Vintage Things That Have Disappeared In Your Lifetime?

[jamespowers]

Well they can, it's just the last thing they'll ever do.

:rofl: I was thinking the same thing.

 

[jamespowers]

Titter ye not! I had difficulty answering mine for weeks.

lol lol lol My boss can't figure out how to use his to this day. lol lol

 

[HudsonHawk]

I can crack walnuts with my phone. Can any of your fancy-pantsy technological doodads do that?

I have a "lighter" on my phone. I've yet to be able to light my cigar with it though.

 

[jamespowers]

I have a "lighter" on my phone. I've yet to be able to light my cigar with it though.

Those lighters are for dope smokers. lol lol lol

 

[Dragon Soldier]

My first mobile (cell to you western former colonials) was about the size and weight of half a house brick.

If I carried it today I'd probably get pulled by the police for possession of an offensive weapon.

 

[Ripper]

I was sad when my local Woolworth disappeared in the 90's and the fabulous soda fountain/lunch counter that went with it. I'd eat there with my dad sometimes as a kid.I died a little that day.

Sent from my EVO using Tapatalk 4

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

Speaking of Swiss Army knife...

:thumb:

 

[jamespowers]

Speaking of Swiss Army knife...

:thumb:

Uh, you can't put that in your pocket. lol lol

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

And it seems that using any one of the blades or tools would be a bit unwieldy.

 

[jamespowers]

And it seems that using any one of the blades or tools would be a bit unwieldy.

Gee, ya think?

 

[Gregg Axley]

Which is why I know. I have replaced a laudry list of things in that that should have been correctly done at the factory----in the first place. From window motors to NAV. They all went within the first year.:doh: It wasn't like I bought some cheap pile either.

Should have bought a Lincoln Navigator....

 

[sheeplady]

My current car (which just turned 12 years old) started having horrid electrical problems a year out of the factory, still under warranty. At first, it was the radio changing stations, then my lights would dim on the road, then my windshield wipers would magically turn off and on by themselves. Then it began not starting. Then it began not starting unless you let it sit for two hours after you ran it (the opposite of a battery problem). Made getting gas an elaborate deal.

Took it to three dealers and was told none could replicate the problem. I was at the point were I had contacted the Attorney General in my state, looking into lemon laws, and seriously planning how I could dump it on a dealer and buy a new car. The most frustrating part of this was the way I was treated. I was accused of doing something to car, including allowing rain to get on the car door insides (I was told I was not supposed to open the car door when it was raining) and plugging in my cell phone with a short to the car and lying about it (I even brought in my charger and said to them, "do you see a cigarette plug at the end of this thing?"). On the internet I found a lot of other's who had gotten dealers to rip out the car's entire electrical system to try and fix it.

Eventually I broke down and took it to a "private" mechanic shop who took my list of issues seriously and actually tried to start the car when I brought it in. Cost me $100 and overnight to replace the main ground in the car. I had taken the same list to all three dealers and told them to go out and try to start my car when I dropped it off, but was always treated like I was a crazy person and told that my car being fixed had to "wait it's turn" and that's why they wouldn't go out and try and start it when I dropped it off. All of this was an attempt to not try to admit there was a problem, likely an issue they thought they'd have to replace the electrical system in my car and dealers don't get labor on warranty work.

Needless to say, I'm never going to buy another GM model again in my life. I'm a really patient person, but it was the way I was treated. I bought a Chevy because it was a U.S. car and thought at least the design talent was U.S. based, even if it wasn't built here. Never buying another GM model again unless it's older than I am.

 

[jamespowers]

Should have bought a Lincoln Navigator....

No Fords. I had enough with the stupid variable venturi crap I went through before...

 

[LizzieMaine]

I have to think that a lot of the problem too is that today's mechanics are basically just parts-swappers. They look up a computer code, they take out the part that the computer tells them is bad and they pop in a new one, reset the computer, and tell you it's good. But they don't seem to have a whole lot of understanding of the basic theory involved -- they don't seem to understand how to troubleshoot. They're slaves to the diagnostic tools.

The funny thing about that problem you mention is that anyone who has a junior-high-school understanding of electricity -- not "computers" but basic, simple electrical theory -- would check the ground before messing around with anything else. One thing about driving a 6-volt car is that if you don't know anything about the importance of a good ground when you start, you'll learn it pretty quick thru experience.

 

[sheeplady]

I have to think that a lot of the problem too is that today's mechanics are basically just parts-swappers. They look up a computer code, they take out the part that the computer tells them is bad and they pop in a new one, reset the computer, and tell you it's good. But they don't seem to have a whole lot of understanding of the basic theory involved -- they don't seem to understand how to troubleshoot. They're slaves to the diagnostic tools.

The funny thing about that problem you mention is that anyone who has a junior-high-school understanding of electricity -- not "computers" but basic, simple electrical theory -- would check the ground before messing around with anything else. One thing about driving a 6-volt car is that if you don't know anything about the importance of a good ground when you start, you'll learn it pretty quick thru experience.

