Cars

Dustbury puts up a post about the relative merits of old cars versus new cars. I will give you that cars are changing, but there are good changes and bad changes. In the old days, things were built to last forever. There were parts that wore out, but they were very small and replacements were cheap. Things like light bulbs, bearings and brake linings. However, the down side of many of these parts is that it took considerable time and effort to replace them.

Nowadays there are no small parts. Some little dohickey fails, like the door latch, and you don't replace just the failed part, you replace the entire subassembly, like the entire door. It's quicker, and easier and doesn't require any specialized knowledge. The subassembly costs more, but the savings in time is substantial and, as we all now know, time is money. Except that only counts if you have a job or money. If you don't have either of those, well, all you have is time, and time savings means nothing if you can't afford the cost of the replacement subassembly.

On the other hand, parts last a lot longer now. I got 95,000 miles out of the brakes on my truck before they had to be redone. Actually, I think I still have the original brakes on the rear, and I'm up to something like 110K miles. Engines used to last 100,000 miles, now they should last 250,000. However, transmissions, which used to be good for the life of the car now seem to be a weak link.

Cars have gotten to be more like consumer electronics, and commercial buildings for that matter. The basic structure, which used to be the biggest, most expensive and important part of the car or building is now a freebee that they give you when you buy all the other stuff that goes into it. That's why cars that look great but have a half a dozen niggling little problems are worthless. To get those little problems fixed would require so much time and/or money that you might as well buy a new one. The question is how much annoyance are you willing to put up with? The car pulls to the right a little when I step on the brakes. The dome light doesn't work. The third preset on the radio doesn't work. It takes two seconds to start now, it used to start instantly, etc. etc.

Cars really are pretty amazing devices. They transport you in comfort through miserable conditions. They can do it quickly, quietly, cheaply and safely. If you are so inclined, they can also provide hours of entertainment.

My biggest complaint about newer cars is that they are lower than the curbs in most parking lots. Used to be that you could pull right up to the curb until your wheels hit and then you would know you were parked. Now, you have to judge your distance, because if you pull all the way forward, the lower front something of the car is going to impact the curb and you are going to hear an ugly sound and feel a jolt. Cars either need to get taller, or parking lot curbs need to get shorter.