Man, that Pioneer amp looks just like the one I owneed in the late '70s. Best sounding stereo I ever had. That, along with an AR XB turntable, and a brand new disc. Nothing sounded finer. It was stolen. I never replaced it.
The only thing I truly miss about old cars was a much younger me and my wife sitting in the front seat. Sitting in an old car now, Iâm just an old guy with a bad case of nostalgia. Maybe vent windows were cool, but really, a modern car that goes 150,000 to 200,000 miles and starts every time, runs economically and fast? Way better.
I'm also not a fan of touch screens and button overload. My Lincoln has EATC and it's irritating, and a bit dangerous, to have to eyeball the lower console to change the mode function or raise/lower the cabin temperature as needed.
My 4runner doesnât have touch screen it does have electric switches for the heating and AC system. And itâs so much more complicated then the older systems. To turn the AC on I have to press three buttons just to get AC on. The older slide controls like in my GMC or 90 Pathfinder were much easier to use. Didnât have to take my eyes off the road. I did a feature analysis of the new systems compared to the older ones. The ONLY feature the new systems have over the older styles is I can have the AC or Heat blowing out at my feet and windshieldâŠTHATâS IT. They made the system much more complicatedâŠyet they only added one small feature that I never use.
I miss cars with no computers and no PS (especially no electric PS), no PB, no PW, no Auto Trans, no Air, no PMâs, no TC, no ABS, no Bluetooth, no MP3, no USB or nothing by Microsoft, etc. I fix airplanes for a living so I know how to check a tire for preassure (<<< thatâs the English spelling of pressures), so I donât need TPMS either. Oh and by the way, âObjects in mirror are closer than they appearâ is incorrect (stupid?) The objects in the mirror are essentially always the same distance from you, ie. the distance between your eye and the mirror. If they really cared or really meant it, it should say, âObjects are closer than they appear in mirror,â but I digress. In a nutshell, Iâm tired of driving computers. Iâd like to drive a car now. The '66 Valiant may not have been the best car in the world, but it was the best car I ever owned and a '58 MG Magnette was the second best. Anybody got a '57 to '68 anything with no power anything on it? Iâm in the market.
Iâll take a vehicle with a computer any day. In fact, Iâm a little miffed that Honda added fuel injection to its Shadow motorcycles after I bought mine in 2005. However, even my Shadow has an electronic ignition module, which is probably a computer of some kind. The added convenience of not having to use a choke, the added fuel economy that comes with fuel injection, and the reliability of never needing to adjust a carburetor make modern technology a win/win scenario.
I was a little disappointed I couldnât find a new car that I could buy without power steering back in 1999, but only because I could use a little extra upper body exercise when Iâm driving. At the time, I wanted to avoid costly PS repairs too, but after 14 years and 247,000 miles, I have had no PS issues to worry about except changing the fluid every couple years. I still wish I could find an econobox or a small pickup truck available without power steering.
Iâm with Whitey - Iâll take the technology any day. But as with my HVAC controls - more thought should have been put into it. I knew people who complained when electronic ignition became standard. Weâd have to have double the number of mechanics right now just to keep up with replacing the points and condensers in the millions and millions of cars on the road. When was the last time someone had ignition problems?? I havenât had one since I owned a car with pointsâŠand that was 30+ years ago.
I wouldnât know where to begin if the ignition failed on my present vehicles. However, when I had an ignition failure on my 1947 Pontiac due to a shorted condenser, I âborrowedâ the condenser on the generator to suppress brush noise interference on the radio and was able to rig it up outside the distributor. I then scraped the points with my pocket knife and set the point gap with a thin dime in my pocket. I was back on the road in less than 10 minutes.
In subzero weather, I would like to have a Stewart-Warner Southwind gasoline heaterâthere was instant heat. The âinterval wipersâ of the old cars were much less complicated. These wipers were vacuum operated and only swiped across the windshield only during the interval when the driver released the accelerator. The school bus I rode to school had vacuum wipers. It was a jerky ride to school during a downpourâthe driver would have to keep releasing the accelerator to make the wipers move. One feature that old vehicles had that would increase the vacuum was the hand choke. It could be pulled out slightly and the vacuum would increase to help the windshield wipers. It was also useful if the engine was overheating after climbing a steep slope. On the downgrade, the driver could yank out the choke and the raw gasoline hitting the pistons would help cool down the engine.
I also remember that vehicles werenât as fussy about what kind of spark plug could be used. A Champion J-8 interchanged with the AC 44 in the 1954 Buick my parents owned, it was the spark plug used in their 1952 Dodge and the 2 stroke LawnBoy engine and the 4 stroke Lauson engine on the rototiller.
Itâs funny somebody should mention ignition reliability in a modern vehicle. I mowed my neighborâs lawn yesterday, and noticed he finally got his intermittant non-start fixed on his Ranger. It turned out to be the crank position sensor.
I can admit my limitations, and Iâm pretty much a âbeyond here there be monstersâ kinda guy W/R/T slilcon. I guess I have no problems with electronics, per-se, except that parts are usually proprietary, and the design philosophy in the electronics industry isnât characterized by decades-long durability of components.
So, if a chain is only as strong as its weakest link, a modern car us only as durable as its silicon??
The worst would be electronics pre-OBDII, no/few/inconsistent diagnostics. Now with OBDII I have at least a starting point to figure out the problem.
I wouldn't know where to begin if the ignition failed on my present vehicles.
