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I can't believe the amount of people in here who "have" to have heated seats in their car. I live in the Midwest, plenty of cold during the winter, never felt the need to have heated seats. I will try my best to get a vehicle that has cloth seats though, I personally hate the leather, or vinyl seats.
I used to think that way until I had a car with heated seats and steering wheel. Made the commute so much nicer. Now every new car I get, heated seats are a requirement. I'm even thinking of retrofitting seat heaters into my '63 Comet as it's easy to do.
Wish I had had them in my 06 Mustang GT convertible, as it would make the chilly morning drives or cooler evening top down drives just that much nicer.
I used to think that way until I had a car with heated seats and steering wheel. Made the commute so much nicer. Now every new car I get, heated seats are a requirement. I'm even thinking of retrofitting seat heaters into my '63 Comet as it's easy to do.
Wish I had had them in my 06 Mustang GT convertible, as it would make the chilly morning drives or cooler evening top down drives just that much nicer.
Yep, you really don't think you need it until you taste it.
Magnum Mike,
I seriously doubt you were driving roaring V-8s with a 4 barrel to under 6 second times in the seventies. Shirley Muldowney broke the 6 second barrier for women in 1975, IN A TOP FUEL DRAGSTER. Six second times are possible these days, but it would be in a very on the edge of impossible, street driven car. Did you have one of those, if you floored it, "you couldn't grab a $100 bill off the dash cars" ?
When I went to High School I was a so so student and liked cars so I took a lot of shop classes. My Public HS was ranked in in the top ten nationally when I graduated for academics. But even then tons of shop classes.
I took Blueprint Reading, Small Engine Repair (one year), Auto Mechanics (one year) Advanced Auto Mechanics (one year) and took electives that were 1/2 year or a semester in wood working, welding, metal working, ceramics, chefs in the kitchen, drivers Ed.
I could fix a car, lawnmower, cook a meal, work a lathe, weld, read a blue print, drive a car all learned during HS. Most courses were holdovers from the 1950s when men worked blue collar jobs and as we entered the 80s courses faded away and by 90s very very few schools offered it. I have neighbors kids and even nephews quite honestly not the sharpest tools in shed and HS is geared 100% for academics and to get kids college ready. Quite frankly not all are college material.
In turns, race tracks, collecter cars, drag strips the whole hobby thing is dying off. Last time I took a car I owned to a classic meet and greet was a guy next to me who was a middle aged nerdy dentist showing off his fully restored car he just bought a few weeks earlier, I was ready to puke. WTF folks at car shows who know nothing about cars.
I am kinda an odd ball as I did go on to college and did go on to grad school and became a true white collar boss. None of the folks I work under the age of 45 has a clue how a car works. A few rare ones but not like in my day when you could actually have a full blown conversation on a car problem with the guys about cars. Today Fantasy Football and Video games are what 30 year old boys talk about
Not a day goes by without someone at work asking me about a car problem or home repair... these are smart guys/gals... nurses, doctors, o.r. techs.
Sadly, the year I started High School was the year after they got rid of the last of the shop classes...
I did make up for it taking my fill at the community college... learned a lot.
All of the old guys are dying off around here that restored cars... one of the biggest problems is it is just about impossible for an average Joe to buy paint anymore... most live in HOAs that don't take kindly to any type of auto repairs and the list goes on.
My 2002 325iT nearly left me stranded on the way home from work... dash lit up like a Christmas Tree... called the Dealer and learned I was most likely looking at a replacement alternator that would cost $900 and it would take 5 days before they could work on it!!!
Fixed the alternator for $40 in parts and 3 hours cautious labor and back on the road...
One of the Docs I work with just paid $1800 to have the water pump and thermostat changed on his...
I guess there is a price to pay when you can't do your own work.
When I went to High School I was a so so student and liked cars so I took a lot of shop classes. My Public HS was ranked in in the top ten nationally when I graduated for academics. But even then tons of shop classes.
I took Blueprint Reading, Small Engine Repair (one year), Auto Mechanics (one year) Advanced Auto Mechanics (one year) and took electives that were 1/2 year or a semester in wood working, welding, metal working, ceramics, chefs in the kitchen, drivers Ed.
