Quote:
Originally Posted by floyd
What really bothers me though is that the new vehicles are little more than smart phones with wheels. Nobody seems to care about the mechanicals anymore, they simply want to know how many "apps" they can get on the big screen dash.
Of course, there are all those terrifying new electronic "safety" devices which take control away from the driver. (for his own good of course  )
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by floyd
I'm not a Luddite when it comes to technology, but I do resent the ersatz technology provided by electronics which has completely stifled any progress in real mechanical improvements and taken the driver out of the equation.
Electronics are an important element (still overused) in engine control technology but the rampant and excessive use of electronics for peripherals is nothing short of obscene.
A vehicle should do the same exact thing with the same input every time, and drivers should go back to learning how to drive and paying attention to the task at hand.
|
Oh man, Floyd, did you punch my buttons here! I bought a new Jeep Wrangler Rubicon in February. I needed a towed that can, itself, tow at least 3500 lbs in really bad weather as I tow my Kubota tractor 30 miles to an apartment building I own and do my own mowing in the summer and snow removal in the winter. i also tow, launch and, recover my 2,500 lb 21' trailer-sailor sailboat on some pretty steep ramps.
I wanted Dana 44 rear ends front and back, with a heavy-duty transfer case (a Dana 300 would have been just fine) and a six-speed manual transmission. I don't even care if the thing has a radio, frankly. Manual window regulators are fine. I have a $99 Magellan gps, I don't need it in-dash. I have mirrors, I don't need a backup camera. I simply want it to go where I want to go, be easy to tow behind the moho, and two 3500 lbs.
So I walk into a Chrysler dealer and sit down with a twenty-something salesman who asks me to rank the features I want, and he starts with Bluetooth, Nav, and how many speakers I want! This is a JEEP I'm looking at for cryin' out loud! The last two I had were CJs that barely had real seats!
I looked at him as seriously as I could muster and said, "Son, I don't give a sh*t about ANY of that nonsense. I want Dana 44 rear ends, a six-speed manual, the heaviest transfer case and two package you've got. I want doors and a hard top. Do you think you can find something like that?
He looked stunned, and stuttered for a few seconds about all of the electronics... and I asked him if he even knew what a Dana 44 is... and he didn't. I left that dealership.
I ultimately got what I wanted from another dealer here in eastern Iowa, although they weren't a
lot more knowledgeable about the actual capabilities of the Jeep, and they had to dealer trade after finding one with what I wanted in St. Louis, 310 miles away. At least they were willing to listen to what I was telling them I wanted. This Jeep has a "standard" radio with bluetooth and steering wheel controls, although it does have power
windows and locks. Amazing.