Over the next weeks and months you’ll see more regular “new car” content here at BangShift as we’ll be getting an array of vehicles to cruise around in and review from manufacturers across the board. We’re not going to bore you with lame junk. Instead we’ll share with you the stuff we have driven and really liked…or really hated. We’ve even got a comparison test planned with two 400+hp luxo-barges. That kind of leads us into today’s question and that question centers around modern cars. We know that there is lots of complain about modern stuff (i.e. price, complexity, etc) but there is also a lot of stuff that new cars do amazingly well. They can make big horsepower and do it while surviving the rigors of day to day driving without complaint. Even most base model cars ride and handle far better than the best cars of years ago. They also protect the people inside them better than ever and a company like Volvo can actually look at the world with a straight face and say that they want to have a 0 fatality rate in their cars by 2020.
There are lots of whiz-bang doo-dads and fancy looking stuff in our cars that didn’t exist before but we’re not talking about that stuff. We’re talking about the parts and pieces that actually make the driving experience in a car. We love our old junk as much as the next guy, but we also think that it is neat to see what modern cars are out there pushing the boundaries of technology, fun, and efficiency. A big block 427 Covette from the late 1960s is totally awesome, but it gets beaten to a bloody pulp in all respects when stood up next to even the base model C7. Something’s got to be impressive about that.
BangShift Question Of The Day: What Is The Coolest Thing About Modern Automotive Technology?
OK, this is an easy question as far as I’m concerned. There is NOTHING cool about the bullshit gizmos and gimmicks they use to sell new cars these days. My car, built in 1973, has everything I want a car to do. Contrast that with the stupidly complicated crap that new cars have – I live in Australia, and to be quite honest I can get my car going most times with wire and tape and bits of crap if I break down in the middle of nowhere – my wife’s cars have stranded us good and proper on more than one occasion because computers go south or whatever. I just saw a ` car ‘ ad a few minutes ago that talked about bluetooth connectivity, cupholders and mp3 players – do you know, this ad mentioned NOTHING about the actual car – nothing about its motor, handling, brakes or anything else – is it any wonder youngies these days don’t care about working on cars?
The coolest thing would have to be the better fuel economy you get when still in a performance car but you can’t tinker with it and the drive by wire crap is annoying as the FI does whatever it wants to regardless of how quick you push the gas pedal, so scratch that one.
The coolest thing would have to be the ability to keep cool in the summer/warm in the winter while still being in classic style vehicle. Never mind, I like having the windows down and got my old stuff figured out on defrosting so I’m good with the old school temp controls.
The coolest thing would have to be the way I could talk to other late model owners who bought the non-performance model. They can tell me how much their cold air intake and cat back exhaust really boosted the power. Actually, scratch that, I don’t want to talk to these guys & don’t want to have anything in common with them.
The coolest thing would have to be all the technology that goes into them to get them to crazy horse powers with small motors. I probably need to go pick up one of these 5.0 Mustangs and get it into the low 12’s and just keep it in the garage beside the ’69 Road Runner for years to come. Actually, I would only keep it till the warranty is up, I don’t want to wrench on something with so much electrical do-dads when it’s old and all the components/clips/wiring harnesses are old & brittle. Then when sensors start going bad and electrical shorts happen in the oddest places it can be weeks in the evenings to figure out why certain sensors are communicating.
The coolest thing would have to be the ability to get non-mechanically inclined people into a “hot rod”.
The ability to change your car’s performance with aftermarket tuners. When you want fuel mileage, just take a few clicks…When you want performance, just go a few clicks again…, when you want daily driver for your wife..again just press a few buttons..
Rust inhibitors
10.5:1 mills that run without bitching on regular with full timing… 1hp/cu inch “low end” mills that mpg and don’t break.
the third generation Hemis.
Hell yeah! I have one in my 1974 Dodge D100.
I remember growing that the weather always featured the smog index, particulates, ozone counts with colored smog alert levels. I haven’t seen that in a long time, so I thing smog equipment is pretty cool, especially the modern stuff that doesn’t take away much from performance. I’m also happy about computer controls. The ability to plug into an OBD2 port and read all your car’s vitals is awesome.
Using you Ipad or Iphone as a digital dash.
Yeah, that is easy. 700+ HP on the street with todays crap pump gas! All came about because of computer control for engine management. Never would have dreamed of that in 1980.
E.T.s in the 12s and even 11s with great m.p.g. (when you’re not on it). Cylinder heads that flow like race heads. 7,000+ r.p.m. redlines. Cross-bolted main caps. Cornering forces near 1g. 100,000+ miles between tune-ups and 300,000+ possible between major overhauls. Standardized scan tools. Much better rustproofing . . . .
the good.. handle,and are fast, and ok mpg and that’s not even true. if you have a lead foot, these are as bad on fuel
the bad.. the everything tied into everything, ecu system.. this has all but guaranteed , these vehicles will not be at shows in 20 years.. as they’ll need 8g’s in electronic’s to keep them going..
the good, powertrains that we can take out and adapt for use in older vehicles.. allowing the good of the new with the k.i.s.s. of the old..
the bad.. there is a dark clowd that might snuff this out soon just like the early 70’s
THE WANT.. someone be it ford/gm/mopar.. build a car without all the b/s a trim level with no do it all touch screen, no 15 way seats, no 300lb of sound deadner, no automatic lights, power everything.. make it handle, make it fast, and make it simple, and watch them sell.. they need to look at what millions are driving , that would be their buying market.. the cars they love don’t have every option under the sun..
The ability in modern cars to combine crazy power, decent economy and great comfort. But to be candid, I find all the in-cabin electronic gimmickry is a turn-off. It’s complexity for complexities sake and engineers being total show-offs. Who really wants to study a 250-page owners manual before being able to start the car.
I remember as a kid the first car I bought was an ’81 Monte-Carlo. When it was really cold during our Canadian winters I had to pick between keeping my toes above the freezing point or seeing thru the windshield, the heater wasn’t pushing enough heat to do both…
My daily driver now is a Suburban, it’s got 3 different heating/cooling zones, I can remote start it in the winter and I don’t have to stick a screw driver in the carb to start it when it’s too cold outside and I can fit me, the wife, the kids, the dogs and everyones luggage and go a cross country trip with no second tought on the reliability of the vehicule.
But I still miss my old Monte. Most new cars have those plastic everything, they’re like trowaway appliances. You can still see old cars on the road because they can be fixed. Newer cars can be fixed… for a while after that there just won’t be parts to fix everything on them.
The best is to own both kinds.
Nothing! My ’67 Satellite convertible 318 gets 19.6 m.p.g. My 1999 Durange 318 gets 14 m.p.g. My 2000 Durango 360 gets 12 m.p.g. Emissions, cats, computors, ecu,tcu, traction control, anti lock brakes are a stupid joke. My Satellite has no computors and weighs 4245 lbs. My Durangos have several computors and weigh 5144 lbs. My Satellite passes 1995 emissions standards. I could go on but what’s the use.
Well aside from a few the styling is horrendous,dont like that at all. The stereos in new cars are nice though. Im with the guy above ,I like being able to fix cars with crap you find on the side of the road but its not always practical especially in a cold climate.
The best thing is….the late 60s big block is still a hoot to drive!
Modern electronic fuel injection is by far the best innovation to date. I always hated carburetors, could never get them perfect whether it was a Holley or Quadrajet. The Edelbrock carbs were even worse!
Next would be anti-lock brakes. Another great invention that saved my neck and car more than once!
You can ” Ignore it ” …….
Doc , Whelk ; Picture in little box beside comment ” how you do dat ” ?? need to know please …..