Yet another I hate modern cars rant

midwestpa24 said:
There is way more tech in a Wrangler than you would believe.
Click to expand...

Oh, I know there's still computers in the background, but it's as close to a WWII Jeep as I can get with a new one. Name me a car these days that has wind up windows and manual door locks? But yet it has keyless ignition. Strange.

Grum.Man said:
I do like a Jeep but they are just too expensive to be so crude and simple.
Click to expand...

Trust me, I wrestled with that a lot. In the end, she's always wanted a Wranger, I wanted another convertible, and we both wanted stick shift. This car satisfies all those wants.

Racerx said:
But I gotta figure out that 3 on a tree thing.
Click to expand...

Just remember, palm towards you when downshifting into 1st or when shifting into reverse. Palm away from you when shifting 1->2 and 2->3. Also, most three on the trees don't have syncromesh 1st, so only downshift into 1st when stopped. As long as the car is moving, you can usually keep it in second.
 
Bill said:
Oh, I know there's still computers in the background, but it's as close to a WWII Jeep as I can get with a new one. Name me a car these days that has wind up windows and manual door locks?
Click to expand...
Just out of curiosity, if this was the criteria then why buy a new Jeep rather than a restoration?
 
GaryM said:
1703798129567.jpeg
Click to expand...
Simple point and click technology. Can't beat that.!!
 
Racerx said:
My first truck was a '94
Click to expand...
Dude-look under the hood of a squarebody Chevy some time. Dad had a '77 with a small block that he drove until 2003 when he bought the 2000 that he's still driving. I drove it for couple years until I bought my '97.

Anyway, that '77 easily had enough room under the hood for 5 small blocks. Take the engine out and you could use it as a tiny house. It was easier to climb into the engine bay and sit on the inner fender than to reach over from the outside.

Illinois salt was pretty hard on that thing. It got to the point that the tailgate wouldn't close unless you pushed the sides of the bed back up, and the cab was no longer capable of keeping cats out. We sold it to a local guy who's still plowing snow with it.

Actually, the engine bay of my 2022 is pretty huge. It's sized for the diesel, and the 6.6L gas engine looks tiny in there. The GMT-400's were about the most tightly packaged pickups Chevy built.
 
My wife's 2017 Cadillac has the auto-braking as well and it does it constantly when backing out of the garage. I dunno if it's leaves/sticks in the driveway or just shadows, but it makes me mad every time it does it. I can turn it off easily through the screen menus, but I'd rather have it ON for forward gears and OFF in reverse.

As far as the original post on the Ford Edge, did it have a snow/mud mode for traction control that might have deactivated the skid control/nanny controls temporarily? May have made it a bit less hectic.
 
Jim K said:
Dude-look under the hood of a squarebody Chevy some time. Dad had a '77 with a small block that he drove until 2003 when he bought the 2000 that he's still driving. I drove it for couple years until I bought my '97.

Anyway, that '77 easily had enough room under the hood for 5 small blocks. Take the engine out and you could use it as a tiny house. It was easier to climb into the engine bay and sit on the inner fender than to reach over from the outside.

Illinois salt was pretty hard on that thing. It got to the point that the tailgate wouldn't close unless you pushed the sides of the bed back up, and the cab was no longer capable of keeping cats out. We sold it to a local guy who's still plowing snow with it.

Actually, the engine bay of my 2022 is pretty huge. It's sized for the diesel, and the 6.6L gas engine looks tiny in there. The GMT-400's were about the most tightly packaged pickups Chevy built.
Click to expand...
Dude!

I remember having to replace the head gasket and sitting in the inside bay of the 94. It even had its own drop light on its own reel. I guess GM thought you'd have to work on it often?

Dad ditched his '19 f150 for a '23 sierra Denali with the 6.6 gasser. Haven't actually popped the hood yet. Haven't needed to. That Ford sounded like a Cummins from the cam phaser issue.
 
Jim K said:
It was easier to climb into the engine bay and sit on the inner fender than to reach over from the outside.
Click to expand...

