One other thing I thought of. This is an enthusiast board, and our views on electronic "features" are pretty jaded. Feature creep is an arms race between brands, with even base models now having some pretty serious safety and entertainment features compared to a 10 year old car.
Take off the enthusiast hat and think like a consumer. I recently did when I upgraded my old daily to a brand new top trim model. I have to say- the electronics are just awesome. CarPlay, following cruise control, lane assist, traffic jam assist, blind spot monitoring... totally transformed the driving experience for a daily. 45mpg hybrid drivetrain? Yes please. It's like the difference between a new iPhone and a flip phone.
All of these features are additional failure points and probably more prone to failure than a simpler car from 10 years ago. I'll take them anyway. And while I wouldn't call the car "fun" compared to an enthusiast car, it's certainly very nice to drive. Plenty of power, quiet, great ride and handling.
1988RedT2 said:
logdog (Forum Supporter) said:
All the engines that are famous for reliability like the 300 I6 in my van make 25-30 horsepower per liter, not 100-200 as is expected now.
Lots of truth there.
Personally I prefer the 300, a lot actually, but I am in the minority and it's a good point.
Although if I had to only have one engine in any car I own, the 300 would probably be it
In the last 20 years access to information has become much easier, so we know more about easy fixes & common failures. I do not understand why manufacturers are relying on cellular connectivity for vehicle function. There are already features on older cars that will never work again due to 3g network shutdown. Now new cars need a connection to the mothership for even more, I have heard the mustang will go into e engine failsafe if it can not do a tune check over the air.
In reply to Caperix :
I know my 21 doesn't have E36 M3 enabled and drives fine. My sync is like 5 updates behind. There is a recall for the rear camera I won't have done because it still works just fine. Location services are off. If I forget to lock it when I walk away, I can't enable them from 2000 miles away. I like it that way. And godbless forscan for all the other crap I turned off that I couldn't through the infotainment screen.
Not reliability related, but cars are starting to require proprietary software tools to diagnose and configure. This hurts both the independent shop and the shadetree mechanic.
Reliability and durability is make/model dependent. Is there anything more reliable than an early 2000's 4 cyl Camry? Even those had some minor problems (door handles, for instance), but they seem to go forever with even basic maintenance.
ShawnG
MegaDork
4/5/24 9:53 p.m.
This is why I'm keeping our GMT400 Suburban.
It should be repairable until the end of time.
In reply to ShawnG :
True dat, they will pry my 1991 Silverado from my cold dead hands. Wife doesn't understand why I won't buy a new truck. $4500 taillight assemblies, that's why..
In reply to jwagner (Forum Supporter) :
Mechanic at the one of the trash companies I used to work for had a 97ish Camry with zip ties for door handles. He said it was a temporary fix that worked so well he never changed it.
That also explains why our trucks were in the state they were too....
I find it amusing that I shared my thoughts about modern cars, and this morning my wife's car wouldn't start because the battery in the key fob was dead.
Granted it was a quick trip to the store and five minutes to remedy, but still.
ddavidv
UltimaDork
4/7/24 8:03 a.m.
ShinnyGroove (Forum Supporter) said:
Take off the enthusiast hat and think like a consumer. I recently did when I upgraded my old daily to a brand new top trim model. I have to say- the electronics are just awesome. CarPlay, following cruise control, lane assist, traffic jam assist, blind spot monitoring... totally transformed the driving experience for a daily.
"Why did my car insurance go up so much? I've never had a claim." There's your answer.
BoostedBrandon said:
I find it amusing that I shared my thoughts about modern cars, and this morning my wife's car wouldn't start because the battery in the key fob was dead.
Granted it was a quick trip to the store and five minutes to remedy, but still.
With the Koreans you can literally hold the fob against the start button to start it if the battery is dead
