Sprint

What we need to understand is that manufacturers have finally cottoned onto the idea of built-in redundancy

It's simply not good business to produce a Toyota Corolla in 1980
That does 500000 km
That's not a profitable business model

The profitable business model
Is to  over engineer
Every aspect of the car that you can

For two reasons

So that you can computerize the diagnostics and force the consumer to go back to th manufacturers dealership network where he can be price gouged

And to building certain guaranteed aspects of catastrophic failure
Which will occur shortly after the warranty period expires

We have had this discussion already with regards to
Sealed automatic transmission units

They will probably fail at 7 to 8 years
And with a replacement cost of perhaps 10 grand
The car is now trashed
and the consumer shells out for a new round of purchasing finance and servicing

It's not just automatic transmissions obviously
Starter motors are put in incredibly difficult places to get to
So that servicing costs a bomb
Suspension systemsrun by individual computers on each wheel
ABS is run in a similar very expensive modality

Even some of the collision prevention systems
Have diagnostics built into the windscreen

What used to be a insignificant chip in your windscreen
Now becomes $1,000 computer software repair

If manufacturers are saying it turbo petrol is the way to go
I will guarantee you that turbo petrol is the way to go
In terms of maximizing the profits for manufacturers
And insuring that your car is always at the dealer
Having expensive turbo reconditioning
And that the unit fails in a timely manner so that you can shall out for another such vehicle

Parts Department makes the most money for dealership - especially through the Mechanics Shop. Cars being sold (and I've worked in a successful Toyota dealership when it comes to vehicles sold. Parts & Accessories makes the most money.

They want the old cars off the road (like what Keating did and Gillard wanted) - to help the selling turnover of the Auto Industry. They also would like people to have a 4 year 'turnover' for each new car.

Atm - there is a backlog of new cars around the world - waiting to be used.

There are elements of merit in what each of you is saying.

Aquascoot - in typical fashion - has written a novel, in order to bleat about "planned obsolescence". There is some truth to that, but mate...do we really need war and peace to explain the one concept???

Turbo petrol engines are coming "into vogue", because (as was pointed out), they are the most efficient way to get decent performance AND meet ever more stringent emissions regs.

Take Mercedes AMG, as an example.

A decade or so ago, their "go to" performance engine was the 6.2lt M156. Normally aspirated, 336kw and 600Nm of torque.

Then they moved to a 5.5lt V8, this time twin turbocharged. 386kw at the base, and 700Nm of torque...and cheaper on fuel/better emissions.

Today, those same AMGs are powered by a 4.0lt V8 (with the turbos inside the "V"), which produces 375kw and 650Nm of torque, from 1.5lt less than the previous engine (and commensurately reduced fuel consumption/emissions).

Some years back, the wife and I had a nice Subaru Liberty wagon, a 4 cyl 2.5lt Turbo "Tuned by STI" thing.  194KW/353Nm torque, driving all four wheels through a lockable centre diff.

I note that Toyota recently sold (and sold out of) a Yaris Rallye version or some such...

1.6lt 3-cyl engine. 200KW and 370Nm through all four wheels...in a package which weighs a bit less than our old Subaru would have. And almost certainly uses less fuel.

You get the idea...

I hear that diesel has about "hit it's ceiling" in terms of emissions, and so the focus will be on turbo petrol development (in the ICE space), as well as PHEVs and full-electric vehicles going forward.

As for the difficulty and cost in parts and service for new cars...

We have two vehicles. A 3.2lt Grand Vitara, and a 1999 Toyota Corolla.

Last year, the GV would randomly refuse to turn over. Never stranded us anywhere (the starter would eventually "fire"), but we need a new starter for it.

Got it quoted by Suzuki. ~$600 and a four week wait. Got the part number from them and searched for it online. found an equivalent model on ebay, brand new for $180. (Hmmm...where do I sign?)

Arranged to have it fitted, and got a quote of an hour at ~$160. Took 'em three hours to fit it (they honoured the quote, BTW).

Needed an engine mount. Same thing. Parts can be had relatively cheaply, if you know where to look.

The little Corolla?

Venerable 7a-fe and 5-speed manual transaxle. 200,000+kms and still going strong.

Parts are cheap and plentiful, and servicing - most of which I do myself - is relatively straight forward.

Oil and filter change in about half an hour. And most of that is allowing all the old oil to drain out.

We look after it, and it still looks in better nick than most cars half its age.

aquascoot wrote on Dec 3^rd, 2020 at 9:51am:



Only half right. Its only in the US that the Mazda 2 is being sold as the Yaris. We here  get the actual Toyota developed Yaris.

aquascoot wrote on Dec 3^rd, 2020 at 12:14pm:


200kw/370Nm?

AWD with lockable centre diff?

6-speed manual?

The usual active and passive safety gear?

What's not to like?*

* I am referring to the top-of-the-range "Rallye" version. I've no idea what the base model "cooking " versions are like.

Common for 3 cylinder turbos. 3 cylinders are coming back into fashion

aquascoot wrote on Dec 3^rd, 2020 at 1:22pm:


You should have stuck to horses. All they require for maintenance is a shovel.