Hmmm

[MendoDave]

mmmm.... So many shiney buttons. I wonder how well they work when someone spills coffee all over when the car is driving itself and the driver has a O.S. moment when traffic suddenly stops in front of him and he wasn't paying attention.

I have some direct insight into that. This morning I noticed that I forgot to close the sunroof last night. Its been raining buckets since 2 am. So I just got done taking the center console apart and drying all the printed circuit boards and stuff down in there. I had three malfunctions and the car urged me to take it to the shop. So after all that, I got it all fixed, messages went away. Lets see stability control program, ABS, display malfunction... Didn't burn anything out though. Phew...

That being said I like all that stuff in the car, its nice to drive performs well, very comfy, and it saved my butt in the ice last year. (Stability control program again) However I'm working on a 1979 BMW 320i to be my "grocery getter" and I would consider it "Old school" at this point. It has the little 4 cylinder engine mated to a 4 speed manual and its basically a pretty simple car. It even has hand cranks on the windows.

[Duck-Stew]

Amenities are one thing, but technology just for the sake of technology is purely another matter...

[Popeye the Sailor]

Amenities are one thing, but technology just for the sake of technology is purely another matter...

I removed my starter and installed a hand crank.

[NAKID]

You would...

[Howie]

I had a '79 320I.  Great car.  Comfortable, excellent road feel, just enough trailing throttle oversteer to keep life interesting, and not one power accessory unless you want to count the power brakes.  As long as the car was moving the steering effort was light enough to operate with a couple of fingers although the car was equipped with manual steering and had about 8^o of caster.  The steering feedback was just incredible.  Manual windows, manual sunroof, both low effort, and, if you wanted to raise or lower the antennae while in the car all you had to do was roll down the window, reach out and there it was.  Every control could be reached without moving in the seat and every control and switch was so simple to figure out there was no need to read the manual.

[MendoDave]

That's way cool. I have to rebuild this engine to make it run but I'm stoked about it. The interior is near perfect but it needs a (cheap) paint job and some real minor bodywork. It will get a stereo upgrade of course. Nothing fancy just a radio with MP3/I pod capability, no amps or crossovers. Maybe GPS but probably not.

[Duck-Stew]

I removed my starter and installed a hand crank.

I want to see you hand crank the 5.0 in the Falcon....

[r_ciao]

Amenities are one thing, but technology just for the sake of technology is purely another matter...

Think "trickle down".  My understanding is that car mfgs need a platform to sell this high techy stuff.  What better place than an expensive new model produced in limited numbers.  Some day that technology trickles down to the cars the masses can afford.  For example years back, ABS was expensive and now it's standard on just about any decent car that you'd want to drive.

My 2 cents and other misc ramblings:  Panamera looks way better in black than most of the silver photos that are published.  And (not just for the value/money), the Cayman S is potentially a much greater car than the 911.  I read that Porsche "dummies" down the performance to ensure that their flagship 911 can still outrun its little brother.  If I could pick a classic car to drive, it'd be a 1971 Mercedes 280SL in cream.  That's my style.

Ciao!

[Statler]

I removed my starter and installed a hand crank.

oh no.  no sirree bob.  not a chance...not falling for that line again...I'm not cranking nothin....you put that key back in the ignition and pull that zipper up or I'm getting out of this car right now.

[MendoDave]

I spoke too soon about not frazzling the electronic shifter. Man everything went haywire. lights on all over the dash, transmission didn't know what gear it was in so it didn't shift. Tach intermittant...and a few other things. I bougt a new one today for $545. everythings as good as new.

[mitt]

I spoke too soon about not frazzling the electronic shifter. Man everything went haywire. lights on all over the dash, transmission didn't know what gear it was in so it didn't shift. Tach intermittant...and a few other things. I bougt a new one today for $545. everythings as good as new.

what kind of car was it?

mitt

[MendoDave]

Mercedes E320