I hate Radio Shack

From: Jim Arnott <jrasite_at_eoni.com>
Date: Wed Jun 12 22:54:21 2002

Since we're venturing waaaaay off topic here...

"R. D. Davis" wrote:
>
> Disclaimer: as to those newfangled Fords made after the 1970s, I've no
> idea what sort of peculiar things go on under their hoods (bonnets),
> and I don't really want to know, but I hear that some don't even use
> spark plugs, distributors or carburators. All of the new (post 1970s)
> motorcars are too strange for my tastes; weird machines, extremely
> weird and overly complex, and cheaply built, machines with expensive
> price tags.
>
> Have engineers forgotten how to design things that work properly while
> not being overly complex? It appears that needlessly complex gadgetry
> has replaced functionality.

Hi-tech has replaced lo-tech. Prior to the time period mentioned above,
automotive systems hadn't significantly changed in five decades.
(carburated, kettering ignitioned) Beginning in the mid-seventies,
federally mandated emissions standards required those engineers to
modify legacy systems to achieve the required pollution levels. From
about 1977 to about 1990 American automobile engines were impossible.
The engineers were constrained to clean these engines up without really
*changing* them. They did this by adding devices such as EGR, Thermal
Reactors, modified ignition timing, electronic! carburetors. (I own a
1984 Eagle and it has at least 50' of vacuum hose in it.)

By the early 1990s the electronics 'state-of-the-art' had progressed far
enough to allow a cost effective change-over to solid state engine
controls. This progression has continued to the point that current
generation automobiles have a 'tune-up' interval approaching 100k miles.
That's right, 100k miles. If I'm not mistaken, current EPA regulations
require the manufacturer to warrant that said vehicle will not exceed
its emissions requirements for that period. Hence, it actually is to the
manufacturer's advantage to build it to last. (Less expensive to make it
right than to *make* it right under warranty.)

The downside of this is that the owner no longer purchases and replaces
a set of points and plugs but instead must either purchase a $3k scanner
or take the vehicle to a technician to determine any malfunctions. The
upside, discounting the increased reliability, is that an OBD II
(On-board diagnostic Revision 2) equipped automobile will tell you or
that technician precisely which $500+ component has failed. It will also
warn of impending failures by reporting out of spec parameters.

When I was first starting out in the automotive trade, most vehicles
were worn out, even with meticulous care, at 100 to 150k miles. Today,
it is common for a vehicle to go twice to three times that distance
without major repairs. Hence the decline of the small independent shop.
(I own three four wheeled conveyances. Each of them has 200k+ miles on
their original engines. None of them uses significant quantities of
lubricants (they don't burn oil.) They're getting tired, but I fully
expect to get another 100k out of each of them before replacement.

Of course, as they say on the automotive lists, YMMV. (your mileage may vary)

Jim
Received on Wed Jun 12 2002 - 22:54:21 BST