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cartoon by Dan McConnell
It's not just the Toyota Camry
THE GLITZ AND THE GLITCHES
Have all cars simply become too complex?
by Doug Collins
My first car was a used 1977 Civic hatchback. I bought a repair manual and learned most of what I know about mechanics on it. I did most maintenance myself, but mostly it was just a matter of oil changes and tuning the ignition timing every once in a while.
Because many features on that car were manual—the door locks, the windows, even the choke lever for cold starts—there were not many mechanical breakdowns. Simplicity is pretty durable.
That was before the widespread use of the microchip. Nowadays, beeping sounds warn you when you leave the lights on or the key in. That's definitely a plus. But automaticity has limits.
The beeps, bells and chimes—and even artificial voices—of computer car automation are part of the increasing "gee whiz" marketing appeal of the past 40 years. Over-leveraged consumers have used credit to buy increasingly complex and coveted electronic gizmos in their cars.
I suspect this marketing strategy has begun to reached its logical dead-end, along with the end of credit default swaps and slick new condo developments.
One reason for the dead end is the unwieldiness of the car computer systems.
Weird microchip glitches have been well-publicized with regard to the Toyota accelerators. But similar glitches are occurring in practically all makes and models of modern cars. Most of these glitches are not life-threatening, but they do mean many trips to the dealer service shop, and many cars that are permanently "quirky."
I currently have a Nissan Versa, a relatively humble car, the computerized door locks of which go haywire from time to time, locking at inopportune and sometimes random moments.
The first time I took it in—still under warranty—the service department admitted the problem was "strange" and replaced the control module for the locks. A few days later the car had the same problem again, even with a new control module. I took it in again, and the mechanic noted that he had recently heard that some such cars become sensitive to FM radio frequencies. The upshot is that even the Nissan mechanics don't understand the problem, and are apparently completely unable to deal with it. That's not exactly something that inspires brand loyalty.
It's recently been reported that cosmic rays may cause interference in computerized car control systems. It's long been known that they cause it in airplane computers. (usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/cars-trucks/daily-news/100317-Cosmic-Rays-may-be-Causing-Unintended-Acceleration-in-Toyotas/)
No wonder I've heard of a variety of strange glitches from friends who have cars of other brands. The companies know how to make the cars, but they often don't know what's the matter with them when things go wrong.
Repeated trips to the service department are a real drag on both time and pocketbook, especially when the pocketbook isn't as padded as before.
Combine that with the fact that recent figures show that US household debt decreased in 2009 for the first time on record. The Fed has been tracking household borrowing since 1946. The long age of American credit expansion appears to be over. (www.ft.com/cms/s/0/97d2d5aa-2d7f-11df-a262-00144feabdc0.html)
Because Americans are not leveraging their personal finances anymore, I'll guess that the new cars they will want to buy will be less glitzy and more durable. But I doubt there is any available model of any new car in the US that doesn't have computer-controlled power locks, for example. If there are a few models like that, they aren't readily available at the dealerships, which tend to carry only fancier versions.
Car manufacturers would do well to change the way they have been marketing the past couple generations. If they want me to be interested, they should offer base models that avoid the glitz and the glitches. They should offer true economy cars: cars that not only economize on the gas, but also on the electronics.
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