Rant - I'm fed up with modern automotive industry

[RideWithYanu]

Yeah the old vehicles had creaky dashes too. It’s not new.

 

[patwl]

The 1958 is in my opinion overpriced by about $10,000. I didn’t like the constant safety beeps and super hard or flimsy plastic interior. So I traded it once I had equity in it and went back to a 5th gen 4Runner. Much more my style but I’m also a rock and stick guy . All the tech means nothing to me . Plus if the hybrid system craps out I’m screwed because it doesn’t have a backup alternator. Some places I go have no service in the remote TX and NM canyons .

 

[Nor Cal Cruiser]

OK. So this is just a pointless rant. Read it or ignore it.
I'm totally fed up with modern car industry. It seems that no manufacturer cares about building a reasonably priced decent car. Everything I have owned or driven in the past 10 years or so has been an overpriced POS.
Take my 2024 Toyota Land Cruiser. ~$60k vehicle. Yes, it does have 326 hp, an advanced hybrid powertrain, tons of safety technology, modern infotainment, etc., etc. But it's also full of cheap, flimsy plastic. The dashboard is paper-thin plastic that bends when pressed with one finger, and rattles and creeks with only 10k miles. The engine is noisy, the transmission clunky and the whole thing vibrates at idle. Toyota, why don't you take away 100 hp and the whole hybrid nonsense and just build an off-road SUV that has solid interior, a quiet engine and a smooth 6 (or even 5) speed transmission? A solid, quiet interior and a smooth powertrain is worth more than all the (pretty useless) extra power and (supposed) fuel efficiency.
Or take my wife's Lexus NX. With a dashboard that scratches by just looking at it. Noisy engine. Rough, uncomfortable ride. And tiny, uncomfortable seats (I'm 5'7 and 150 lb, not some huge obese blob, and I still can't fit in the stupid seats without the bolstering pressing on my a$$ from both sides and my knees hanging uncomfortably in the air because the stupid bottom cushion is sized for toddlers).
Why can't BMW build a car that doesn't leak oil after 40k miles? Why can't Mercedes or VW build a car in which electronics don't fail after 3 years? Why can't Hyundai build an engine that doesn't self-destroy after 100k miles? Why can't GM build a transmission that doesn't fail the day after warranty expires? Why can't Toyota build something that doesn't feel like driving a tractor, or which interior is less fragile than piece of origami, or has adult-sized seats? The list just goes on and on - all modern cars are just packed with stupid useless features, while lacking on the basics.
I don't want my car to be an extension of my home theater with a giant screen. I don't need a car that has more processing power in its infotainment system than a mainframe computer. When I drive, all I need is music and basic navigation - I don't need email, text messenger, and a virtual assistant. I don't care if the car has twice the horsepower than what's needed to drive safely around the town or on the highway. Family cars don't need 6-sec 0-60 acceleration nor 130 mph top speed. All I want is a comfortable ride, solid, quiet interior, comfortable seats and a smooth, reasonably powerfull but reliable powertrain that doesn't leak oil.
So here is my message to the car manufacturers - save money on things that don't add any real value (unnecessary power, "technology" and other useless features) and re-invest in the basics that really matter: reliability and comfort.

See sorry, brother, but I read this as a click bait heading (yes, I clicked), and not helpful at all. There are no perfect cars and there are always trade offs. I love my FE 250, but it’s not perfect. Things that objectively suck are the pint sized fuel tank (especially for a car that is a pig if you drive it normally), conservative nannies you can never fully turn off (and to those that need [not want] them you can’t drive and no car can fix you), flappy fuel door, limited interior storage, and single pane windows. But this thing is beautiful, it rides fantastically even on stock suspension, it’s super capable off road, and even with a new “untested” engine I think it will last forever. I’ve had many Yukon Denals and BMW X5s and one X7 and there are simply no comparables. Make an informed choice, do your best, know what you got, and have fun. Please stop the stupid clickbait headings (there are so many now) on this great forum.