I remember that too well. There were times I would remove the wheel then the fenderwell to fix exhaust leaks on those @^&*%$ 454s...

Lots of room then.!! :lol:
 
cowman said:
Just had a minor fiasco with our 2019 Ford Edge. It's snowing here, but still warm enough that there's mud under the snow and my wife made the mistake of driving it somewhere she absolutely shouldn't have in these conditions to check on her horse. Car got stuck... normally not a huge deal as I have multiple things here that can yank out a stuck vehicle. Except... I look for a little knock-out panel to install an anchor in the bumper, doesn't have one. Look under the rear bumper.... huge muffler runs all away across vehicle- no safe/secure attachment point. Nothing but plastic up front.... thought about trying one of the suspension arms but the geometry of the body makes that inadvisable.

After several minutes of lot of ill-advised maneuvering with poor visibility which probably would be fun to watch to the tune of yakity sax, I managed to get it out. The final push was uphill sliding a bit but carrying planned momentum... I was headed towards a building but I was about to transition from snowy mud to clear packed gravel and would easily be able to stop. As I was transitioning to brakes, the car decided I was about to hit something and activated "pre-collision assist". Suddenly the brake pedal went rock hard as if the engine wasn't running and I was unable to apply the brakes- let me just reiterate that, the car prevented me from braking. I was able to steer my way out of it and regain control in time. I said a few words that can't be repeated here and turned the mud-covered car back over to my wife. Later I looked up how to disable that feature so hopefully it will never do that crap again.

Tomorrow I'm putting the soft top back on the Scout.
Click to expand...

Did you check the manual for where to attach a tow hook?
The pre-collision assist I have seen always slams on the brakes. you have steering via ABS. What am I missing?

Tim
 
tspear said:
Did you check the manual for where to attach a tow hook?
The pre-collision assist I have seen always slams on the brakes. you have steering via ABS. What am I missing?

Tim
Click to expand...
It sounds like he was trying to steer out of a slippery situation (Edge is FWD) and wanted to maintain wheel spin while he was turning and moving forward. If the nanny systems locked out the accelerator suddenly when you weren't expecting it (while in a controlled drift) it could be pretty upsetting. Maintaining momentum is imperative to not getting stuck again (be it mud, sand, snow, or ice), so having the ABS kick in and stopping you would make me pretty angry.
 
When my 03 Taurus finally died I was a little upset because mx was super easy because there wasn’t any technology in the car lol. I’ve got a ‘19 Honda insight and I hear it’s basically all computers like most newer cars now. I bought it in May with 11K miles on it so it was basically new.
 
SoonerAviator said:
It sounds like he was trying to steer out of a slippery situation (Edge is FWD) and wanted to maintain wheel spin while he was turning and moving forward. If the nanny systems locked out the accelerator suddenly when you weren't expecting it (while in a controlled drift) it could be pretty upsetting. Maintaining momentum is imperative to not getting stuck again (be it mud, sand, snow, or ice), so having the ABS kick in and stopping you would make me pretty angry.
Click to expand...
Sounds like his edge is fwd. Looking up the price and availability of a replacement transmission on my previous post revealed they offer fwd and AWD options.
 
SoonerAviator said:
It sounds like he was trying to steer out of a slippery situation (Edge is FWD) and wanted to maintain wheel spin while he was turning and moving forward. If the nanny systems locked out the accelerator suddenly when you weren't expecting it (while in a controlled drift) it could be pretty upsetting. Maintaining momentum is imperative to not getting stuck again (be it mud, sand, snow, or ice), so having the ABS kick in and stopping you would make me pretty angry.
Click to expand...
However, the OP discussed bricking the brakes. No mention of the accelerator. Hence my question.
When in those conditions, I always disable all driver assist functions except traction control.

Tim
 
Mxfarm said:
Traction control will get one stuck.
Click to expand...
Depends on the traction control and the conditions. However, with more modern traction control, I find it very rare that a locking differential is a better solution.
It does happen, but as a general rule. I will leave ABS and traction control on.

