Because I can often be a long way from anywhere, I like my pickups as basic as possible - less to go wrong. So I got a new basic Dodge Workman pickup a year and a half ago. Have 43,000 miles. So I was driving on a remote highway three days ago and the low fuel warning light came on. Got my attention because I had fueled up about a hundred miles before. After trying some different things, I decided it was something that could be dealt with when home.

So dealer fixed it. Turns out Dodge's warranty on electronics is 35,000 miles. Cost me $800. Now you know how much faith Detroit has in their fancy stuff.

Someone once told me never by a vehicle from an Italian car company for under $250,000.

someone once told me never bu

DonnyMac (imported) wrote: Fri May 17, 2019 7:35 pm y a vehicle from an Italian car company,

even their expensive stuff is absurdly unreliable.

I think the electronics would have worked much better if the car was Japanese!

i ran a toyota rav4 for 10 years until i decided to get something else. i wish i'd kept the toyota. apart from gas, tires, brakes and oil that car didn't need anything.

You get attached to old reliable cars. I had a plain pockets Silverado for 10 years before. I put 330,000 miles on it which in my work means I beat the shit out of it: loaded to the gunnels, jeep trails, cross country and so on. It kept ticking. I had begun to feel like you could trust a horse, a DC-3, an old VW and my Silverado. Everything else was marketing bullshit. Just got to the point I felt something was going to give and I did not want to deal with that in a remote place. Hated to give it up.

The bit that gets me is how much they charge for their replacement parts. Bearing in mind tens of thousands of these units are produced during the cars production run.

At work I am involved in Aircraft electronics and can tell you that the price these jokers charge for some of their little black boxes I could buy a Boing 747 landing gear controller with, and have a bit of change left over (Wholesale price)but far more niche market.

Its all down to the options you have when a part fails. do you bite the bullet and pay these charges or replace your vehicle?? ....Either way the motor industry wins.

They win in the sales floor showing off fancy electronics and they win in the service department 43,000 miles later.

It is one thing when a gas level guage fails, it is another when lane assis fails in LA. I wonder if legal beagles are building a case as I write.

For someone like me, all the lightshows going on in the dash are a huge distraction. Since 1984, I've had pretty simple vehicles without much going on other than a radio and a typical instrument panel. The '04 Ford Explorer, when I first got it in '06 from the service manager, was bad enough. Lights in the door panel for all the switches, a big radio, and a fancier dash. Add to that the overhead console with compass and the polarizing rearview mirror. Thankfully, the overhead console died a few years ago. At least I can dim the dash panel down at night so it's hardly on.

I know I've griped about it before, but these new vehicles are like something out of Star Trek. I took one look at the dash of a couple of new cars (Mustang, Fusion) and a few trucks and figured, "With an attention span like mine, there's no way!" And all this beeping, bonging, and honking going on all the time? Seemed the thing was always griping about something.

That, and I can spend ~$10k on a new engine and transmission vs. $48k for a new similar ride.

And one look under the hood? Gives a whole new meaning to the phrase: This is why mechanics hate engineers!

Example?

Back in the day, the 1980 or so turbo engines (the granddaddy of the modern Ecoboost / Ecoboob) was pretty much a joke. Then again, so were the normally aspirated V-8's. The 2.3L turbo Mustang generated more horsepower than the V-8 GT. It took a few hours, but you could remove the turbo unit without having to pull the whole engine out. Not anymore! As I understand it, it's all one big integrated unit now.

I like the truck I have now. I only have to wonder why the loon who designed it couldn't have made the nose just 6" longer? Even 3" would have been great. And ramming that 4.0L V-6 into a Ranger's nose? C'mon, guys...

Anyway, another rant over, for now!