There’s a myth – maybe it’s more of a legend – circulating in the automotive world about a magical elixir made from all of a car’s essential fluids: oil, gasoline/diesel, coolant, brake fluid, blinker fluid, headrest juice, and so on. This elixir is said to be able to imbue the quaffer with the ability to see into the future! The future!
The beginning of a new year is a fantastic time to make predictions, of course, so I decided to attempt to concoct such an elixir. The proper ratios of the elixir have been lost to time, and while I was able to summon the ghosts of both Henry Ford and Hans Ledwinka, neither had any useful insight into this. In fact, Henry just called me a bunch of anti-semitic slurs, and Hans just wanted what happened in some old Star Trek episodes, since he died in 1967. They were no help at all.
In the end, I just kept adding gin to the mixture until I could keep it down without vomiting that much, and I think I must have done something right, because right after I wet myself (lavishly, of course) a series of premonitions flooded my mind, visions of the year to come, automotively. Lucky for you, I was able to Sharpie these ideas onto a scrap of drywall so I could remember them when I sobered up!
Here’s what I came up with:
Touchscreen Door Handles
You know how everyone is starting to realize that electronic door handles are an ass-pain, and even sometimes dangerous? Sure you do. We’re all getting sick of them. And, I think eventually the industry will wise up and phase out these stupid overcomplicated things. But before that happens, I think there will be one last, stupid stand of overcomplicated door handles, and that last stupid stand will be really overcomplicated.
And it’ll have screens.
Yes, I predict that the final nail in the coffin of overcomplex electronic door handles will be handles that have a touchscreen with a graphical menu on the outside of the door. You’ll have to navigate to some menu screen with options to open the door, with a separate OK/execute button, and it will be so maddening and inane that, finally, the whole of humankind will say enough and we’ll go back to basic mechanical door handles that just flapjacking work.
L3 Autonomy Will Be Solved By Everyone Agreeing To Just See What Happens
I’ve been saying that Level 3 automated driving – a level where the car is doing all of the driving, until it just can’t, and then the human has to take over, even though they’re not actually required to be supervising in any capacity while the car is driving – is stupid. Deeply stupid.
And yet, the inherent contradictions and confusions of Level 3 don’t seem to be dissuading carmakers from trying to implement it, like Mercedes-Benz, who has a (low speed) and geofenced L3 system available now.
Here’s my prediction: Level 3 will become more prevalent because in 2026 automakers will band together to all agree to “just kind of see what happens” with L3 systems, coupled with new driver end-user agreements full of tiny text that absolve carmakers from any liability when these systems start to cause accidents.
So far, no automaker has given me a good, viable explanation of how they’ll handle the handoff between car and human when it needs to happen, especially in a hurry, and I don’t have any faith they’ll come up with something that works, not really. Instead, I think we’ll see some bullshit like this.
New Subscription Plan: SaaS (Seats as a Service)
You know how everyone hates car feature subscriptions? Sure you do. Nobody likes them, nobody. But carmakers just can’t ignore all of that sweet, sweet cash just sitting there in your car, in features and equipment you thought you already owned. The problem (for automakers, not you) is that too many subscription features are things you could ignore.
Heated seats, better acceleration, navigation, multi-zone climate control … these are all things car owners can, you know, do without. But what about seats themselves!
I predict that 2026 will be the year of subscription seats, or Seats as a Service (SaaS). When you don’t pay your seat subscription, the seat folds itself into an uncomfortable lump that you can just barely sit on, juuussst enough to meet the legal requirements. To have the seat unfurl into its full, comfortable state, you need to pay.
You’re gonna hate it.
Lack of Cheap Cars Will Start a Trend of “Renewal Shops”
You know what sucks? The fact that there are less and less, perhaps even fewer and fewer genuinely cheap new cars for sale. Nissan killed the cheapest car you could get in America, the Versa, and while there are still some under $25,000 options, there’s not that many, and it sure would be nice if there were some options for even less than $25,000, which is still a good chunk of money.
I don’t see automakers stepping up to fill this hole in the market, so I predict a new industry will emerge where companies – backed or partnered with finance companies, so people can take out loans for these cars – will take decent used cars and “re-manufacture” them to update some of the tech and clean, renew, repair, and refresh them so they’re almost like new cars.
