Maybe American car manufacturers should bring back simple, easy-to-maintain automobiles(perhaps successful models from the 1950s - 1970s). (1 Viewer)

[GIJane]

That’s counting your chickens before the eggs are laid.

https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a64654479/slate-ev-pickup-factory-location/

https://www.motortrend.com/news/how-is-the-slate-electric-pickup-truck-so-cheap

No one said it had to be NOW.

 

[multivita-man]

Nowadays, cars are built without ANY concern for making it easy for the customer to repair them. They are basically designed so that the customer must rely on the dealership or other professional mechanics to repair or maintain them. But they used to be designed with ease of repair in mind.

Having lived during the 1980s - 90s, I was easily able to afford to buy cars and trucks from the mid 60s and 70s, which were usually very simple to maintain and repair. In the mid 90s, I owned a 1966 Chevy C10 short bed, step side pickup with a 250 cubic inch straight 6cyl and the venerable Chevy 2-speed "Powerglide" automatic transmission. Its components hadn't been rebuilt, and it had been sitting in the woods behind some guy's house for years!

It sorta needed new shocks and muffler, but It only cost a few hundred dollars in 1994 to have Midas install 4 new shocks, a new muffler and tailpipe. So I had them do it, since those things can be difficult to do, especially if the vehicle is decades old.

But I did have to replace the water pump after a year, and there was slippage in the transmission, so I did both. This provided an example of the cost differential between an older, simpler vehicle vs a newer car. My 1966 C10 truck needed a new water pump and fan belt, and I was able to do it myself for $35 in 1995! Turns out the transmission slippage was fixed by tightening its bands, which was as simple as loosening a locking nut 2-3 turns, then tightening the adjustment nut about 1/2 turn, and re-tightening the locking nut. It took 5 mins.

In the meantime, a family friend needed a new water pump on his 1990s BMW 5-series, which cost $1,500 just got the part + hundreds more for the labor!

So why not bring back a few older, simpler car designs that were proven, without computers and a million sensors, but with basic emissions equipment?
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You could always ride a bike.