Things you miss about cars from days of yore

[Knox in Box]

i miss cars that weren't so damn 'programmed'.
mine shifts up into 3rd gear every time i turn onto a different street, then i have to jam the gas so i'm not bogged down at 10 mph.

also, my gas pedal is not connected to the engine.....only to the computer and the computer decides whether it's going to give the gas to the engine when i want it to .....as in trying to pull out into traffic, i push the gas down.....fucking computer waits 2+ seconds before it agrees to give gas to the engine.

You need to row your own. We rented a car a few years ago and they gave us an automatic. Tried to kill us on a somewhat risky pass with oncoming traffic. I pulled around and it geared down just fine, then it got to the top of that gear and arbitrarily decided to switch up like 3 gears at once and lost all momentum. Meanwhile cars are coming directly at us. We would have had plenty of time if it switched gears normally, as it was we had to sweat it out, cut the median and get honked/cussed at.

 

[Acadiafall]

My dad had a small van when we were kids so he just threw a mattress in the back if we were going anywhere. Seat belts? No need for that shit.

It might not have been very safe but it was very comfy.

 

[Motorik]

the purpose for the side mirrors being up on the fenders is a racing thing. helps you see someone coming up your side without you having to change your focal plane, when you're going 130+. in fact you can practically see them just with peripheral vision.
on street cars, they're just there to look cool.

On the right kind of car they look really cool and have that retro racing vibe.

 

[DdBob]

I want fossil fuels to go away. And yes, I know batteries still have problems, but those can be solved. And also that electricity comes from somewhere, and that can be solved too. And is.

I think in the shorter run, plug in hybrids where you can get your in town trips done from juice you get from plugging into your garage, and gas when you need it for road trips, are a good stepping stone. But, I want fossil fuels and ICE motors in the rear view mirror. And transportation to be completely transformed in the populated areas (more mass transit) with cars being more for: road trips, out of town stuff, rural areas where public transportation is not practical, special trips where public transportation doesn't work, etc.

Do you really think rentals...duplexes, single homes, small 10 uniti apartment plexus will have plug ins? (the answer is no) electric is yet another symobol of have and have nots, more division of class. It's an elitist thing right now.
Fossil fuels are not necessarilly the enemy I have a faossil fuel burner I bought in 2011...I've put 48,000 miles on it since. How many have you put on yours? It's people driving around willy nilly, commuting 60 miles a day, running here and there. If everyone does the same with electric then we have to build more batteries, dispose of plus everything else. We don't know what that's gonna look like problem wise (most likely just a new problem we can't conceive right now) and then you have the increased cost of electricity and again not everyone can go solar and once again renters will lose out or how do you work colar into high rise apartment rentals as in who decides the pricing on that? Will it be up to individual capitalists and then what does that do ? (most likely it drives the increase of rent up even higher because we know what individual capitalists will do)...It's a whole can of 'nother worms.

i say the way forward is the tiny Chevy metro

 

[MonkeyZero]

Pulling out a red hot cigarette lighter and tossing it over my shoulder into a back seat full of my buds

LMAO! You're a psycho.

 

[mongooz]

Would you settle for Tawny Kitaen on the hood of Whitesnake's Rolls?

JAGUAR!!!!

 

[Motorik]

and then you have the increased cost of electricity and again not everyone can go solar [/ATTACH]

Friendo, you live in Arizona. You are in the right place to get that solar goodness!

 

[2manband]

Do you really think rentals...duplexes, single homes, small 10 uniti apartment plexus will have plug ins? (the answer is no) electric is yet another symobol of have and have nots, more division of class. It's an elitist thing right now.
Fossil fuels are not necessarilly the enemy I have a faossil fuel burner I bought in 2011...I've put 48,000 miles on it since. How many have you put on yours? It's people driving around willy nilly, commuting 60 miles a day, running here and there. If everyone does the same with electric then we have to build more batteries, dispose of plus everything else. We don't know what that's gonna look like problem wise (most likely just a new problem we can't conceive right now) and then you have the increased cost of electricity and again not everyone can go solar and once again renters will lose out or how do you work colar into high rise apartment rentals as in who decides the pricing on that? Will it be up to individual capitalists and then what does that do ? (most likely it drives the increase of rent up even higher because we know what individual capitalists will do)...It's a whole can of 'nother worms.

i say the way forward is the tiny Chevy metro

View attachment 76809

I’m all for electric cars but the changeover isn’t going to happen overnight - there’s a lot of other infrastructure needed to make the system work.
My ideal setup would be a house with a bunch of solar panels and an electric car that gets used for most day to day driving. That would really cut down on fuel bills and my carbon footprint. And if the car battery could back-feed the house for power outages and whatnot that would be pretty swell.

