= Cars Stalling today leads to crashes and lawsuites =

[maxhifi]

I love over-boosted power steering... my '68 F-250 has a giant wheel and so much hydraulic boost I can control it with one finger, beats my previous truck where parallel parking meant a physical work out. "Road Feel" is kind of a myth anyway, in non-performance driving situations (i.e. nearly all the time) My new car has electric power steering, and I like it... time will tell reliability but I sure don't miss having another fluid to keep on top of.

I still think it's lawyers responsible for making a giant deal over recalls - for example the Toyota with the runaway acceleration problem, has anyone ever heard about putting the car into neutral? Maybe I am missing something but is it not obvious?

That said I had a Mazda whose idle would suddenly surge, was awful at traffic lights... brake lightly applied, full stop, then a sudden jump forward when the idle surged for no apparent reason. Or better yet same scenario on ice, the car would decide to drift sideways a bit. Scary and not fun at all!

[Username1]

1970's Chryslers had the best power steering, and a giant wheel....
With one finger and a good twist of the wrist you could make a turn.....
Just flip it and the weight of the wheel would take it all the way to the lock.....
Those cars were great.....

[dieseljeep]

Originally Posted by Username1

1970's Chryslers had the best power steering, and a giant wheel....
With one finger and a good twist of the wrist you could make a turn.....
Just flip it and the weight of the wheel would take it all the way to the lock.....
Those cars were great.....

Chrysler invented power steering!
The commercials used to boast, "as easy as dialing a phone".
They never mentioned, that the next generation of phones would use push buttons, like their automatic transmissions.

[jr_tech]

Originally Posted by dieseljeep

Chrysler invented power steering!

Not quite, according to Wikipedia:

Chrysler Corporation introduced the first commercially available passenger car power steering system on the 1951 Chrysler Imperial under the name "Hydraguide".The Chrysler system was based on some of Davis' expired patents. General Motors introduced the 1952 Cadillac with a power steering system using the work Davis had done for the company almost twenty years earlier.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_steering

jr

[Reece]

I like to tell the story about my sister and her '59 Rambler standard shift back around 1961. This thing would lock up the column shift from time to time (Chevys and others would do this, too.) She played violin in the symphony and still does today! She's a beautiful redhead. One day back then she was driving to play a concert all dressed in her black dress and shoes and the shifter locked up in the middle of an intersection. She popped the hood and got out, opened it, and looked in. Men were coming from all directions to help the damsel in distress. But she had been taught what to do: reached in, pulled up the lever, slammed the hood, and got back in and drove away leaving all the would-be knights standing there with their mouths open!

[DavGoodlin]

Originally Posted by Username1

1970's Chryslers had the best power steering, and a giant wheel....
With one finger and a good twist of the wrist you could make a turn.....
Just flip it and the weight of the wheel would take it all the way to the lock.....
Those cars were great.....

MOPARS and Stalling right on! But when they ran, wow.
Parents had a 1969 Polara "suburban" wagon that would stall on left-hand turns, turned out it was the ballast resistor (battery side of ignition coil) with a small crack that would open when the firewall flexed. It took a small-town MoPar dealer to find the problem not the big, useless dealers in town!

Later my folks had a 75 Fury wagon with a 318 that never stalled until my brother started driving it. Just an accelerator pump, standard fail on Carter BBD carburetors. When they ordered an 83 Reliant wagon new, I filled out the order form: manual trans, HD cooling, 2.2 mopar rather than 2.6 mitsu, it was a great car, and I did not hear many folks say that about k-cars.

After my first car, a 1973 Fury II police model, I became a carburetor expert.
There's nothing more embarrassing than mashing it at a stoplight, hearing a pop as it backfired thru that Carter thermo-quad gas-sucker carb and stalled...

[Username1]

Originally Posted by dieseljeep;
Chrysler invented power steering!

Chrysler Made Perfect power steering systems....