I think these cars could sell for between $12,000 to $20,000, depending on the base car and level of refreshing. These are beyond just “certified pre-owned” cars; these will all be fairly extensively re-worked so as to be viable competition to entry-level cars costing $5,000 to $10,000 more.
And it’s not a completely unheard of idea! Czech carmaker Tatra would regularly re-manufacture their 603 models, updating old ones to newer specs and fixing everything that needed fixing.
It’s kind of a grim thought, but I honestly think this could be a viable business if done right.
New Vega. That’s All.
AI Disrupts Driving
New AI will disrupt driving by taking prompts from driver-users and then generating text, pictures, and video of what the trip would have been like, freeing drivers from having to bother going anywhere at all, ever, forever!
Why bother actually doing anything or going anywhere when some AI can just fabricate all the evidence you need? What do you want, anyway, actual, physical, visceral enjoyment, or some really bitchin’ reels for Insta? Why even get out of bed?
So, there you go! Predictions for 2026! I hope I’m wrong about most of these, and, given my track record, I likely will be.
I’d love a rebuild shop. Once you find the car you like, you can have it forever. Please come to America.
I have one – it’s called “my garage full of tools”. I’ve owned one of my cars for 30 years.
I do what I can, but I won’t pretend I can weld, or bend metal. Love seeing people who can though! I guess I have some skills to build up.
Never stop learning! Also helps to have some friends – my neighbor is an ace welder (not that I have needed his services yet). He builds hotrods in his garage.
I’m taking a break from changing front struts on my 128i at the moment. One side ready to go back together. Compressing struts always feels like defusing a bomb. And I got to do it twice because I put a dished washer on the wrong way round. I think at this point the other side will be a tomorrow project. Good times!
I tried to rebuild my alternator. I used to pay a local shop to rebuild my alternators but this is the first failure of an alternator I’ve had in over 30 years. The parts were $30 so I thought I’d give it a go. I figured pull it apart, put in the parts and Bob’s my uncle!
Unfortunately I found one of the carbon brushes machined itself into the slip ring. I COULD go through the effort to replace that slip ring, a new was one included with the parts I bought but to do so requires pulling off a bearing I might NOT be able to replace.
So instead I just returned the parts ( Thanks Amazon AtoZ!), bought a new alternator for a hundred bucks. Which coincidentally was just about what I used to pay that shop to rebuild my alternators 30+ years ago.
Oh well, win some lose some.
RE your struts, make sure that center nut holding your spring is positioned correctly with locktite. I had a persistant klunk in my Mazda that I found was caused by that nut. It felt tight at rest but was JUST loose enough such that it unloaded completely under compression and klunked on rebound. Diagnosing THAT one took several failed shots with the parts canon I’d preferred to have avoided.
Self-locking nuts, and I have a proper “strut wrench set” (passthrough rachet with special bits to reach into the allen key in the strut shaft) for securing it – though no good way to get a torque wrench on it. It ain’t going nowhere. Not a bad project, I ran out of daylight getting one side done. The fun part was figuring out the right combination of bits for my new McPherson strut compressor (Vevor copy of the Schwaben compressor – but I bet it was made in the same Chinese factory), and then getting the spring compressed enough. This gen of BMW use a weird strut that is held at about half-mast by an internal counter spring, so you have to compress the every-loving Hell out of the spring to be able to get the strut apart. Then I managed to have to do it twice. Other side should only take me an hour or so tomorrow. I already repositioned the car, got it up on the Quickjacks, and took the wheel off before it got dark. I did discover the pad wear sensor was broken, so one of those coming Monday from Amazon.
But having to get on and off the ground a bunch of times takes a toll on an aging bod. I can’t WAIT until I have a 2-post lift in another six months or so. At this point I almost don’t even care what it costs. Worth it in pain reduction. The Quickjack is better than jack stands by far, but still sucks working on a car that is only a foot off the ground.