Ignition systems with points and condenser were far far far easier to diagnose then todayâs systems. But as easy they were to fixâŠthey were just as likely to fail or require maintenance. The MOST I ever got out of a set of points was 50k milesâŠAnd Iâve NEVER had a modern electronic ignition system fail.
@meanjoe75fan: âSo, if a chain is only as strong as its weakest link, a modern car us only as durable as its silicon??â
Iâm pretty sure the silicon isnât the weakest link. I have never experienced a computer failure. I think one of the many moving parts would fit the definition of âweakest linkâ since theyâre far more likely to fail than the computer.
Since electronics have no moving partsâŠthey are magnitudes more reliable then the rest of the car. Sure there may be problemsâŠbut nothing close to the rest of the car.
With a computerâŠThe equipment we build and sellâŠthe weakest link is by far the hard-drives (the only moving parts in the system). Weâre now switching over to SSDâs because the 10 year cost will be significantly cheaper.
Point being, when the silicon fails, youâve got a proprietary part that can be discontinued at manufactrerâs exclusive discretion. Lot more likely silicon failure means âgame overâ than mechanical failure.
The newer cars may be more efficient, last longer, easier to drive and more comfortable but they are missing the one thing the 40âs, 50,s and 60âs cars had. SOULâHEART or what ever you want to call it. Your car was a part of you. There was a difference between a Ford, a Chevy and a Plymouth. The engine, even the starter sounded different. Now they are just a way to get from point A to point B. They are just transportation. New cars may be better on all points BUT 30 years who will remember with maybe a tear in their eye their 08 chevy or 12 ford.
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Point being, when the silicon fails, you've got a proprietary part that can be discontinued at manufactrer's exclusive discretion. Lot more likely silicon failure means "game over" than mechanical failure.
The ONLY reason they are discontinued is because the technology has changed and moved on. Itâs stupid to keep manufacturing old technology. The computer field has changed more in 10 years then the auto industry has changed in 100 years.
If you feel todayâs cars have no soul, no heart, and are just a way to get from point A to point B, Iâm not sure itâs all about the cars.
It might sound crazy to you, but I am quite fond of my 1998 Civic. If I wanted to add more personality to it, I could do a custom paint job, add aftermarket upgrades both to the body and under the hood, etc. Although itâs true to say it doesnât have the same personality as an antique, it has a personality; a different personality.
No offense intended, but I think your problem is that you suffer from a lack of imagination. http://static-cl1.vanilladev.com/cartalk.vanillaforums.com/uploads/FileUpload/3548e0ba8afae8d093504139110fd28f_1085402.mp4
âThe ONLY reason they are discontinued is because the technology has changed and moved on. Itâs stupid to keep manufacturing old technology. The computer field has changed more in 10 years then the auto industry has changed in 100 years.â
Agreed. Go to your local parts supplier and ask for a fuel pump for a 64 Oldsmobile 394. No one will have one. Theyâre just not needed anymore. Itâs supply and demand. All parts, electronic and mechanical, will fail eventually and the market will sort out whatâs in demand and what isnât.
@MikeInNH: Thanks for making my point: the electronic industry produces disposable goods, by definition, and any vehicle that relies upon electronics as a necessary part is, by definition, semi-disposable.
Iâm afraid I fail to share your belief in the rock-solid reliability of electronics, when the electronics in question are subject to vibration, temperature extremes, water and road salt.
Finally, Iâll bet I could cobble together a work-around to an. unavailable fuel pump, on a carbâd car. I seroiusly doubt I could stock up on capacitors, semiconductors, etc, and fab a PCM.
Thanks for making my point: the electronic industry produces disposable goods
Their disposable in the sense of usefulnessâŠNOT because they wear out quickly. Thereâs a difference.
Unfortunately thatâs nature of the beast.
I'm afraid I fail to share your belief in the rock-solid reliability of electronics, when the electronics in question are subject to vibration, temperature extremes, water and road salt.
You can waterproof electronicsâŠand make them impervious to vibrations. It depends on what level of effort you want to put into it. But electronics donât wear out from just useâŠwhere mechanical devices WILL. Thereâs a computer I know of that has a military application for the Air-Force. Itâs been running continuously for over 30 years. Thatâs 24/7 365 days a yearâŠNEVER EVER has been down. That would be equivalent of a car with about 50 million miles on it without ever needing service.
I remember an incident in 1970 when I was a graduate student. I was turning in a job at the computer center when our jobs were submitted on punch cards. There were two computers, a CDC 3400/3600 and a CDC 6600. The CDC 3400/3600 was being phased out. At any rate, smoke was rolling out of the consoles for both machines. I was worried if my job would be run, but when I came back from a class an hour later, the two engineers were just sitting at the consoles. When I asked how long it would be before the computers would be back in service, one replied, âWe are ready to go right now. We are just waiting for an electrician from the physical plant to come and replace the fuse in the air conditioning compressor. The problem was that when the air conditioning went off, a couple of circuit boards burned out before the operator could shut down the systemsâ. Later that year, the CDC 6600 was down for the better part of a week. It seems that the storage drum (the device used for storing data before disk drives became popular) was down. An employee had noticed an oil puddle on the floor and cleaned it up without thinking about where it came from. The bearing seal on the drum had failed, causing the oil that lubricated the bearing to leak out. The bearing then froze on the shaft of the drum. The times I remember the computer being down when I was a student were due to mechanical problems.