oh jeebus...........

unkel

maidhc wrote: »

My 74 Capri certainly isn't! Im actually amazed it still exists at all.

I'm actually amazed I do own and drive a car every day that at some point used to be the fastest production car for sale in the world. The only sports car ever to win European car of the year

OK it's old now and a sh1tty modern cheapo hatch might actually beat it in a 0-100km/h run. So be it.

jayok

unkel wrote: »

OK it's old now and a sh1tty modern cheapo hatch might actually beat it in a 0-100km/h run. So be it.

Ah, but that's not the point of buying it. Fact remains as you said that it was once the fastest production car in the world - and that is just cool :cool:

DukeDredd

You'd have to wonder about the modern ones alright. Wouldn't like to be running a modern common rail diesel that wasn't in warranty after reading this i think! (Especially with the problem being with one of the most reliable brands).

Speaking of early ninetys reliability - i've loaned my old '92 Corolla with around 200K miles on the clock (which spends it's time parked up at my parents place) to two friends over the past 6 months while their much newer and tiny mileage cars were in the garage. Sometimes i wonder why i ever got another car and stopped driving it!

what_car

Biro wrote: »

That, I'm afraid, is also a phrase that belongs in the past. Toyota are gone down hill too. Big time. If you want a reliable car, get a 10 year old Toyota or Honda.

or a new honda!

ednwireland

what_car wrote: »

or a new honda!

i think you missed the point of this thread

GTC

what_car wrote: »

or a new honda!

Which are built in England (some of them anyway). Hardly a plus!

E92

I think one of the other big problems with modern car design is how all the engine etc is completely covered up. In the olden days, before I could even walk, when you opened a bonnet, everything was there, ready and waiting, without any shielding.

This makes it much harder to try and do anything on your own, and this means that cars take longer to get serviced, when something goes wrong it takes longer and costs more, and for what? I don't care about what under the bonnet looks like, I don't care about all the black plastic, I don't expect to ever have to open it apart from checking the oil every now and again(but of course some modern cars don't even have dipsticks these days).

Even changing a light bulb is inaccessible these days. How can manufacturers justify this?

The other big problem it would appear is that mechanics actually seem to know nothing about what's wrong with a car without that bloody diagnostic machine. When that doesn't work, they don't know where to start.

How did they ever fix problems in the pre diagnostic era?

Then of course, the diagnostic machine might tell you that something needs to be replaced when it doesn't.

The ever increasing demands on emissions are not helping, especially when coupled with our rightful demands that cars get safer, yet faster, and comfier and more luxurious all at once.

There's only so much efficiency that can be had out of an engine. I wonder how are the diesels with over 90 bhp per litre going to last? Not that long ago, a diesel with not even half that was an achievement. Now it's not that spectacular, 100 bhp per litre diesels are starting to appear.

Surely they won't be as reliable as lower powered diesels of the same engine size? There has to be more stress on the engine components, after all, all they do is remap an engine or stick on another turbo and hey presto you can have loads more power.

These high power per litre engines are as a result of emissions legislation, no doubt about it, where manufacturers have to downsize engines and drop cylinders too. Executive saloons were always powered by 6 cylinder engines, now 4 cylinder engines are the mainstray of the range. Even luxury cars will be available with 4 cylinder engines when Merc releases the S300 BLUETEC Hybrid. There was a time when those type of cars had 8 cylinder engines as the norm.

astraboy

E92 wrote: »

I think one of the other big problems with modern car design is how all the engine etc is completely covered up. In the olden days, before I could even walk, when you opened a bonnet, everything was there, ready and waiting, without any shielding.

This makes it much harder to try and do anything on your own, and this means that cars take longer to get serviced, when something goes wrong it takes longer and costs more, and for what? I don't care about what under the bonnet looks like, I don't care about all the black plastic, I don't expect to ever have to open it apart from checking the oil every now and again(but of course some modern cars don't even have dipsticks these days).

Even changing a light bulb is inaccessible these days. How can manufacturers justify this?

The other big problem it would appear is that mechanics actually seem to know nothing about what's wrong with a car without that bloody diagnostic machine. When that doesn't work, they don't know where to start.

How did they ever fix problems in the pre diagnostic era?

Then of course, the diagnostic machine might tell you that something needs to be replaced when it doesn't.

The ever increasing demands on emissions are not helping, especially when coupled with our rightful demands that cars get safer, yet faster, and comfier and more luxurious all at once.

There's only so much efficiency that can be had out of an engine. I wonder how are the diesels with over 90 bhp per litre going to last? Not that long ago, a diesel with not even half that was an achievement. Now it's not that spectacular, 100 bhp per litre diesels are starting to appear.

Surely they won't be as reliable as lower powered diesels of the same engine size? There has to be more stress on the engine components, after all, all they do is remap an engine or stick on another turbo and hey presto you can have loads more power.

These high power per litre engines are as a result of emissions legislation, no doubt about it, where manufacturers have to downsize engines and drop cylinders too. Executive saloons were always powered by 6 cylinder engines, now 4 cylinder engines are the mainstray of the range. Even luxury cars will be available with 4 cylinder engines when Merc releases the S300 BLUETEC Hybrid. There was a time when those type of cars had 8 cylinder engines as the norm.

Correct. Even the new BMW 335 lacks a dipstick. You are warned when oil is low to top up, I'm not sure if you can check the level electronically? People are becoming further and further removed from the workings of a car. Progress is excellent we'll all agree, but this constant excessive focus on emissions is placing ridiclous targets for maunfacturers to reach. Not to mention the constant demands for increased comfort and safety. Something has to give.

I agree totally that you should be able to do certain things with your car, check the oil and coolant, change the tyre, and change a buld are the most basic of tasks that are now being removed from the drivers remit. We have all heard horror stories of engine management shutting down a car or putting it in "safe" mode for no apparent reason. Thats the issue, its software, there will be issues with it and if its being used on a car day in day out for 100-200 thousand miles it needs to be tested and developed correctly!

JHMEG

GTC wrote: »

Which are built in England (some of them anyway). Hardly a plus!

UK built 98-03 Accord (newer model built in Japan) is the most reliable car on the road according to the Reliability Index. If the fundamentals are right it doesn't matter who operates the assembly line.

Biro

When you're extracting every last ounce of energy from every droplet of fuel you need electronics to control it. Mechanical solutions can only go so far I suppose.
Good job planes aren't as finickey with their software! Imagine an A340 going into "safe mode"!

JHMEG

unkel wrote: »

OK it's old now and a sh1tty modern cheapo hatch might actually beat it in a 0-100km/h run. So be it.

I reckon I'd give you a good run in my sh1tty '00 cheapo hatch, which has an engine that debuted in 1989!:p

maidhc

Biro wrote: »

Good job planes aren't as finickey with their software! Imagine an A340 going into "safe mode"!

There you go!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2eQpUgHkBcg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_France_Flight_296

ambro25

galwaytt, you've got (or had) an MX-5, no?

If you want the same driveability/fun factor in 4-door guise and reliability über alles, get a Scooby

Biro

maidhc wrote: »

There you go!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2eQpUgHkBcg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_France_Flight_296

Not an A340...