Tim
 
tspear said:
However, the OP discussed bricking the brakes. No mention of the accelerator. Hence my question.
When in those conditions, I always disable all driver assist functions except traction control.

Tim
Click to expand...
Either way, taking away operation of a vehicle control system with little warning that it was going to happen is bound to cause some consternation. I don't want anything disabled in a situation I'm trying to get out of, lol.

Cruise control disables itself, fine, I'll deal with it. Car goes into limp mode while I'm trying to get out of an icy driveway, I'll be cussing up a storm!
 
Mxfarm said:
Traction control will get one stuck.
Click to expand...
Amusing tale woe from this summer, driving a rental. After a steep climb up to the main road, I stop at the top to look for traffic. When clear, I go to let out the clutch and it stalls. Odd. Try again, rev a little higher. Stalls. Try a third time, rev higher still, stalls again. I look around a bit and realize there's some loose gravel at the interface between the two roads. Disable traction control and off we go on the first try...

"Why is it doing that?"
, not just for avionics anymore.
 
StraightnLevel said:
For those who still somehow believe that these automotive "nannies" are a good idea, just consider how you would feel if a similar system decided to cut your engine power or limit your yoke travel during a takeoff roll due to presence of a crosswind.
Click to expand...
They are beneficial, just not for you personally ;)

GeorgeC,
strictly business
 
I had a 2018 Honda Accord that would autosteer (kinda) and autobrake. Had it honk down on the brakes more than once when I was passing someone on a one-lane that was turning right. I now have a Jeep Cherokee that does make a lot noises at me sometimes but has never decided to brake (or steer) for me.
 
The thing I hate most is the auto-stall. Pull up to a light and it stalls. Can be disabled for a trip, but not permanently. Sux.
 
jbarrass said:
The thing I hate most is the auto-stall. Pull up to a light and it stalls. Can be disabled for a trip, but not permanently. Sux.
Click to expand...
One thing I really liked about my BMW was the fact that I had a dongle and a phone app that would let me tweak hundreds of settings on the car. I disabled the seatbelt alarm on the driver seat because I use my seatbelt 100.0% of the time, but I always get in, start the engine, then buckle up. It would whine about the seatbelt every single time - it was nice to be able to stop that. I also made it remember my auto stop/start setting and a couple of others so I didn't have to push buttons every time I got in the car.

I understand something similar exists for the F150, I just haven't bought it yet and don't know if I will. I'd like it to remember the driving mode when started, and automatically fold the mirrors when I park and lock it, but so far it's not enough of an irritant to spend the money.

The Bimmer also had the auto-hold feature. I tried it out a couple of times and just left it turned off. Even if you don't know how to drive a manual well there's really no point to it with an automatic transmission, and I have no idea why they'd put it there - other than just for marketing.
 
They're a double edged sword for sure. The wife's van has all of it, and for the most part I really like it. Adaptive cruise control is a game changer, especially in traffic or fog. The lane keeping implementation is really good. For all the shoddy engineering Chrysler does, whoever is in charge of those programs nailed it.

The one thing I hate is that it will slam on the brakes when someone is turning to the right in front of us. It's obvious to me the other car will clear in time, but the van just sees us bearing down on a hunk of metal like Jerry Wagner on a circling approach. It makes me cuss every time. OTOH, it did save my ass one time when I was distracted, and it makes me feel better to have it when my wife is driving it around with the kids screaming at her. So I leave it on and cuss at it.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Ted
20 years ago people were complaining on the forums about all these new highly computerized things that were going to be impossible to maintain in 20 years.

20 years before that people were complaining (in person or via snail mail, since the internet wasn’t a thing) about fuel injection being impossible to maintain.

