New cars can drive you nuts!(rant)
 

I hate driving almost all newer cars. Its like having your old 3rd grade teacher in the passangers seat reminding you to behave!

I love how our old MB's pretty much give the middle finger to all this modern nanny crap.

No shifter interlock. Its a car, if you can't figure it out you really shouldn't be driving.

I can start the engine any damn time I want, as long as its not in gear. No having to depress the brake pedal BS.

Door locks that do not lock you in. If your dumb enough to open one and fall out, well MB figured they were doing the world a favor.

Not locking you out of adjusting the seat as your driving.

They have a real parking brake, not this auto parking brake BS.

They have a loud annoying buzzer that tells you when you are doing something wrong/dumb in proper German fashion. Its like the car is saying moron you left your lights on, and I ain't shutting them off for you. I don't like that damn Chevy bing, bing, bing!

Not having an annoying seat belt buzzer that goes off if you don't have your belt on when the car is in gear. MB figured that if you wanted to kill yourself they were not going to stop you.

No cup holders, I love this! The Germans way of saying pay attention to the road you crazy Americans!

Rant off.:D

i hate that seat belt reminder in modern cars, it seems like it never goes off. When ever my dad gets in his car he doesn't put his seat belt on for awhile and the noise annoys me so much.

Late W126s had that feature.

What car does that? Doesn't sound like anything I've heard of.
That's nothing new, that technology has been in certain cars since at least the early 1980s.

That actually sounds like something a German automaker would do. HALT! YOU SHVALL ONLY ADJUST THE SEAT PRIOR TO DRIVINK LIKE A PROPER AUTOBAHN DRIVER!"


Funny you ought to mention that. I remember some forum members were actually trying to replace their buzzers with the American "chime" sound. I like the buzzer sound, it's old school. :cool:

But they have a glaring annoying red light.

If that were truly the case, they would also not have radios, those surely distract you on the road.

I saw some TV show about the Autobahn, and a guy they interviewed mentioned that the Germans never used to put cupholders in their cars because they feel that driving, in itself is an activity, and if you are flying along at autobahn speeds, you shouldn't be sipping a soda...

I don't even remember the American cars we had from the 80s having cupholders either.

Really when did they add a shifter interlock? 90's?

My car doesn't have a seat belt light, just an easy to ignore overhead seat belt thing, like on a plane!:D

To start the new MB's with the push button start you have to depress the brake. Drove me nuts.

It began with the 1990 or 1991 model.

[QUOTE]
My car doesn't have a seat belt light, just an easy to ignore overhead seat belt thing, like on a plane!:D[/QUOTE
1st gen W126s have their seatbelt lights in the instrument cluster. Maybe you can add a "no smoking" sign too next to your seatbelt sign.:P

I don't like the idea much of the whole push button start. I prefer a key, it feels more mechanical. How is the issue of security handled? I always lock my doors in my car (even in the garage), but what about the small town owner who has the biggest house in the town in the middle of a big field who still leaves their car unlocked, can unacknowledged Cousin Ned from the trailer around the bend jump the 8 foot fence while on a Crystal Meth binge, push the button and be off?

You carry a keyfob that the car can sense and it allows you to start.
It also allows you to start if you left your keys on top of your car for whatever reason...

haha, knoledge from experience? :D :D

New cars violate the basic rule:

Simpler = Better.

On the keyless note, I really dislike mercedes keyless go in the 221. Instead of engineering it into the car its just a plug that goes into the keyhole and it looks cheap. Nissan/Infiniti's system is great looking, doesn't look like an afterthought, and works great.

Loved my 86 Jetta Coupe. Bosch CIS injection, manual windows... CIS could be diagnosed with a multimeter and a test light. In 15 years and 225K, all I did to the CIS was replace fuel filters and a couple of O2 sensors. Adjusting fuel ratio was as simple as a 3.5mm allen wrench and a dwell meter.

Always a ridiculous point........:rolleyes:

Every once in a while its good to go on a rant. Hope you feel better. Now start providing that great advice. LOL

Heck, I bought the 300SD because it was 100% mechanical. I am not so sure about the SDL as it was electrics going to the IP, but on the 617, you could push start it and run with no battery or alternator. Talk about cool!

I hate all the electronic crap in cars these days.
I look at my 1974 Jeep with it's Holley carb, points and coil and I can understand it. I can also tune it by ear with a flat bladed screwdriver!
When I got her, she was running on 2 cylinders. A few fixes (plugs, wires, a shot of seafoam) and she is purring on all six as only an AMC straight six can purr!

I look at the 1984 BMW with it's Jetronic fuel injection and I have a hard time figuring it out. I have figured out how to tune it a bit and how to make it run fairly smoothly (damn that idle control valve!), but it is MUCH harder to understand.

I look at the mess of wires under the hood of the 1999 Suburban and I am totally lost :eek: The only way I can even attempt to fix anything is by reading OBDII codes. Because I do not understand the newer systems it cost me $2000 for injectors and labor last year!

I am totally afraid of what you would find in a Prius! You need a dgree from MIT to even think about working on one!