The ASS In Your Car - A Piece of Tape Works . . . For Now
Posted by freedomforall 1 month, 2 weeks ago to Government
Excerpt:
"First came ASS – the acronym that stands for Automatic Stop/Start, the system that automatically shuts off the vehicle’s engine every time the vehicle stops moving, then automatically restarts it when the driver lifts his foot off the brake.
At first – when ASS began to mysteriously appear in new vehicles as a standard feature that no one asked for about a decade ago – it was easy enough to turn ASS off. There was usually a button on the dash or somewhere on the center console. You often had to turn ASS off at the start of every drive in order to stop ASS from shutting off the engine every time the vehicle stopped moving – but at least you could turn ASS off.
Then it got harder to find the off button because there no longer was one. Instead, you had to figure out where “off” was buried within the various menus displayed on the LCD screen. These latter became unavoidable in a new vehicle about five years ago. No more just getting in and pushing the off button; it was necessary to go through a process of rigmarole to turn ASS off.
It was easier to just leave it on.
Just what they wanted. Just what was originally intended. The vehicle manufacturers knew few – if any – of their customers wanted ASS. That’s why ASS was never an option. It has always been a standard feature. But when a standard feature is unwanted, it’s generally wise for the seller to make it possible to turn it off. Hence the button – for awhile.
Now the physical button is gone – and the option to turn ASS off – is disappearing."
"First came ASS – the acronym that stands for Automatic Stop/Start, the system that automatically shuts off the vehicle’s engine every time the vehicle stops moving, then automatically restarts it when the driver lifts his foot off the brake.
At first – when ASS began to mysteriously appear in new vehicles as a standard feature that no one asked for about a decade ago – it was easy enough to turn ASS off. There was usually a button on the dash or somewhere on the center console. You often had to turn ASS off at the start of every drive in order to stop ASS from shutting off the engine every time the vehicle stopped moving – but at least you could turn ASS off.
Then it got harder to find the off button because there no longer was one. Instead, you had to figure out where “off” was buried within the various menus displayed on the LCD screen. These latter became unavoidable in a new vehicle about five years ago. No more just getting in and pushing the off button; it was necessary to go through a process of rigmarole to turn ASS off.
It was easier to just leave it on.
Just what they wanted. Just what was originally intended. The vehicle manufacturers knew few – if any – of their customers wanted ASS. That’s why ASS was never an option. It has always been a standard feature. But when a standard feature is unwanted, it’s generally wise for the seller to make it possible to turn it off. Hence the button – for awhile.
Now the physical button is gone – and the option to turn ASS off – is disappearing."
I think that was ONE of the reasons for the SHOULDER Strap edition... LOL
My Lexus gives me some time, but hubby's (newer) one doesn't. Talk about annoying! I'll put my seat belt on when I want to, TYVM.
The Seat Belts.
The Required Auto Insurance.
...
And then he said it "Why do you believe you are freer than the average Russian?"
It hit harder than he realized.
Time to keep the old ones. I can rebuild anything in one, so will have no nannies for a long time.
(The last new car I bought was in '89 plus an almost new one in '95.)
Where I live now, there is no car inspection required.
I'm seriously considering doing an engine swap on my car
(25 yr old) for greater performance in a couple of months.
Miatas are great! I thought about one when I got my Lotus 7. Sometimes I wish I had gone that way.
I would put a torsen diff in the back. Those are the best street limited slips available. No clutches, totally reliable and fantastic performance.
https://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/...
Yours also has the 6-speed, and much nicer tranny. Nice, and nice car!
I'd still turbo the thing, but I am a sucker for torque.
I'd love it if Mazda had put a 2.2l Skyactive turbo diesel in a Miata.
310 ft-lb of torque at 2000 rpm. Have to beef up the transmission
and re-balance the weight, but, wow, what a take-off that could be.
And the mooching meddlers in D.C. would be apoplectic.
Diesel is a great solar option. Run it on vegetable oil, and you have a solar powered car with no sulfur! I run my tractor on vegetable oil all the time, when someone has a bunch to get rid of.
Maybe get a trans from a Mazda diesel vehicle? You will probably have to change the rear axle ratio too.
Might have to import one from a junk yard in Japan,
or convince someone at Mazda to bring one in for a
demo at Miata car shows.
Have to do some out of the box thinking and try to get
some advice from Mazda if they still are innovators.
https://www.jdmorlandoinc.com/
https://www.jdmorlandoinc.com/product...
I see that JDM shows up with parts on http://car-part.com , too.
Some day I'm getting a split window Corvette and putting a Ford motor in it, with "Powered by Ford" on the back.
