bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

yup, i saw that... it's worked out very well for him. stupid sells well these days.

Toys4RJill

Ugh. Sunroof leaked in my 04

LH1

That stinks. This is why I hate sunroofs.

My old G37 sunroof leaked and the danger was water possibly coming into contact with the BCM.

AMIRZA786

When people say "it was better back then", I just have to question that. I had a 2nd Gen IS350 Sport and I test drove the 2021 IS350 F-Sport, and the refinement between the two wasn't even close. My second gen was slightly faster off the line due to more aggressive transmission tuning (and probably shorter gears) but the 2021 was still the better car with smoother delivery, more refinement, better seats etc. BTW, nothing wrong with keeping your cars for a long time, I still have my 2013 Sienna and plan to keep it until it dies, and same with my Model Y, I plan to keep it long term.

And I know this is an ongoing argument here, but maybe the reason older cars lasted longer is due to they didn't put out as much power, more were NA, and maint schedules were 5k, while todays turbocharged DI engines are on 10k schedules

mmarshall

From what I can tell, it was basically the use of stronger/heavier materials back then in their assembly. For decades now, vehicles have been steadily getting lighter/thinner and often less-durable materials with each redesign. It's getting to the point where just an acorn falling from an oak tree will put a ding in the sheet metal. Truck beds were once designed for heavy WORK. Now, for example, you have got lightweight aluminum beds that sometimes dent if you even bump them with a tool.

It pretty much comes down to cost-cutting. If you can make the same amount of glass or sheet metal produce two vehicles instead of one...hey, just make it half the thickness on each one. And that's exactly what we are seeing on a lot of new vehicles. And that's also (along with CAFE requirements) why we are seeing Mickey-Mouse engines under the hoods, although, in all fairness, sometimes they do have turbos.

Toys4RJill

How are you able to tell that?

SW17LS

As for the statement "older cars lasted longer" I don't think thats actually true. I haven't seen any evidence that modern cars are not more reliable and longer lasting.



I too don't feel cars were "better" back then. Modern cars are superior in many ways, they do have a lot more features and technology which I appreciate overall, and some of that additional technology comes at the expense of things like material quality. I think in general thats a worthy tradeoff. People like to talk about old cars that "last for decades" but the reality is most people don't keep cars for decades. Even AJT, he doesn't "own cars for decades" he buys old cars that are already old...thats different. Unless I am mistaken the only car he has that he has owned a long time is his LS430. At current his favorite car seems to be his newest and only modern generation car, the Yukon...thats kinda telling right there.

I drove that 04 LS430 a couple weeks ago and it was nice and nostalgic, but I would never want to drive one of those over a modern luxury sedan.

I have nostalgia for old cars, there are even old cars I would like to own. I would love an SL500, I would love a great condition 98-00 LS400 because that was a special car to me, but I wouldn't daily either of those cars.

AJT123

Like I said, there are other owners of the car than you. My best friend drives a white one, I've known him since 1998. He is every bit the car nut we all are, 1000000%. It's not "EV Nonsense". You are all about a battery-powered car future, my friend and I are not and preferred just the ICE with the start/stop turned off. These new systems are not upgrades to him, or me.

Are you out of your mind? How do you think you know what a stranger is thinking? He doesn't like it. He's not dumping the car but it's just needlessly complex crap that's going to break and cost a fortune. If you do a little research, these 48V systems are troublesome.

Yes, I do care. It's sad I no longer even desire an S-Class. Only Mercedes I would want are the V8 SLs as they have remained unmolested by hybrid assist junk that has ruined other models.

I was among the livid. What the hell did he expect in 2022 or whatever year? 250hp is slow? Really?

I haven't watched it in years but he left out sooooo many things and really was just flat wrong about it. It's frankly one of the reasons I don't like him and don't think he really knows about cars that well. Example?

Doug isn't aware that the roll bar an R129 SL (mine) pops up automatically when the car rolls, he thinks it only works when you press the button to raise it and leave it that way. How stupid is that? I feel most people, even non car people if you explained what a roll bar is and showed them the car they would assume it pops up automatically in an accident. Him not knowing that is pathetic. He claims to love Mercedes but doesn't even know much about their innovations---R129 was first with it. And it turns a convertible from a death trap to fine (at least a tank 4200lb R129) in the event of a rollover.

He also has no idea about old Rolls Royces from the 80s, wasn't aware of the design flaw with the windows and instead got all goofy about it.

There's more but I can't remember off hand because I don't watch him because I don't care for him. I admire his success though, good for him.

Striker223

I value material quality over gimmicks and "tech" and those are out of date before they come out vs any phone. Now stuff like more seat controls is in my mind a material change as you can't easily add things like that I a 2000 civic.

I always ask myself "can a Honda driver swap this into his beater" when looking at new features.....ambient lighting, CarPlay, etc etc are all just slapped on features. Stuff like double pane glass, multi contour seats, high grade leather, metal trim, glass buttons, etc are all far more expensive and enjoyable to interact with than the same user interface a Nissan Altima has.

AJT123

Yukon isn't my favorite, though I love certain things about it. Of course your W223 smokes a 20 year old luxury car in many way but I pay nothing for it.... that means nothing to you but to me it is important. LS430 is good enough to where I never feel the need for another luxury sedan. New vs Old? I doubt this one will be an absolutely unkilliable tank like the old 2003 GMT800 but we'll find out over the years. It will never be sold nor traded.

SW17LS

I'm not buying it. The powertrain is exactly the same, it drives and feels exactly the same. If this was a huge issue for him like it is for you he would never have bought the car, and if he did with that being his position he's an idiot.

As for me being "all about a battery powered car future" I do like the way EVs drive. This is not a political thing for me, I like cars that I like. I would rather have an EV than a lot of different types of powertrains. You are so stubbornly against it you don't even let yourself have an open experience and decide for yourself, for some reason its the same thing about this 48v system. Its just a non issue...you and I like the same kind of cars, you would LOVE the way my S580 drives and you would LOVE the way a great luxury EV like an i7 drives. You love the LS430, there is nothing about these not to love then other than your inability to get past this strange political issue with EVs or electrification of cars.

Is he having issues with the system? Because if he's not like I have said repeatedly any issue he has is in his mind since the powertrain feels exactly the same and doesn't feel like a hybrid or an EV in any way.

Seriously this is like saying you prefer the way a car with a carburator drives to a car with fuel injection, or the way a car with port injection drives vs a car with direct injection. There is no experiential reason why you would prefer one to the other, they drive the same its just different ways in the background of achieving the same thing.

The best way to describe it is kind of like an electrically driven supercharger.

I just don't understand why this is such a dramatic issue for you lol, but whatever. Your loss, my S580 is a big upgrade from my S560 in many ways and I don't miss it at all...I drove that 04 LS430 a couple weeks ago and my S580 is like that car taken to an entirely different level.

AMIRZA786

You are totally wrong about 48 volt systems. They are far superior, use less and thinner wiring, reduces weight and complexity, and can power more accessories. What I don't understand is why Tesla, other than the Cyber Truck hasn't gone 48 volt, although Elon has been advocating for it. Probably due to having to tweak the production line.

Sorry bud, 1000 percent wrong on 48 volt

AJT123

I'm a liar and my friend is an idiot, got it. Thanks for that mature response.

Because we don't think just like you and have your opinions.

SW17LS

Makes zero sense. If he would just drive a car with a 48v system and the stop start shut off he would see it is exactly the same. Only difference is the lack of a traditional starter grind.

SW17LS

It makes no sense...