Adrian_Thompson wrote:Jensenman wrote: A few years ago Volvo showed a concept car designed by women which had a hood that could not be opened.Well Porsche beat them too it by years, try finding the engine on a 986, you can't from above. Get over it, why do you need engine access on a modern car?It was called the YCC (Your Concept Car).
Why the hell don't you need engine access? I mean seriously.
Xceler8x wrote:Adrian_Thompson wrote: Well Porsche beat them too it by years, try finding the engine on a 986, you can't from above. Get over it, why do you need engine access on a modern car?
Adrian is english.. please mind the tongue in cheek of his posts.. He was being sarcastic
Adrian_Thompson wrote:Jensenman wrote: A few years ago Volvo showed a concept car designed by women which had a hood that could not be opened.Well Porsche beat them too it by years, try finding the engine on a 986, you can't from above. Get over it, why do you need engine access on a modern car?
I guess you can call me impossibly old fashioned but I like to, if there's a sudden unusual noise or smell and I'm 30 miles outside of East Bumberkeley I like the idea of being able to take a look-see. Might save my fambly a long wait on the side of the road and/or a big repair bill.
Or I could just be a high end car driving driving jackoff and call roadside assistance. Let me guess, it goes like this: "I spent a lot of money on my snottymobile so why should I soil my fingers on such plebian activities as checking my own fluids?"
And if the quoted post was done tongue in cheek and didn't translate well, please accept my apologies in advance.
Looks like Fiat thinks it could work:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29533299/
Excerpt from the above link: Chrysler contends the alliance with Fiat would help both auto manufacturers. Fiat could provide Chrysler with a broad array of fuel-efficient small and mid-size cars, something the Auburn Hills, Mich.-based company lacks, and give Chrysler access to foreign markets.
Fiat's Marchionne has been seeking a U.S. partner to bring Fiat's successful update of the 500 subcompact and its sporty Alfa Romeo brand to the United States.
OK sarcasm doesn't work on the web. I'd love a Boxster or Cayman one day, but the thought of a rear main seal or shifted liner scares me E36 M3less. 2001 ish Boxster S's are easily affordable now, well they would be if I wasn't paying for kids school bills, but a non reachable and non rebuildable engine gives me the willies.
But seriously outside of the average auto enthusiast which represents 0.0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000001% of the automotive public, why do you need engine access?
It's fine for the Miata's or Mustangs of this world, and my C30 obviously :) But for you average mini van, Turdbota Crapry, Honcrap Crapcord, or other E36 M3 box, as long as its runs for 100K miles everything else will be so crapped out it's off to the scrapper before anyone needs to do more than change the oil. I can really see this being the norm within 10 years.
'Enthusiasts' cars are different, I remember seeing something a few years ago that indicated that something like 20% of Mustang's were modified by their owners within the first year. Most of that is new shift knobs or stickers, but there are a lot of people who 'really' modify their cars. You wouldn't believe the number of 8.8 gear set's get sold for rear axles. Those cars will keep their hoods, but why bother for an appliances?
Sarcasm works nicely with a smiley. 
IMHO, it's more important for those 'appliance' vehicles to have easy access for the reason I listed earlier. It would royally chap my ass to be out somewhere in the middle of nowhere with my wife and kid in the car, have a coolant leak and no way to even get a look.
Not to mention the appliance needs routine maintenance just like the hotrod. There's already enough people out there who think 3,000 mile service intervals mean 7,000, 7,500 mile really means 10,000. I shudder to think what would happen with a vehicle that Mr and Mrs Clueless are told 'you can't even open the hood'.
I also think that building a car to go 100K miles and then have it scrapped is yet another symptom of how wasteful we humans are in the name of vanity, comfort and just general laziness.
When they make cars that don't need the plugs changed for 100k miles and long life fluids, not much time is spent under the hood. Modern car's engines are hidden and shrouded making it impossable to see what the engine looks like, I think some have special keys to prevent you from getting at the engine, I've seen a bmw where it looked like some idiot took a hammer and "removed" the shroud.