Id still probably have a ICE pickup truck though for towing, hauling, 4x4 duty etc but would use the electric car 80/20. Kinda like how it’s nice to have a 50 or 100W tube amp even though you rarely need it. It’s there for when you do, and it’s not really using any power while it’s turned off.

I agree with Bob that Teslas are primarily a status symbol for a lot of people. Myself can’t see spending that kind of $ on something with the build quality of a 1989 Lebaron. Hopefully in the coming years more manufacturers (i.e. the ones who actually know a thing or two about car building) get into the market, prices go down, and quality goes up. At that point I’m on board, but it’s probably still a few years till we get there

 

[mongooz]

On the right kind of car they look really cool and have that retro racing vibe.

geez MAX.....where's the blower sticking up out of the hood ??

 

[2manband]

crew cab/double cab trucks were very common by y2k….22 years ago

I don’t recall seeing many true 4-door trucks in that timeframe except for big ass domestic work trucks and the Ford Explorer thing. The suicide door mini rear seat style has been around longer, but doesnt work as well if you have little kids in car seats or nearly adult sized teenagers

Maybe 20 years is the wrong timeframe, but I stand by the assertion that the 4 door family truck in a Tacoma to F150 type size range is a relatively new automotive phenomena, but it’s a good fit for my family, so +1 for new cars there

 

[Motorik]

geez MAX.....where's the blower sticking up out of the hood ??

Oh man, you got it. Totally looks like something out of the first Mad Max. Get your leather jacket and aviators on, we're going to chase down the Toecutter

 

[Lerxst]

I don’t recall seeing many true 4-door trucks in that timeframe except for big ass domestic work trucks and the Ford Explorer thing. The suicide door mini rear seat style has been around longer, but doesnt work as well if you have little kids in car seats or nearly adult sized teenagers

Maybe 20 years is the wrong timeframe, but I stand by the assertion that the 4 door family truck in a Tacoma to F150 type size range is a relatively new automotive phenomena, but it’s a good fit for my family, so +1 for new cars there

The adoption of the crew cab as a family vehicle is a more recent trend but the trucks have been available for much longer

For example, the first 4 door Tacoma was introduced in October 2000 as a model year 2001 truck.

 

[DdBob]

Friendo, you live in Arizona. You are in the right place to get that solar goodness!

I'm a renter though Right now since I got the new AC unit back in July (not using the evaporative cooler now ) I switched over to 'budget billing" which is where they average your previous 6mo/1 yr amount so I'm set up to pay 67 USD per month (I just got my current bill and that is what it is even though I used more than twice the KWH i did last year and if not on budget billing my bill woulda been about 180) but that will change after a few months of running the ac. I expect it to average perhaps 85-95 every month after the next review. In the past when I used to run AC (keeping it at 82/83 degrees) I would have 190 -210 bills in the summer and in the rest of the year it would be 35-45.
I've heard going solar can be like 25,000 USD to install and then of course you gotta foot the bill for anything that goes wrong or wears out, landlords probably aren't interested in that kind of expense when they can't get a return on it unless they raise the rent like 200 bucks a month.
When I get my dad's home I would consider it if I could afford it with tax write off and subsidy. otherwise it's like putting gas in the tank or a Netflix subscription....easier to pay little chunks of change each time (even though it costs more overall in the end) rather than pay outright at once to save money in the end....the old have and have nots problem. I'm definitely in the have nots camp

 

[Lerxst]

