Interesting outlook on auto planned obsolecence from Uncle Tony.

[VINMAN]

Don't know if anyone here follows Uncle Tonys Garage.( hes a big Mopar guy..)

Hard to disagree with him on this.

[pwd72s]

Yep, he makes good points. "We are domed."--Tabs

[SCadaddle]

I've got a buddy that's got a terminally ill medical condition. He's an older fellow, a car guy, but not the least bit mechanically inclined.

So he buys a 1972 Corvette that was supposedly a very low mileage original car that was completely restored. Buys it online through a broker. Car shows up looks nice sounds nice but a LOT of stuff that doesn't work. Like just about everything in the dash.

So he takes his Corvette to a not too distant shop says "fix it". But please, this is my health situation and I'd like to enjoy the car, so let's get on with it.

Now the shop,it's a big place. Must be 25 or 30 vintage type cars inside another 30 outside waiting to get in. 4 or 5 "mechanics" onsite. They'll work on one car a bit then work on another. Every 2 weeks the owner gets a bill. Rinse and repeat.

So far my buddy has spent $15,000 (fifteen thousand dollars) on wiring stuff in the dash. Mouse damage, whatever. He gets their bill in the mail every 2 weeks he goes to see his car and pays the bill. "Should have it all done and ready to go by next Thursday" he is told.

Thursday never happens.

This is a business model of a racket in the "hobby car" world. I'm thinking we're seeing more and more classic auto auctions on TV, people are buying in to the hobby car market..
...but part of the hobby is fixing the car yourself.....but these new owners have no clue whatsoever on how to fix their new classic car, the business model is born. It's absurd. It's taking advantage of people.

Now I talked with another friend whom he and his older son repair British sports cars exclusively, they claim if you want them to work on your British car get on the list.....they are booked the next 2 years. I told him from a money making point the other guys have it figured out.

[KNS]

Originally Posted by john70t

The EPA supposedly 'fines' automakers for CAFE mpg standards based on footprint size alone.

The reason why the 911 has gotten so enormous. If the car was smaller (like older 911s) they're required to have a higher mpg. Build a bigger vehicle, you're allowed a poorer mpg.

[GH85Carrera]

Originally Posted by KNS

The reason why the 911 has gotten so enormous. If the car was smaller (like older 911s) they're required to have a higher mpg. Build a bigger vehicle, you're allowed a poorer mpg.

A big part of the growth in size of cars is a new 911 has nearly 100 computers, backup cameras, GPS navigation, overkill sound system, and ABS, PASM, PDK, and dozens of other acronyms, and they have to have space to stuff that into a car. The performance is astonishing, and Porsche has proved the engineering but the cost is insane for a new Porsche. One friend just bought a 2 year old GT4 in the color he wanted, and it was 150K.

Of course, if one goes back in time to 1985 when my 85 911 was sold new it was $36,000. Inflation alone makes that $106,756.06 in 2025 dollars.

So manufacturers are doing well to keep the prices as low as possible.

So back to 1974 when I bought a brand new 1974 914 2.0 for $6750 and that is $43,687.70 in 2025. dollars.

[flipper35]

I have only seen the video he made on the Ramcharger where it was clear he did not understand engineering. Thinking a person would want to pull over and charge the vehicle with a Predator generator is not cute as he says. The only way to be able to generate 202kWH is with a decent sized ICE. A 5000w genny is not going to cut it.

[oldE]

"Our entire civilization..." ya da ya da .. internal combustion engine.
You know, 125 years ago, someone was saying the same thing about steam power.
100 years before that, you could have made the same argument with horses and sailing ships.
The world changes. There is another thread right now about artifacts. He might try to dispute it, but his video and that thread have a connection.

Best
Les