If there isn't anything to work on in a new car, why would you need access? My pops has had enough of working on cars and doesn't want to or plan to open the hood anytime soon.
I don't like the idea myself b/c my mercedes was designed with service in mind making it easy to work on, but the future is coming.
My mom had a fiat 850 and loved the thing, I'm not too impressed with people's opinions.
When transportation appliances are powered by fuel cells and electric motors...then you can remove that little hood release lever. Until then, make mine with a big panel that opens, please.
Note that alot of concepts in those "concept" cars never make it to production. This (and that spandex covered BMW they showed last year) is one of those that won't (hopefully).
100k spark plugs, yeah. Gear oil, transmission fluid and engine oil, not so much.
Engine oil gets contaminated with combustion byproducts and AFAIK no one has figured out how to keep that from happening.
Transmission fluid gets contaminated just like anything. Google 'Ford oxidized transmission fluid' to see what I mean.
The much ballyhooed 5 year/100k DexCool has had its share of issues. Probably 1 in 3 cars coming through here have some nasty looking crud in the coolant.
So Mr and Mrs Clueless buy this magic 100k no touchie car and at 70k miles the water pump springs a leak. It's not a big 'un but it's there. Since their magic carpet never gets checked because it doesn't need it the engine goes kablooie and probably at the worst possible time.
Another aspect: sure it's possible to build a car that would be nearly bulletproof but no one could afford to buy it.
it would need to be an unobtainable price... making it bulletproof would kill the service and parts counters of all the dealerships
96DXCivic wrote:Adrian_Thompson wrote:Why the hell don't you need engine access? I mean seriously.Jensenman wrote: A few years ago Volvo showed a concept car designed by women which had a hood that could not be opened.Well Porsche beat them too it by years, try finding the engine on a 986, you can't from above. Get over it, why do you need engine access on a modern car?
When these cars get old enough and cheap enough, somebody is going to get engine access with a sawzall.
if I remember correctly about that volvo concept car.. the headrests were also notched to allow ponytail access
Adrian_Thompson wrote: OK sarcasm doesn't work on the web.
Adrian, I looooove sarcasm. You just have to over the top with it on the web. Being overly emotive and dramatic comes easily to Americans. Maybe not so much to reserved Englishmen. 
One of the reasons I bought my Mustang was that when you lifted the hood, you could see the berkleying GROUND past the engine. Unlike our MINI, where you can't drop a socket and hope to ever see it again. 
One of my coworkers had a recent vw that she swears had no way to check the auto trans fluid. I thought she was crazy. Not so much. drive it till it breaks and replace. It's so sad.
ultraclyde wrote: One of the reasons I bought my Mustang was that when you lifted the hood, you could see the berkleying GROUND past the engine. Unlike our MINI, where you can't drop a socket and hope to ever see it again.
No it's true, you need a special jug that has a hose that bolts to the bottom of the transmission and you put 2 liters of fluid in it and hang it from the hood and let it fill the case.
Technically the fluid is good for 130K miles.
ultraclyde wrote: One of the reasons I bought my Mustang was that when you lifted the hood, you could see the berkleying GROUND past the engine.
efficient use of space in that design huh?
In 1995, Isuzu eliminated the transmission dipstick on the automatics. You never heard such hell raising. They finally brought the tranny dipstick back in '03 (coincidentally, the same year they quit using the GM 4L30 box and went with an Aisin Warner unit). FWIW, mine is one of the no dipstick versions. But it gets a fluid swap every 20k; I hate buying transmissions.
One of the reasons my pickup truck has a hole in the head is someone didn't change the coolant enough and it ate through the small passage way.
Another trick they use on new cars is to not have a drain on the torque converter so you when you have it changed it takes twice the amount of fluid.
ignorant wrote:ultraclyde wrote: One of the reasons I bought my Mustang was that when you lifted the hood, you could see the berkleying GROUND past the engine.efficient use of space in that design huh?
Yeah, it makes sure there's somewhere to put the turbos
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