I tallied up, and pointed that it's HEr car, not "ours", and that we spent more on that car than on ALL the new and used cars - and - parts cars that I have ever bought for myself. She, of course, went into a gaslighting fit with "That's just not true", but refuses to look at the numbers.
I'm at retirement age, and do not intend to ~ever~ buy myself another vehicle that doesn't have a carburetor and a straight shift. If you have to push a button to roll the window, I don't want it.
I'm a computer engineer, and the last thing I want under the hood is software.
Dumped Fords due to one car having an automatic transmission problem during the early Seventies and another having the same problem during the mid-nineties (drove a Mercury Bobcat with a straight shift in between).
Been driving nothing but Hondas with automatic transmissions ever since. Sweet! First Honda lasted 12 years before old age problems forced me to trade it in for another.
Used to absolutely hate Hondas. They were not repairable, disposable things. I can do a clutch on an US car in a couple of hours. Tried to do a throwout bearing (and clutch) on a 1979 CVCC... what a complete POS! Ended up taking it to the dump after breaking off god knows how many bolts screwed directly into aluminum, stuck and galled. We still have to put up with all the BS in Consumer Reports and America haters like: "Honda's go 2,000,000,000 miles between oil changes". "Toyotas never even need new tires..." blah blah blah. My buddies have engine issues with their "indestructible" Jap crap, and there I go to fix them, while they rave about how reliable they are. Sister-in-law's Camry water pump failed and the whole engine went with it. That side of the family still swear by Toyotas.
Now Hondas and Toyotas are fine, but they are not some magical devices. Most cars are good. German cars are less reliable and impossible to self-service, due to a requisite revenue stream to make up for them the massive waste manufacturing in socialist economies. If you want to set me off, say "German Engineering".
I think it is probably more dangerous now but that could just be fake news.
When we were there my friend and I were accosted by a gang of boys -
because my friend was wearing a small gold chain that the boys wanted.
We were not harmed but they did take the chain. Grab and run. This was
about 1/2 block off the main beach road Copacabana just barely after dark.
Other than that, it was a fun trip and we enjoyed Rio very much.
With some local guides, I think you'd have a great time.
If you go that far, you might want to take time for Buenos Aires, Argentina, too.
I haven't been there but friends tell me it's great. I'm trying to decide
where to go this winter between SE Asia (Malaysia) and South America.
And cost a fortune to maintain.
I stopped looking at them in the late 80's when a
friend's new BMW started falling apart after 2 years
of driving in L.A. traffic.
About as economical as Afghanistan war.
We already had ASS on our truck, and it has become part of our standard start-up routine to reach over and shut it off before we even leave the driveway. The minuscule amount of gas it saves is not worth replacing a starter motor.
The car we ended up with (Mazda3) does NOT have ASS, which is good. It has other annoying traits I'm not particularly fond of, and have complained about before. We call it 'the nag'.
The drowsy driver alert is something that popped up on a recent long-distance road trip. But it goes away in a few seconds if ignored. It has never appeared on in-state trips. Apparently you have to drive uninterrupted for a period of time.
- Automatic Start/Stop
- Driver assist
- Detection radar
- WiFi
- Inter-vehicular communications
easy to swap ones
and the Mexican drug cartels will smuggle the chips in.
Hooray for free markets!
Side note. WHILE It does "improve" gas mileage. My mechanic friends ALL tell me that the wear and tear on the Engine is LIKELY the bigger reason. See, cars can now last 500K miles if you take care of them. Some can last 1 million miles.
Well, that becomes a lifetime purchase, especially if you work from home, or at least 3 days/wk.
Now, I have no proof it likely destroys the transmission starting and switching into a running gear because it was in gear when it powered off, but I assume it does. (Anyone?)
No surprise here.
OTOH on our drive back to Tucson from DFW last trip, I literally fell asleep driving my older (non lane assist) vehicle and was halfway out of the lane before I woke up (micro-sleep). Hubby didn't even realize I had fallen asleep, nor did I until I bounced back open. SCARY and why we WILL use lane assist on long drives in the future.
However, now that hubby's had his lung surgery, we're FLYING again! DFW, here we come in November to visit family!
When everyone has fully self driving cars which can communicate with other self driving cars, it will make a big difference in reducing the dangerous maneuvers that some drivers do currently to save a few minuted
i do not remember the results
However, try this trick. Push the button and hold it down while you jam something into the crack between the button and its bezel to prevent the button from returning to its normal position.
VOILA- the autostopstart is disabled automatically every time you start the car.
I have used this trick for years on my Kia Soul, and nearly 2 years on my Hyundai Palisade. It works flawlessly with absolutely NO deleterious side effects.