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I don't agree with comments like that dying since I think it does contribute a unique POV to the discussion, but I also think it's not a very persuasive one and

I don't agree with comments like that dying since I think it does contribute a unique POV to the discussion, but I also think it's not a very persuasive one and feels a bit like the reflexive "just run Linux" if someone brings up a Windows issue. The problem with old cars as the solution is that first and foremost, that's obviously not a long term solution or one that will work for car buyers as a whole. Not everyone is going to be OK with buying a 34 year old car, and even fewer are going to be OK buying a 44 year old car 10 years from now. Even if they were, cars don't last forever and eventually we'll all be in a bidding war over the last analog car. That approach also throws the baby out with the bathwater. Infotainment aside, new cars are vastly better than old cars in a number of areas. Safety, comfort, efficiency, reliability, performance, etc. Missing all this because modern infotainment features are bad does not seem like a good tradeoff, particularly since new cars will continue to progress in all those areas while old cars obviously won't. The smartphone comparison is actually pretty appropriate here, because a modern smartphone is a huge improvement for the vast majority of people over an old dumb phone, even if the improvement comes with some tradeoffs. Instead I think it would be more useful and realistic to push for more consumer friendly car technology, either by voting with our wallets or pushing for appropriate legislation. Pretending cars peaked the year Taylor Swift was born does not feel like the right alternative, even if some people do genuinely like older cars.

BytesAndGears 3y ago
Is buying old cars instead of new ones not voting with your wallet, as you suggest? I can’t think of a better way to convince car manufacturers to change than not buying newer cars. Especially if resale values of newer cars is lower than older cars, consumers will be less likely to buy a newer car even if they want one!
- rainsford 3y ago
  That's a fair point, although I think the persuasive impact is lessened by the fact that a lot of people won't be wiling to make the old car tradeoffs and there is still the ever limited supply problem. But for those willing and able to do it, it may help send a message for sure.
spurgu 3y ago
All valid points. The problem with modern cars is that it's going in the same direction as most technology, that you can't do much with it yourself in terms of modifications or repairs. There are solutions like that with laptops (eg. Framework) but I'm not sure there will be similar initiatives with cars. Most people don't want to fix their own cars (or laptops for that matter!) so it's difficult to get market forces to work towards it. But a small number of people will always appreciate simpler technology even if it comes with downsides in terms of less safety or comfort, due to the increased self-reliance it provides.
- rainsford 3y ago
  > Most people don't want to fix their own cars (or laptops for that matter!) so it's difficult to get market forces to work towards it. I think that's the big problem, it's not a major consideration for most people. I would imagine that there would be some motivation in terms of a more easily repairable car also being cheaper to have someone else repair even if you don't want to do it yourself, but I'm not sure if that makes a difference in reality. Like I have zero interest in fixing my own car beyond simple stuff, but if a more open car saved me a lot of money at the mechanic, I could see the benefit.
adolph 3y ago
> The problem with old cars as the solution is that first and foremost, that's obviously not a long term solution Tell that to Cubans.

BytesAndGears 3y ago

Is buying old cars instead of new ones not voting with your wallet, as you suggest? I can’t think of a better way to convince car manufacturers to change than not buying newer cars. Especially if resale values of newer cars is lower than older cars, consumers will be less likely to buy a newer car even if they want one!

rainsford 3y ago
That's a fair point, although I think the persuasive impact is lessened by the fact that a lot of people won't be wiling to make the old car tradeoffs and there is still the ever limited supply problem. But for those willing and able to do it, it may help send a message for sure.

spurgu 3y ago

All valid points. The problem with modern cars is that it's going in the same direction as most technology, that you can't do much with it yourself in terms of modifications or repairs. There are solutions like that with laptops (eg. Framework) but I'm not sure there will be similar initiatives with cars. Most people don't want to fix their own cars (or laptops for that matter!) so it's difficult to get market forces to work towards it. But a small number of people will always appreciate simpler technology even if it comes with downsides in terms of less safety or comfort, due to the increased self-reliance it provides.

rainsford 3y ago
> Most people don't want to fix their own cars (or laptops for that matter!) so it's difficult to get market forces to work towards it. I think that's the big problem, it's not a major consideration for most people. I would imagine that there would be some motivation in terms of a more easily repairable car also being cheaper to have someone else repair even if you don't want to do it yourself, but I'm not sure if that makes a difference in reality. Like I have zero interest in fixing my own car beyond simple stuff, but if a more open car saved me a lot of money at the mechanic, I could see the benefit.

adolph 3y ago

> The problem with old cars as the solution is that first and foremost, that's obviously not a long term solution Tell that to Cubans.