No Shirt Buttons, No Airbags, Buggy Smartphones: Russia's Economy Enters The 'Twilight Zone'

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty ^ | Jun 23, 2022 | Mike Eckel

[trailboss800]

How did vehicles in America operate reliably for the first 100 years without all the extra stuff.

[heavy metal]

kinda strange you’re more concerned about russia’s economy while biden is destroying ours...

[UMCRevMom@aol.com]

“you’re more concerned about russia’s economy while biden is destroying ours...”

Your conjecture is fallacy

[Texas Fossil]

How did the US operate 100 years ago.

Simple reliable design.

90% of the mandated crap from DC to the Car Manufacturers contribute very little to actual function.

Now it is about tracking everyone for big brother.

The cars are so complex that the dealerships cannot do a good job of repairing them when they break.

The styles change so fast and often that parts are a real issue in repairing them.

I’m no fan of anything in Russia, but I do love good simple design. And products that are designed to make life easier and better, instead of simply more complex.

I hate cheap ChiCom crap that is glitzy but does not function well. But China is where we shipped all our manufacturing to. If you look carefully today, see what that bought us?

I have a 66 Ford Mustang with about 120,000 miles on it. It was my first wife’s first car. A contractor saw it in the garage of a house I am remodeling and told me, “you do realize that that car as it is (all 4 tires flat from age) is worth $20,000 dollars. It originally cost about $3,000.

[heavy metal]

your excerpting my post to your advantage is conjecture...

[21twelve]

Putin wants it to be like the USSR again!

It was either another Freeper or Reagan that told the story about how back in the day in the USSR you had to wait 10 years for a new car, and you had to pay the money up front.

So the guy goes in and lays down his money.

“Thank you comrade! We’ll see you in 10 years.”

“Yes comrade. Morning or afternoon?”

“What kind of a question is that!?”
.
.
.
.

“Well, the plumber is coming in the morning.”

[Freedom4US]

Well they didn’t, at least not without regular maintenance. Everyone in winter cold weather always carried jumper cables. Getting cars and trucks with generator charging systems, points ignition, and carburetors was decidedly a dicey affair on subzero mornings unless the engine was kept in a high state of tune. Better heeled motorists usually got a Tune-Up twice a year. Everyone else messed around, “golden screwdrivers”, and often made them run worse. Whenever I worked on vintage iron much of what I did was simply repairing stuff or adjusting back to factory specs, that people’&$@cked up.

Modern cars often have no soul, but they have become very reliable and rarely need any attention. (God help you if they do, however)

[DannyTN]

No shirt buttons. That explains the shirtless Putin pictures.

While claiming the sanctions are having no effect, they sure do complain about the sanctions a lot.

[Clay Moore]

Agreed! I had a few 6 volt vehicles and getting them to start in relatively mild temperatures was a bit nerve racking. I can’t imagine trying to keep one going up north in the winter.

[Pollard]

I grew up in New England and always made it to work unless snow was so bad that no one went to work, blizzard etc. Biggest thing was having a good battery because they're weak when it's cold. I do prefer fuel injection now of course and engines so tight that they last for 2-300,000 miles. Overdrive transmissions with torque converter lockup gives great improvement on fuel mileage and helps make the engine last longer by keeping the rpm down at high speeds.

Still;

The buzz about AvtoVAZ's Lada Granta Classic -- priced to sell at 678,300 rubles ($12,500) -- is about what it doesn't have: No airbags. No antilock brakes. No electronic stability system. No pretensioners to make the seat belts work properly. No GPS. An engine that complies with emissions standards from 26 years ago.

We sure could use a $12,500 new car here in the US. Maybe make it an even $15k and improve a few things like the seat belts.

Decent looking little cars. At 36mpg, I wouldn't mind having one about now.

[FreedomPoster]

EPA and NHTSA compliance probably costs that much, per car.

[Chickensoup]

The company that took over the McDonald’s franchise in Russia reopened its flagship restaurant in Moscow, but hamburgers and french fry wrappers were blank.

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BLANK! Oh noes!

Seriously?

[central_va]

The secret old cars? Always pull the vacuum advance off the distributer before setting the dwell. That is the secret.

[Berlin_Freeper]

G-7 to ban Russian gold in response to Ukraine war

Senior Biden administration officials said gold is Moscow’s second largest export after energy, and that banning imports would make it more difficult for Russia to participate in global markets. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss details before the announcement.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the ban on Russian gold will “directly hit Russian oligarchs and strike at the heart of Putin’s war machine,” a reference to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

[Chickensoup]

The Russian people in the future will be driving a Lada, while people in the West will be sitting in driverless cars.”

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The people of Russia will retain competent skills the people of the west will become even less able.

[central_va]

Always pull the vacuum advance off the distributer before setting the dwell and checking the timing. That is the secret.

Fixed it.

[Chickensoup]

Exactly. Basic designs. I think India produces something similar.

[Ellendra]

It’s the shirt buttons that are baffling me. Those aren’t exactly high-tech, they require no fancy ores or computer chips, and they haven’t changed all that much in the last century. I know people who make them by hand, just for the fun of it.

Making them precisely enough they can be attached entirely by machine might be a little tricky, but not ridiculously tricky. There are even instructions online for making them from common materials like milk.

(No, seriously. Check it out: https://lizhaywood.com.au/making-buttons-from-milk-plastic/ )

[Freedom4US]

There will always be some country willing to buy Russian (or anybody else) gold. Given the long running deficits and mismanagement the American government has enjoyed this is sort of like shooting yourself in the foot. They’ll just buy it on the down low. I’m not smart enough to understand it, but it may even increase the price. That’ll show ‘em!