To the Big 3 (help me format and fix blah before sending this off)

[CaliWagon83]

I think the perfect balance for me was the GMT800 trucks. Modern enough to feel like a well, “modern” vehicle, but simple and straightforward enough that you can perform a lot of the maintenance yourself. Still quite a bit of electronics, but what’s there is fairly easy to understand and work on.

 

[79 GP 4 speed]

The Dodge intrepid was front wheel drive with the motor being mounted front to back. It battery was mounted in the fender which meant jack it up and remove the tire first

 

[UNGN]

There is no way a manufacturer will produce any product that appeals to 5% of the consumers.

Sure they will. If the 5% is loaded.

Cadillac made a grand total of 2,874 ELR's over 4 years (and GM made over 10 Million cars over the same time period).

If they think you have money, they will build it.

You can buy a "stripped down" performance car from the Big 3 right now: They cost $100K+, however and because they don't have all of the government mandated safety features, they aren't street legal:

 

[Jeff L]

I always felt that as technology has advanced, it would slowly keep us shade tree mechanics out of the engine bay. Thirty years ago a good set of tools and voltage tester was about all you needed to get by. Today you can still use your tools, but an understanding of all the different computer systems is a plus if you even can tackle a engine issue. Now a good code reader is needed in your tool box. Plus you might have your hands tied unless you want to void a warranty. It comes down to you might only be able to change your oil and do a few simple maintenance issues like filters, etc.

I have basic automotive repair knowledge which In my situation I can do everything to my old car except rebuild an engine, transmission, carb without some help. That is why I like my G body because I can repair most of my mechanical issues.

It would be nice to have a modern bare bones kinda car but I fear those days are long gone and like it or not, technology has locked many of us out of engine, etc. The answer is just to always keep an old car in your fleet and God willing you will be able to work on a car for as long as breath is in your body.

 

[DRIVEN]

OP, I can see where you're coming from and appreciate this open letter as a vent, but it will in no way change how the big 3 makes cars. Sorry.
The vast majority of the items you don't want are due to government mandates either for safety or emissions purposes. The other items are because the manufacturers have found a profitable way to include features that their customers want.
If there is a downside to these "gimmicky" features, it isn't that they're unreliable, it's that the general public doesn't understand them. Today's cars are extremely reliable compared to something from 30-40 years ago. Granted, when something does go wrong it's likely to take a bit of specialized knowledge to fix it. Your 200k mile Nissan that you guys blindly threw parts at in the parking lot probably isn't a great basis for your argument.
FWIW, I work for Bosch and part of my job is to investigate customer complaints regarding some of the systems that were specifically mentioned in earlier posts. Before that, I worked as a tech for over 20 years. What do I drive? Old cars from the 30s-90s and I'm contantly needing to fix something. Constantly. What does my wife drive? A newish Toyota that I've basically done nothing but change oil and put gas in.

 

[axisg]

^ what he said ! I may add that I bought wifey a 2012 Camry with the 3.5 v6 at the end of the summer. 14.2 in the 1/4, all the toys and 23mpg based on real driving over the last 4 months. I cant figure it out but it gets better MPG's when she drives
According to all the research I have done on the car I do not intend to do anything other than oil and filter changes for at least 5 more years. Leaving me the time and money needed to keep my old heap of a Monte ( which gets half the mpgs, and only slightly quicker in the 1/4 ) on the road.

As stated before, with Gov't regulations you cannot get anything bare-bones. I don't think I would like to see the drivers of today driving something without at least Airbags and ABS. My current annoyance is the damn backup cameras which are next to be mandated on all new cars. If I am at the grocery store, home depot, ect... I see these dopes pull in to a parking spot ( whereas I prefer to back in when possible ). Near every time I am driving down the aisle and looking for either a spot or just trying to get out of the lot I find the *ss end of some car just suddenly pops out. Once out far enough you see the driver staring at the screen completely oblivious to everyone and everything else beyond that screen. They don't pay attention to front end swing or other vehicles moving down the aisle in the lot. My van thankfully has plastic body cladding ( so no visible dents ) but it has been sideswiped 3x in the last year.

 

[lilbowtie]

I can see this from both sides of the fence - basically the mechanics of and engine hasn't changed. What has changed is engine management and if your going to blame someone it's the government mandates. I remember when engines went from points to electronic and the same response happened. Believe me, I'm going to be 70 this year and things were really simple back then BUT things are far more superior these days. Just like anything else you have to be educated which people are bucking. Once you understand a system it's simple - hell a car even tells you what's wrong with it now days. I thought I knew how to set up a carburetor but use wideband tuning and you see there is no guess work.
Yes diagnostic tools aren't cheap but what is.

 

[CaliWagon83]

Pedrolif, hope it doesn't seem like we're ganging up on you, but I really don't think you'll get much of a reception from the Big 3. You'll probably get a polite but generic form letter from the company, and if you're lucky, a few bumper stickers or T-Shirts.

However, I totally agree with you in terms of service items being hard to get to. But that's not just within the last 5 years. That's been decades in the making. Whenever I look at a mid-late '90s F-Body, the main thought on my mind is "Man, those rear spark plugs must be a nightmare to get to!" It seems like the best way is to put it on a lift and get them from underneath, assuming you have one of those at home. Yeah, engineers make some weird decisions on where to put things sometimes. I do think the OEs could be more attuned to feedback from technicians and repair guys. Even with more modern cars, some are a "piece of cake" to work on, whereas others are a total "pain in the @$$."

I think your best bet would be to make an appeal to make the vehicles more serviceable. They might listen to that. However, playing devil's advocate, the more complicated they make them to service, the greater the profit center is for the dealership in terms of billable hours. So...Who knows. Anyway, good luck.

 

[DRIVEN]

I kind of doubt there's an insidious plot to make things more complicated. If you really want to point the finger somewhere -- blame lawyers. The "If it saves just one life ..." mindset has removed almost every bit of responsibility from citizen consumers. The .gov gets involved and the manufacturers (all of them) have to scramble to comply while still generating some margin of profit. Unfortunately, we're now surrounded by people who have been conditioned to believe that their cars should save them from any situation that they put themselves in. Some of the complaints I investigate are valid but some are ridiculous.

Now, to your original assertion. Let's imagine that manufacturers were able to sell what you're asking for. It would probably look a lot like the quality and aesthetics of a Ford Fairmont over the mechanicals of a '62 Rambler. Then we'd just be complaining about quality and price. They certainly wouldn't be selling us new AAR Cudas for $6500.
My solution? Build a Gbody as basic and simple as you wish. Drive it everyday. It won't be as hassle free as a new car but it won't be hard to fix either.

 

[tc1959]

I would be happy if they built a car that didn't require 30 grand worth of tools just to change the damn battery.