[bgadow]

I drove a customer's 76 Newport-it honestly felt like the steering wheel wasn't connected to anything! At the other extreme, I really built up my arm muscles (really!) after I started driving my 74 IH pickup with manual steering. It will really make you pay attention to where you park-I've been in some situations where I just plain couldn't maneuver. Guess I could trade the 235/75R15's for some skinny bias plies. The old Ford, with 6.00/16's and, of course, manual steering-it turns so easy it almost feels like power.

[consoleguy67]

I had a 1979 Volvo 242DL that had no power steering and a 4 speed manual tranny. It was one of the most fun cars I've ever driven.

[dieseljeep]

Originally Posted by Reece

I like to tell the story about my sister and her '59 Rambler standard shift back around 1961. This thing would lock up the column shift from time to time (Chevys and others would do this, too.) She played violin in the symphony and still does today! She's a beautiful redhead. One day back then she was driving to play a concert all dressed in her black dress and shoes and the shifter locked up in the middle of an intersection. She popped the hood and got out, opened it, and looked in. Men were coming from all directions to help the damsel in distress. But she had been taught what to do: reached in, pulled up the lever, slammed the hood, and got back in and drove away leaving all the would-be knights standing there with their mouths open!

The same thing happened with my '64 Valiant and my '65 ford Econoline van.
They needed linkage bushings replaced. I just lived with the problem.

[dieseljeep]

Originally Posted by consoleguy67

I had a 1979 Volvo 242DL that had no power steering and a 4 speed manual tranny. It was one of the most fun cars I've ever driven.

My first two vehicles were manual transmissions. Back then, I didn't mind the shifting.
Once I got an automatic, I never really wanted to go back.

[Username1]

Last night on the news I saw some US negotiator go over to Japan I think, to try and negotiate for US cars going there and not meeting their safety standards....

I guess Japan's Gov. can't be bought by lobbyists like ours can.....

I know our MPG standards are the lowest, and I'm pretty sure our quality and reliability are pretty low, but are our safety standards also that low.....

I know GM has either recalled almost everything they make, and suspended the sale of the rest. And Ford now has several websites they would like removed having to do with most of their lineup.... I bet Dodge does too....?

Is the whole "US Cars are getting better" a complete PR scam...?


.

[dieseljeep]

Originally Posted by Username1

Last night on the news I saw some US negotiator go over to Japan I think, to try and negotiate for US cars going there and not meeting their safety standards....

I guess Japan's Gov. can't be bought by lobbyists like ours can.....

I know our MPG standards are the lowest, and I'm pretty sure our quality and reliability are pretty low, but are our safety standards also that low.....

I know GM has either recalled almost everything they make, and suspended the sale of the rest. And Ford now has several websites they would like removed having to do with most of their lineup.... I bet Dodge does too....?

Is the whole "US Cars are getting better" a complete PR scam...?


.

Most of the cars, I've owned recently, had several recalls. Many times, it was ECM, software changes. I'd take my vehicles to the dealer, for normal maintenance and see it connected to the internet, downloading software changes. The service writer would remark, BTW, there was a recall, but we already took care of it. If you get a letter, disregard it!

[Jon A.]

Quality and reliability is constantly going down, and airbag count continues to go up. Yesterday I spoke with someone whose daily driver is a 1988 Volvo 240DL. A newer SUV ran into her car at an intersection IIRC a while back; her car only had minor damage whereas the "plastic" (in her words, and I agree) SUV was demolished. Shortly before speaking with her I saw the Volvo parked alongside an older Cadillac and referred to them to another worker as the only real cars out there.

[Username1]

I do agree KV, someone ran into the wife's 91 accord with a NEW nissan stanza and the honda popped off a string of plastic bumper rivets, the nissan had to be towed away.... Nissan front to honda rear hit. Wife's car was at the gas pumps parked as she went in to pay. Nissan guy pushed the wrong pedal, hit it at about 5-6mph from 10 feet away?? I donow I was not there, as described to me, the nissan was leaking a few fluids, and freon.... Plastic was all over the parking lot....

And I agree those old 80's Volvos were mini-tanks up until they began wind tunnel testing them.... Didn't Ford screw them up....
Nasser owned them for a while I think.... He was an idiot, less so then Billy though....

You know the old man was spitting nails in his grave when Grandson Billy started "working" for the company....