As would many others, myself included. I’ve been looking at new vehicles lately. Holy smokes! The tech and convenience features are flat-out overwhelming. It’s a pipe dream, but one can wonder: Is there a market for a much lower cost version of some vehicles? As little tech as possible to keep them running reliably (achieved decades ago), just bare bones with all the advantages of modern suspensions, brakes, and safety features. Something that doesn’t email me when one of my tires is low, for example (this recently happened to me with a 2024 vehicle...).
As someone once pointed out, owner’s manuals used to include procedures for normal maintenance, like adjusting carburetors and valves. Today, the manuals begin with a warning to not drink coolant...
...and don't eat the tools.
If our 2006 Buick Lucerne with V-8 were still made and available at the cost then plus inflation I would go out and buy one today without hesitation. It has more than I need on a car, things I still don’t use and I sure don’t need apps or a big screen or a navigation system to drive, I have done fine without any of that for nearly 60 years.
I do not need a refrigerator that entertains me, a coffee pot that can be turned on from my phone, an oven that can be operated by remote controls. None of that and it all contributes to unreliability and cost.
Gimmicks, who needs them? I sure don’t.
Too bad others that love gimmicks and don’t reason well are in the driver’s seat now.
If they insist in veering away from the IC the hybrid is the way to go.
Many farmers are seeking out 40 year-old tractors because they are reliable and you can work on them yourself. The new ones leave you stranded at critical times, which is when you use them. My older tractors are reliable, my new front end loader and excavator are packed with electronics and computer, I fear them.
Yes, but will they let us have it? Cars cost more now than my house cost in 1980.