why not to buy a Ford

Microsoft

Don't forget these guys:

One of the most robust operating systems I ever used. Ok, maybe Charles won't like them because they are Canadian. Anyhow, I won't buy a scope that is Windows-based and I won't buy a car that is Windows-based. Seen too much grief. It is possible to make Windows more robust and we've done that in the past. But my faith in some automakers is, ahem, a bit diminished lately. Especially after I have seen some of the "blessings" that on-board computers brought us.

I loved my 2l Golf, at least for 12 years until it threw a gear. And I like my 5-cylinder 5-speed Rabbit. It handles like the German design that it is, and it's a rocket. I know the quality isn't up there with a Japanese car, but Japanese cars feel like American cars.

Bob Pease loves old rusty Volkswagens; he usually has 3 or 4 in his front yard.

But Volvos are evil. The worst, mechanically-impaired, oblivious morons drive Volvos. One almost took me out on my way home... backed up at high speed, in the dark, from a side street into my lane.

John

Joerg wrote:

Yup. There are plenty of exemplars. I weeded out the non-USA ones to focus my point.

It's not like we don't have enough data points to know not to use that defective-by-design infection-prone PoS in a device that may see a network connection.

Gives a whole new dimension to "crash".

Yup. Nuts to that devil-you-know nonsense.

I knew a guy in college who got one of the early Cobras, the AC Bristol chassis with the Ford V8. He trashed the original tires in just about a week.

John

krw wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:

WRX/STI definitely isn't for weenies. It's a legacy of the Group B rally cars.(the "killer B's)

Plus,IIRC,every Subaru now comes with AWD.

Leftist weenies drive Volvos and Priuses.

Your setting by the road in the desert with a dead engine and the blue screen pops up:

"Windows has detected a problem with this program, send problem error report now?"

The top speed limiter code is gonna be a great feature, if your driving a rental and need to accelerate fast and get out of a potential accident. I've been accident free for the past 15 years, and plan ahead while driving, but losing the speed burst to software is a no-no.

I usually buy Honda civics, but my car dealer neighbor got me a

Gripes:

I hate the radio software. Too many buttons to nowhere, the audio is lousy, you can hear the dsp trashing the music. No mid range, and the EQ code really limits you, I'd bet the adjustments are less then +/-

The keyfob TX is not temperature compensated. If the keyfob gets anywhere near 34 F, it quits. Not a SAW transmitter, its LC, and tuning is by coil stretch. Who is the idiot that decided only the driver's door needs a key? Also, I only want to unlock once, pressing the door switches multiple times to get the passenger side and lift gate is a pain. Its very dependent on a 5$ keyfob for access.

I'd also like manual control over the headlights when not in gear, without having to pop the emergency brakes. If I'm on the road waiting for a repair customer to open up, I want to idle in their lot without the lights on. So now I have to wear out the EB to idle with some stealth in a bad neighborhood.

It bogs down climbing in mountains, due to the 4WD traction control software , You can over-ride it by dropping into L1, if and you do not, you can feel a software limit kicking around 55 mph while the traffic streams around you. Chevy went cheap, and removed the over- ride button in my model year, so you have to shift. Then going downhill, you can feel it fighting the free fall, when it should let you coast, unless you shift back.

All this stuff in the Chevy should have been worked out years ago. Case in point, our last Honda was a 98, and it went out fighting a year ago. It was retired from lack of spare parts. I could no longer get new TPS sensors for the engine. If you climb into a 2005 Honda, it feels like the 1995, in form, fit, finish, and handling. The Japanese have it right, keep it simple and keep it consistent.

It does have one major plus. The Chevy seating does not put you to sleep on long drives, unlike the Honda.

I'm happy with it, for most of my normal driving here in Ohio, its not bad. But a lot of bad software in the hopes of appearing fancy.

Steve

The basic purpose of a car is to take people safely from point A to point B. Back in the early 1970's (partly due to wage and price controls) the american car makers stopped making cars that did that. Adding more crap to the cars doesn't fix the basic problem that people don't trust them to do their basic function.

It does make sense to use special purpose micros for things like engine management. Chances are a PIC would be cheaper than the electro mechanical turn signals if PICs had great big output transistors. The thing inside the radio that remembers the presets is sort of a micro. Beyond that sort of thing, don't try to sell me a car with a computer in it.

Volvos are driven by socker moms of all political stripes. COunt the bumper stickers and you'll find that Subarus are the clear winners. Subaru even advertises this. Perhaps you don't see them where snow is unknown (don't see 'em much here either).

Try Subarus. They come with Obama stickers from the factory.

They voted for Obama.

They're the same now, except there is no need for a starter.

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Subarus where the lefty car of choice when I lived in MA in the

Then you drive through a fierce thunderstorm and your super precise electronic turn signal won't work anymore ...

Nah, Volvos are driven by socker moms. Priuses, I can agree with, but count bumper stickers. Subaru's latest ads even tout them and some greenie fund they give money to for each Subaru sold.

I hate it when the timing of my turn signal is off.

I remember sitting at a light for about two minutes once. And my turn signal did not slip even a tenth of a cycle with the guys turn signal in front of me. They were like phase locked. I guess only an engineer would appreciate that.

Blue dash of Death Valley.

Obama bin Biden will require it (55mph).

Well, there you have the answer. You don't need no steenkin' midrange. You have 140dB of bass, what else do you need?

Buy a new radio. They can be had for $100.

Dumb. I'd ditch the car just for that reason. ;-) I leave my MP3 player running (paused when I'm not driving) for days. I suppose an Aux-In would solve that.

Not to mention a problem when the car's covered with ice. My FOBs have all worked down to -30F, though I tend to keep the FOB in my pocket. ;-)

That is strange! My wife's Sable has an "automatic" headlight setting but at least it has manual settings, as well.

You mean AWD (not 4WD)? I knew there was a reason I didn't like AWD. My Ranger has 4WD which is nice but it costs a bundle to run (and I doubt I'll ever use it again).

Do I detect a backhand slap there? ;-)

That is a big problem today. Just because you can, doesn't mean you should.

I would think that *every* car that is not an antique has computers in it. Probably double digits in an average car. You can't do anything about that aspect of it.

Here's something from a *decade* ago:

"An average car has about 15 processors; the 1999 Mercedes S-class car has 63 microprocessors, while the 1999 BMW has 65"

Best regards, Spehro Pefhany

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Exactly. I just moved from Vermont, where they had, IIRC, the #3 dealer in the US. VT is the #1 leftie state (#1 taxes...), however.

The difference being that the P&G logo was an urban myth.

Idiot. Those are "car sales jargon" terms. They do not use the word "transducer" to describe a sensor because there are too many idiots that cannot grasp what a transducer is. They do, however, 'give life' to them, so calling the various probes, etc. 'microprocessors' is what they do, even though no such item is in place.

Most cars have about two microcontrollers in them. The one main CPU in the car's 'brain box' that manages ALL the TRANSDUCERS throughout the car, and the other... in the friggin' radio. MAYBE one that manages ignition, which is usually done by the main as well. Without counting stupid *accessories* like cell phones, GPS, etc. ,etc. Tell us what AUTOMOTIVE essential processors you can even think of in a car that will even come close to approaching their retarded numbers... hmmmm?

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Not so much an "urban myth" as it was simply a bunch of dopes that made up some stupid s*it that a bunch of other dopes actually fell for.

Just what currency does this devil use, and how would P&G spend any of it, even if he gave them a ton of it?

The logo came closer to resembling the 19th century film "A Trip To The Moon" by Geo. Meles. Big rocket ship in the eye thing.