25 Replies to “We Don’t Need No Flaming Sparky Cars”
When will they understand, most people don’t care about touch screens, software updates, and being linked to some satellite.
We want knobs, simple controls, and less bells and whistles. We want less things that go wrong, and we don’t want touch buttons for starting. We want keys, push button locks, and reliable cars.
We don’t want EVs, or hybrids, we want gas powered, reliability, and to rest easy our car will not incinerate our house.
As it stands, there is not a new car/truck I would buy.
The Chevy Blazer EV is Motor Trend’s 2024 SUV of the year. Best out of 40 tested SUVs, beating great cars from Germany, Japan and Korea.
The RS, which Consumer Reports (CR) says is anything but sporty, has 340 hp. Maybe the heavy batteries slow it down. Perhaps they should have tested the same model Motor Trend used, the SS. The SS provides 557 horsepower and 648 pound-feet of torque which gives the trim level a 4-second zero to 60 mph time. More HP and torque than any muscle car from the sixties.
Apple Car Play works well so not sure why GM would dump it for a Google app.
I don’t own an EV but have driven an ICE Blazer and have been truly impressed with the experience. I have found that CR seems a bit biased against American cars. There is certainly a big gap in opinion between CR and Motor Tend.
I quit reading Motor Trend years ago, when it seemed they were beholden to the then Big Three. It was if they could do no wrong, especially if a V-8 was stuffed in it. Maybe things have changed, or maybe the Blazer EV is that bad.
Anders – Consumer Reports is funded by largely their subscribers and goes out to some retailer to purchase what they are going to test.
Motor Trend is largely funded by their advertisers and cars are sent for testing by the car manufacturers.
Consumer Reports has been linked to a bit of hanky-panky, such as biased tests that favor some products, such as comparing 3 apples to an orange and of course the apples don’t measure up. And mostly they are biased in favor of European goods. Knowing that, you can get great info from a Consumer Reports review, but you might have to read between the lines a little.
IMO, Motor Trend is as unbiased as their highest paying advertiser asks them to be. But I still like looking through old copies of MT while waiting in the barbershop. They are definitely car enthusiasts. No question about that.
Well said, Indiana Jane.
At least some of us want what was once called “durable goods.”
That is why I still drive my OLD Tacoma 4 banger and maintain my Vinyl and knobby amp.
We also have a basic coil stove, old washer and dryer, transistor radio, and ink pens.
OK, I might be “virtue signaling” at this point.
Time to go to the library to pick up my Victorian novels.
People who want apps in their car are probably shitty drivers. And that’s before they even start fcking around with dash crap instead of paying attention to the task at hand – getting from A-B.
Between all the arseholes crossing the street while staring at their phone and all the arseholes driving while staring at their computer screen and or their phones , I’m surprised there aren’t more dead people littering the streets.
And not a little disappointed.
Most (all?) newer cars that have a dash screen and various apps allow you to give spoken commands, and of course you can do that with GPS. and to make phone calls, or to get it to read texts to you, So drivers don’t actually have to be messing around with the screen or their phone.
You’re wrong.
In fact you might be delusional as well.
Important apps:
Google, etc.
Unimportant apps:
Go, stop.
Well, if it’s like other EVs, it’s aptly named.
LOL!
AAA+++!!!
DrD – that is funny!
Meanwhile – Toyota Calls On Science To Tell EV-Only Extremists That They’re Wrong.
I have a 2014 Honda accord and would love to get a new ride in 2024. But guess what? All these horror stories of late, combined with car companies offering way too much technology in both gas and electric (which to me only provides more opportunities for stuff to go wrong), makes me want to hold on to the accord for a lot longer. Plus the prices are just insane nowadays. I just can’t justify a purchase anytime soon.
I was a ride-along for car shopping today. We looked at Honda CRV (sh1tty mom car) Ford Bronco Sport (sh1tty mom car) and Volvo, can’t remember the model but it was a sh1tty mom car.
A new Accord is going to set you back over $50k, it will be sh1tty, made of plastic, and gutless. The computer part was nice.
I have a 1999 Accord 16-valve with 220k miles on it. It’s a great snow car, fast and gets over 30 mpg on the highway. My Mom bought it new and we bought it from her when she quit driving. I hope it runs for many more miles and I wish I could buy a new one exactly like it.
I imagine any decent Honda from the ’90s got turned into a rice burner years ago.
I wish I could stumble upon a dusty old barn full of ’97 jeep Cherokees, still in the wrappers.