I was pleasantly surprised to find that the suspension arms, balljoints, and tierod ends are still in fine shape. I expected to find at least some of it past it’s prime, but nothing looks to need replacing right away. Smooth roads around here. The strut bearings were pretty pounded out, the reason for doing this was the bumpstops disintegrated, and I am sure the lack of them took a toll on those strut bearings. They are an integral part of the suspension on BMWs. Struts themselves weren’t leaking, though I think they had gone a tad soft. Didn’t make sense to JUST replace the bump stops though.
You know this, I know, but out of sympathetic terror of stored energy discharges (pneumatic, electric, chemical, mechanical), please be careful. (This is not a statement of distrust, just something I have to put out into the world for my own sake)
Oh for sure – despite having the correct sort of McPherson strut compressor, compressing springs still feels like defusing a bomb. And these need to be compressed a LOT. My old mechanic’s shop in Maine had a hole in a cinderblock wall where a spring got loose on them. Thankfully it missed everybody in the shop and only the wall into the store room got ventilated.
Those long garage door springs under tension terrify me after hearing a story. Please be careful.
I checked the article twice and could not find the flying car. 2027 then?
Everyone knows flying cars will always be two years away.
And two years after we will have legit anytime/anywhere/any weather “take a nap” self-driving cars that mere mortals can afford.
If you read the news we often have flying cars, it’s just that they fly as a result of intoxication, excessive speed, and terrain acting as a launch ramp, like the recent Autopian article about about the car attempt to be both airborne and amphibious or the Suzuki Ignis and the Polish roundabout. Now intentionally flying cars will remain pie in the sky for any number of reasons
Which will be first: viable flying cars or the Tesla roadster?
Isn’t there already a Tesla Roadster on its way out of the solar system?
Did you check out Klein Vision?
Refreshing cars is an excellent idea to avoid a lot of waste, as fewer (yes, fewer, not less) cars need to be scrapped and fewer new cars need to be built.
Repairing things instead of throwing them away and replacing them with newly built things is excellent for the environment. Yes, some parts from the refreshed cars will be scraped and replaced, but if this idea is to be viable, it won’t be that much.
Honestly? I’d love some pickup truck glider kits and/or Body in Whites for unibody cars.
I’m not a panel beater, but I can wrench with the best of them. Gimme a clean chassis and I’ll transfer/refurb everything as I swap it over.
What’s the difference between “renewal” and just “regular maintenance + achieve or get ahead of any major maintenance that may be required soonish”?
With regular and even preventive maintenance, the car will never become better than it was when new. A refreshed car will be, at least in some respects, better than it was new. For example, the infotainment system could be updated (or one installed for the first time). The engine management may be replaced with a newer model. A backup camera might be installed.
And that’s where it falls off the rails for a chunk of buyers. What you are talking about is a restomod. An older vehicle fixed up and updated with options not available when they first came out. Saw this myself back in 94 when they did it to 60’s era coups. They’d throw in a modern V-8, disc brakes, and A/C and call it a 442 or Chevelle or GTO. They got a lot of attention at first but, as a company, didn’t last long. Purists hated them and their resale value was non-existent.
One of the big attractions to 80’s metal is that you can work on them. That is lost the moment you “upgrade it” with all that modern crap.
Make it an option for those who want it, but don’t make it mandatory.
Well he did say “Could, may, and might”.
Hey, I didn’t invent this; Jason did. Cars that their current owners no longer want and sell on become refreshed and enter a new life with some new components. No question of it being optional or mandatory. You are free to drive your old car as long as it meets regulatory requirements. That isn’t the discussion at hand.
Thanks for clarifying that. As long as the regulatory requirements match the ones when the car came out I’m all in.
That means a 1972 Oldsmobile must pass 1972 regulatory requirements and a 1908 Model T must pass those from 1908.
And yes, if you overdo it, it will fail. And do it to cars that would otherwise go to scrap, or exported to South America. (Is that where you US people export your old crap cars to, like we do to Eastern Europe, or Africa? I don’t know.) The old airport rental Chevy Impala that still has good bones but is a little tired. Rebuild the engine and trans, fix the rust (if any), install a good infotainment system, re-upholster the seats, add some airbags and belt tensioners, give it all a deep-clean, and it’s ready for five or ten more years.
Don’t destroy icons. Rebuild crap.
I like your thinking.
I don’t know if we export any old cars to Mexico. Maybe on the West Coast.
