Modern cars are way too complicated.

[John Smith]

I had a car with a floor button that told the wipers to make one sweep. We rented a modern car for our trip to Fla. a few years ago. It was much too complex for me.

[Gerarddm]

My late 2017 Audi A6 Avant Quattro wagon had a plethora of tech, of which I used maybe half. Similar for my Fiat 124 Spider, but the percentage might even be less.

[hawkeye54]

A bunch of years ago ( late 1980's / early 1990's ), I was at a dentist appointment - A young lady came back into the office, saying her BMW would not start. I offered to see if I could help to start it ( as part of my job, I always carried a bunch of tools and meters ) . Nothing seemed to be wrong with her car, except the engine oil level was perhaps a bit low. I happened to have a quart of oil in the trunk, so added it, and her car started right up ! ! ( perhaps had a low-oil-level sensor [?] )

[Dan McCosh]

I still remember VW Beetle owners bragging about how simple it was to R&R the engine. Then I tried to remember the last time I had to R&R an engine.

[Jim Bow]

I recall my sister-by_another-mother had an early 80s Toyota Corolla with automatic seatbelts. The shoulder belt would run along a track above the door. You still had to buckle the lap belt however. What a FUBAR.

[Bob Adams]

Do they still make Lucas electrical harness replacement smoke? You’ll need some…

Sure thing:
smoke.jpg

[Hugh MacD]

Sure thing:
smoke.jpg

I think I still have one on the shelf Lucas was the inventor of the first three-way switch: Dim, Flicker and Smoke.

[Breakaway]

My gripe with newer cars--this feature goes back a while, now--is how doors are automatically locked by default.

For example, I get out of my vehicle, and go to the rear door to retrieve the bags of groceries and that door is locked. I did not lock it, the car did. I have to re-open the ( unlocked ) driver door, push the button, then go back to the now unlocked door. WTF?

If I want the door locked, I will lock it. The maker could at least incorporate an over-ride, so I can choose to do so.

Kevin

[ron ll]

Our Audi unlocks if one of us walks past it with a key in our pocket. That leaves it unlocked on the street without our knowledge.

[Bob Adams]

I doubt anybody wants to go back to carbs and ignition points for their daily driver but are today's vehicles overdone? Absolutely. Just because you can do something doesn't mean you should. Some of it does make some sense. The body control computer in the wife's Trailblazer for example. At first glance it s overkill until you look at my 97 Thunderbird. Under the passenger door sill there is a wire bundle nearly 2 1/2 inches thick. On the wife's vehicle, that is reduced to a couple wires and a can bus cable despite her truck having many more accessories.

[Priscilla]

Have to talk to my car to open the glovebox.

[Garret]

Our Audi unlocks if one of us walks past it with a key in our pocket. That leaves it unlocked on the street without our knowledge.

That must be a newer audi feature. Both our 10 & 14 require a button push. I bet the dealer can turn that off.

You can do it yourself:

https://www.audibrookline.com/audi-advanced-key.htm

How do I adjust my Audi Advanced Key settings?

While the settings in each Audi model can be a little different, in general, you can access your Advanced Key settings with the Car menu on your dashboard. Then explore “car systems,” “vehicle settings” and “central locking” to gain access to Audi Advanced Key functionality. For example, you can choose whether your Advanced Key fob will automatically unlock all doors or just the driver’s door.

[Dave Hadfield]

This thread reflects the quarrel I had with the Airbus design philosophy. In my experience, I've found that sometimes it's easier to control a system directly, yourself, than to get a computer to do it for you.

I drive a 2013 F-150. My wife has a 2016 Lincoln SUV. It has way too many gizmos, many of which I've ignored and never even bothered to find out about. The truck is about right -- although the door auto-lock feature is annoying.

