Modern technology friend or foe .

[Sunny43.5]

Whilst not a VW it could easily be applied to some of their technology as well , story on the news of the young American Actor who was crushed by his Jeep . From an American news report some 800000 Jeeps are affected and more than 100 reports of accidents as a result of a stupid transmission selector design which has now caused a death . For the love of me I don't understand some of this "modern "technology that is suppose to be so good . Our DSG transmission when only 2 weeks old allowed the van to roll backwards down the hill out front of our house because some idiotic design which unbelievably has a name "False Neutral " when placed in drive after reversing out our drive foot planted on brake and then D selected result the van just took off backwards with engine revving it's tits off . Once stopped I selected D again and the same bloody result , at least this time I was prepared so it didn't go far . I can give many examples of things in our cars these days that don't make sense , all these "safety "features lane avoidance / collision avoidance etc are just making drivers a bunch of brain dead morons . I like to think that I am in control of my car and that was the reason I got a drivers license in the first place .
One of my pet peeves is "Smart Keys "I work in cars everyday and I thought that back in 1952 my first car a Morris Minor had a push button start , now it seems we have gone back over 60 years and it is back again ! . What was wrong with the key in ignition turn to on and then start . Now days with smart keys you have to press the button multiple times to go from off acc on and then off again , plus some car makers have hidden the start button down behind the left hand side of the steering wheel where it is almost unable to be seen . Ford have gone one step further with their ignition system you insert the key and a loud audible gong sound erupts and a message pops up on the info screen "KEY in Ignition "and when you remove it same thing but this time "Key Removed ". Well duh I did put the key into start and drive why in the hell do I need to be told I just did what it's telling me , good god its so dumb . Mercedes have got a good one in some of their model one of those chunky keys you insert into a rectangular hole and then turn , there is a clear plastic coated sensor ring around the barrel to pick up the coded key signal . These develop a crack easily and totally disable the car , tow job for those poor saps . What do you think am I a dinosaur or just cannot adjust ?

[h100vw]

Whilst not a VW it could easily be applied to some of their technology as well , story on the news of the young American Actor who was crushed by his Jeep . From an American news report some 800000 Jeeps are affected and more than 100 reports of accidents as a result of a stupid transmission selector design which has now caused a death . For the love of me I don't understand some of this "modern "technology that is suppose to be so good . Our DSG transmission when only 2 weeks old allowed the van to roll backwards down the hill out front of our house because some idiotic design which unbelievably has a name "False Neutral " when placed in drive after reversing out our drive foot planted on brake and then D selected result the van just took off backwards with engine revving it's tits off . Once stopped I selected D again and the same bloody result , at least this time I was prepared so it didn't go far . I can give many examples of things in our cars these days that don't make sense , all these "safety "features lane avoidance / collision avoidance etc are just making drivers a bunch of brain dead morons . I like to think that I am in control of my car and that was the reason I got a drivers license in the first place .
One of my pet peeves is "Smart Keys "I work in cars everyday and I thought that back in 1952 my first car a Morris Minor had a push button start , now it seems we have gone back over 60 years and it is back again ! . What was wrong with the key in ignition turn to on and then start . Now days with smart keys you have to press the button multiple times to go from off acc on and then off again , plus some car makers have hidden the start button down behind the left hand side of the steering wheel where it is almost unable to be seen . Ford have gone one step further with their ignition system you insert the key and a loud audible gong sound erupts and a message pops up on the info screen "KEY in Ignition "and when you remove it same thing but this time "Key Removed ". Well duh I did put the key into start and drive why in the hell do I need to be told I just did what it's telling me , good god its so dumb . Mercedes have got a good one in some of their model one of those chunky keys you insert into a rectangular hole and then turn , there is a clear plastic coated sensor ring around the barrel to pick up the coded key signal . These develop a crack easily and totally disable the car , tow job for those poor saps . What do you think am I a dinosaur or just cannot adjust ?

Mostly technology for the sake of it.

If you do have a smash and the smart cruise didn't prevent it. Will the insurance pay out?

I like the analogue world I was born into, for the most part.

Gavin

[theresanothersteve]

The problem is marketing has too much say in the design of the cars...

They look for something they can do with the onboard computing power that looks good. You only have to watch any car advertising to see that marketing believes cars are mobile entertainment devices.

From an engineering perspective I think technology has improved our cars. When was the last time you sat on the side of the road trying to repair or replace points? Sure, if a modern car breaks down it is going to be a tow to repairer job, but on the whole they are way more reliable. And how often do you pull the heads off for a de-coke? Not every 10,000 miles I'm sure.

False neutrals have been around ever since someone decided to use more than one forward gear.

I wish they would get back to the driving experience, but as governments are eroding the potential for enjoying yourself, its only going to get worse.

[Greg Roles]

Go drive a 70's car for a week in traffic, then tell me technology advance is a bad thing. I think we forget the buckets of crap we used to drive, but yes, a lot easier to work on with a socket set, not even allen keys required, forget fancy torx screws.