Exactly. Both my husband and I mentioned it being a grounding problem and I knew it was electrical issue when my radio first started showing symptoms. But I think other than knowledge it's also laziness. They weren't going to get paid to fix my car, so why not hook up a monitor knowing perfectly well the monitor won't detect an issue like that, say nothing is wrong, and blame the customer?

What cued me into laziness is the first time I asked somebody to go out and try to start the car while it was "hot" after just driving it in or to go out and watch me try to start it. How freaking lazy and bad at your job do you have to be to not walk out and spend 3 minutes trying to start a car that's been in your shop three times now? And the sad thing is I took this car to three different dealers and *all* of them refused to start the car when I brought it in. I was starting to think that either GM hires the most incompetent and lazy mechanics that exist or it was some kind of freaking conspiracy.

ETA: I only took it to three dealers because I'm a stubborn person, had a warranty, and damned if I was going to pay to fix a problem that the company should have paid to fix. I should have given up after the second dealer, if not the first, but I had this idea that the company who obviously sold me a faulty product should be responsible for fixing it. I expect there to occasionally be problems with cars, even great cars, out of the factory. But it was the way they treated me and their obvious refusal to fix it that really irked me.

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

I've always maintained that the main purpose of modern automotive design is to provide continuous employment for auto mechanics.

 

[jamespowers]

I've always maintained that the main purpose of modern automotive design is to provide continuous employment for auto mechanics.

Oh definitely!

 

[jamespowers]

Exactly. Both my husband and I mentioned it being a grounding problem and I knew it was electrical issue when my radio first started showing symptoms. But I think other than knowledge it's also laziness. They weren't going to get paid to fix my car, so why not hook up a monitor knowing perfectly well the monitor won't detect an issue like that, say nothing is wrong, and blame the customer?

What cued me into laziness is the first time I asked somebody to go out and try to start the car while it was "hot" after just driving it in or to go out and watch me try to start it. How freaking lazy and bad at your job do you have to be to not walk out and spend 3 minutes trying to start a car that's been in your shop three times now? And the sad thing is I took this car to three different dealers and *all* of them refused to start the car when I brought it in. I was starting to think that either GM hires the most incompetent and lazy mechanics that exist or it was some kind of freaking conspiracy.

ETA: I only took it to three dealers because I'm a stubborn person, had a warranty, and damned if I was going to pay to fix a problem that the company should have paid to fix. I should have given up after the second dealer, if not the first, but I had this idea that the company who obviously sold me a faulty product should be responsible for fixing it. I expect there to occasionally be problems with cars, even great cars, out of the factory. But it was the way they treated me and their obvious refusal to fix it that really irked me.

Well, I can at least say that my experience was at least being attended to. They replaced a ton of things under warranty. They even replaced the fading logos.

 

[AtomicEraTom]

You are absolutely right. My brother took his 1986 Dodge Ram to a shop that had a reputation to be 'the best one in town' and they told him there was nothing they could do with it, because it doesn't have OBD II. We diagnosed the problem in the driveway, it needed a new carburetor....

I have to think that a lot of the problem too is that today's mechanics are basically just parts-swappers. They look up a computer code, they take out the part that the computer tells them is bad and they pop in a new one, reset the computer, and tell you it's good. But they don't seem to have a whole lot of understanding of the basic theory involved -- they don't seem to understand how to troubleshoot. They're slaves to the diagnostic tools.

The funny thing about that problem you mention is that anyone who has a junior-high-school understanding of electricity -- not "computers" but basic, simple electrical theory -- would check the ground before messing around with anything else. One thing about driving a 6-volt car is that if you don't know anything about the importance of a good ground when you start, you'll learn it pretty quick thru experience.

What does an Escalade cost new? 60, 70 grand?

I will say that for my Fleetwood, it is a well-built machine, from Arlington, Texas. It's a 1996 and besides some loose trim pieces and needing routine maintenance (wheel bearings, rotors, center link, tires, serpentine belt, alignment, and routine fluid changes) Not bad on a car with 165,000 miles on it. The only thing it needs now is an A/C recharge.

Which is why I know. I have replaced a laudry list of things in that that should have been correctly done at the factory----in the first place. From window motors to NAV. They all went within the first year.:doh: It wasn't like I bought some cheap pile either.

 

[Zombie_61]

...I have replaced a laudry list of things in that that should have been correctly done at the factory----in the first place. From window motors to NAV. They all went within the first year.:doh: It wasn't like I bought some cheap pile either.

I know the feeling. We had to replace all four window regulators (the mechanism in the door that rolls the window up and down, for those who don't know) on our 2000 Buick LeSabre, only one of which broke before the one-year dealer warranty expired. Long story short (and that's an understatement), our extreme displeasure with the dealership and GM forced us to replace it in 2007. Since then I've been driving a 2007 Honda Ridgeline RTL which has been 100% trouble-free.