The cynic in me says yes, we do “export” old (and also fairly new) cars to Mexico, but it’s not all exactly legal.
Buying and taking apart big trucks and shipping them as parts to Mexico is fairly common too.
Chuckle. Yep. I hear you.
Does stolen and smuggled count as exported?
Most modified cars get upgraded tuneable computers.
I was at a specialist shop when a friend picked up the bill inside an older Chevy in primer, but with a new dash setup.
The bill was $35,000.
Included everything under the car and the gauges and ac.
Probably not a low end setup either.
I often see older cars built essentially to original spec, except for fuel injection, at least an electronic throttle body.
Ouch!
I don’t know how advanced the build was, but that could have been very reasonable for an all new drivetrain and suspension.
That was 2000, so that was substantial then. Could have included body work and prepping for painting.
My Ford is the only one they ever worked on, because they liked it.
Strictly a chevy shop.
They were always fair with me.
Nice!
I have done this with the oldest car in the fleet, adding backup camera and AUX inputs where none existed from the factory. The camera is integrated into a new rearview mirror assy, so no chunky screens. I also gained an auto dimming mirror in the process. Everything else is as left the factory, older Toyotas are durable machines.
Realistically, replacing modern engine management is a non-starter – and likely no gain. This is an ’07 Corolla that already has EFI and Variable Valve Timing. Aside from replacing the rugged 4speed auto, not sure what would be left to gain.
I still have by daughter’s totaled ’09 Vibe in the driveway. I “could” likely replace the Corolla’s rear drums with the disc brake setup from the Vibe (they are platform mates). But I still would not have ABS and would have proportioning issues. Not worth it.
I like the idea of a “Renewal Shop”, and I would take my 18 year old Mitsubishi in if such a place exists. But isn’t just a fancy term for “restoration workshop”?
No. More a restomod workshop. The “mod” part is the difference between restoration and refreshing.
Most restoration shops will happily install mods for you, or whisk it off to a nearby tuner/custom shop to have that work done in between restoration steps (for example, the resto shop strips the frame bare, sends it to the custom shop where they weld the tabs for your custom Panhard bar and cut/weld the relief for your new T5), and then it gets sent back to the resto shop to finish galvanizing/painting.
The main difference being that in your case, you would own an old car and restomod it/have it restomodded for you, whereas in Jason’s example, someone will sell an old, tired car to such a shop, and they will make it better and sell it on to someone else to use as a refreshed car.
That’s true, though I don’t think I see much merit in that, most people interested in an old car know about this stuff and want to have the restoration done a la carte, if anythig I can imagine used car dealerships partnering with audio shops to sell a “tech upgrade package” that can be rolled into the financing, and just start with well-maintained cars.
Here’s a prediction I have… the rise of automotive DEgeneration or Disrepairation… that’s right… people taking new cars to a shop to make them look old and ‘distressed’… like how people buy new jeans with a ‘distressed look.
Or how some auto restoration shops try to pass off the ‘patina’ look as something intentional and cool… and not a lame excuse to get out of giving a classic a proper paint job.
I thought those new cars were called Altimas.
I’ve been giving this some thought today.
1. SpaceX does an IPO. Piles of retail investors (eager to get off Earth any way possible, even if it means eventual residency on Mars) drive up the stock price netting Elon hundreds of billions (on paper).
2. SpaceX then buys Tesla lock, stock and barrel (supposedly as a value play to get more Cybertrucks for cheap, as they’ll be needed on Mars – kidding!) netting Elon hundreds of billions in cold hard cash.
3. Due to the purchase, some tiny detail everybody missed in the Tesla compensation package triggers a vesting clause, and SpaceX will have to pay out the ~$1T out of their own coffers immediately, netting Elon another roughly trillion in cash.
4. Even that won’t tank the sky-high SpaceX stock price.
As for what he’s going to do with the roughly trillion and a half dollars? No idea.
Buy back South Africa for his dad? /s
“eager to get off Earth any way possible, even if it means eventual residency on Mars”
HAHAHA!!