I had a 97 Jeep Cherokee, good in the snow, but little things broke all the time.
My first car was a used 84 Accord, purchased from my sister for $4,000 in 1989. 5-speed stick. Wasn’t exactly a chick magnet (lol!) but I loved that car and miss it dearly.
I recently donated a 1999 Accord to the Kidney car thing.
I almost regret it now.
However, I still have my trusty 2006 Tacoma, so there’s that, eh?
But can you charge your phone with it?
I remember the good old days: F-150 v8 4×4 with manual-locking hubs, a manual tranny, rubber mats, and a bench seat. It did have a/c.
First…they came for the people who own gas powered cars; but I did not have a gas powered car – so I said nothing……
Then they came for the people who owned gas powered lawn mowers and chainsaws; but I lived in Toronto, and did not have a gas powered lawn mower or chainsaw – so I said nothing…..
Then they came for the people who heat their homes with woodstoves; but I did not have a wood stove – so I said nothing……
Then they came for the people who have propane BBQs; but I did not have a propane BBQ – so I said nothing….
Then they came to the people in the campgrounds and dictated that they could not light a campfire; but I don’t like to go camping – so I said nothing……
Then they came for my Pizza oven….and there was no one left to speak up for me…
All I want is the good old days. Air. Tilt. Cruise. That’s it!
Well now that I’m old and fat and have a sore back, heated seats are nice.
No more computer shit please!
I have not heard any of these people pushing for an overall transition for on ICE to EV vehicles mention (let alone give a possible solution for) the huge numbers of people for which their car is one of their biggest (if not only) stores of equity.
How are the people who currently rely on trade in value going to afford the car after their first EV when their current vehicle has almost no trade in value due to the expected battery life remaining?
From example, a blue collar worker can only afford a new pickup because used car values are high on his old pickup. With an EV he will have to pay almost full value every time because an EV pickup with 80-90,000 mile will have little value (when an ICE pickup with similar mileage would be worth $20-30,000).
“Good observation. Taken further, a poor used market (by reducing trade-in-value) leaves you with two choices; downgrade or give up driving. Don’t put it past them to torch an entire market when their goal is to reduce/eliminate driving.”
When will they understand, most people don’t care about touch screens, software updates, and being linked to some satellite.
We want knobs, simple controls, and less bells and whistles. We want less things that go wrong, and we don’t want touch buttons for starting. We want keys, push button locks, and reliable cars.
We don’t want EVs, or hybrids, we want gas powered, reliability, and to rest easy our car will not incinerate our house.
As it stands, there is not a new car/truck I would buy.
The Chevy Blazer EV is Motor Trend’s 2024 SUV of the year. Best out of 40 tested SUVs, beating great cars from Germany, Japan and Korea.
https://www.motortrend.com/news/chevrolet-blazer-ev-2024-suv-of-the-year/
The RS, which Consumer Reports (CR) says is anything but sporty, has 340 hp. Maybe the heavy batteries slow it down. Perhaps they should have tested the same model Motor Trend used, the SS. The SS provides 557 horsepower and 648 pound-feet of torque which gives the trim level a 4-second zero to 60 mph time. More HP and torque than any muscle car from the sixties.
Apple Car Play works well so not sure why GM would dump it for a Google app.
I don’t own an EV but have driven an ICE Blazer and have been truly impressed with the experience. I have found that CR seems a bit biased against American cars. There is certainly a big gap in opinion between CR and Motor Tend.
I quit reading Motor Trend years ago, when it seemed they were beholden to the then Big Three. It was if they could do no wrong, especially if a V-8 was stuffed in it. Maybe things have changed, or maybe the Blazer EV is that bad.
Anders – Consumer Reports is funded by largely their subscribers and goes out to some retailer to purchase what they are going to test.
Motor Trend is largely funded by their advertisers and cars are sent for testing by the car manufacturers.
Consumer Reports has been linked to a bit of hanky-panky, such as biased tests that favor some products, such as comparing 3 apples to an orange and of course the apples don’t measure up. And mostly they are biased in favor of European goods. Knowing that, you can get great info from a Consumer Reports review, but you might have to read between the lines a little.
IMO, Motor Trend is as unbiased as their highest paying advertiser asks them to be. But I still like looking through old copies of MT while waiting in the barbershop. They are definitely car enthusiasts. No question about that.
Well said, Indiana Jane.
At least some of us want what was once called “durable goods.”
That is why I still drive my OLD Tacoma 4 banger and maintain my Vinyl and knobby amp.