10 years before that (ish) the complaints were probably about electronic ignition and modern carbs…

Things are a bit different now since we have a lot of extra features with varying levels of benefit. It’s frustrating that cars now basically need blind spot detection since outward visibility is so poor (dictated by safety features) but cars with poor visibility were a thing. And now it’s Ike’s are such that my wife’s 500 HP Alfa Romeo has about 22k miles on it with only two dealer visits - both for regularly scheduled service with oil changes every 10k miles. That simply wasn’t a thing 40 years ago, for any Alfa Romeo or any car with 500 HP. Was there even a production 500 HP car that does 0-60 in under 4 seconds and the 1/4 mile in the 11s, runs Nurburgring in 7:52, while also being a great grocery getter with comfortable seating and air conditioning.

In the end the cars are more complicated and there will be new challenges, but the aftermarket will come up with solutions where there is a demand.

For the most part I’ll take the good with the bad (my biggest complaint is bemoaning the loss of the manual transmission), because the are really good. But I’ll also keep my “pure” vehicles.

Jamie, sell that car, sounds like you want something else.
 
StraightnLevel said:
For those who still somehow believe that these automotive "nannies" are a good idea, just consider how you would feel if a similar system decided to cut your engine power or limit your yoke travel during a takeoff roll due to presence of a crosswind.
Click to expand...
For those who somehow believe that any system that has the ability to reduce pilot control authority are bad, compare the number of structural failures of airplane with g-limiters to those without.

Nauga,
and MMP 811
 
Forgive me if I missed it.... did anyone acknowledge that many of the gizmo safetly features can mean lower insurance costs.

It was surprising that insurance on my 2014 fiesta cost more than the insurance on my 2020 escape hybrid. When I got that bill I called my insurance agent and he said that he had noticed it and determined that the various safety features lowered the risk/costs.
 
Bob Noel said:
Forgive me if I missed it.... did anyone acknowledge that many of the gizmo safetly features can mean lower insurance costs.

It was surprising that insurance on my 2014 fiesta cost more than the insurance on my 2020 escape hybrid. When I got that bill I called my insurance agent and he said that he had noticed it and determined that the various safety features lowered the risk/costs.
Click to expand...

I think the cheapest insurance I've ever had was on my '98 Escort...but there's a perk for having a car over twenty years old as well that drops insurance rates quite a bit. For all the insurance savings you may get, though, the repair bills will be many, many times higher with all the gizmos. Crack a tail light and you're out about $2k because of all the sensors and features.
 
SkyChaser said:
I think the cheapest insurance I've ever had was on my '98 Escort...but there's a perk for having a car over twenty years old as well that drops insurance rates quite a bit. For all the insurance savings you may get, though, the repair bills will be many, many times higher with all the gizmos. Crack a tail light and you're out about $2k because of all the sensors and features.
Click to expand...
My point as well. Your insurance may be cheaper somewhere with those safety items, but premiums overall will go up to wipe that away because every car is now more expensive to repair due to having to replace numerous sensors, modules, etc every time someone is in a minor fender bender.
 
Bob Noel said:
Forgive me if I missed it.... did anyone acknowledge that many of the gizmo safetly features can mean lower insurance costs.

It was surprising that insurance on my 2014 fiesta cost more than the insurance on my 2020 escape hybrid. When I got that bill I called my insurance agent and he said that he had noticed it and determined that the various safety features lowered the risk/costs.
Click to expand...

Irrefutable -- increasingly idiot-proofed cars acknowledges the number of idiots on the roads.

Set the bar higher for a driving license, and require recurrent testing to maintain it, and you can keep better and more interesting cars. Til then, they will all gravitate towards the rolling suppositories with life-saving foam we saw in Demolition Man so that any knucklehead can hop in, create mayhem, and still survive their own inadequacies. :D

Lots of parallels to modern life there that I won't unpack on pain of ToS intervention.
 
Bob Noel said:
Forgive me if I missed it.... did anyone acknowledge that many of the gizmo safetly features can mean lower insurance costs.

It was surprising that insurance on my 2014 fiesta cost more than the insurance on my 2020 escape hybrid. When I got that bill I called my insurance agent and he said that he had noticed it and determined that the various safety features lowered the risk/costs.
Click to expand...
Good point. Insurance on my Nissan Frontier added about $1.50 (that's right one dollar and fifty cents) per month when it replaced a 20 year old Ford Ranger on the policy. My insurance company (and many others) offer good discounts for vehicles that have GPS tracking ...
 