The irony is if they ever were to realize that dream it would end up being the greatest regret of their miserably shortened lives:
Mars ain’t the kind of place
To raise your kids
In fact, it’s cold as hell
And there’s no one there to raise them
If you did
No food, no water, no air, low gravity, lots of radiation almost no poors to exploit. Just rocks, dust and deathly silence.
Sure the night sky is probably fantastic but (spoiler alert!) it’s almost EXACTLY the same night sky you’d get on Earth but even less interesting with no Earth moon up there. The other main entertainments? Digging, breaking rocks, piling rocks, trying not to die. That gets old, FAST. You can go for a walk but you can’t go far. Buggy rentals won’t be cheap and that won’t get you far either as any mishap could quickly spiral into a death sentence. And for what? More dust, more rocks. Yay!
Wanna leave? Nope, can’t. Not for at least a year, if that soon. And that return ticket won’t be cheap as everyone will be fighting for a ticket with everyone else who wants to GTFO. Anyone who manages to return to Earth will come back a LOT poorer except in radiation exposure.
Inevitably back on Mars something will go horribly wrong and there will be deaths. Those corpses will soon become food for whoever is left. The rich LITERALLY eating the rich. The irony is delicious!
Mars, even as a luxury escape for the elite would very quickly become a prison, then it would become a nightmare of Hell that would make even a Soviet gulag look like a luxury escape for the elite. Even at their worst gulags had plenty of fresh air, plenty of rain and snow, and AFAIK nobody got radiation sickness. Better scenery too.
If Elon is there, I don’t want to go.
Trust me, you don’t want to go regardless of who else is there or isn’t there. Anyone not holding the reins will go from “colonist” to “servant” to “slave” to “food” in a shockingly short timeframe. You would spend every moment of your time in deep regret at leaving Earth. Even the elite will absolutely hate Mars for generations to come.
You’re far, far, FAR better off “colonizing” any number of places here on Earth: Siberia, Australian outback, Nevada, Alaska, Antarctic, Patagonia,…take your pick. At least if you hate it your former home is at most a couple of days away.
And these door handles will have ads.
Non skippable adds you have to watch before you can open the door.
That’ll work so well for future horror movies.
The Scamazon™ model!
Just what I want when it’s -20 degrees like it was this morning.
You’re watching Door Handle TV!
I will ad to your prediction that renewal shops will fail in California because CARB will mandate any such refreshed car must meet or exceed the latest emissions standards or be converted into an EV.
And the problem with that?
The cars won’t be cheap anymore, negating the business model entirely.
Nothing as long as it’s possible to do on a reasonable budget. Emissions upgrades that require Singer levels of money MIGHT be an issue.
I’d be happy if these renewal shops converted all old cars into just EVs.
That would kill 2/3rds of the buying market.
It would drive the value of older working cars into the stratosphere.
I know a shop that is restoring fleets of older trucks for businesses, not to save money on purchase, but because downtime repairing newer trucks is too costly.
Would anyone want a heavy slant nose 911 EV? Or a 1960s muscle car that didn’t piss off at least some people?
Is this the same for restored cars?
AFAIK no. Real world CARB only requires cars made from 1976 on to meet the emissions requirements of the year of their manufacture. The exception is if there is an engine swap, then its the newer of the engine or chassis. So for example you can’t put a 1970 427 into a 2007 C6 corvette and say its exempt, it would have to meet the same emissions as an unmodified 2007 C6 corvette. Likewise if you LS swapped a 1970 C3 Vette you’d have to bring that car up to the emissions standards of the donor car for that engine. Which is reasonable I think.
My hypothetical CARB takes this a step further reasoning that such a complete refresh is akin to making a new car, thus resetting the emissions calender Don’t worry it’s just a campfire story…..
OR IS IT?!?!?!
Singer is very specific about being a restoration shop for this reason.
Well there you go!
The California model is already that meeting pollution standards is NOT good enough.
You must meet the standards with the original parts not manufactured since the car was new and often only made for the bizarre California market, like certain peculiar mustang carbs that effectively don’t exist.
Same as their gun laws, preventing pollution was never the goal.
What IS the goal then because it sure isn’t getting people to not own cars. Nor is it to encourage public transit. And people sure AF ain’t walking and biking. Nor are they staying home. If they wanted THAT mandatory WFH would be a thing.
