Future Problems

I really don't know. New technology usually brings new problems.

But I remember some of the hollering that went on in the early '80s about how electronic engine controls would be the death of hot rodding. IMHO, it only ended up improving things.

That, of course, doesn't address the issue of stuff just not working anymore. I hardly ever farm out repair work, and the only newer car (haha, 2000 Civic) I have any exposure to hasn't had any issues. But I'm given to understand that repair work has followed a similar trajectory to parts counters: Follow the prompts, R&R the defective module.

I'm concerned, but hopeful that we'll get better about fault-tolerant systems and making sure the troublesome bits really can be R&Red. If I have a big concern here, it's that with the influx of electric/part electric cars we may see a PC-type period of technology changing so fast that a car which would otherwise be worth repairing isn't just because it's got a last-gen battery pack. If this phase happens, hopefully we bend back towards stability and repairability once the technology calms down.

How to service and "repair" the battery packs, and how to dispose of all the then-classified as "hazmat" materials. Kinda like the mercury in the CFL light bulbs we're dealing with now.

81cpcamaro wrote: Curious, I haven't seen a diesel before the 90's with throttle-by-wire. Ford started in 94 with the Powerstroke, Dodge I believe with the 24V Cummins, Chevy has it with the Duramax, not sure about the 6.5L. My 91 F350 I had with a 7.3L IDI had a cable still. I prefer to have a cable or rod throttle, not too fond of throttle-by-wire. I am tending toward older vehicles myself, just to get away from all the electronics on the newer vehicles.

6.5s had it in 1994 in light duty truck applications.

What 70s diesel cars had drive by wire? The oldest one I know of is the 96 vw tdi.

I stand corrected - not 70s, 80s. That will teach me to use my memories in place of the googles. BMW introduced it on the 7 series in '88. It was adopted after that by Ford for use on large trucks.

My big concern is that software and whether the open source community can provide the support manufacturers don't and what sort of documentation there is. I hope we see some trend towards standardization in how auto computer systems are designed.

Hopefully we're running into a physical complexity limit. Once every function is electronic and handled by a central computer (we're awful close) additional functionality is just software. In some cases things are simpler now than they were back when it was bowden cables and vacuum lines doing all the work.

That said, I think the early/mid 90's were a sweet spot in terms of maintainability and modern convenience. I like being able to pull fault codes. My Miata is lovely to work on and even my E34 is no big deal. That car is densely packed with electronics (heated washer nozzles and door locks, smarts on all the lightbulbs to let you know when they're out, overly complicated sound system and an insane hvac system) but is pretty damn reliable even at 230K miles. When it does break, it's nicely modularized and I can pick up a used replacement module for $25 (vs. $500 at the dealer). Swapping them tends to be a 5 minute affair. Good design. I like that a lot.

Travis_K wrote: What 70s diesel cars had drive by wire? The oldest one I know of is the 96 vw tdi.

As far as I know the NSX was the first production car with drive by wire in 95.

It's seamless too, your throttle inputs don't lag as it goes through the ECU committee like with modern cars.

e_pie wrote: As far as I know the NSX was the first production car with drive by wire in 95.

The 88 BMW 7 series had it according to the googles.