[Andrew2]

Apart from not needing most of the gizmos, they require specialized knowledge and kit to fix. This gets very expensive when the guarantee runs out. Hence how some cars look very cheap after some years. Jags and BMW...
Local friend wanted to buy a used car in UK to bring here. Looking at exactly the ones that would give the most trouble because of electronic hassles, based on price.
I told him to go for far east products, so his £2.5 K Hyundai SUV is going strong after several years.
I would not go near a L-R product. Several peeps I know have been stranded when some small electronic part has quit. It may not be important, but the whole system goes on strike in sympathy.

[Andrew2]

Ah yes, door locking... Ex neighbour, now in London, was coming out to stay for a few days, but his VW Golf kept on flattening it's battery. After some head scratching and a new battery, it was the central locking, expensive new bits. The delay meant his test had run out (car is French reg, so test is here) so his insurance is technically invalid...
It still failed on emissions, but they give you two months to fix any prob that is not dangerous, so the duff sensers can be replaced and he will get back.

[John B]

Took a new hybrid for a drive the other day, indicators make a beep blop noise when you use them. Good reason to make people not use em, and it wasn't even a BMW.
The last new Subaru I drove, a loaner while mine was having its Takata issue fixed, just kept telling me off.. whining at me for this or that perceived infraction. See ya later Subaru. Well after I resolved that I found out my Sister in law had bought one and she said she had to sell it , it just was wearing her out with constant reprimands and noises.

[Canoeyawl]

Took a new hybrid for a drive the other day, indicators make a beep blop noise when you use them. Good reason to make people not use em, and it wasn't even a BMW.
.

Wait - So you're saying that BMW's do have turn signals?

[Garret]

Wait - So you're saying that BMW's do have turn signals?

Yep. They aren't used often, as use of them automatically creates an opening in the other lane - so you can turn it on & swerve into the next lane without looking. Note that this style is standard in MA - optional in most other states.

[epoxyboy]

Our 2013 Hyundai diesel has been faultless mechanically so far, but electronics doesn't seem to be its strong point. In fact other than oil changes, I think the last time I had to "work" on the engine in any car was probably in the mid 90's - a sticky hydraulic tappet on ford/Mazda.
The Hyundai has a collection of electronic related gremlins, none of which stop it from being used, they're just mildly annoying like the intermittent keyless entry - it has an actual key too, so not a biggie.
Hopefully by the time it dies/I get sick of it, we'll have a clearer picture of where EV's are at. In $NZ terms, they still don't stack up IMO, unless you really want one.

Pete

[rbgarr]

So many of the dashboard displays on newer cars are like the Virgin Galactic's. Only more colorful!

9619b73d04304dc9c18ecb6ce554c2b3.jpg

[hawkeye54]

My gripe with newer cars--this feature goes back a while, now--is how doors are automatically locked by default.

For example, I get out of my vehicle, and go to the rear door to retrieve the bags of groceries and that door is locked. I did not lock it, the car did. I have to re-open the ( unlocked ) driver door, push the button, then go back to the now unlocked door. WTF?

If I want the door locked, I will lock it. The maker could at least incorporate an over-ride, so I can choose to do so.

Kevin

Was it Ford (?) in the 1970's who had the brilliant idea of locking all doors at 5 MPH - they found how well that worked when a bunch off their cars came to the end of automatic drive-thru car washes, with engines running / doors locked / keys in ignition switch / owners on the exit ramps without any keys

[Dan McCosh]

Electronics are the number one complaint about new cars today--some about whether they work, others about how they work. That said, some applications such as engine controls are far better than the old mechanical systems. All in all it would be a great opportunity for the service business.

[Nicholas Scheuer]

If I had to talk to my cart to open the glove box that lady under the dashboard would hear some words to remember.

Have to talk to my car to open the glovebox.

[John Meachen]

Somebody needs to tel the designers of interiors that touch screens with numerous sub-menus are a bad idea in several ways.

[Garret]

Electronics are the number one complaint about new cars today--some about whether they work, others about how they work. That said, some applications such as engine controls are far better than the old mechanical systems. All in all it would be a great opportunity for the service business.

If you can figure out the guts of the systems. The mfr's are unlikely to share info on proprietary confusers, etc.

