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Old 03-28-2014, 03:20 PM
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= Cars Stalling today leads to crashes and lawsuites =

Been reading about the big GM ignition recall. Bloomberg has this story about how the problem is hardest hitting to young drivers "ill equipped" to handle a car "suddenly turning off" as it's being driven.....

Sorry but this story deserves a small rant....

Not to be cold to the story, or deaths involved, but my "entry level car" not only stalled regularly, so did Mom's '70 Dodge 225 slant 6 wagon, Dad's Dodge Dart, my 2 Mustangs, and most of my friend's cars stalled too.....
Stalling use to be just one of those daily things you deal with while driving....

There were times I had to clean the fuel filter at a stop light....

My brakes would lock up the rear wheels in the rain.....

Poor traction in the snow....

Rusty brake lines broke a few times on my entry level car.....

Rain interfered with my power steering belt's friction coefficient......


Quote:
<< Sarah, then 19 years old, probably wouldn’t have known what to do, Trautwein said. “She was a young driver,” he said. “It would have probably freaked her out.”

Years after fatal accidents involving Cobalts, Saturn Ions and other recalled models, a grim picture is taking form. The now-recalled vehicles were predominantly entry-level cars marketed to first-time drivers. These same drivers, according to safety and auto experts, may have been among the least prepared to react to a sudden loss of power.


“It’s a young person’s car,” said Bill Visnic, senior editor at auto website Edmunds.com and a veteran of more than 20 years of vehicle test drives. “When you turn off the ignition and you lose power steering, especially, it’s a very panicky feeling.” >>


I think the public is becoming more stupid every day.....

While GM was wrong not to fix this in the year it was discovered, Stalling should be an expected event while driving, and if it results in a crash, it's mostly your fault..... My opinion.

Running out of gas will also result in a "sudden shut down" If a gas gauge does not go all the way into the red and runs out of gas and makes the driver "freak out" and wreck, will this be the next lawsuit ???

Just as I believe those people with Toyotas where the gas pedal stuck to the floor, but they could still dial their cell phone and document their pending lawsuit, but somehow couldn't put it in Neutral, and turn off the engine, need to be publicly spanked, and then sued themselves for the damage they have done.....

You really have to wonder, how many things in the future will people be unwilling to take responsibility for when it results in some kind of accident.

I had an accelerator stick once, not on the floor, just open where it was, local driving, I just took it into neutral, turned off the engine, and turned down a small street once it slowed down.....

Kids need to go back to buying $500. cars for their first car.......

NO Air bags......

Bring back Carburetors ! ! !

Steel Dash boards.......

NO Seat belts........

Go ahead and text while you drive a '72 mustang....

Bloomberg story..... http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-0...eadly-mix.html
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Last edited by Username1; 03-28-2014 at 03:43 PM.
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Old 03-28-2014, 06:49 PM
walterbeers walterbeers is offline
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I agree, everyone should be alert for mechanical problems that can occur during driving. One time we rented a older full size van, (dodge I believe), from a used car dealer for a church camp outing, a drive of over 450 miles. Over the course of the trip the throttle cable stuck open, and had one flat tire. Took it to a shop, they fixed the flat tire, and messed with the carburetor, said we shouldn't have any more problems. Well in another 100 miles or so, engine took off racing at top speed. Put it in neutral, coasted to a stop, and got it unstuck again. I had to get some WD40, take the inside cover off the engine, and thoroughly spray the cable from both ends. At least it temporally fixed our problem. The dealer did give us some money back on the rental after we told them of all the problems we had. PS, they are no longer in business. Of course that was 15 years ago.
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Old 03-28-2014, 06:54 PM
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Why people still buy GM or Chrysler or Ford these days after decades of cheapness is beyond me !
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Old 03-28-2014, 07:14 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Robb View Post
Why people still buy GM or Chrysler or Ford these days after decades of cheapness is beyond me !
It's not just domestics that are a problem.

Geez, when I was a younger driver I used a 1987 Dodge that would frequently stall because of a bad distributor pickup. Just some heavy steering and a hard brake pedal upon pulling over. No big deal, no panic.

I'm guessing that most of today's young drivers are using automatics. Hard to shift and text at the same time.
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Old 03-28-2014, 08:19 PM
Olorin67 Olorin67 is offline
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Ive owned a few cars that would stall out... Had a plugged in tank fuel filter on my chrysler new yorker... Started stalling as i was driving though Chicago once... A car that stalls every 3 blocks in downtown chicago and on lake shore drive was.. Interesting...
Im a bit old fashioned when it comes to cars, prefer to my own gears.... And i really hate power steering. My ideal car would be rear wheel drive, 5 speed, 2 doors, vent windows, manual steering, and a hatchback or wagon for hauling home tvs and console radios. Anyone got a vw squareback for sale?