We also have a basic coil stove, old washer and dryer, transistor radio, and ink pens.
OK, I might be “virtue signaling” at this point.
Time to go to the library to pick up my Victorian novels.
People who want apps in their car are probably shitty drivers. And that’s before they even start fcking around with dash crap instead of paying attention to the task at hand – getting from A-B.
Between all the arseholes crossing the street while staring at their phone and all the arseholes driving while staring at their computer screen and or their phones , I’m surprised there aren’t more dead people littering the streets.
And not a little disappointed.
Most (all?) newer cars that have a dash screen and various apps allow you to give spoken commands, and of course you can do that with GPS. and to make phone calls, or to get it to read texts to you, So drivers don’t actually have to be messing around with the screen or their phone.
You’re wrong.
In fact you might be delusional as well.
Important apps:
Google, etc.
Unimportant apps:
Go, stop.
Well, if it’s like other EVs, it’s aptly named.
LOL!
AAA+++!!!
DrD – that is funny!
Meanwhile – Toyota Calls On Science To Tell EV-Only Extremists That They’re Wrong.
https://insideevs.com/news/650150/toyota-says-ev-extremists-are-wrong/amp/
I have a 2014 Honda accord and would love to get a new ride in 2024. But guess what? All these horror stories of late, combined with car companies offering way too much technology in both gas and electric (which to me only provides more opportunities for stuff to go wrong), makes me want to hold on to the accord for a lot longer. Plus the prices are just insane nowadays. I just can’t justify a purchase anytime soon.
I was a ride-along for car shopping today. We looked at Honda CRV (sh1tty mom car) Ford Bronco Sport (sh1tty mom car) and Volvo, can’t remember the model but it was a sh1tty mom car.
A new Accord is going to set you back over $50k, it will be sh1tty, made of plastic, and gutless. The computer part was nice.
I have a 1999 Accord 16-valve with 220k miles on it. It’s a great snow car, fast and gets over 30 mpg on the highway. My Mom bought it new and we bought it from her when she quit driving. I hope it runs for many more miles and I wish I could buy a new one exactly like it.
I imagine any decent Honda from the ’90s got turned into a rice burner years ago.
I wish I could stumble upon a dusty old barn full of ’97 jeep Cherokees, still in the wrappers.
I had a 97 Jeep Cherokee, good in the snow, but little things broke all the time.
My first car was a used 84 Accord, purchased from my sister for $4,000 in 1989. 5-speed stick. Wasn’t exactly a chick magnet (lol!) but I loved that car and miss it dearly.
I recently donated a 1999 Accord to the Kidney car thing.
I almost regret it now.
However, I still have my trusty 2006 Tacoma, so there’s that, eh?
But can you charge your phone with it?
I remember the good old days: F-150 v8 4×4 with manual-locking hubs, a manual tranny, rubber mats, and a bench seat. It did have a/c.
First…they came for the people who own gas powered cars; but I did not have a gas powered car – so I said nothing……
Then they came for the people who owned gas powered lawn mowers and chainsaws; but I lived in Toronto, and did not have a gas powered lawn mower or chainsaw – so I said nothing…..
Then they came for the people who heat their homes with woodstoves; but I did not have a wood stove – so I said nothing……
Then they came for the people who have propane BBQs; but I did not have a propane BBQ – so I said nothing….
Then they came to the people in the campgrounds and dictated that they could not light a campfire; but I don’t like to go camping – so I said nothing……
Then they came for my Pizza oven….and there was no one left to speak up for me…
All I want is the good old days. Air. Tilt. Cruise. That’s it!
Well now that I’m old and fat and have a sore back, heated seats are nice.
No more computer shit please!
I have not heard any of these people pushing for an overall transition for on ICE to EV vehicles mention (let alone give a possible solution for) the huge numbers of people for which their car is one of their biggest (if not only) stores of equity.
How are the people who currently rely on trade in value going to afford the car after their first EV when their current vehicle has almost no trade in value due to the expected battery life remaining?
From example, a blue collar worker can only afford a new pickup because used car values are high on his old pickup. With an EV he will have to pay almost full value every time because an EV pickup with 80-90,000 mile will have little value (when an ICE pickup with similar mileage would be worth $20-30,000).
“Good observation. Taken further, a poor used market (by reducing trade-in-value) leaves you with two choices; downgrade or give up driving. Don’t put it past them to torch an entire market when their goal is to reduce/eliminate driving.”