The 'modern cars are shit' thread.

[Hooli]

I've never bothered putting it in neutral. It's an automatic gearbox. Stick it in drive and let it figure out what it needs to do. Otherwise why did you buy/get an auto if you want to figure that stuff out?

Same reason more modern ones do put themselves in neutral?

TBH I never bother unless it's a long stop & that's just so I don't have to keep holding the brake or worry the engine will overcome the handbrake.

[SiC]

Vent your anger/dislike/loathing about modern shit.

When it comes to absolute garbage, not much beats Land Rover. Look at this turd:

Give it another decade and we'll mostly be driving around in Chinese EVs that cost far less than the European offerings, more reliable and better built. The European market is ripe for outside entities to come in and give the existing entities a right shake up. As it was in the 70s/80s.

Given the Chinese love of commonality in designs, likely everything will be mix and matchable too. Repair will simply be a case of lobbing replacement blocks in. Motor bearings gone? Remove and replace the unit. Inverter burnt out? Remove and replace the unit. Cells in battery failed? Remove and send off to be refurbished. Due to mechanical simplicity all those jobs will be an hour or two of labour.

Even stuff like SAIC MG Motors is already chucking out pretty decent products at reasonable prices. For example the MG4 is a mostly inoffensive small EV. The larger pack on the 281 miles range is sufficient for pretty much everyone and 218 mile range on the standard is more than enough realistically for the majority too. Sub 8s 0-60 gives it reasonably lively performance. It's £26k starting price may seem high but the 208e/mini electric/500e all start at around £30k for much less kit and arguably the MG4 is a better packaged product.

[SiC]

I've never bothered putting it in neutral. It's an automatic gearbox. Stick it in drive and let it figure out what it needs to do. Otherwise why did you buy/get an auto if you want to figure that stuff out?

Same reason more modern ones do put themselves in neutral?

TBH I never bother unless it's a long stop & that's just so I don't have to keep holding the brake or worry the engine will overcome the handbrake.

Many do yes to save fuel as not having an engine fighting against a torque converter. But then most will stop the engine too.

Again with start/stop, just leave it on and let it figure things out. Ignore the fact there is even an engine and just drive ignoring the noise it may be making. Which is what 90% of road users will do and how it's engineered to be used.

With instant restart, the ECU knows where the crank has stopped and can restart without barely a full rotation of the engine and without additional enrichment. No need for multiple crank cycles for the crank/cam sensor to figure out the positioning to allow firing and injection. Direct injection alleviates the need for excessive fueling during this phase too. Starters are given an easier life as they barely have to turn the engine over. Properly designed stop/start systems have cooling circulation pumps to keeps things consistent. Oil pathways are kept filled and modern oil pumps pressurise very quickly. Batteries are specified to be types of technology that can withstand repeated starts and nevertheless aren't subject to as much stress due to the lack of cranking needed. They're also much closer monitored to ensure there is always enough energy in the pack to restart while sat stationary.

This is why my last A4 managed 210k on the same starter, engine, fueling system and even original factory battery. Starters especially aren't frequently replaced now - even the second hand value of such parts are minimal as there isn't much of a market for them.

[LynehamHerc]

This could put the kibosh on Chinese EV sales in Europe, especially given the tension over Taiwan:

PARIS — French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday called for more support for consumers and companies that choose electric cars produced in the EU instead of foreign ones.

"The Americans are buying American and pursuing a very aggressive strategy of state aid. The Chinese are closing their market. We cannot be the only area, the most virtuous in terms of climate, which considers that there is no European preference," Macron told French daily Les Echos.


https://www.politico.eu/article/macron- ... -for-cars/

[Hooli]

Again with start/stop, just leave it on and let it figure things out. Ignore the fact there is even an engine and just drive ignoring the noise it may be making. Which is what 90% of road users will do and how it's engineered to be used.

The only examples I've driven with it were shit & dangerous. The worst being the hire transhit that'd stop/start while moving - ideal when parking as you'd push the clutch slightly & the power steering cut out...

Maybe a well engineered system is good, but I've never experienced one.

[Split_Pin]

To be fair even Rob and Chris on the SR channel were a bit flummoxed as to how the previous owner was driving it one minute, turned it off to drop the kids off at school and then the timing chain (or some other as-yet unidentified critical part of the engine) just snapped when she tried to restart it. I got the impression they were both thinking that the engine was a pile of rubbish to fail in such a way at that mileage.

They've got a perfect business there as they regularly buy broken sub 5 year old Land Rovers for a low price, fix them and then sell them on as people seem to go mad for them. They seem to have really got to know the cars too and have a good range of contacts for parts. They usually sell them cheaper than the market average too. Good on them I say.

[SiC]

They were whining about the battery voltage possibly being too low but they didn't even look at their scan tool which told them exactly what it was. Not sure on those engines and what causes the failure but not uncommon to skip a tooth or two if it has a oil fed tensioner that has drained out and the chain stretch is at the limits.

[DodgeRover]

They were whining about the battery voltage possibly being too low but they didn't even look at their scan tool which told them exactly what it was. Not sure on those engines and what causes the failure but not uncommon to skip a tooth or two if it has a oil fed tensioner that has drained out and the chain stretch is at the limits.

That's the same as modern transits, oil pressure tensioned timing chain, people tow them to get them going and the chain jumps, apparently you need to tow in 4th to build oil pressure gradually.

[PhilA]

My Infiniti came with lane assist, and all the singing/dancing paraphernalia. It remembers the settings you left it on for the next drive cycle, and has two sets of memories, one for each key.

It's activated by a push button on the steering wheel. Any road other than a freeway and it's pretty useless. I generally don't drive with it on. Switched off the only thing you get is front impact warning/braking which is actually surprisingly good at what it's meant to do- I had some jackass in a truck swerve across the crosshatch, swinging the back end of his trailer toward the nose of my car. My foot was nearly to the brake pedal and the car was already braking, which shows it's not far off an emergency atop reaction time.

As for start-stop, got that on the truck. If you stop and hold your foot on the brake just enough to be stopped, it will remain running. Push harder and if it doesn't need to run the engine for a/c or heat or battery charging it'll stop the engine. Release pressure on the brake and normally it's running and beginning to creep forward as you take your foot off the brake- it'll usually start in about 1/5 of a second.

Done right, these things can be nice to have.

[fried onions]

I have no time for techy shit made by geeks running logic circuits. Life's too short and our private motoring is under enough pressure as it is. So I only drive real cars designed by men who actually knew what they were doing. If a car from the 1950's is still giving good reliable service in the 21st century, against the odds, it cannot be a bad thing. I enjoy my comfortably sprung seats, generous interior space and instant response from the controls. And generally economical on fuel. The only 'connectivity' I think of is all 4 wheels on the road.