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If you can do laundry you can drive a Dodge Durango

1937hd45

By 1937hd45
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1937hd45 25,000+ Points

1937hd45

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Had to drive my sister to the airport, first time to Bradley, not bad. We took her 2020 Dodge Durango, the newest car I've ever driven. No shift lever, just a knob like the load size selector on a washing machine. A to B and back again it did 80 to keep up with traffic, I'd rather have a low milage 20 year old van. 

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wayne sheldon 25,000+ Points

wayne sheldon

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I've been doing my own laundry since I was twelve. Last year, our old (about 20 y o ) Maytag blew the transmission. We bought the only decent model new washer available under covid shortages. A really automated push button silly thing with no old style agitator. I dislike it greatly. It twists and ties my clothing into knots, doesn't dissolve soap properly. I want my twenty year old Maytag back!

Last year, we had to upgrade our modern car. Got a 2006 low mileage very well cared for Jeep Grand Cherokee, with the full towing package. I hope I never have to replace it with anything newer.

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joe_padavano 25,000+ Points

joe_padavano

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9 hours ago, 1937hd45 said:

I figure someone was handed a cup of hot coffee and it hit a shift lever, Chrysler got sued and the knob was the answer. 

 

I'm an aerospace engineer. I deal with human interfaces as part of my job. Any gear selector that requires me to stare at it to make sure I'm in the proper gear is a poor design. On that Chrysler, there was no indicator in the dash, only on the console. The detents for knob position were barely discernible, so you couldn't feel the number of "clicks" as you turned it. Normal AT shifters are pretty easy to tell what gear you're in without having to look at them. Why change something that works? Yeah, I realize that modern ATs with a bazillion gears require electronic gear control since everything is solenoid valve driven, but that still doesn't excuse a poor human factors design.

 

Of course, I'm no fan of shift-by-wire, or throttle-by-wire, and definitely not brake-by-wire. Anyone remember the Hawaiian Air "convertible" 737 where a large chunk of the upper fuselage came off in flight? The cockpit lost all electrical contact to the rear of the plane, but since that early 737 still had real control cables to the control surfaces, they were able to fly and land the heavily damaged plane. Contrast that to the 737 MAX software fiasco.

 

Edited by joe_padavano (see edit history)
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rocketraider 25,000+ Points

rocketraider

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I have held off on buying a kitchen range and a washing machine because of the electronic controls. When my current appliances will no longer work, I suppose I'll have to get one of the hateful things.😣

 

Stove is 47 y.o. and washer is 26. The day is coming.

 

I read the stories some of y'all have posted about electronics in your newer vehicles and I cringe.

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wayne sheldon 25,000+ Points

wayne sheldon

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14 hours ago, joe_padavano said:

Anyone remember the Hawaiian Air "convertible" 737 where a large chunk of the upper fuselage came off in flight? The cockpit lost all electrical contact to the rear of the plane, but since that early 737 still had real control cables to the control surfaces, they were able to fly and land the heavily damaged plane.

 

I do remember that one! And I remember reading excerpts from the final reports on the failures and successes of that flight and landing! Amazing!

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hidden_hunter 10,000+ Points

hidden_hunter

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9 hours ago, TerryB said:

Yes, our 3 yr old dishwasher had a computer board failure.  Warranty was only for 1 year of course!

Consumer protection is pretty much non existent in the US, probably more aptly called lawsuit protection. Here in red tape land, things must last a “reasonable” amount of time e.g your expensive dishwasher must last longer than an el cheapo - companies have been sued and lost for trying to enforce things like 1 year warranties or selling junk extended warranties 

 

My VW golf still has a traditional shifter and the dashboard tell you what mode and gear you’re in. Everything you want still has a physical button as well.

 

The new golf looks like they glued a screen on a wheely bin 

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Fossil 25,000+ Points

Fossil

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On 4/14/2022 at 9:36 PM, wayne sheldon said:

I want my twenty year old Maytag back!

So did we but that wasn't happening. We ended up with a Speed Queen set with old fashion knobs and really like them. They are commercial duty and no digital stuff. They make the same set with digital controls and those actually have a longer warranty. Both my wife and I decided to stick with knobs for ease of use and repair. No regrets. 

 

 

 

 

Edited by Fossil (see edit history)
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John348 25,000+ Points

John348

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On 4/14/2022 at 9:48 PM, joe_padavano said:

I had a Chrysler rental car with that knob gear selector.

 

Worst.

Design.

Ever.

Joe,

I think the Edsel might have been the worst design with it in the middle of the steering column where the horn button normally would be

Edited by John348 (see edit history)
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