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I remember being told as a kid by my dad that by the year 2000 we all would be driving flying cars. I’m glad he was wrong. These days it’s more of a gimmick then it is useful people have it figured that because of these drivers aids, that they don’t have to focus as much as they did before. So insurance rates go up because people are too stupid to sit thier phones down while driving. And even if they do they still have the info system to distract them. It’s a win -win for the insurance companies.
IIRC the Popular Mekanixx articles of the day promised flying cars by 1970 at the latest. Like self-driving cars, I guess. Just around the corner.
I might have liked the touchscreen stuff better when I was 12 except that the Commodore 128 was the latest greatest and I couldn't drive yet anyway.
Oh, and talking about obsolescence, just think how awful it would have been had that Commodore been installed in your dad's 85 Caprice. 3 years later and you probably wouldn't be able to turn on the A/C anymore.
Not saying that today's cars will go obsolete that quickly (they will if they're like our smartphones), but big plastic knobs and buttons don't need constant updates and screen replacements.
And yes, that 1980 car, strictly from a driving standpoint, will afford you the same basic gas-brake-steer experience of a modern car. Internally it will go about it differently but you wouldn't notice it much... unless you flood out the carburetor.
It doesn’t but I do love my very much attention demanding manual transmission (of course) rough around the edges “analog” 18 y.o. WRX wagon with barely more than anti-lock brakes as its technology. You won’t see me texting in that car while driving. I’m blissfully rowing the gears trying to keep it in that sweet spot of turbo torque whenever a safe spot on the road or highway on ramp calls for some fun thrust- hopefully on a tight curve.
Of course the days of carburetor float adjustments and ignition timing are thankfully long gone - but it’s still nice to know you are in complete control of your car.
Take a survey on household appliances and see how many want to go back to the older ones.
I bought a Speed Queen washer specifically because it was old style. No computer.
I'm looking for a 60s or older stove to replace my 1990s stove. Just gas. I don't need or want to plug it in.
My dishwasher is from 2005 or so, and it drives me crazy because it doesn't have a dial where I can see where it is in the cycle. Some days it runs for 45 minutes, some days it's 90. The other day I left the house at the 90 minute mark and if I could have seen at a glance that it only had a few minutes left, I would have opened it. But since I couldn't, I had to leave it running and then then it sits all day with lights on telling me it's done.
I have no need for touch screens or other distracting nonsense in my cars or appliances, thank you very much.
Years ago I drove my cousin's Ford van, with a "glass dash"; no gauges, just flickering computer controlled lights.
even the speedometer and odometer were computer controlled.
I told her "Some day, something in there is going to die, and your car will be useless because there are no parts, and nobody locally knows how to repair the module!" I don't think she believed me, but she got rid of the vehicle before it was 10 years old.
a few years ago, our car had the right front turn signal quit. Simple, right, just replace the bulb. Nope, nothing wrong with the bulb (by the way, the design engineer made it a half hour job to replace the bulb). So, off to the dealer it went. After two days of digging around, the technician determined it was a computer malfunction. No, he could not repair it, had to replace it. A week later (waiting for the part), and $800, it was back on the road. OBD did not give any indication of computer problem.
Two years ago, same car, check engine light. "bad cam position sensor". Inexpensive part, easy to replace, except for having to remove the air cleaner box and the battery to get at it.
Last year, check engine light again. One shop replaced a couple of transmission sensors. Didn't work. Took it to another shop, they determined bad computer. No new parts available, have to get a refurbished unit. Car has an odd-ball computer! Very difficult to find one. Found one, ordered it, when it arrived, no good. did that FOUR TIMES! the fifth computer worked. Time in shop: four months. Cost: $1800!
If the computer goes bad again, sadly the car will wind up in a salvage yard. I hate to think of that, it is a great little car, and we really enjoy it. It runs fine when the computer will allow it.
That was when I bought the 1966 Chevelle.
My Jeep will not start when it is very cold outside. Seems to be over-fueling. Computer problem? I don't know. I will do a tune-up (replace the spark plugs) when the weather moderates, and I will install a block heater before next winter, and replace the oil pump drive just to be on the safe side (known problem, could destroy the camshaft, Jeep has 189K on it). Other than that, it will be "wait and see".
Yeah, computerized vehicles were a great idea, but I have an intense dislike for the fact that nobody thought to make the computers easily REPAIRABLE! Seems to me the chips, transistors, capacitors, and resistors are common parts, readily available from any electronics supply house. The programming should be readily available, too.
If those who work on vehicles wish to be called "technicians" instead of the old "mechanics", they should be qualified for the term! I am a retired "mechanic", it says so on my IAM&AW union card and on my A&P license.
