I think there's room in the market for a back to basics car company that takes out all this bs, goes back to crank windows and all that crap and sells new vehicles for an affordable cost with a good warranty.
It would probably crush today.
Edit: I got like 400 responses saying "slate" ok I get it you can stop
Factoring in inflation the average new car in 1960 cost roughly $23k in today's money.
Problem is, in the US safety features like airbags, anti-lock brakes and now backup cameras are required by law, so there's no selling a new car without those added costs of the center screen, computers and sensors required to run them.
Then you have things like crank windows that went away because volume production eventually made it cheaper to build cars with electric windows over cranks.
But as someone who's old and drove shitboxes when he was young and also has a car built in 1968 sitting in his garage, I can tell you those old cars are sloppy as fuck to drive, the seats are uncomfortable as hell and driving a car without things like power steering gets old.
Yeah, it's actually a really sad story. A man backed over his toddler who had run out behind the vehicle and killed him. The kid was small enough to not be visible looking out the back window or in the rear view mirror. That man campaigned successfully to make backup cameras required. I think the act that mandated them is named after his son.
That case was the catalyst, but it was not just one kid who was killed. There were several hundred fatalities a year while backing out in the US alone.
There were several hundred fatalities a year while backing out in the US alone.
Another reason why backing into parking spaces should be mandatory. I break the awful habit of pulling into parking spaces in all of my friends and family. It is bad for the vehicle (cold starting a car and putting it into reverse) and significantly more dangerous for everyone involved.
oh yes. I worked for a very risk-averse company, and even the white collar workers were expected to back into parking spaces in the corporate lot if there wasn't a pull-through spot. Smith System driver training - they made everyone take the training so there was no excuse. Been on onother job where that same training was required after our field crews dinged up the fleet trucks a few too many times.
back into parking spaces in the corporate lot if there wasn't a pull-through spot.
It is just better. Either way you are going to have to back up, might as well do it when your vehicle is already warmed up and it allows you to pull out into traffic which is much easier/safer.
I genuinely think less of people who don't do it. There isn't any logical reason to not back into a spot.
I believe Consumer Reports did a large expose and then helped advocate for mandatory backup cameras. They are important safety features for people outside the vehicle - not just “nice to haves.”
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u/burge4150 10h ago edited 4h ago
I think there's room in the market for a back to basics car company that takes out all this bs, goes back to crank windows and all that crap and sells new vehicles for an affordable cost with a good warranty.
It would probably crush today.
Edit: I got like 400 responses saying "slate" ok I get it you can stop