One guy who did figure an item out: ABS controllers on most European cars are made by Bosch & there (this is 15 years ago) aren't major differences between say a 2008 VW & a 2009 BMW. New controllers run $600-$1000. Turns out that 90% of the failures were due to one or 2 hair thin wires breaking due to vibration. He had the equipment to replace them & charged $99 to fix 'em.

I and many other mechanics sent him thousands of 'em & he made some pretty good money.

[Jim Mahan]

I think I'm done owning a car, but if I inherited a genie in a bottle who gave me one wish, it would be to have a roadster, in newish condition, under three k pounds, around two-fiddy horsepower, with ignition distributor, points and condenser like a car made in the seventies, and with the controls on the dash and interior the same. No motor for the convertible top. No motor for the windows. Manual door locks. Five speed manual tranny. And a bluetooth speaker system.

[John B]

Even though one of my few talents is to quote 18436572 and set points to 15 thou by eye owing to a mis spent automobile youth, I put an electronic distributor in my 1968 car. The rest of it is festooned with Lucas, yet the smoke has not appeared. Yet.

[Garret]

I think I'm done owning a car, but if I inherited a genie in a bottle who gave me one wish, it would be to have a roadster, in newish condition, under three k pounds, around two-fiddy horsepower, with ignition distributor, points and condenser like a car made in the seventies, and with the controls on the dash and interior the same. No motor for the convertible top. No motor for the windows. Manual door locks. Five speed manual tranny. And a bluetooth speaker system.

My 1980 Fiat does have electronic ignition (& it's WAY better!) & only half the HP you want, but otherwise - just as you described. OK - the radio I put in it isn't BlueTooth - but that's $300 to replace. Later Spiders (84?) sold by Pininfarina had turbos & had about 180HP.

[ron ll]

Another note about our 2015 Audi, we had to special order and wait a few months to get a manual transmission. She and I both just like the feeling of control with a clutch and stick. But the shifting on the Audi doesn’t seem mechanically direct. It’s like when you let the clutch out, a computer takes over to control the engagement to the drive shaft. It drives more like an automatic. Sometimes I think the clutch pedal is a placebo.

[Jim Mahan]

That would make me crazy.

[Canoeyawl]

I think I'm done owning a car, but if I inherited a genie in a bottle who gave me one wish, it would be to have a roadster, in newish condition, under three k pounds, around two-fiddy horsepower, with ignition distributor, points and condenser like a car made in the seventies, and with the controls on the dash and interior the same. No motor for the convertible top. No motor for the windows. Manual door locks. Five speed manual tranny. And a bluetooth speaker system.

https://sfbay.craigslist.org/nby/cto/7562530412.html

[rbgarr]

Have to talk to my car to open the glovebox.

"Glovebox"??? https://www.tiktok.com/@garygulman/v...022190&lang=en

[Canoeyawl]

Yep. They aren't used often, as use of them automatically creates an opening in the other lane - so you can turn it on & swerve into the next lane without looking. Note that this style is standard in MA - optional in most other states.

I learned to drive in Massachusetts and did for a few years.
And my father, who also learned to drive in Massachusetts told me the only rule you need to know.
"My Fenders are tougher then your fenders"
It's the demolition derby technique of driving.

[Garret]

https://sfbay.craigslist.org/nby/cto/7562530412.html

That's a good buy assuming a good interior. Be 10k or more around here - though not at this time of the year.

[Dan McCosh]

I think I'm done owning a car, but if I inherited a genie in a bottle who gave me one wish, it would be to have a roadster, in newish condition, under three k pounds, around two-fiddy horsepower, with ignition distributor, points and condenser like a car made in the seventies, and with the controls on the dash and interior the same. No motor for the convertible top. No motor for the windows. Manual door locks. Five speed manual tranny. And a bluetooth speaker system.

Using a 1927 L-head engine on the boat, installing an electronic ignition system, and eliminating the points and condenser, vastly improved the performance, and eliminated one of the biggest maintenance problems. Don't know why you would want to go back. Same thing with vacuum tubes for a radio.