I think I've said this on here before, but...

We have about ten miles of interstate in our fire district. When I first joined 25 years ago, we'd have 2-3 fatal accidents a year. That's down to about one every three years now.
 
asicer said:
Just out of curiosity, if this was the criteria then why buy a new Jeep rather than a restoration?
Click to expand...

We only have two cars, so she still wanted something new, reliable, and airbags and modern safety items. In the end, it met the criteria.

1. It's a Wrangler
2. It's a convertible
3. It's stick shift
4. Kids are grown, no need for a 4-door
 
I'd love a back up camera that works in parking lot when I'm stuck between two massive SUV's. Looks around the back of the behemoths to let me know if I can back out. I end up having to do the ease out very slowly and hope the cars going way too fast will notice. It's a given that I did not park between these giants, they came after I parked.
 
Country Flier said:
Some of the new features are for the most challenged among us. My personal pet peeve is on the new cars w/keyless remotes. Every day, I stop at my mailbox to get out and check the mail. Every day, my car beeps when I shut the door, to tell me I've left my key fob inside...now think about this...is this really something you want broadcast? HEY EVERYONE>>>BEEEEP BEEEEP<<<FREE CAR FOR THE TAKING HERE.
BTW, in the past, I've been able to "de-program" such features...apparently not anymore (or if you can, its not shown in the manual, I've looked).
Click to expand...
There have been reports of cars self locking the doors with the key fob inside. Do you really want to risk that?
 
Hang 4 said:
I'd love a back up camera that works in parking lot when I'm stuck between two massive SUV's. Looks around the back of the behemoths to let me know if I can back out. I end up having to do the ease out very slowly and hope the cars going way too fast will notice. It's a given that I did not park between these giants, they came after I parked.
Click to expand...
The Cadillac does a pretty good job using a few cameras and sonar when backing up to alert you to cross-traffic before it shows up on screen. Helpful bit of tech, but another reason that it's the first car I every bought an extended warranty on because of all of the expensive tech gizmos lol. Even the console cup holders have a motorized retractable lid.
 
BillTIZ said:
There have been reports of cars self locking the doors with the key fob inside. Do you really want to risk that?
Click to expand...
My Mom’s old Toyota Avalon would do that. None of the ones we’ve had recently would though. Even my ‘07 Mercedes would refuse to lock the doors if there was a key in it, nor would it close the trunk if there was a key in it. My truck will happily lock with the key in it, but it’s got a keypad so you can still get into it.
 
My personal beef is with the push for larger and larger infotainment screens and then making it easier to synch to phones. People spend more than half the time driving looking at their phones. How much bigger before it's too much?
 

Attachments

  • Truck Big Screen Display for 2023.jpg
    Truck Big Screen Display for 2023.jpg
    89.2 KB · Views: 9
Hang 4 said:
I'd love a back up camera that works in parking lot when I'm stuck between two massive SUV's. Looks around the back of the behemoths to let me know if I can back out. I end up having to do the ease out very slowly and hope the cars going way too fast will notice. It's a given that I did not park between these giants, they came after I parked.
Click to expand...
I almost always back in for that reason, as backing out of a space is quite a setup; idiots try to shoot the gap and if you hit them, you are at fault. Backing in does slow things down in a crowded lot but it’s worth it.
 
SoonerAviator said:
My point as well. Your insurance may be cheaper somewhere with those safety items, but premiums overall will go up to wipe that away because every car is now more expensive to repair due to having to replace numerous sensors, modules, etc every time someone is in a minor fender bender.
Click to expand...
This:
www.autoblog.com

Rivian R1T fender benders can turn into $40K repair bills - Autoblog

Rivian R1T fender benders can turn into $40K repair bills. Rear corner damage is an Achilles heel for gargantuan estimates.
www.autoblog.com www.autoblog.com
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top