I'm a renter though Right now since I got the new AC unit back in July (not using the evaporative cooler now ) I switched over to 'budget billing" which is where they average your previous 6mo/1 yr amount so I'm set up to pay 67 USD per month (I just got my current bill and that is what it is even though I used more than twice the KWH i did last year and if not on budget billing my bill woulda been about 180) but that will change after a few months of running the ac. I expect it to average perhaps 85-95 every month after the next review. In the past when I used to run AC (keeping it at 82/83 degrees) I would have 190 -210 bills in the summer and in the rest of the year it would be 35-45.
I've heard going solar can be like 25,000 USD to install and then of course you gotta foot the bill for anything that goes wrong or wears out, landlords probably aren't interested in that kind of expense when they can't get a return on it unless they raise the rent like 200 bucks a month.
When I get my dad's home I would consider it if I could afford it with tax write off and subsidy. otherwise it's like putting gas in the tank or a Netflix subscription....easier to pay little chunks of change each time (even though it costs more overall in the end) rather than pay outright at once to save money in the end....the old have and have nots problem. I'm definitely in the have nots camp

I just looked at the cost to install solar on our house and the projected break even on the materials and labor is approximately 20 years with the current federal and state credits. If you add a battery storage system to power your house offline, that adds even more time to break even.

 

[DdBob]

I’m all for electric cars but the changeover isn’t going to happen overnight - there’s a lot of other infrastructure needed to make the system work.
My ideal setup would be a house with a bunch of solar panels and an electric car that gets used for most day to day driving. That would really cut down on fuel bills and my carbon footprint. And if the car battery could back-feed the house for power outages and whatnot that would be pretty swell.

Id still probably have a ICE pickup truck though for towing, hauling, 4x4 duty etc but would use the electric car 80/20. Kinda like how it’s nice to have a 50 or 100W tube amp even though you rarely need it. It’s there for when you do, and it’s not really using any power while it’s turned off.

I agree with Bob that Teslas are primarily a status symbol for a lot of people. Myself can’t see spending that kind of $ on something with the build quality of a 1989 Lebaron. Hopefully in the coming years more manufacturers (i.e. the ones who actually know a thing or two about car building) get into the market, prices go down, and quality goes up. At that point I’m on board, but it’s probably still a few years till we get there

Does anybody know the cost of what the batteries would be for say a home (right now I think most cities are like ours where you "sell back" to the electric company and don't even use batteries.
I mean batteries for cell phones and flashlights etc are currently expensive. My work flashlight needs a new one but I think they are like 120 bucks (streamlight brand).

The 3 col. Geo metro would be perfect for city commuting. Teeny tires that cost probably 35 bucks each, two fan belts. I literally did a timing belt change on one of these early in my career in like 1 hr and 10 minutes and I didn't even know what i was doing. I replaced an axle on the one yesterday in 20 minutes working a a stoners pace...parts cost nothing and you can do all the work yourself.

 

[mongooz]

The adoption of the crew cab as a family vehicle is a more recent trend but the trucks have been available for much longer

For example, the first 4 door Tacoma was introduced in October 2000 as a model year 2001 truck.

try 1960

 

[DdBob]

I just looked at the cost to install solar on our house and the projected break even on the materials and labor is approximately 20 years with the current federal and state credits. If you add a battery storage system to power your house offline, that adds even more time to break even.

yeah that's what i mean....it's crazy because lots of people are transient these days and move a lot....not like the older days. I mean my dad has lived in the same house since 1979 the next oldest resident in the cul de sac is maybe 25 years and then the next one is like 8 years.

 

[Lerxst]

try 1967

The Toyota Tacoma was introduced in 1995

 

[mongooz]

The Toyota Tacoma was introduced in 1995

i'm saying the "4 door 4x4 trucks" have been around since the early '60's.
no, they were not 'family' vehicles. mostly military and utility company trucks, but they were available.

 

[Lerxst]

yeah that's what i mean....it's crazy because lots of people are transient these days and move a lot....not like the older days. I mean my dad has lived in the same house since 1979 the next oldest resident in the cul de sac is maybe 25 years and then the next one is like 8 years.

For sure, ~ 13 years is the average ownership tenure in the US. Especially sunny and moderate temp regions would have a potentially lower break even period but it’ll likely still exceed the time the person paying for it stays in the home. In this region solar doesn’t add substantially to the value of a home so the best bet would be buying a place that had a recent install paid for by a prior owner.