Maybe its to get people to leave? That’s not working either. So what is it?
The rest of the country is filling up with west coast refugees, and most states are reducing laws, not adding them.
The goal of gun laws is only to protect criminals and the government, obviously.
At its most basic, nonsense politics is about getting the gullible vote and power and money.
When the agenda is this pervasive, it’s about reeking chaos and disruption.
Clearly much of modern politics is about transferring what little wealth is left to those in control.
Historians predict the natural result of that, and say we are far past the tipping point.
Everyone knows the climate excuses are baseless.
Just ask any billionaire what their carbon footprint is.
These sound more like curses from an old Roma woman with a crystal ball whose cat you ran over by accident than predictions. Doesn’t meant mean they won’t come true, though.
I’m guessing a Hybrid for the Vega?
Full EV or nothing.
I’m for that.
The faster the battery car craze kills itself off, the sooner the rest of us can get on with life.
Could you imagine the drop in collective stress if a parent/spouse could hop on their phone anytime their kiddo goes to a party and initiate “sobriety test mode” on their kids’/spouses’ door handles? If little Ricky can complete a few rounds of galaga on the door handle of his 2029 danger ranger, he’s good to drive home!
Did they show Galaga on Stranger Things? If not, the kids won’t have a clue on what to do.
Better safe than sorry. Can’t figure it out? Call dad to come pick you up lol!
LOL! True.
Never heard of this.
Modern projectors could shine a dance revolution on the ground to complete.
A great anti theft approach!
Za could make a dance dance immolation version for thieves.
I love it, I really do.
There’s just one problem, friend.
I can’t dance UNLESS I’m drunk.
You may be aware that the navy tested subjects to see how impaired people really are, especially people that drink regularly.
As you might guess, they proved some people really drive better drunk than sober.
“Safety” people don’t like talking about it.
I tested someone for psychology class using various skills to assess condition.
Recorded it all.
They got better the more they drank.
It was funny!
They were not a regular drinker.
I wasn’t aware, but I believe it, if they were at that point where there relaxed enough to be calm, and nervous enough about it to keep focused.
Other than that, I’m not commenting on it at all lol
I have my own prediction, KIA fresh off the Take My Car Please fiasco, you know they did it on purpose to increase sales, goes over board and has every feature in every model downloaded with MFA security.
Want to speed up enter, Check your seperate media device for a code, enter it, confirm you want to speed up.
Want to slow down? Yes same thing.
It’s predicted the accidents caused will increase sales even more.
The car refurbishing thing might work if it focused on maybe 2-3 popular models and didn’t try to make them like new, just roadworthy and not looking and smelling like Jason’s gin cocktail. Buy Civics, Camrys, and Altimas, replace the consumables, fix any codes, bang out the Camry Dent in the bumpers, deep clean, voila. $4k max cost, sell for $7k over what you paid. Like flipping, except at larger scale.
Price and advertising are everything for this idea to work. Roughly twenty years ago, there was a tiny dealer that sold beautifully reconditioned VW Beetles. (I think they got them from Mexico.) The average price for one was $25,000. The dealer/company only lasted a year.
Yeah, the price is the make or break.
I heard they did well in california?
Different dealer?
Different state. Florida.
Regarding refurbishment centers, Renault has recently converted its former Flin factory into a reconditioning center.
Very cool, at least on paper.
Door handle screens: You mean like Ford’s keyless entry door locks?
Just needs one more button and an actuator to unlatch the door after it’s unlocked….
Only you would use a bad bondo flacking, pitted bezel beetle bulb as a crystal ball. Not to mention “Kids, Don’t consume automotive fluids”!
“Roads? Where we’re going, we don’t need roads.”
https://youtu.be/VuOx7n77G78?si=_qE_b2WcssMm6NNW
Exodus Propellantless Propulsion Physics | Charles Buhler
All I’ll say is dang, doesn’t Charles look like William Shatner !?!
You mean, “Kids, don’t consume automotive fluids without adding the appropriate amount of gin!”
Jason’s gutiwhats should not be replicated.
Gin and shrimp both make me puke.
I don’t know a shrimp cocktail with a slow gin fizz base sounds pretty good to me.
