this post was submitted on 21 Oct 2026
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Fuck Cars
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To the extent that we need cars (since our infrastructure would take years to change even if there was the political will to do it) we need to start copying the Cubans and learn to keep old cars on the road longer. Bonus: they don't spy on you like new cars do.
What they need to do is go back to interchangeable parts and stop letting manufacturers make so many fucking different pieces that do the same shit. A car is a simple machine, stop adding gizmos and all kinda of shit to it to clog it down and bog the cost
Bring back standardized headlights
I have just reached this point myself.
I have a short fun drive to work, enjoy it as a way to clear my head, and I even had a manual transmission WRX a long time ago. I have been checking up on the current models and there are some pretty good looking options whether manual + AWD or maybe a dual clutch setup, etc.
But right now I'm driving a basic car that we bought new like 14 years ago. It still looks good, it's fun to drive (the automatic is shiftable and has lockup clutches while in gear), and it seems mechanically sound with very low miles for the age.
Just the other day I made a conscious decision to stop reading and watching car reviews, and I have been getting back into working on my own car. I have some supplies on the way to change some fluids and shine up the exterior.
Having a fun car helps the drive as long as there’s not too much traffic. I almost don’t mind driving my kid to school (because there’s not enough buses) because my GTI is fun.
Yeah, and that is one of the big intangible benefits of my current job. I do a lot of work in-office even though I'm a software guy, and my "commute" is a 6 or 7 minute drive where the middle two miles is a twisty and hilly country road with very few houses on it. And, if the weather is really really bad, there is a slightly shorter alternate route through a much more populated area but it is perfectly flat roads the whole way.
A GTI would be an absolute blast. Does it have the DSG and if so, how do you like it?
My car is an old Mazda3 from when they first introduced their "Skyactiv" branded tech. The 6-speed auto transmission doesn't quickly snap through shifts like I imagine a dual clutch would, but since keeps the lockup clutch pack engaged as often as possible, when in gear it kind of feels like a manual. I can do the whole twisty road stretch of my commute in 3rd gear and have a pretty fun time hovering between 3k and 5k RPM.
The engine is a 2.0L 155hp, and every time I drive to or from work I think to myself that if I got a new "fun" car it would have roughly double the power and only be a few hundred pounds heavier (unless I went for an MX-5 or a BRZ/GR86 instead of a sedan). I would like it, sure, but the car I am currently sitting in is great fun and it is FREE versus $20K-$40K.
Mine has a manual but I owned one a while back with a DSG. Shifts are basically instant and it’s quicker than a stick, I just like feeling like a race car driver
We also need better public transport and to be promoting things like mopeds as a viable alternative to cars.
Amen!
If we did that you wouldn't be able to see a block through the smog in some places.
Depends on how far back you go. Cars from the late 90s and early 2000s are still pretty clean.
Also, a lot of cars can be converted to electric with some knowhow and welding. This could become a cottage industry.
In California, all cars newer than 1975 must pass a smog test.
Converting ICE vehicles to electric vehicles is a cottage industry. While looking for a mechanic recently I found two places that do it.
People power!
I remember watching a show on SPEED that was just one shop doing custom EV conversions.
Of course it was in Cali.
'90s diesels can arguably be less polluting than modern "clean" diesels, depending on which pollutants you care about and if you're running bio-diesel instead of dino-diesel. (Old diesels can run B100, which is carbon-neutral and emits zero SO~x~, but it'll destroy the high-pressure fuel pump on a modern common-rail diesel.)
This is the way.
For simple(r) car designs, I anticipate that 3d scanning, 3d printing, and even mail order custom parts/manufacturing are going to be indespensible once available parts dry up. Until then, there's no end in sight for replacement Corolla parts.