6th Sep 2011, 12:46

I have had exactly one $50 sensor (the throttle position sensor) go out on my 16 year old Toyota truck since I've owned it, since new. On the other hand, the '55 Ford I own has the original electrical system in it, and it routinely likes to blow through the mechanical voltage regulators. These are like $25-$30 each time. Oh - and the cap and rotor needs replacement fairly regularly. Don't forget about the points and condenser. It's also key to point out that these older cars are way worse at dirtying up the oil. I change the oil on my '55 every 1,000 miles, and the oil looks a lot dirtier than the oil that comes out of the Toyota. I have to rebuild the carburetor every 45,000-50,000 miles.

Technology is just that. Technology. Horses and buggies were the standard of the day 100+ years ago. Then came automobiles, which at first were seen as hindrances. Then cam fuel injection, computer controls, hybrid drive trains, clean diesels and direct gas injection. All in the march towards progress. As mentioned before, if one knows how to work on these cars, then it's not an issue. I have owned or own 4 different modern cars. None have had any issues, save for the one TPS sensor with their electronics systems. All have to date lasted 200,000+ miles, and of those miles they've seldom needed any major repairs. In fact, all of these, including my brother's car with 300,000 miles, are in excellent condition.

Anyway, we can agree to disagree.