TBH, I miss my old SHO’s Ford locking keypad at times. That said, this overall sounds like an all too plausible grim reality.
I too had a SHO and I also loved the keypad. I loved the keypad entry so much that I took to simply leaving the key inside the car. I saw no flaws with this practice until I returned to the car late at night, far from home, and the battery was dead.
What a contrast. Here we have a typically goofy and fun article written by a (loony) human, complete with drawings and graphics.
Meanwhile, the site that shall not be named posted AI slop about the M2 or some crap.
Here’s my prediction for 2026. January 2nd will be the last time I go to that other place, despite the fact that I’ve been going there daily for 20 years.
Long live The Autopian!
I’ve finally stopped having to snap the rubber band on my wrist when I start to type jal into the address bar on my browser, mostly because I remember the feeling of sick disappointment from the last few times I went there.
You mean this would have been a slideshow? 😉
Refurbishing cars sounds like a good idea until you think about what it would actually cost to bring a 10 year old car up to new car standards. We’re not talking about getting a postal van running enough for DT to drive, we’re talking about getting a runner into new condition.
Yeah – This has been done before.
IPD did it with old Volvos and BMWs back in the 80s – Hemmels does this with Mercedes-Benz SLs today – etc.
It’s the labor costs of tearing down a car, repairing, repainting and refurbishing it with new parts which cost an arm and a leg because everything is a one-off.
Unless someone can figure out a way to do it with dozens of the same model car on a disassembly/assembly line, it will never be an affordable alternative.
New 1970 Toyota Camry s anyone?
The first Camry was the Celica Camry of 1980-1982 (derivative of the Carina – but sold as the sedan companion to the Celica)
They were rather handsome RWD sedans frequently seen on US Bases in Japan in the early 90s.
Maybe have the manufacturers do it? Honda just started reproducing parts for some of their popular discontinued cars. They are the ones best to handle the costs of it.
It would be easier for manufacturers to continue building whole new cars utilizing tooling from previous gen models – similar to how VW continued building 1st & 2nd Gen Golfs, Jettas and Passat/Quantums in South Africa & China.
It would be easier manufacturing wise. The problem is getting the regulations to allow new copies of these old vehicles to be made that would not pass todays safety and fuel efficiency standards.
The fuel efficiency standards are the easy part – utilizing more modern powertrains would go a long way, plus older models are generally smaller and lighter…
Re: safety standards – many older models still generally meet them (airbags, lighting and such), although their crash ratings may be lower. Things such as back-up cameras can be easily retrofitted.
We’re thinking different eras. I’m thinking of bringing cars and trucks back from the mid eighties with the original engine options.
Fixing odd unfixable problems is something some shops do now.
One of the rare flaws in the million mile 240s was a factory blower that often failed early.
I found a hand built approach that worked, but talking to IPD they said they had searched everywhere without even finding copies.
I pointed out they had the volume to order one themselves.
In 6 months they had a new supply at a good price. They just hadn’t thought of it.
IPD has/had a great replacement engine cooling fan which was much quieter and more efficient than the factory fans.
Years ago I met a guy at a Cars & Coffee w a 308GTB which he made several light mods on – including supplementary electric cooling fans which he mounted under the rear deck lid, and using VW fuel injectors which he found were identical to the ones from Ferrari.
Stuff like that is great.
I used to buy VW parts for fiats.
Trying to source rack and pinion bearings for a Lancia, a bearing guy pointed out that the rarer the part is, the fewer types will be made globally.
Compact Ford parts were a match.
Friend was trying to fix the ignition on an older grey market Mercedes.
Unobtainable. Appeared to be made for the Middle East.
Chrysler ignition parts fit.
This was long before Dodge was intertwined with most brands.
Crossover parts are still a thing.
I don’t know if you would be required to bring it up to modern standards it is just like restoring any old car.
Yea even a 10 year old car would probably be so expensive to fully refurbish on the open market that it would be pointless. It would have to have factory support for sure to bring costs down for sure. Basically just a model or two on an assembly line for refurbishing. I don’t see that happening anytime soon, especially on the “non luxury” brands with minimal profit margins already.
They only need to run.
