Todays cars are just not as good as the old ones

[stingray66]

I have been a mechanic for a long time started back in 62 and have seen a lot of things change some good BUT mostly BAD
Stopped by a friends shop the other day. He had a 2010 Mazda sedan with a V6 with blown head gaskets
with 24,000 miles and the factory said it was NOT under warranty Well I found out that the engine was a Ford 3,0 V6
I am retired so I am Not in to it as much as I once was so I did not know that Mazda came with fords engines
Now I will say there is NO way to get the heads off with the engine in the car ALso there is NO way to replace the water pump with out removing the engine Ended up removing the whole engine trans cradle and lifting the car up on the lift
Found the heads are warped because of a water pump failure
I just hate to think of some poor tech on flat rate doing this job He would get totally F%^^% on this job I am told this is the same engine thats in the ford edge My point is if you would have told me that you have to remove an engine just to replace a water pump I would have thought you were NUTs And to the engineer that designed that engine he should be FRIED
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v511/stingray66/IMG_0731_zpsdba5d63c.jpg?t=1358284133
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v511/stingray66/IMG_0730_zpsfa852d35.jpg?t=1358284211

Topic

[Bill]

I had a 1956 Chrysler New Yorker with a 392 Hemi. That car sure was a tank. If you brake torqued it, it would smoke the tires until there was nothing left but the rims. :woohoo: Yeah…I tested it.

I loaned it to a friend who flattened another car with it. Luckily nobody was injured. I entered into a demo derby with it and I would have won but the gas tank fell out and I was disqualified. 🙁 I was too short to see over the steering wheel without a stack of 😛 cushions but I loved that car.

I sold it for, I think $50.00 and the guy jury rigged a gas can it the back seat and drove her home.

I think he wanted the engine for a project.

[Kevin Criswell]

[quote=”wysetech” post=77960]I had a 1956 Chrysler New Yorker with a 392 Hemi. That car sure was a tank. If you brake torqued it, it would smoke the tires until there was nothing left but the rims. :woohoo: Yeah…I tested it.

I loaned it to a friend who flattened another car with it. Luckily nobody was injured. I entered into a demo derby with it and I would have won but the gas tank fell out and I was disqualified. 🙁 I was too short to see over the steering wheel without a stack of 😛 cushions but I loved that car.

I sold it for, I think $50.00 and the guy jury rigged a gas can it the back seat and drove her home.

I think he wanted the engine for a project.[/quote]

Well, if we keep it to cars we loved, I can get on board.

I had two cars I really enjoyed, one was a ’70 Eldorado Coupe 🙂 and the other was a Olds Delta 88, man that car was fun. Big as a boat and plenty of power. Glad I had it back when gas was .70 a gallon. Now today sadly those old boats would cost to much to drive as a daily driver.

Personally I believe most new cars are light years ahead of my old boats, but there is one thing the new ones lack, a personality and beauty all their own.

[Peter]

I may be an infant by comparison (I started out in my teenage years playing around with’old’ 80’s cars), but I do see your point. The front wheel drive configuration has seen some engineers push available space to (and often beyond) the available limits. Cast iron has given way to (often poor quality) alloys. Emissions, economy, performance and cost have been pushing to create engines engineered within an inch of their lifes.

Repairable and maintainable mechanical devices have given way to throw-away sealed electronics. And the one that kinda pisses me off is the safety issue. Yes, ABS, EBA, SRS, TC, ESP have been statistically proven to save lives (which is always a good thing), but their proliferation has given rise to some of the poorest driving skill imaginable being passed off as competent. I’m currently working with new vehicles that tell you how to park, and Have Lane Departure Warning. Jesus wept, if you can’t keep the car you’re driving in the right lane, go to sleep or park up and continue drinking! At what point do we admit that electronics can not, and should not be forced to compensate for lack of driver skill?

Don’t get me wrong. I love electronics. I was kid that taught themselves to solder while building various electronic kits. However, the driver is who should be responsible for the operation of the car. At least until the overbearing government bans manually controled vehicles and we all end up with self driven ones.

[Darren]

As a DIYer I’ve worked on some old cars and new cars. The older cars are certainly easier to work on in terms of repairability, but in a crash I’d like to be in my 59′ Hyundai i10 then my J reg Peugeot 309.

Brings be back to a time back in 2007 I got stuck in a traffic jam on the A14 and a fully loaded 40 tonne articulated lorry slammed straight into the back of me at 52mph. Luckily I was in a works van at the time as apparently according to the police I would have been brown bread. Anyway back on subject!

I don’t think I can repair the head gasket on my new car without messing something up! But it is comfortable. Much more comfortable than my Peugeot. And I’m going to keep it until it runs into the ground. I have finally decided! I was going to get a new car but I decided not to in the end as I have owned it from new and I own every single nut and bolt on it. Compared to other cars I’ve read about my car as cheap as it was at £10,000 is running quieter and smoother than some other cars I have heard about at the same miles.

I love my little car. Once the photo upload is working I’ll show you!

[Chevypower]

Every car on the road is a piece of shit. If they weren’t, none of us would have jobs.

I love old cars. The problem is: You gotta work 4x harder than a normal mechanic. Sure, guys will spend HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS to have an old car restored. But when they want it done in 2 weeks, and you’re working 18 hour days to hit the deadline, how much money are you really making?

That being said: An old car hitting a new car would kill both drivers. The old car will tear through the new car like a hot knife through warm butter. But the old car doesn’t have a collapsible steering column, air bags, crumple-zones, and other computerized horseshit. So, the driver will fly through the windshield and the last thing to cross his mind will be his own ass.

[Author]

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