I have a 2010 Toyota Corolla. She’s been my trusty steed for the last 14 years and is in good working order. I recognize she won’t last forever, and if, god forbid (mostly for her) I get in an accident, I will need to get a new car. So what dumb cars do you drive, and what would you replace them with?
When you say dumb, do you mean like with minimal computers? I think I remember reading about Mercedes or something working on a vehicle that’s entirely mechanical with zero computer integration. I imagine it would be pretty expensive though
No way. Anyone have a link? Its gotta at least have electronic fuel injection. A 2025 Benz with a carburetor and old school distributor is not believable.
Mechanical injection diesels could work with no digital computer, but getting one through modern emissions tests in any countries with half a standard should be impossible.
For that, they’d have to develop an entirely new engine, which they then couldn’t sell in Europe, America, Australia or most of Asia due to emissions regulations. So maybe they’re doing it, but it will be a one-off prestige project at the end of the internal combustion engine age, and all of them will be put in museums or private collections.
Maybe there’s just reusing an old OM601/602 from the 80s like diesel swappers are into.
I would prefer something old enough it wouldn’t even have a backup camera
You have to buy one prior to 2018 then. I believe that was the year it became standard.
I think its a law that new cars must be sold with them.
Presumably that depends where you live.
Yes for the US backup cameras are required after 2018
Why? I wouldn’t go without a backup camera. It only takes one time for a small child running after a ball to slip your eye and you’ve got blood on your hands. When a driver gets behind the wheel, they are barely in control of a multi-ton murder machine. A backup camera is a very easy-to-use tool to keep the murder machine under control.
So staring at a tiny screen on your dashboard makes you less likely to hit a child that already would’ve gone unnoticed if you were actively looking in multiple directions with a wider field of vision?
Backup cameras have better visibility than you do from the drivers seat usually. That said, I would put in an aftermarket one rather than get a factory one.
You should always be looking behind you, checking mirrors, and checking the backup camera. I am a rookie driver and even I know that much.
Yes I know, my point is that not having a reversing camera forces you to look around. Every time I’ve been a passenger in a car with a reversing cam the driver has never checked their mirrors or looked behind them, they just trust that the reversing camera can see everything.
Oh, huh, I guess being in training just kind of forces me to think about good habits instead of getting lazy. I’m also more used to biking, where I have a mirror and shoulder glances as my primary tools. But either way, I would want to have the tool, since I know I will use it correctly.
Yes. The backup camera shows you the ground level, you still use the mirrors but kids and cats are not always tall enough to see in the mirrors. It’s an additional view, did you think it blacks out the mirrors or something?
It’s just another tool. You wouldn’t only look in your passenger side mirror just because you have one. Use it along with all your other tools. Most standard cars have 3 mirrors and a backup camera. Most drivers also have necks they can turn.
They became required because a dad backed over and killed his own son. That father fought for years to make them required so no one would have to go through the same pain he went through. Why would you not want one? You could not look at it if you don’t like it. But it’s one of the best possible safety features imo, and it’s dirt cheap compared to the cost of a car.
I agree with you from a safety standpoint. It’s not the backup camera itself. It’s the screen and all of the additional things that come with it that I don’t want. To me it’s an inflection point.
If it’s a new car, I don’t think it will be legal for them to sell it in the US with all the new laws we’ve been getting that require “safety features” like the ability to remotely stop the vehicle.
Remotely stop it why? How is that a safety feature?
Does it have no ABS, or VSC or traction control? That sounds like it’s only for enthusiasts, because the average driver is gonna crash (including me). Or is there a mechanic implementation for those?