I could fix a car, lawnmower, cook a meal, work a lathe, weld, read a blue print, drive a car all learned during HS. Most courses were holdovers from the 1950s when men worked blue collar jobs and as we entered the 80s courses faded away and by 90s very very few schools offered it. I have neighbors kids and even nephews quite honestly not the sharpest tools in shed and HS is geared 100% for academics and to get kids college ready. Quite frankly not all are college material.
In turns, race tracks, collecter cars, drag strips the whole hobby thing is dying off. Last time I took a car I owned to a classic meet and greet was a guy next to me who was a middle aged nerdy dentist showing off his fully restored car he just bought a few weeks earlier, I was ready to puke. WTF folks at car shows who know nothing about cars.
I am kinda an odd ball as I did go on to college and did go on to grad school and became a true white collar boss. None of the folks I work under the age of 45 has a clue how a car works. A few rare ones but not like in my day when you could actually have a full blown conversation on a car problem with the guys about cars. Today Fantasy Football and Video games are what 30 year old boys talk about
I did the whole shop/welding/wood working thing in middle and high school, in addition my first car was one that I assisted in building (new engine, trans, front suspension).
I also ended up in the white collar of white collar positions, finance industry.
But now days I feel, you cannot be "mechanic Joe" slinging a wrench, you have to have some good knowledge and basically college level skills to do a lot of these blue collar positions. I have even watched some parts of different industries, like construction and boilers, go much more high tech, and seen those who did not keep up (or were not intelligent enough to keep up) get left in the dust though they technically had "the skills" to do the job.
I admit I am not into classic cars... a lot of people say classic items, especially houses, are 'built better' .. but from having visited many different properties while looking for a home I prefer new, energy efficient homes.... everything built to modern codes with good insulation and the like. Old houses might have thicker wood but modern construction techniques are much more solid and I call BS on people who say these homes won't be standing in 50-75 years because they are not built with old growth hardwood.
For me I enjoy car driving but it's not because I can go from 0-80 in 6 seconds.. I don't care about acceleration or going 100+ mph.. that just gets a person a ticket so what's the point...everyone on the interstate has a smartphone... as long as the vehicle I drive can go 80 with the cruise on without struggling and is reliable and easy to maintain without taking to a mechanic I'm happy. Modern technology ftw.
There are certain people who care a lot about what everyone else thinks and likewise are always looking at others and sizing them up.. I am the opposite and do not care. I suppose this has something to do with it. I know what I want and do it the way I want.... others can pound sand. Plus it costs money to own lots of different vehicles if you are not savvy at buying at auctions, detailing, and reselling like a guy I know is... with jobs paying inflation adjusted poor wages these days, and me myself being cheap in general.. just not gonna spend thousands to have an extra vehicle to insure... I have nothing against those who like classic cars. Many know how to do it and can cycle through many vehicles often profiting on the resale.
Where does it costs thousands to insure extra vehicles... I have 24 on my collector policy and it's $1200 for the year... or about $50 each.
All the club members have similar policies... the only provision is the vehicle can't be used for daily transportation and my policy also requires substantially unmodified... so my Model T can't have a 400 hp V-8 motor.
Not everything in a modern car is high tech... all have oil that needs to be changed... can't believe the number of people that say a special mechanic is needed for everything... disc pads are another very simple maintenance items almost across the board... much easier than the old brake shoes.
As for homes... not everything new is better.
I am a State Certified Arbitrator and hear auto and construction cases... anyone know what a fiasco Aluminum Residential Wire is or composite roof and siding that turns to mush or chinese drywall or windows that fog between the glass...
Unless you own a garage full of tools, it is hard to keep an old car on the road. You had better be able to do at least minimal fixing yourself. Antique car mechanics are not easy to find.
That and those "car auctions"... every person thinks they have pieces of junk that are worth the same $$$$ as those they see on the TV auctions. yeah right. with our old car insurance, they have to be in a garage and not outdoors under a tarp. who has more than a 2-car garage these days?
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Many know how to do it and can cycle through many vehicles often profiting on the resale.
