Motor vehicle technology

[jeffrefrig]

A couple weeks ago I traded in my wife's Chevy Trax for a '22 Trailblazer. It's amazing what these motor engineers can do with a 3 cylinder engine! 1.3L Turbo has more power than her 4 cylinder Trax had. It might even give my Malibu a run for its money.
The car is AWD like her other one had, but there's a button to push that will let it run front wheel drive only. I didn't realize it was made in Korea, but with all the empty new car lots, not much choice to pick & choose. I don't know where the engineering was done, but my hat's off to that team. This smaller engine also puts out 17 more HP than her 1.4L car had. It had a turbo also. I guess that's where they get the HP, from the turbo design. Just really amazing to me.

 

[bigwheelzip]

Just pulled through my local VW dealership. Not a new car on the lot that I could see.

Sent from my Moto G (5) Plus using Tapatalk

 

[terry_tr6]

drive a ford 150 with the 3.5 ecoboost. amazing power

 

[ladder13]

The missus has a 2020 Acura RDX with a 2.0 Turbo. That thing goes from zero to roadside chat in no time.

Great car with all the doodads and a well appointed interior. I hate the EPA suck up shut off, when coming to a stop, that has to be overridden every start up. Otherwise it's fine.
I believe it's the best seller in its class.

Salesman has my number for when a freshened up 2022 arrives, allegedly due in early November, assuming they have the necessary chips.

As an aside, my neighbor is a engineer and plant manager for a Hitachi subdivision that makes the electronic parts for Honda/Acura. He has been advised that he will get no more than 40% of the chips he needs well into 2022 at best.
The chip shortage is far from seeing daylight.

 

[SMSgt]

I turned off much of the "technology" in my wife's Nissan Rogue. Most of it is just annoying, always beeping and dinging for nothing useful.

 

[Greyman50]

New vehicles are as bad as new cell phones, or is it vice- versa?

 

[Onomea]

I like all the new technology, the various alarms, active cruise control, auto braking and such. I'll take all the help I can get. Bit of a PITA to figure out initially, but once the learning curve is surmounted makes driving, especially long distance, easier and more comfortable for me.

 

[jimbo728]

I1ll still take a 65 Impala SS over all of them.
Ji

 

[Rustyt1953]

JR loves the rear camera. He wishes we could drive in reverse all the time.

 

[NYlakesider]

As far as all those doodads the modern car/truck come with, of the whole bunch of them the only one I like is the back up camera. Would have come in handy for the many times I hooked up a trailer. Course were talking safety items here, the electronics that control the engine have done a great job of increase horse power/drive ability and starting. Truth be known I really do not give a rats butt about economy,/green issues. Been a gear head since the late 1950s and a curmudgeon for a good long time also.

The rest of the add on nonsense those egghead engineers stuck us with for the most part are annoying and in some cases dangerous. No buttons or levers to mess with now most everything including simple things like adjusting the heat you have to take your eyes off the road and play tick tack tow with a touch screen.

Seems like something is always buzzing, gonging, clanging, bleating or vibrating! One of the worse is that gizmo that shuts your engine down at a traffic light. I know the tricks with many cars to shut it down but most its a default that on every restart you have to reset it. There are a couple companies out there that sell a device that neutralize that idiocy, but you have to spend a $100 to buy it.


What I'm talking about here is a subject that comes up often on the car forums I frequent.

 

[Rustyt1953]

I'll take all the safety features the can cram into an automobile.

I sure don't miss the "good old days".

 

[Kinman]

As far as all those doodads the modern car/truck come with, of the whole bunch of them the only one I like is the back up camera. Would have come in handy for the many times I hooked up a trailer. Course were talking safety items here, the electronics that control the engine have done a great job of increase horse power/drive ability and starting. Truth be known I really do not give a rats butt about economy,/green issues. Been a gear head since the late 1950s and a curmudgeon for a good long time also.

The rest of the add on nonsense those egghead engineers stuck us with for the most part are annoying and in some cases dangerous. No buttons or levers to mess with now most everything including simple things like adjusting the heat you have to take your eyes off the road and play tick tack tow with a touch screen.

Seems like something is always buzzing, gonging, clanging, bleating or vibrating! One of the worse is that gizmo that shuts your engine down at a traffic light. I know the tricks with many cars to shut it down but most its a default that on every restart you have to reset it. There are a couple companies out there that sell a device that neutralize that idiocy, but you have to spend a $100 to buy it.


What I'm talking about here is a subject that comes up often on the car forums I frequent.

My wife's Camry hybrid has been shutting itself off for over a decade, never a problem...I changed the starting battery last year, the main electric system battery is still operating as if new. My two year old Highlander has a button to disable the fuel saving "off at the light" but it has to be pushed at every start up. Once pushed it remains active until the engine is shut off like at the store, then once restarted will require another enable to disable. I know these things are a pain but the thing has more power and gets better mileage, I have gotten used to most everything, love the rear view camera. I still have my '29 Model A to satisfy my need to be mechanical, everything is mechanical on that old job.

 

[NYlakesider]

I'll take all the safety features the can cram into an automobile.

I sure don't miss the "good old days".

Cute kid. In my state I think I see a few things wrong/unsafe with that picture.

 

[Muss Muggins]

This is all I can think of. Sadly, there are no interweb images of him in his bathrobe hitting it with a shovel . . .

 

[Rustyt1953]

This is all I can think of. Sadly, there are no interweb images of him in his bathrobe hitting it with a shovel . . .

True. I have almost worn out a tablet looking for a lawn mower/shovel/bathrobe pic. All to no avail.

 

[ladder13]

I like modern medicine too.

 

[fiasconva]

Kinda shakes you up when you're driving down the road and you suddenly get a software update on your screen. Some of the features are disabled while it does so. It took about 20 minutes for that last one and it's a little scary for us old farts.

 

[luvsmiths]

True. I have almost worn out a tablet looking for a lawn mower/shovel/bathrobe pic. All to no avail.

Took one just for you...

 

[Rustyt1953]

Took one just for you...

Where's the shovel?

 

[Muss Muggins]

Where's the shovel?

Doesn't count if you're smiling . . .