Last edited by Olorin67; 03-28-2014 at 08:29 PM.
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Old 03-28-2014, 08:55 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Olorin67 View Post
Im a bit old fashioned when it comes to cars, prefer to my own gears.... And i really hate power steering. My ideal car would be rear wheel drive, 5 speed, 2 doors, vent windows, manual steering, and a hatchback or wagon for hauling home tvs and console radios. Anyone got a vw squareback for sale?
The car I would want that comes closest to fitting that description is the 1975-78 Mercury Bobcat wagon. A 2-door wagon, sweet. They were never offered with vent windows or a 5th gear though.
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Old 03-30-2014, 08:39 PM
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In the older cars you were more part of the mechanism: remember how you could get somebody to give you a push when the battery died, after you got going with the gear in second you eased out the clutch and the engine would start. If you had to stop fast or the brakes failed you jammed on the emergency brake and downshifted mightily. How many kids today even know where the emergency brake is, or how to downshift, auto or manual? How many can even drive a manual (much less double clutch!) However, the cars we have today are the cars we have. They are safer and more reliable, start right up at 0 degrees (remember coaxing old Bessie to growl and turn over on stiff oil?) but they can be treated like an appliance to turn on or turn off, without a whole lot of thought about how it works or what to do in dangerous situations. The cars that get driven through convenience store windows aren't manual shift.
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Old 03-30-2014, 08:57 PM
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What's a "Clutch" ?!? A LOT of these youngsters have NEVER seen one..
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Old 03-30-2014, 09:24 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by KV-1926R View Post
It's not just domestics that are a problem.

Geez, when I was a younger driver I used a 1987 Dodge that would frequently stall because of a bad distributor pickup. Just some heavy steering and a hard brake pedal upon pulling over. No big deal, no panic.

I'm guessing that most of today's young drivers are using automatics. Hard to shift and text at the same time.
Man, did it take a long time for me to find it was a bad distributor pickup that kept causing my 87 Dakota to stall. Yep, just got used to it. Guess there are fewer and fewer folks all the time that know how to feather the accelerator to keep a carbed engine running from a cold start. Guess that will keep kids from stealing any of my old fleet (that and the 3 on the tree.)
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Old 03-30-2014, 09:29 PM
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How many times were you driving the dead car that was being towed with "Armstrong Steering" and no power brakes? You were doing good if you kept the slack under control with that chain and using and understanding hand signals. That last thing you would want to do is hit the back of Dad's car!

I did have an accelerator spring break once on my /6 '72 Duster on the interstate in traffic. The gas pedal slammed to the floor but with that "massive" 1BBL acceleration I had pleanty of time to manuver to the right lane and turn the key back one click and pulled over. The spring was still there, bent the end where it broke and drove on! I never did replace it and drove it for years!
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Old 03-31-2014, 01:55 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Sandy G View Post
What's a "Clutch" ?!? A LOT of these youngsters have NEVER seen one..
Only thing I've driven (or rode on) that has a clutch is our OLD Honda riding lawnmower.

I can't remember the folks' cars ever stalling in my lifetime either...

About the most interesting failure work-around I remember is my Dad driving his 80's Buick Park Ave. backwards 1.5 blocks from home to the repair shop after having it towed home from Oak Park to Lombard Il when all the drive gears in the automatic transmission failed....And why did they fail? Oh yeah, because in all the years that he had that car he never changed the transmission fluid....Sure shows the kinda long line of car 'experts' I come from.

I'm planning to break the cycle (once I have some money) by getting a 40's or 50's beater and making it nice again with my own two hands.
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Old 03-31-2014, 07:43 AM
Chip Chester Chip Chester is offline
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I have an older sports car that my son and I occasionally take to club events. I made it a point early on to mention that, in the old days, when you took off on a cross-state trip, there wasn't any guarantee you'd get there on your intended schedule. A savvy motorist took a small kit of tools and maintenance items, and maybe a few mission-critical parts along "just in case". And we've had one or two of those cases through the years, too. Even a couple where we were carrying the right parts and tools.

I taught him to drive a manual trans in that sports car, too... when he was about 12 or so. Private parking lot, turn up the idle just a little, and don't use the accelerator at all. Car is so small I could drive it from the passenger seat.

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Old 03-31-2014, 01:40 PM
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Countryford Countryford is offline
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Back when I was 16 or 17, I had a 65 Ford F-100 (6cly with a 3 on the tree). I was driving to work and was approaching a red light, when I went to push down on the brakes, to the floor it went. I was going about 35 mphs. The emergency brake had been out for some time. Ended up throwing it into reverse and letting the clutch out. I stopped prior to hitting the car in front. I made it the rest of the way to work. I sprung a leak in the line near the master cylinder. Repaired it and filled the fluid.

Speaking of cars without power steering. I had a 67 Oldsmobile F-85 with manual steering. I was being lazy one day and took it to Wal-Mart for an oil change. When they were done, the young kid, told me that I needed have the power steering unit repaird, since it wasn't working.

Back in 2008 my dad needed a cheap decent car(he traveled close to 100 miles round trip to work). Kia was offering a new 2008 Kia Rio, manual windows, manual locks, manual transmission, MANUAL STEERING, no a/c, and NO RADIO for just under $10,000. I was surprised to hear that a new car would come with manual steering and no radio.
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Old 03-31-2014, 03:19 PM
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maxhifi maxhifi is offline
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I think people exaggerate problems to try and get money out of a big company. My 68 F-250 likes to stall now and again before the engine is warm enough to turn the manual choke completely off.... big deal, it's never caused any problems. I think this is more about someone taking an interest in squeezing money from GM than a real problem! That said it's nice to own a car which doesn't stall.
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Old 03-31-2014, 05:09 PM
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I've said it before (not here) and I'll say it again: modern vehicles take the driving out of driving... 'cept maybe for the Kia Rio as mentioned above. I drove a 2001 model with a 5-speed and manual steering a few times. Automatics just bore me, and it's the over-boosted power steering and brakes that give me trouble. May as well be steering while being towed with the front wheels off the ground. Ford Taurus anyone?
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