control systems were a problem. Replacement parts for some items ceased production decades ago. If we saw any on ebay we’d buy as many as possible.

It wasn’t unlike GA, in some ways. 50-60 yo airplanes are common, but swapping out avionics keeps them modern. That’s not really practical in a car.

I see some awesome older vehicles on auction shows. But I’m driving something that’s one software update away from being a brick.
 
kyleb said:
Cost and complication aside, there is truth here. Modern safety regs, combined with aerodynamic efforts have greatly raised the height of the windowsills in automobiles with a corresponding reduction in window area. Me no like.
Click to expand...

Yes. I sit tall in the seat of our mid-sized SUV's. And it's still impossible to see out the front where the vehicle ends, same as out of the little rear window in the back.

The skinny front seat driver and passenger side airbag posts limit vision out both front sides of the windshield. The large headrests and tall sides make it difficult to turn the head and visually check the blind spots. Same turning sharp curves or corners where the downward view is obstructed.

Electronics and sensors are needed to fill in the gaps. And now new vehicles are being sold to shut off when big brother's computer detects and reports something it doesn't like. Neighborhood squirrels feast on the wiring.

Me no like either. I really miss my 1966 Ford Mustang...
 
kyleb said:
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...
Click to expand...
How many miles do you have on the car?
 
Luigi said:
How many miles do you have on the car?
Click to expand...
It shows about 100K, but I have no confidence in that number based on its condition when I bought it.
 
Matthew said:
I worked for an industrial equipment manufacturer for 25 years before retiring. The mechanical items would wear or break. We could always replace, repair, rebuild, or re-machine parts. Some of the equipment we sold and maintained might have been as old as I was. But the electronics and associated control systems were a problem. Replacement parts for some items ceased production decades ago. If we saw any on ebay we’d buy as many as possible.

It wasn’t unlike GA, in some ways. 50-60 yo airplanes are common, but swapping out avionics keeps them modern. That’s not really practical in a car.

I see some awesome older vehicles on auction shows. But I’m driving something that’s one software update away from being a brick.
Click to expand...
In older cars it is! In newer cars you can't really do anything about the bloody ECU/TCU/BCU but in old cars we would often

- Change the Radio (every 10 years or so)
- Install a better alternator
- Upgrade to power front disc brakes if it didn't have them
- Go to an electronic ignition
- Go to a throttle body fuel injection

Thise things, plus normal maintenance (replacing worn bushings/etc) make them pretty driveable, although not as good on the freeway as new cars.
 
MIFlyer said:
In older cars it is! In newer cars you can't really do anything about the bloody ECU/TCU/BCU but in old cars we would often

- Change the Radio (every 10 years or so)
- Install a better alternator
- Upgrade to power front disc brakes if it didn't have them
- Go to an electronic ignition
- Go to a throttle body fuel injection

Thise things, plus normal maintenance (replacing worn bushings/etc) make them pretty driveable, although not as good on the freeway as new cars.
Click to expand...
Oh, yeah! Pull the AC Delco radio and plug in a Pioneer with a cassette player and separate power amp mounted somewhere, and whatever speakers you could get from Crutchfield, then drive around with the windows rolled down and Ted Nugent cranked up.

Good times
 
Matthew said:
Oh, yeah! Pull the AC Delco radio and plug in a Pioneer with a cassette player and separate power amp mounted somewhere, and whatever speakers you could get from Crutchfield, then drive around with the windows rolled down and Ted Nugent cranked up.

Good times
Click to expand...
I literally did this last night, driving home after the pilot's association dinner in my 1973
 
AZEL said:
View attachment 152176
Click to expand...

Wow! I got my Volvo 245 standard shift up to my phone number: 2,039,665,698. Then my teenage daughter totaled it. Actually, the teenage girl who turned left in front of her totalled it. But the car did its job! My daughter walked away, other driver survived with some injuries.

-Skip
 
Skip Miller said:
Wow! I got my Volvo 245 standard shift up to my phone number: 2,039,665,698. Then my teenage daughter totaled it. Actually, the teenage girl who turned left in front of her totalled it. But the car did its job! My daughter walked away, other driver survived with some injuries.

-Skip
Click to expand...
Over two billion miles. Amazing. ;-)
 
Skip Miller said:
Wow! I got my Volvo 245 standard shift up to my phone number: 2,039,665,698. Then my teenage daughter totaled it. Actually, the teenage girl who turned left in front of her totalled it. But the car did its job! My daughter walked away, other driver survived with some injuries.

-Skip
Click to expand...
If either one of those girls had been driving a Tesla w HW 4, that never would have happened.
 
kyleb said:
Over two billion miles. Amazing. ;-)
Click to expand...

think of the carbon footprint of two billion miles (or even 200,000,000 miles, assuming the first digit is 1/10th of miles)
 
JOhnH said:
If either one of those girls had been driving a Tesla w HW 4, that never would have happened.
Click to expand...
Yes, Teslas are perfectly safe ... unless you are on or near a Cirrus Vision. :cool:
 
All this Kvetching about modern cars and the beauty of doing your own maintenance. How about you guys go experimental?

* Get someone to carbon fiber / 3d print a body for you.
* Cut windows to size.
* Pick out the best engine, tires, drive train.
* I even laughed about airplane engine conversions for automobiles; but I'm sure you'd rather have a cool SAAB or GE turbofan engine.
* Build a system where the engine works on Gas Air and Spark and decouple it from the electrical system except for the ECU / EFIS.
* Add GPS and heads-up display for performance monitoring and navigation.
* Add seat-belts and air-bags to suit.
* If you don't want lane drift correction or automatic brakes, skip it.

No worries about failure, just roll to the side of the highway, no need for dual mags or dual batteries.

