I swear I'm ever driving anything newer than a 2018 model year again. (2019 was where my automaker jumped the shark and started shipping cell phones with wheels.)

Heh, I was just thinking the same thing today.  I replaced a couple of $6 light bulbs and thought about how on a late model vehicle you'd need an entire $300 lamp assembly just because one LED emitter went out.

Our current fleet is all Honda and Toyota from 2010 to 2016.  You can buy the parts, you can do some work yourself, and your independent mechanic can do the rest without a special $100,000 diagnostic machine.  It really drives home the idea that these are vehicles we should be putting a lot of good maintenance into because the math of "at this point it's probably better to buy a new one than to keep sinking money into this one" has sort of collapsed.  I don't *want* a computer with wheels.

But as I always say, nothing moves in the same direction forever.  People are getting fed up.  All-screen dashboards have gone from novelty to annoyance and customers are looking for buttons again.  Some states are enacting bans on parts pairing, so the mechanic doesn't need that $100K machine just to change a part.  And the backlash on "subscription-only features" is pretty huge.

Not only are people tired of the 'dash screens' but they truly are a safety hazard.  Except for rare items, you have to take your eyes off the road to make sure you hit the correct 'button'. With physicals, you dont need to do that. Just stick your paw down there, and feel the right button. 

And without a simple 'emergency light' right in the middle of the driers side dash, if something happens flying down the road, you gotta look all over the damned thing ( and perhaps push buttons to get to it ) to see if you broke the belt to the water pump and your car is going to overheat and explode, or your tire just got a little low.

I forget the maker, but there is that truck coming out soon that has none of that. BUT, its electric, so its got a computer, just not in your face at least.

And don't get me started on people using their freaking phone while driving. 

But.. like i was saying above, i really wasn't joking, i can see us common folk being banned from driving here soon. Either you have CDL and an 'official transportation task' or you get robot cars. ( perhaps we dont even get the robots, its all 'fleet' instead and we have to use them like uber )

Here is 1987 car day. A real car, i don't even have power steering in it. Unless its too hot out. i need to rebuild the AC, and i personally cant handle heat.  Been lazy and have been putting it off for years since its no longer a daily driver.  Going to finish building a thermometric cooler i started on last fall to attach to the evaporator coil, see if its enough so i can avoid tearing things apart and installing a small electric compressor up front ( to avoid the weight of the OEM one that attaches to the engine in the back ). 

Peltier modules will work, its not a theory, the only question is will it be enough to matter. i dont want to go over 200 watts or so and stress the electrical system too much ( that about as much as my stereo amp ) But its only needing to cool a 2 seat compartment, so it might be enough.....  we will see

Tue May 12 2026 20:31:12 EDT from setho

I recently drove a Rivian. It made me car sick.... I don't know if it was because of the regen or not, but it wasn't pleasant.

Grumble.

Nice day out, so decided to swap out the plugs in the jeep. Im surprised it was even running.. 2 were about gone.  oh well. will help with gas milage too :) 

Also swapped out the washer tank, motor has been dead a couple of years, wasn't important so never got around to it, but i was out there, so swap it goes..   Went to test, damned handle to turn it on wont work now its been so long..  But i have another control block ( turn signals, brights, etc ) that i have been putting off too, but that is a 2 hour job, have to tear the steering column apart.  I guess that will wait.    When its really cold or really hot, i have to hold the signal arm down ( or up ), and would every so often flash the trail lights..  so not end of world, just annoying, so i bought the new one in case this one died suddenly, and into the garage it went. to sit.

Speaking of phreaking ( and i know, wrong room, feel free to move it )  does anyone remember the 'test numbers' you could call that would span several area-codes?  Was like a free long distance chat room.  As long as you didn't get in the way of the Bell techs needing it, no one really cared.

Mon May 25 2026 15:58:56 EDT from IGnatius T Foobar

And don't get me started on people using their freaking phone
while driving. 

Phreaking requires your undivided attention. You don't want to get caught by the Bell gestapo.

Those were loops or loop pairs, which telco used for diagnostics.

They weren't "free" in the sense that you could do a free chat room from anywhere.  If you called one from out of area, you still paid toll charges on your local side ... unless you were phreaking that too.