What cars being produced now do you think wil become classics 20-30 years from now and how reliable do you think automotive electronics in todays cars will be able to hold up over the decades to survive long enough to become a drivable classic car in 20-30 years.

What will automotive repair and service be like on these future classics with these cars contaning so many electronics and computers (BMW's idrive anyone)?

I think a main reason why back-to-basic cars are sought after be collectors is that they are simple and reliable enough to be serviced, maintained, and most importantly driven.

 

The 1995 Z28

Vented Opti
OBD1
LT1

Not too complicated when it comes to electronics and badass!

I'm buying one as soon as im out of college! Restore time!

Thats all I've got to say!

 

I really wonder how auto mechanics in 2030 will be working on old Subie awd systems or crazy electonic systems like Bmw's idrive. Sure all this great technology is making car faster and helps them handle better but how expensive will some of these cars be to repair once their warranty expires?

Most people who get a new luxury or high performance cars dont even actually buy them since most of them just lease them for 3 years or so and get something new (that also under warranty) once the lease is up.

Would this mean that older and more mechanically and electronically advance cars could have sever depreciation after their warranty expires to compensate for their enormous repair bills caused by crazy electronic systems like Idrive and etc?

So many new cars have their stereos integrated into the dash that you can no longer go out and buy an new single or double-din Alpine and Pioneer stereo/cd to replace the OEM one when it breaks or if you want to upgrade your system a few years later after buying the car.

IMO I think the 2004 Lotus Elise will be one of the most sought after cars by collectors 20-30 years from now because of it true back-to-basics racing roots, its relative low prices as an exotic ($40,000) and the fact it uses a reliable Toyota engine and tranny that should make it reliable and easy to have it maintaned decades from now. Now if I had an extra $40,000 to blow on an extra car and a 3-car garage to keep it in

 

personally, I think that the expensive electronics in our cars will be cheaper in a few years. The price ALWAYS comes down on electronics. Look at TV's and computers from 10years ago. They were priced high as a mother fu.. but the prices on your standard TV/Computer has come down in price since 1994.

Hopefully the same will hold true for our cars.

 

Once agian, in a few years the prices will drop on the electronics beacuse of advances in technology. I dont think the Beemers and Subies will be sought after like the classics of the pre70's, but I think they will have cheap parts in 30 years so that someone can restore them for a resonable price, and with future tech, they could possibly do it theirselves.

 

Price is only part of the problem but the complexity and prone to failure of electonics in vehicles. Electronic glitches and software errors in vehicle are becoming more common place and one could imagine the nightmare of trying to solve electric problems of these cars 20 years from now. Even Ford's all-new 2005 Five-Hundred sedan with the CVT tranny is having customers report/complain of software errors and failures.

Many of these cars require specialized diagnostic computers designed soley for that brand of vehicle and this is starting to cause a huge rift between private repair shops and dealer-owned shops because most private shops cannot afford the expensive new diagnostic computer systems for all the different brands they service.

In the future car repair will no longer be perceived as a grease-monkeys job but a respected profession for highly educated and trained professionals and because of this car repair will become considerably more expensive in the future then it is today. We will all most likely witness the collapse and demise of many independent repair shops who cannot afford the new technology to properly diagnose and repair the new breed of ultra-high-tech automobiles.

 

I think that the issue is going to be that the plans (schematics) for all these electronic brains will be lost or discarded eventually, which means that figuring how to make replacement parts in the aftermarket will be impossible or extremely expensive.

Also, the shear number of parts that would have to be replaced would make any kind of restoration cost prohibitive.

I see the trend as follows: Consumer electronics are disposed of after 1-3 years. Cars are kept for several years. The more electronics they put in cars, the shorter they are going to make their usable life. Does anyone think that someone is going to repair some auxilliary electronic doodad for $500-1000 on a 5,6, or seven year old car? Nope, they will just drive with it broken. Eventually, they will scrap the car when enough quits working (the drivetrain still likely to be humming along).

Ultimately, I think you will end up with a high value placed on low mileage originals, and most others won't be worth restoring.

 

Im just waiting for Walmart to get in the car business and be the first to bring over 100% made-in-china cars for $4999 each.

 

We've entered the age of the throw-away car. You drive a car past warranty and if something major starts to go wrong you are better off trading it in than getting it repaired, which may cost more than the car is worth. Unless you are driving a car that you are passionate about, say an F-Body.

