The cars and bikes thread!

[Raza]

Even admitting I don’t know much about hacking, I still don’t like the idea of opening my car with a phone. Even though I know I can with mine.


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Yeah, no ****ing way do I want my phone in control of my car. I already do too much with my phone. Sticking a key in the ignition and turning was never that hard.

[happyscrappyheropup]

I did read that, but I also don't buy it. Mechanically, that may be the case, but when it comes to technology, cars are more prone to electric and electronic problems now more than ever before.

This, for example, is exactly what happened to my mother's car. Mechanically, it was in perfect condition. Something like 40,000 miles in 7 years and it felt brand new. But the COMAND system was acting up, the backup camera stopped working, the navigation stopped working, and mere diagnosis of the issue would have cost thousands. But it was mechanically sound.

My Audi is another example. Mechanically, the car had no issues. However, a sensor failure that would cost over 2/3rds the market value to replace was the vehicle's doom. I ****ing miss that car so much, I want to buy another one. Maybe the last year of the model run and with a manual instead.

Cars are more reliable and last longer than ever before - electronics, mechanical bits, everything. Your opinion is biased towards your recent bad experience, which is understandable. However, your comment about manufacturers treating cars as disposable leasemobiles is incorrect based on the data/articles I've read over the last 20+ years.

I've owned cars from the following years over the last 32 years of driving - 1969, 1972 (2), 1977, 1978, 1981, 1990, 1993, 1994, 1996 (2), 1998, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2016, 2017. My experience mirrors what the data shows. Cars are built better and are more reliable than ever.


EDIT - check out Motor Week Retro Reviews on Youtube, Raza. All the reviews from their past shows are online, it's fun to watch how terrible cars were

[litlmn]

I think a certain amount of tech is a good thing as long as it is in balance. For example I don't need to open my car with my phone, but being able to remote start it is almost a must have here in the summer. Being able to cool the car down while it is over 100 degrees before I get in....priceless. And apple car play is a great feature. Blind spot monitoring is almost a must have especially the way people drive around here.

Lane keeping assist I can do without, 360 camera I don't need, 5 different driving modes is a bit of overkill. Just give me econ and sport if they provide a truly variable experience. And don't get me started with how annoying the engine auto-shutoff feature is....

[happyscrappyheropup]

I think a certain amount of tech is a good thing as long as it is in balance. For example I don't need to open my car with my phone, but being able to remote start it is almost a must have here in the summer. Being able to cool the car down while it is over 100 degrees before I get in....priceless. And apple car play is a great feature. Blind spot monitoring is almost a must have especially the way people drive around here.

Lane keeping assist I can do without, 360 camera I don't need, 5 different driving modes is a bit of overkill. Just give me econ and sport if they provide a truly variable experience. And don't get me started with how annoying the engine auto-shutoff feature is....

I appreciate the 3 drive modes on my ZL1 (tour, sport, track), but wish there was a programmable button like on my M cars.

[mlcor]

Personally, I like all the new nanny safety features...so long as they’re on other people’s cars. I feel better on the highway knowing they might alert some idiot who’s drifting into my lane because they’re texting rather than watching the road...


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[93EXCivic]

This is why I still haven't owned a car made in this millennium.

[geoffbot]

Personally, I like all the new nanny safety features...so long as they’re on other people’s cars. I feel better on the highway knowing they might alert some idiot who’s drifting into my lane because they’re texting rather than watching the road...


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I don't mind safety tech, though I feel that rumble seats and auto ac when they car notices the driver's head slanted is just a bit weird.

Cars are more reliable and last longer than ever before - electronics, mechanical bits, everything. Your opinion is biased towards your recent bad experience, which is understandable.

I don't do anecdotal really myself... However there are simply way more things to go wrong than ever before which is just a fact. Whether it's less likely to fail than a previous generation lane control system is irrelevant, cos I currently don't have one, so it can't fail.

[tribe125]

Ah, those gloriously simple cars of the past - they were dreadful.

You carried a can of oil, jump-start cables, jacks and foot pumps, rags to dry out distributor caps, a lighter to clean plugs, and sometimes you took care to park on a hill. And not just because your car was a bit of a banger. You couldn’t leave your car unused for a few weeks and expect it to start, especially if there had been rain.

Just about every day you’d hear an engine turning over ever more slowly as someone tried to start it before the battery expired. You’d sit there thinking, “Nearly, nearly - now give it a rest before one final go”. People pushing cars was a common sight, the pushers tumbling forward as the engine fired and the car jerked away. If two or three friends were planning a longish journey, there’d be a conversation about whose car was most likely to make it. In the winter, cars were almost permanently misted up, drivers leaning forward to clear the windscreen as they drove.

Performance was frequently abysmal. Hills were an obstacle, braking was assisted by changing down because brakes alone couldn’t do it without wearing out. Grippy cornering was the preserve of sports cars. Enthusiastic driving meant changing clutches like tyres. Exhausts and tyres didn’t last five minutes. Engines needed ‘de-cokes’.

If a car was more than two years old, it had rust. If it had done more than 40,000 miles, it was time to buy a workshop manual.

Those were the days.

[happyscrappyheropup]

Ah, those gloriously simple cars of the past - they were dreadful.

You carried a can of oil, jump-start cables, jacks and foot pumps, rags to dry out distributor caps, a lighter to clean plugs, and sometimes you took care to park on a hill. And not just because your car was a bit of a banger. You couldn’t leave your car unused for a few weeks and expect it to start, especially if there had been rain.

Just about every day you’d hear an engine turning over ever more slowly as someone tried to start it before the battery expired. You’d sit there thinking, “Nearly, nearly - now give it a rest before one final go”. People pushing cars was a common sight, the pushers tumbling forward as the engine fired and the car jerked away. If two or three friends were planning a longish journey, there’d be a conversation about whose car was most likely to make it. In the winter, cars were almost permanently misted up, drivers leaning forward to clear the windscreen as they drove.

Performance was frequently abysmal. Hills were an obstacle, braking was assisted by changing down because brakes alone couldn’t do it without wearing out. Grippy cornering was the preserve of sports cars. Enthusiastic driving meant changing clutches like tyres. Exhausts and tyres didn’t last five minutes. Engines needed ‘de-cokes’.

If a car was more than two years old, it had rust. If it had done more than 40,000 miles, it was time to buy a workshop manual.

Those were the days.

For some of us, that was this morning (although I do have a heated garage, so no true cold starts).

[Raza]

Like I said, mechanically, cars are more reliable than ever before.


But electronics are electronics and that can't be circumnavigated.