Too Simple To Figure Out Dept...!?!

MEXICOWANDERER wrote:
Comparing an automobile to a horse at the turn of last century is not relevant. Horses need hay and water 24/7. They need the services of a farrier and vet...

Exactly my point, the new fangled way is to just turn the key and go. As an extra added bonus you even get air conditioning instead of horse manure on your shoes.

Hey, if you want to be a dinosaur I don't have a problem with that.

If your trying to sell me on dinosaurs, I'll pass.

I understand this discussion completely.

Our 2002 sedan is in the shop, so they've provided a 2018 version of it to me as a loaner.

Boy .... to fully utilize all of it's "features" would (to me) be like flying an airliner. It has all kinds of frivolous gizmos to appeal to a certain esoteric group of folks, very few of which are really necessary for use of this loaner vehicle as a means of transportation.

The main thing that runs through my old-engineering-school mind is "good luck with all that stuff still working year after year if one should want to keep this vehicle for several years". But I guess that's not a concern with today's "almost disposable" automobile ownership mentality. :S

We have a new-to-us 10 year old Audi. What a pain in the rear it is to operate! No push buttons to change radio stations. Must switch system into radio mode and turn knob while looking at display screen. Or use voice recognition system that works, but is slow and somewhat difficult for set up the stations. The $5k GPS is horribly difficult to use. A Honda $2.5k GPS is much easier to use, and the $100 Garmin we have is the easiest of all. Trying to tune the radio while using the GPS is just as distracting as text messaging.

I think there should be a basic industry rule that says when "improving" a product it must be no more difficult to operate than what it's replacing.

One conspiracy theory is that the cars are intentionally being made harder to operate to soften us up into accepting self-driving cars.

Hey, after driving amongst the masses and observing what a lousy job they do of driving on average, self-driving cars can't come too soon. Maybe then something will be watching the road while the driver is messing with his/her cell phone.

I first saw this coming in 1993 when a word processing program cost three hundred dollars and ninety nine percent of it was horrendously complicated needless **** When WORD came along it was much faster on the same computer.

The thing is WARRANTY ISSUES cause car and RV manufacturers to up new unit prices by a bunch.

Would you like your new water heater to come with Alexa or outdated Bluetooth control? Did I hear the snap of ears perking up?

MEXICOWANDERER wrote:
With a lighter.

A lit stick (from a fire started by rubbing sticks or lightning ...) seems more appropriate.

Our Edge had a problem this spring. The computer that controls the rear hatch malfunctioned and would drain the battery in about 8 hours in addition to not allowing the hatch to open.
Why does at rear hatch on a car require a computer to operate it? Needlessly complex.
Ford replaced the computer, and the battery after enough complaining. But the cost of that had to get covered somehow. $.01 on every 2019 Ford I guess.

There's another nasty trend starting. I was reading some tech literature for a new Mercedes 7-speed automatic, the one used in the Sprinter with 4 cylinder diesel engine. The transmission computer is inside the tranny case, not a new development. What's new is that the transmission is VIN-locked to the vehicle. Not even the dealer can change it. This makes it impossible to swap in a used transmission and/or transmission computer. Must buy a new or reman transmission from Mercedes.

BB_TX wrote:
Yeah, like cars and trucks. In “the old days” if your car developed a miss you spent a few dollars and an hour changing the points and plugs. And you could sit on the fender with your feet inside the engine compartment while doing it.
Now you need a computerized diagnostic analyzer to quiz the vehicle computer for idas about what might be the problem and what might be the fix. And when you open the hood you might be able to see part of the actual engine.

Still new cars are better..
My 08 Silverado starts at -30 on first click without even using block heater.
And 100 $ code reader tells you exactly whats wrong if anything..
My biggest repair in all these years was 150$ air bag sensor..

My 1986 GMC started at -30F first click. The trick was to use DELCO glow plugs and No 1 diesel = to today's ULSD.

Engine management systems Engine control units are not "lazy living", can you differentiate? Nor are life saving airbags, CO detectors, backup cameras, or geopositioning devices.

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