Obviously it would only be done to *candidates* that are already in excellent shape for their age. Bad paint, door dings, cracked rubber, oil drips, squeaky interior panels, bad shocks, cracked windshield, “A/C needs a recharge”, falling head liner, faded or ripped seats might be the worst of their sins.
The important question for the touchscreen door handle: will it run Doom?
Most certainly, but one person will have to work the controls inside the car while the other talks them through it like you’re helping back a trailer.
Only after installing an SRAM (SalamiRAM) updrade.
Don’t forget the door handle screens will get OTA software updates which will change the interface and require you to agree to a new EULA before using the door again.
And don’t forget the monthly subscription. If that expires, you’ll have to navigate to a payment portal in order to even open the doors. It will be a nightmare entering the new credit card info on the tiny touchscreen keyboard.
Better hope you’re not out in the boonies with no cell coverage when the subscription runs out.
If you are out of range of the update aren’t you out of range of the brick worm?
Good point!
While your car is parked, the handle touch screens will display ads to people in the parking lot, with a rev share (you get 20% of the CPM in exchange for draining your car’s battery).
Finally a decent reason for solar panels on a car
That way the ads can run 24/7 even while you’re driving, without depleting the battery.
Solution to L3 autonomy handoff? Just have the car lock up all the brakes until the driver takes over. It will ensure the car comes to a stop, and doesn’t continue down the road in a dangerous manner. The sudden deceleration and screeching tires should wake up even the most inattentive driver. And liability is transferred to vehicles behind it.
Refurbishing cars would be pretty cool, although I’d settle for just a simple, cheapish, mostly universal kit to convert old 4x4s to electric.
We don’t even have simple, cheapish, mostly universal ways to convert most vehicles to use the ubiquitous LS engine, and that still uses the same fuel systems. Cheap EV conversions are, alas, a pipe dream.
Yes, commit more R&D to rear bumper technology and just go with the full lockup option!
I see so many rear end collisions and backed up traffic in this future.
Environmentalists will block the refurbished car campaign as it would keep cars with weaker anti smog equipment on the road longer.
Yes, but cost over life matters. I’m willing to bet that manufacturing a new EV pollutes more than running an already built, efficient gasoline car (think Corolla, Sentra, Elantra) for another 100k.
Other than Hybrid or full EV, overall engine tech has not changed much in over 20 years. Even DI looks to be a dead end on the reliability front.
A basic Google search of China’s gross overproduction of EVs and electric bikes and scooters that are piling up discarded will make you sick.
I agree but optics and soundbites rule all unfortunately.
As a sales manager once told me, “Perception is reality.”
Yep. That’s why I drive a 1994 Dodge Ram 2500 Cummins Diesel 4×4.
God damn it not this lie again. Unless you live in west Virginia (I hope not) the crossover point where an EV becomes better for the environment than a gas car is ~4 years at the average 13000 miles per year, i.e. ~52000 miles.
Are you pro-smog or something?
I’m not an Environmentalist. I’m a realist with environmental leanings.
I just look back at the big environmental campaign to get rid of glass bottles. Broken bottles were everywhere and posed health threats on the beach. So we replaced them all with plastic bottles and patted ourselves on a job well done. That went well.
Nothing is more ecologically sound than a useful engine that can go a million miles between rebuilds.
My mechanical Cummins is approaching a half million miles.
It’s been retuned and uprated probably by 50% better torque, without any internal work other than injectors. Exhaust is clear.
18 to 20 mpg without a heavy load.
It can reach 25 mpg at certain speeds, like local driving.
Triple car race trailer, it’s done 15 mpg.
How’s your battery truck doing at 500,000 miles?
Wishful thinking is not a sound approach to engineering.
California in cooperation with car makers has created so much backlash that the value of older cars continues climbing.
No one did more to deter the public from pollution equipment than the state of California!
“…end-user agreements full of tiny text that absolve carmakers from any liability when these systems start to cause accidents.”
Not sure how they can collect these from everyone else on the road, especially if “see what happens” turns out to be “rear-ends me in my 5-year-old car I just paid off”.
I’m confident that no amount of fine print will get any of them out from under the world of hurt when an autonomous Mom updating her instagram takes out 25-30 munchkins while picking up her own sprogs.