I bought a Speed Queen washer specifically because it was old style. No computer.
I think that's an excellent example.
As I remember, the Speed Queen washing machines ran into new gubmint regulations in 2018 and shipped a redesigned washing machine that appears to be less reliable than the bulletproof 2017 and before model.
Not everything that's run by computers is better. I'll offer portable radios as another example. Digital ones use far more power and none of the new ones, outside of the high end, work as well as something like a GE Superadio.
As someone who has designed quite a few high end embedded systems, I'm no Luddite. But I can see a couple of factors that push back against quality increases (or staying the same) in modern 'intelligent' goods.
One is the super strong push for cost reduction that has ramped up in the last few decades. I'd love to take apart a brand new and a Hobart-era Kitchenaid mixer and compare them. Power tools are much less robust than they used to be and use microcontrollers to throttle them back.
Another is government regulations that require manufacturers to make arcane changes to get the last bit of efficiency out of a device. Improvements on the margin are hard. Sometimes you cheat (VW diesel, the ability of flat screens to detect a test and to go into an 'energy star' mode).
One more is unneeded complexity. Throw a microcontroller into home HVAC controller and the next thing you know the programmers throw 100 features into the thing, all gotten to via a tiny screen and a couple of buttons.
Yeah, computerized vehicles were a great idea, but I have an intense dislike for the fact that nobody thought to make the computers easily REPAIRABLE! Seems to me the chips, transistors, capacitors, and resistors are common parts, readily available from any electronics supply house. The programming should be readily available, too.
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I doubt that a lot of the broken parts are repairable by anyone without a microscope, lots of specialized knowledge, and some sort of rework machine.
What I wish happened was more standardization. If the car business had just run down the pathway of PCs, at least you could R&R more readily available parts. Having to use junkyards for control board replacement will be the way of the future I'm afraid.
Another issue is the lack of modularity. As an automotive designer, it has to be tempting to have the radio talk to the engine control system talk to the door locks.
At least with an old Chevelle, you can retrofit a standalone fuel injection unit and an electronic ignition. About the only real fault with this approach is the lack of safety.
Get an obd2 plug in diagnostic reader and your 90% there
Quote:
Originally Posted by don1945
I am old school, most of my cars are carbureted and have no computers. However, I recently finished up one for myself that has fuel injection and a computer, and I have to admit that it starts instantly and has no throttle lag. When something goes wrong, I am not sure how I will do diagnosing the problem, but we will see if and when that happens.
Get an obd2 plug in diagnostic reader and your 90% there. That's if your car has a port that will accept it. If the car is 1996 or newer probably has one. Being old school get a self contained obd2 reader on eBay or amazon for $10. They also have obd2 software and physical adapters for your laptop which are just as cheap but why shuffle around the laptop when you don't have to. The a cheap hand held obd2 always stays in my trunk and has bailed me out thousands of miles from home. Best $10 bucks you will ever spend.
If people would pay attention to the road and stay off the phone I highly doubt car manufacturers would be putting DRIVERS aid in thier cars. It’s a gimmick to some extent insurance companies have done thier research based on accidents thier clients have. So now automakers are realizing that they can make money off people, who feel the need to look at thier cellphones while they are driving. The info systems are the same thing having apple car play, etc is still a dangerous distraction.
l wasn’t picky on you as a whole. As far as your having a flat tire I hope your some where you have a signal. No, you don’t have to know how to drive a manual gearbox. Not everyone can, odds are it’s too much for them multitasking and all. Yes, bad drivers are everywhere can’t help that but playing on your phone while driving.
I have no sympathy for you when you get into an accident either. You or anyone else should of never got behind the wheel of a car. Why? Because your an idiot for doing so.
You cannot make everybody pay attention to driving. People are going to be staring at their phone and there’s nothing you can do about it. It’s in your best interest that they have a driving aid that keeps them from accidentally killing you. It doesn’t matter how good of a driver you are if nobody else is paying attention to driving.
Everybody’s the best at everything on the internet, but don’t pretend you pay 100% attention 100% of the time.
You are clearly not a car guy, you are an appliance car user, strictly A to B. Pitiful, in a way, exactly like a wino who drinks Mad Dog because it is "...cheaper, and gets you just as drunk."
I won't try to explain the pleasures of being competent as a driver and a mechanic, to those who understand, no explanation is necessary, to those who don't, none is possible.
Being able to parallel park, change a tire, and work a stick shift doesn’t make you a good driver nor are required to be an enthusiast.
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Get an obd2 plug in diagnostic reader and your 90% there