 

[ovʀʟxnᴅ]

The biggest issue here is that you presumably owned or still own an FJ Cruiser, which was Toyota at its best. That FJ is going to be tough to beat!

 

[BlueCruiser]

I think the disappointment of the rant is misplaced. New vehicle requirements seem to be designed more by legislatures and less and less by engineers or consumers.

All ZEVs (zero emmission vehicles) mandated in California by 2035 anyone?

 

[katekebo]

The biggest issue here is that you presumably owned or still own an FJ Cruiser, which was Toyota at its best. That FJ is going to be tough to beat!

I had a 2008 FJ. Sold it in 2013. While FJ has good reputation, mine was actually one of the most problematic vehicles I ever had. Driver seat had to be replaced after about 1 year because the lifting mechanism failed and the seat would slowly sink on its own. There was actually a TSB for this problem. Than there was the issue of the fender aprons tearing up - also a well known and common problem. It was a structural problem that was never resolved by Toyota. Then there was the issue of cracks in front seat belt support brackets which resulted in a recall. Toyota announced the recall but the parts where not available. I waited over one year to had the recall performed and the required parts were still not ready. Sold it before remedy became available. And the last drop was the transfer case that failed at 55k miles, just before the warranty expired. It got stuck in 4L and there was no way to get back to 4H. Transfer cases were on back order and expected wait time was over two months. I had enough and told Toyota to take back their POS, and the dealer agreed to pay full private party sale price (which was a couple thousand above trade in value).

 

[Sugarloafer80]

I was trying to see what was flimsy abut the dash last night???? Soft touch plastics. pretty damn solid. Does the visor over the instrument binnacle flex...yea and if my face hit ti, I hope it would...old steering wheels dashes were big killers in the 50s and 60s esp before seatbelts.

 

[ultane]

OK. So this is just a pointless rant. Read it or ignore it.
I'm totally fed up with modern car industry. It seems that no manufacturer cares about building a reasonably priced decent car. Everything I have owned or driven in the past 10 years or so has been an overpriced POS.
Take my 2024 Toyota Land Cruiser. ~$60k vehicle. Yes, it does have 326 hp, an advanced hybrid powertrain, tons of safety technology, modern infotainment, etc., etc. But it's also full of cheap, flimsy plastic. The dashboard is paper-thin plastic that bends when pressed with one finger, and rattles and creeks with only 10k miles. The engine is noisy, the transmission clunky and the whole thing vibrates at idle. Toyota, why don't you take away 100 hp and the whole hybrid nonsense and just build an off-road SUV that has solid interior, a quiet engine and a smooth 6 (or even 5) speed transmission? A solid, quiet interior and a smooth powertrain is worth more than all the (pretty useless) extra power and (supposed) fuel efficiency.
Or take my wife's Lexus NX. With a dashboard that scratches by just looking at it. Noisy engine. Rough, uncomfortable ride. And tiny, uncomfortable seats (I'm 5'7 and 150 lb, not some huge obese blob, and I still can't fit in the stupid seats without the bolstering pressing on my a$$ from both sides and my knees hanging uncomfortably in the air because the stupid bottom cushion is sized for toddlers).
Why can't BMW build a car that doesn't leak oil after 40k miles? Why can't Mercedes or VW build a car in which electronics don't fail after 3 years? Why can't Hyundai build an engine that doesn't self-destroy after 100k miles? Why can't GM build a transmission that doesn't fail the day after warranty expires? Why can't Toyota build something that doesn't feel like driving a tractor, or which interior is less fragile than piece of origami, or has adult-sized seats? The list just goes on and on - all modern cars are just packed with stupid useless features, while lacking on the basics.
I don't want my car to be an extension of my home theater with a giant screen. I don't need a car that has more processing power in its infotainment system than a mainframe computer. When I drive, all I need is music and basic navigation - I don't need email, text messenger, and a virtual assistant. I don't care if the car has twice the horsepower than what's needed to drive safely around the town or on the highway. Family cars don't need 6-sec 0-60 acceleration nor 130 mph top speed. All I want is a comfortable ride, solid, quiet interior, comfortable seats and a smooth, reasonably powerfull but reliable powertrain that doesn't leak oil.
So here is my message to the car manufacturers - save money on things that don't add any real value (unnecessary power, "technology" and other useless features) and re-invest in the basics that really matter: reliability and comfort.

