A delightfully positive note from VO in the South. You know I am a petrol-head, all my life into cars, bikes and trucks. But here I drive a 1999 Toyota, built during that companies' so-called 'Golden Age' when huge amounts were spent on quality control, and even now in 2023 everything works as it should. The closest it gets to 'electronic interference' is Fuel Injection, but I posit that is essential in an age of ethanol additives in fuels. My phone is c.2010 and is made of metal. My motorcycle does not sport any ridiculously unnecessary add-ons like drift control, abs, launch or FST screens. It is easy to maintain and dependable, as well as being more frugal than the meanest man I know.
Recently, the UK MoD ordered a batch of Land-Rover Defenders for the military and specified that all electronic aids be removed. Vehicles like motorcycles and military equipment get wet, very wet. And you know what happens to electronics when wet. Just ask the owner of the F150 at the top of your story! Or ask any owner of a top-of-the-line Mercedes that is over, say, 6 or 7 years old. The cost of maintenance is so high due to electronic failures these $150,000 mega cars go for peanuts when a few years old.
Finally, a chum here has a Ford Ranger pick-up and he has spent a small fortune on electronics repairs and is now actively looking for a car like mine, or better still a Nissan Patrol as the old model Y61 is still made for the UN and some miltaries. Drive happy VO.
Only a real DIY guy or gal will appreciate that last picture. To me it ay F you globalists, I'm doing it my way.
I was just telling the girlfriend, "I need to find a younger vehicle, that is just below the tech threshold (so as few chips as possible). I have a 2005 Xterra, with 200K+ that just made a 13 hour (1000 mile) trip and will make the return trip in a month or so. I do all the work on it and know every issue it has - only two.
I had a 2003 Audi Allroad, which was a great car, when it ran. However, it suffered from the same problem as the Ford...integrated systems and circuitry. One code related to no less than 6 components. Finally had to let it go.
You are correct about the societal shift to accepted obsolescence and disposability.
I had a friend who's wife told him they needed to buy another car, because the side view mirror was broken. While this used to be a funny anecdote, it is reality, where the newer masses are concerned.
In the future, those "sophisticated and enlightened" Western countries would do well to take lessons from your corner of the world, but they won't.
Imagine a civilization that has been taught to take pride in a shiny, name brand, popular thing, that does not work...verses a dull, mundane and pedestrian thing that does.
A delightfully positive note from VO in the South. You know I am a petrol-head, all my life into cars, bikes and trucks. But here I drive a 1999 Toyota, built during that companies' so-called 'Golden Age' when huge amounts were spent on quality control, and even now in 2023 everything works as it should. The closest it gets to 'electronic interference' is Fuel Injection, but I posit that is essential in an age of ethanol additives in fuels. My phone is c.2010 and is made of metal. My motorcycle does not sport any ridiculously unnecessary add-ons like drift control, abs, launch or FST screens. It is easy to maintain and dependable, as well as being more frugal than the meanest man I know.
Recently, the UK MoD ordered a batch of Land-Rover Defenders for the military and specified that all electronic aids be removed. Vehicles like motorcycles and military equipment get wet, very wet. And you know what happens to electronics when wet. Just ask the owner of the F150 at the top of your story! Or ask any owner of a top-of-the-line Mercedes that is over, say, 6 or 7 years old. The cost of maintenance is so high due to electronic failures these $150,000 mega cars go for peanuts when a few years old.
Finally, a chum here has a Ford Ranger pick-up and he has spent a small fortune on electronics repairs and is now actively looking for a car like mine, or better still a Nissan Patrol as the old model Y61 is still made for the UN and some miltaries. Drive happy VO.
Only a real DIY guy or gal will appreciate that last picture. To me it ay F you globalists, I'm doing it my way.
I was just telling the girlfriend, "I need to find a younger vehicle, that is just below the tech threshold (so as few chips as possible). I have a 2005 Xterra, with 200K+ that just made a 13 hour (1000 mile) trip and will make the return trip in a month or so. I do all the work on it and know every issue it has - only two.
I had a 2003 Audi Allroad, which was a great car, when it ran. However, it suffered from the same problem as the Ford...integrated systems and circuitry. One code related to no less than 6 components. Finally had to let it go.
You are correct about the societal shift to accepted obsolescence and disposability.
I had a friend who's wife told him they needed to buy another car, because the side view mirror was broken. While this used to be a funny anecdote, it is reality, where the newer masses are concerned.
In the future, those "sophisticated and enlightened" Western countries would do well to take lessons from your corner of the world, but they won't.
Imagine a civilization that has been taught to take pride in a shiny, name brand, popular thing, that does not work...verses a dull, mundane and pedestrian thing that does.
Good post!