Instead of Vans Air Force, go with Plain Car Brigades.

Hahaha

PS Full disclosure, I sold my street vehicles 24 years ago and use Uber, zip car, or mass transit to get around.
 
Bill said:
I just replaced the main and aux batteries on the ‘22 Wrangler. The main battery was easy, the aux battery was a big pain. Had to remove the main battery, then remove the fuse box/PDP, then remove four honkin electrical connectors, then remove the connector tray, move more wires, and then remove the lid to the aux battery box, and then finally fish the battery out of the hell hole where they buried it. Dealer wanted $400 labor plus the cost of batteries, and I said eff that and dove in.


View attachment 151999View attachment 152000View attachment 152001View attachment 152002View attachment 152003View attachment 152005View attachment 152004
Click to expand...
I changed the battery in my Cadillac XT-5 a couple of months ago. On newer vehicles, keeping the system powered during the change and preserving all of the learned computer stuff outweighs the fooling around to do that. Yeah, I'm a hillbilly.

I usually have a 6 AH or similar small battery around to connect to the car with small alligator clip jumpers, but not this time. I used a full size battery.

Check out the distribution bus on the positive terminal connection. It was a struggle to displace it far enough to change out the battery.

5b1df3c5-590b-4fb5-851d-a5113a924436-1_all_3189.jpg


5b1df3c5-590b-4fb5-851d-a5113a924436-1_all_3185.jpg
 
Justin M said:
All this Kvetching about modern cars and the beauty of doing your own maintenance. How about you guys go experimental?

* Get someone to carbon fiber / 3d print a body for you.
* Cut windows to size.
* Pick out the best engine, tires, drive train.
* I even laughed about airplane engine conversions for automobiles; but I'm sure you'd rather have a cool SAAB or GE turbofan engine.
* Build a system where the engine works on Gas Air and Spark and decouple it from the electrical system except for the ECU / EFIS.
* Add GPS and heads-up display for performance monitoring and navigation.
* Add seat-belts and air-bags to suit.
* If you don't want lane drift correction or automatic brakes, skip it.

No worries about failure, just roll to the side of the highway, no need for dual mags or dual batteries.

Instead of Vans Air Force, go with Plain Car Brigades.

Hahaha

PS Full disclosure, I sold my street vehicles 24 years ago and use Uber, zip car, or mass transit to get around.
Click to expand...
Actually, that's not a bad idea. Except for the carbon fiber and that it doesn't have a windshield, that list more or less describes my lawn mower, or the golf carts used by folks in some communities in the warmer and less regulated areas.

I think there's a market for an inexpensive, air cooled, fuel injected vehicle that doesn't have all the safety features, except maybe safety glass and seatbelts. Just put a disclaimer on it, and maybe limit it to 200HP or whatever. And for those that thinks that's nuts....there's a motorcycle in my garage that fits that description, except it doesn't have seatbelts or a windshield.
 
3393RP said:
I changed the battery in my Cadillac XT-5 a couple of months ago. On newer vehicles, keeping the system powered during the change and preserving all of the learned computer stuff outweighs the fooling around to do that. Yeah, I'm a hillbilly.

I usually have a 6 AH or similar small battery around to connect to the car with small alligator clip jumpers, but not this time. I used a full size battery.

Check out the distribution bus on the positive terminal connection. It was a struggle to displace it far enough to change out the battery.

View attachment 152196
Click to expand...

Or plug in one of these $15 Battery Memory devices in you OBD port:

 
3393RP said:
I changed the battery in my Cadillac XT-5 a couple of months ago. On newer vehicles, keeping the system powered during the change and preserving all of the learned computer stuff outweighs the fooling around to do that. Yeah, I'm a hillbilly.

I usually have a 6 AH or similar small battery around to connect to the car with small alligator clip jumpers, but not this time. I used a full size battery.

Check out the distribution bus on the positive terminal connection. It was a struggle to displace it far enough to change out the battery.

View attachment 152196


View attachment 152197
Click to expand...

That’s a lot of crap to have hanging off a battery terminal!
 
Bob Noel said:
think of the carbon footprint of two billion miles (or even 200,000,000 miles, assuming the first digit is 1/10th of miles)
Click to expand...

Slip of the digit for sure! First (on the right) digit is tenths of a mile. Sorry, but as reliable as it was, I don’t think it would even make one billion miles!

-Skip
 
Skip Miller said:
Slip of the digit for sure! First (on the right) digit is tenths of a mile. Sorry, but as reliable as it was, I don’t think it would even make one billion miles!

-Skip
Click to expand...
Two hundred million miles is still pretty impressive. That's 8,000 times around the world.
 
Lindberg said:
Two hundred million miles is still pretty impressive. That's 8,000 times around the world.
Click to expand...

Very impressive, at an average speed of 45mph, that’s 507 years continuous driving!

EDIT: more like 504 years due to the extra day in leap years.
 
Lindberg said:
Two hundred million miles is still pretty impressive. That's 8,000 times around the world.
Click to expand...
8,000 times around the world??? I can't even do one. Darn carburetor always floods before I get to Port aux Basques. :cool:
 
Bill said:
Very impressive, at an average speed of 45mph, that’s 507 years continuous driving!

EDIT: more like 504 years due to the extra day in leap years.
Click to expand...
Not to nitpick, but you didn't account for tidal friction slowing the earth by roughly 82.67 sextillion Quectoweeks over 504 years. :cool:
 
3393RP said:
I changed the battery in my Cadillac XT-5 a couple of months ago. On newer vehicles, keeping the system powered during the change and preserving all of the learned computer stuff outweighs the fooling around to do that.
Click to expand...
Flash memory was invented in America, you'd think an American car would use that to store all the learned computer stuff rather than something that needs continuous electricity.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top