Feel better now?

Just kidding.. I hear ya’…

 

[ultane]

I do look at my wife’s Sequoia’s $80k+ interior a lot and marvel at how some elements are not congruent w/ the perceived value.

How do you and your wife like the Sequoia? It is at the top of the list if I have to replace Miss Daisy.

 

[DubDub]

How do you and your wife like the Sequoia? It is at the top of the list if I have to replace Miss Daisy.

She loves it, I’m less of a fan. It’s nice and doesn’t feel absurdly big like some competitors. It floats a bit at speed and doesn’t feel as grounded as I like when driving something that big though. My biggest complaint is similar to the LC in that it’s a “hybrid,” so the cargo area loses vertical space. The third row doesn’t suffer too bad since the vehicle is tall and wide, and that row has slide positioning. However, it doesn’t fold flush due to the battery, so you are left with this strange cargo space with tiered surfaces. The second row is fixed too, so it really limits the flexibility of the space.

Outside of that, we have a very plush and comfortable road tripper and family wag capable of towing and getting 20+ mpg.

 

[ultane]

Romanticizing older cars isn't uncommon, but no way I'd take my 1986 bare bones Dodge Dakota over anything new, or the base model F150 after it.

^^^^^THIS X ^^^^^

 

[Falconry]

70 series would sell extremely well with the millennial generation. Every day that Toyota executives don’t adapt this to n America, they lose major $$$.

People want cheap utility trucks, look at the new truck by bezos, the slate or whatever it’s called. $20k for an electric ford ranger from the 90’s and it will sell very well, assuming their own executives don’t mangle up the fundamental premise too much (not guaranteed).

 

[Sugarloafer80]

F bezos

 

[ovʀʟxnᴅ]

I had a 2008 FJ. Sold it in 2013. While FJ has good reputation, mine was actually one of the most problematic vehicles I ever had. Driver seat had to be replaced after about 1 year because the lifting mechanism failed and the seat would slowly sink on its own. There was actually a TSB for this problem. Than there was the issue of the fender aprons tearing up - also a well known and common problem. It was a structural problem that was never resolved by Toyota. Then there was the issue of cracks in front seat belt support brackets which resulted in a recall. Toyota announced the recall but the parts where not available. I waited over one year to had the recall performed and the required parts were still not ready. Sold it before remedy became available. And the last drop was the transfer case that failed at 55k miles, just before the warranty expired. It got stuck in 4L and there was no way to get back to 4H. Transfer cases were on back order and expected wait time was over two months. I had enough and told Toyota to take back their POS, and the dealer agreed to pay full private party sale price (which was a couple thousand above trade in value).

Lots of people talked about fender bulge, but I did the math on it years ago and it effected a single-digit percentage of FJs, so it was widely overblown. I removed the sway bars and wheeled the hell out of mine with no problems. The t-case failure is unacceptable though. There's a guy with > 600,000 miles on his engine with little real work beyond a replacement head gasket. I forget what my final mileage was before some new driver ran a stop sign and took it from me.

 

[DubDub]

Lots of people talked about fender bulge, but I did the math on it years ago and it effected a single-digit percentage of FJs, so it was widely overblown. I removed the sway bars and wheeled the hell out of mine with no problems. The t-case failure is unacceptable though. There's a guy with > 600,000 miles on his engine with little real work beyond a replacement head gasket. I forget what my final mileage was before some new driver ran a stop sign and took it from me.

View attachment 51622

That right there is an FJ that did its owner right… by letting you walk away. Sad to see, but glad you’re here to share