None really. What I would like to see is a return to old goodies. No computer screens, radio's with dials, hand crank windows, gull wing window vents on trucks, 4WD shifters instead of these stupid turn dials to engage it, the metal floor button for highbeams ( why did they ever change that!). Trucks made with minimal truck interiors instead of like luxury cars inside. Cars with bench seats instead of the awful space shuttle cockpit seats and the center consoles that just waste space.
There is too much BS in cars and trucks these days and wish it would go back to the ol' simple but effective stuff. K.I.S.S.
Yeah, I haven't driven for many years so I was not aware of some of the changes. I think the windows should have a hand crank as a safety feature otherwise a person could be trapped inside if power fails for any reason.
All these silly bells and whistles are imposed for one reason. $$$$$$. They just add them and remove the mechanical options because it forces us to pay more money for a car. It doesn't enhance the performance or ability of the vehicle in any way. It's just cheap to add junk that can be sold for high mark-up. In fact it is often used to increase the allure of an inferior performing vehicle.
It also increases repair costs as the things malfunction. Someone might not worry about the compass display going out, but if the windows cannot be put up or down or the seat cannot be adjusted it is an issue.
Damn straight. Also these electronic parts are harder to sell used. It's also worth noting that mechanical parts can be returned if the part is wrong or not the issue. Where as electronic parts almost universally are sold as all sales final when you buy them. Then there is the proprietary software packages whose license expires and cost a fortune that are needed to change an electronic part where a mechanical part is just a swap and bolt piece. Mechanical parts can be serviced and maintained to reduce failures and cost of full replacement. Electronic ones can't be. They either work 100% or don't and can't be repaired in any way.
It's part of the BS consumer good selling point of "zero maintenance". There is no such thing. What no maintenance really means is maintenance impossible.
This post was edited by Benedict Arnold at October 8, 2016 11:03 AM MDT
The costs have increased dramatically when you factor in that electronics are more expensive than mechanical parts, the vast majority have to take their vehicles in for repairs now, rather than wrenching on it themselves or having a backyard mechanic work on it, and the labor costs are greater due to increased diagnostic time and the need to R&R a bunch of other parts to access what needs repairing or replacement.
Yep, you can't see and hear what the problem is or easily check for faults without expensive diagnostic tools anymore. These diagnostic tools are also expensive as hell especially when someone might only use it once every two years and often to just find out it's a problem they can't work on in their small garage anyways.
Yep, the tools are expensive and require frequent updating. Also what is needed varies by manufacturer, which hurts the small business that used to be able to easily work on a variety of makes. More and more repairs require returning to the dealership.
Euro cars are notorious for that specialty crap. That's a big reason everyone hates working on them and I think they are sucker deals to own. Straight money pits unless you lease and trade every two years.
A team of women need to design a car. They will make sure everything is easy to get to, none of this pile all the parts on top of each other making them unreachable. Needing to remove so many parts just to get to one underneath does not make sense. All parts possible will be plug in's and color coded or numbered. Green goes into green, red into red, or matching numbers for every part, no more guessing, if the color changes the part is worn out or bad. Lets bring in some nano-technology for car parts. What is needed are cars that get better gas mileage, it is possible right now. An affordable vehicle would also be nice.
The streets need to be made of a more "flexible", durable material, all this cracking and potholes is needless. Good materials are available. Someone is making lots of money laying down 1000's of miles of bad road. Cities are at fault because they continue to pay the price for lousy roads. Lets use that money for schools, fire departments and other community services.
The parts stacked on parts is mostly due to EPA regulations that push for smaller front ends in the name of fuel efficiency due to less drag.
Your wiring does work that way with color coding. Exactly that way. in fact. Parts are numbered. All of them have a part number. I get your point but if you don't have mechanical ability to figure out what part goes where, you're not going to be able to properly install them and understand the proper tolerances to make the work correctly. So there would be little point. If you can't figure out how to install a brake caliper without a color code and number system tell you where it goes, you're likely not going to know the procedure to correctly install it. You're asking for solutions to the easiest part of mechanical work.
K.I.S.S.
This post was edited by Benedict Arnold at October 8, 2016 11:18 AM MDT
Benedict Arnold 