 

While i doubt the following guy will have much of an impact on the auto idustry but if Walmart made a deal with a Chinese automotive company and got the cars certified for the US and sold them exclusively through Walmart stores and made a deal Mr. Goodwrench or someone else to repair and service them it could change the dynamics of the auto industry.

the following quote from chinadaily.com


Chinese-made cars debut in US market

An Arizona car dealer is gearing up to become the first to sell a full line of Chinese-made vehicles in the United States at Wal-Mart-style prices he hopes will lure tens of thousands of buyers.


David Shelburg and his privately held company, China Motor Corp., want to cash in on China's fast-growing auto industry and cheap labor costs by establishing a network of 100 dealers to sell vehicles from a trio of Chinese manufacturers across the United States by the fall.

The plan is to have the dealers sell as many as 60,000 Chinese-built cars and trucks at prices starting below US$10,000, by the end of the year, Shelburg's business associates told Reuters.

Shelburg, one of the first dealers to sell Subarus in the United States in the 1960s, hopes to establish himself as a discount king with business from California to Canton.

from the complete article visit- http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english...ent_343812.htm

 

who knows, maybe Walmart could sell Chinese-made MG's in the US

from article autoweek.com

MG back to U.S.? Deal with Chinese company may give British automaker more options

DALE JEWETT | Automotive News

Posted Date: 11/30/04

MG Rover, the British carmaker that financially has been running on fumes - again - looks to have a savior in Chinese automaker Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp.

MG Rover and Shanghai Automotive are working to set up a joint venture that would handle Rover's engineering and design. Shanghai Automotive would own a majority of the venture, which would be based in China. MG Rover would get a cash infusion to revive its dormant vehicle development.

MG Chairman John Towers says the deal could give MG Rover what it needs to get back into the United States. "We get countless requests to know when MG Rover is returning to America, and this now becomes an option," Towers was quoted in a story on www.autowired.com.

MG and Rover cars were last sold in the United States in 1991.

 

The electrical systems on newer cars are ridiculous. My parent's '04 Expedition has had two electrical failures already. One of the power vent windows, and the rear seat AC blower control both failed. Fixed under warranty. And thats just it, my parents lease their primary vehicle. (My father owns his commuter car, a 96 Caprice 9C1) I truly feel sorry both for the future owner of this truck, and for the Ford dealer that gets tasked with selling it used. Its bound to have more elevtrical gremelins down the road.

Thats what I cant understand. We finally get into an age where major drivetrain problems are a thing of the past, and then we get doo-dad happy and throw a thousand pounds of complex electrical equipment into our new cars. Am I the only one that wants a car thats simple? I dont need oil level warning lights, or oil change reminders. I dont need a 500 watt ghetto blaster stereo. I dont need power vent windows. Hell, I want manual crank door windows.

Message to the auto industry. (Domestic AND Import, theyre both guilty)

K I S S

 

The technology is still in it's infant stages. As is, we're trying to run when our legs can barely let us walk, and we are bound to have failures. This is not suprising.

I agree, I think OBDI is bad enough, OBDII is worse, and the thought of OBDIII makes me sick. To think warranty claims can be denied because you took your car to the track one day (all they'd see is excessive speed) and your insurance could be voided or rates increased because of this? Count me out.

I think a Lotus or an Ultima GTR sounds wonderful. Simple. KISS is king here.

And on the note - anyone ever see the 70's Mercedes cars that were vacume powered? My friend loves the things. Sad part is there is over 300 yards of vacume tubing in his restoration project. Everything is vacume powered. Often people (as said) left stuff broke or at best cobbed a fix job. I think in a few years things will get better or much much worse...

 

The 1998 Corvette service manual has over 1100 pages on diagnosing electrical system problems, from what I hear. Which is one reason I never bought one.

Idrive must be a lot worse.

The thought of a new Corvette with nav and onstar and satellite radio and all that other BS makes me want to vomit.

Still waiting for the Lotus to arrive.

I'm afraid my "new" cars may be custom builds, like a frame-conversion midyear with C4 suspension and an LS1/6 speed.

 

4th Gens f-bodies

I think 4th gens are pinacle of computer controlled cars. Theyre easily tunable, and only things the should be controlled by computers are. I for one cant stand an electronic throttle which is why i love my LT1. Thats just one reason i think they are at the pinacle, another is mentioned above: computers are gonna track what youve been doing, its only a matter of time.

also it seems that 4th gens are already becoming kinda rare. I easily see 4+ mustangs on the road for one f-body.