[Umai Naa!!]

Technology is great when you understand why it's there, how it works, and what it's limitations are.

[woofy]

One thing to note, is that I'm pretty sure the Jeep thing happens if you don't put the handbrake on. For all the tech sometimes stupid is as stupid does. I know a guy in a wheelchair with no lower limbs as he decided for some odd reason to get out during a car wash and drove over himself.

I don't mind things for the most part, KESSY I had in my Hyundai and like as I don't have to fish my keys out and can keep them in my pocket. I'm honestly regretting not getting the PIN or fingerprint version of the doorlock I bought a few years ago as it would mean I would hardly ever need to fish the keys out I own. I have a cousin who started his apprenticeship as a mechanic for Mazda/Hyundai/Honda and then moved to VW and later on Audi. He has many times said stuff in VAG cars are overengineered to the point of craziness where the Japanese tend to keep their tech simple on purpose. I mean the windscreen wipers move to a different point everytime they stop but I can't say I replaced them any less than in my other cars

[Martin]

He has many times said stuff in VAG cars are overengineered to the point of craziness where the Japanese tend to keep their tech simple on purpose.

I would not agree with that - all cars with technology can be a pain when they want to be

Subaru legacy appeared to be in limp mode but no CEL or ECU errors - turned out to be blown tail lights and ECU limiting power because of that - without any indication why

Numerous frustrating examples like that

[Martin]

Every morning and night I see a dope driving who desperately needs fancy automatic headlight technology

[sports racer]

I'm old enough to remember having to clean the points on a fuel pump in the boot in the rain to get my car working again. Or parked at the side of the road pulling the tops of the webbers to blow out the main jet so it wouldn't cough and splutter in traffic. Both times I fixed it myself.

Nowadays if my car starts to cough and splutter I prey I make it to a mechanic so I can pay lots of money for someone else to find out exactly what the problem is, what's causing it and then to order the expensive replacement part.

That's why I can't wait to get my MK1 Golf on the road. It's so old it's got wind up windows.

[woofy]

My first car was a Meteor with twin carbs, it's points were forever dirty, and the carbs were a PITA to get in sync properly, they literally just used to listen to both with a stethoscope to get the suction sound roughly the same I'm forever grateful those days are gone. I had its descendent in the form of a Mazda 323 SP20 and it was everything I'd wanted my Meteor to be.

I'd hear stories of triple carb Jags that were even worse so some pulled the engines out and put Holden V6s or V8s in place of them to save the drama.

[sports racer]

I agree that old cars are a pain and really old cars should only be brought out on Sundays but there's a sweet spot around 1990 - 1995(depending on manufacturer) where they were reliable and easy to work on.

My MK2 Golf was my daily right up to when I hit the back of a truck last year and it did over 1000 ks a week. Sure it occasionally gave me grief but nothing that I couldn't fix and it never stranded me on the open road. Parts were cheap if you knew the right places to look and it was fun to drive.

When was the last time you got out of your car with a grin from ear to ear?

[Idle]

I'm old enough to remember having to clean the points on a fuel pump in the boot in the rain to get my car working again. Or parked at the side of the road pulling the tops of the webbers to blow out the main jet so it wouldn't cough and splutter in traffic. Both times I fixed it myself.

Fuel pump in the boot wasn't so bad — I had a Rover with it by the left chassis rail.
When (not infrequently) the points stuck you gave it a whack — to whack it you often lay in the gutter.

Eventually got sick of that and replaced it with a locally-made pump and a bit more tubing; Once I could reach it from under the bonnet, it never stuck again.

Actually I quite appreciate a lot of modern technology (not all, tho') — but then I don't need to keep cars for 20 years any more...

One of the tech marvels I don't really get is the one in my current Golf that might whack the brakes on after the prang; Do VAG have interests in panel shops?

Tuning twin carbs? I used a couple of feet of garden hose and usually contrived to get them pretty close — SU's were among the easiest.

There's some "silver"ware hidden away in a box somewhere to prove the point.

[Greg Roles]

At least with old cars when your engine blew you you just bought a bigger capacity one and dropped it straight in, and connected about 10 pipes. I also loved how your tools / bolts when dropped actually got to the floor.

[Bug_racer]

From an engineering perspective I think technology has improved our cars. When was the last time you sat on the side of the road trying to repair or replace points? Sure, if a modern car breaks down it is going to be a tow to repairer job, but on the whole they are way more reliable. And how often do you pull the heads off for a de-coke? Not every 10,000 miles I'm sure.

I pull my manifold off every 3-5k kms and do a carbon clean (2011 Golf R)

[theresanothersteve]

I pull my manifold off every 3-5k kms and do a carbon clean (2011 Golf R)

Bit of a difference between a manifold and a head...

And does it make that much difference? I can remember when porting and polishing was all the go until someone discovered a rough surface gave better performance so polishing was out and bead blasting was in (inlet side).