The cars and bikes thread!

[93EXCivic]

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....

Blind spot monitoring is also a must since every new I am in seems to have a blind spot the size of Texas.

[93EXCivic]

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.

I mean there was a time in between then and now. IMO 90s were peak for cars. They were/are still reliable, all the comfort features you could need (A/C, radio), easy to work on, you could see out of them (unlike new cars).

[tribe125]

I mean there was a time in between then and now. IMO 90s were peak for cars. They were/are still reliable, all the comfort features you could need (A/C, radio), easy to work on, you could see out of them (unlike new cars).

True enough, although I’d extend the peak into the current century. Modern cars do make me feel that there’s an iPad between me and the car.

[Raza]

Being British I understand your fear of electronics, Raza has no excuse.

It's as simple as that. Anything mechanical can almost always be repaired. When electronics go, they go.

[Raza]

Some brands of cars don't seem to have issues that others do with electronics. Not that they are not as sophisticated. They just don't break as often. Come to your own conclusion as to why.

As long as I've had friends with BMWs I've had all the reasons I need not to own one. All I ever hear about is how they are broken. I think my die hard BMW friend is waining some with his current 5 series. I can't remember in the last year the last time I've seen it for more than a day or two in his driveway. Always a loner vehicle from the dealer. Even those have broken.

It's funny. my BMW has been just about the most reliable car I've ever owned. But, then again, it's very simple compared to their current cars. Doesn't even have iDrive.

[happyscrappyheropup]

It's as simple as that. Anything mechanical can almost always be repaired. When electronics go, they go.

I have a slightly different perspective as a DIY'er. I have fixed electronics in the past and will continue to wield my soldering iron to solve those problems.

Just this week I fixed the PCB on the remote for my daughter's car. Had to desolder broken components, soldered on new ones. $10 and about 15 minutes of worked saved $300+. Obviously not an internal engine sensor or something that kills the car, but I have solved those problems, too. Cam/crank sensors, wheel sensors, etc. There are few problems I can't fix myself. I even replaced capacitors on the main control board for my built in fridge at the house

There is usually a DIY solution, you need time, skill, and tools to solve them.

[mlcor]

There is usually a DIY solution, you need time, skill, and tools to solve them.

Two out of those three won’t do it, which rules me out.

I do agree that more modern cars than the ‘90’s models can be simple. My daughter’s 2011 Honda CR-V is very rudimentary—it has ABS and ESC, but everything else is basic. No touch screens, nav system, very basic. It’s been incredibly reliable and inexpensive to maintain and repair. I think that vintage was just about the end of the era, though, even for starter models.


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[Raza]

I have a slightly different perspective as a DIY'er. I have fixed electronics in the past and will continue to wield my soldering iron to solve those problems.

Just this week I fixed the PCB on the remote for my daughter's car. Had to desolder broken components, soldered on new ones. $10 and about 15 minutes of worked saved $300+. Obviously not an internal engine sensor or something that kills the car, but I have solved those problems, too. Cam/crank sensors, wheel sensors, etc. There are few problems I can't fix myself. I even replaced capacitors on the main control board for my built in fridge at the house

There is usually a DIY solution, you need time, skill, and tools to solve them.

I lack all three of those!

[happyscrappyheropup]

Not car, but DIY, I replaced the screen on my daughter's iPad earlier, too.

-- Wayne

[tribe125]

Not car, but DIY, I replaced the screen on my daughter's iPad earlier, too.

With guitar picks and a wash-basin plug.

You’re a handy bloke - I wish you lived next door.