Dumb things people say about cars.

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Back when Ford first added traction control to the Mustang GT's, I was on the dealer lot looking at cars with my mom and I was nosing around at the Mustangs when one of the salesmen came out. Proceded to tell me what a great car they were and that you could now get them with AWD. I told my mom, "lets go." I figured he had traction control confused with AWD. Its sad when a kid in high school knows more about the cars on the dealer lot than the salesmen themselves.
 
Originally Posted By: afoulk
Its sad when a kid in high school knows more about the cars on the dealer lot than the salesmen themselves.


Also common. I remembered this happening all the time as a kid when I went with my dad when he went car shopping.
 
I recall a couple of years back there was a co-worker trying to get his Cherokee started.
He had the hood up, so I wandered over.
The thing was cranking over just fine, but he was solicting a jump.
I told him that a jump wasn't going to help him, since the engine was cranking healthily.
Another genius went to get his car, to give the Cherokee owner a jump.
The thing sat for a couple of days and then left on a hook for repair.
 
I stopped to help a girl on the side of the road, near where I live, that had her hood up. I don't know how she initially knew but she said she was low on oil. I checked it and none showed on the dipstick. I said I had some oil with me and I would be glad to give it to her. She said is it Pensoil? I said no but it would be way better than driving the car so low on oil. She would not beleive me and drove off without letting me add oil.
 
A friend of mine insisted he'd never own a front-wheel-drive car. No way! Not a chance! He was quite specific. So I had to ask him why he made an exception for his Olds Alero. He looked at me as though I was just a minor annoyance and told me the Alero is not front-wheel-drive.

I made him pop the hood so I could point out the CV axles, just like every other front-wheel-drive car has.

He's done all right with the Alero though. Last I heard its almost to 200K miles.
 
not about a car but I used to have a neighbor that insisted the motorcycle he just bought was a Hayabusa. It was very obviously early 90's model GSXR 750 I just kept shaking my head poor dummy..
 
My former boss claimed the year 2000ish crown vics came with a "400 cubic inch Police Interceptor motor". I bit my lip...
 
Originally Posted By: scurvy

"I replaced the timing belt by painting marks on the pulleys and counting teeth."


Ha!

I used the mark-and-match method when I changed the belt/tensioner/water pump on my girlfriend's Beetle. It worked perfectly.

It may not work on every engine, but it does work on some.
 
Originally Posted By: stephen9666
Originally Posted By: scurvy

"I replaced the timing belt by painting marks on the pulleys and counting teeth."


Ha!

I used the mark-and-match method when I changed the belt/tensioner/water pump on my girlfriend's Beetle. It worked perfectly.

It may not work on every engine, but it does work on some.


Agreed, I've done same on the 2.3 OHC Fords, it does work...
 
While I was in college, I worked in the maintenance department of a US Forest service office. A few of the gems I heard:

1. Spark plugs never wear out.

2. You should NEVER put distilled H20 in a battery because the minerals in tap H20 keep it charged.

3. One day at lunch, this same Gentleman asked me where my car was. Told him it was in the shop having brake pads changed. He asked how many miles were on the car, I told him 50K. He went on a tirade about how brakes should last longer than that and his Chevy van had 150k on the original brakes. I then asked him how many transmissions it had in it (he would back into his pkg. space every day using his transmission as the means to stop the van.) His answer: 3.
 
Every time something goes wrong with someone's car in these parts, they automatically blame the "alternator".

My dad would always say "my car was making funny noises and suddenly died on the road, I'm thinking it's the alternator" or "that car went to the junkyard, it was probably the alternator". When my Bravada took a [censored] while I was driving it, he said "it must be the alternator".

I soon learned that the alternator was obviously an electrical problem and had nothing to do with the engine.

A lady was talking to me a few months ago about her car that was stuck in a shop. She was rather hysterical and emotional, but I heard her story out and she kept saying it was the alternator and I asked her what EXACTLY happened. She says the car turns over but won't go into gear. I said that's a transmission failure. I asked her if she had any problems turning the car over and keeping it running. She said it runs fine but it won't go anywhere, it won't drive or reverse. I told her again, it's a transmission problem - have you had the transmission serviced lately? And she continues her story, "...so anyways, the alternator is bad..."

Really...?
crazy2.gif
 
Ignorance is rampant in our society and that's the fact.

Fact and truth is very rare these days for too many lazy people chose not to think logically and seek the truth, but instead: find casual victim(s) to lay blame on, and then moved on.

That's why this board (as well as internet) is littered with lots of half-truths, and house-wifey's tale (some even to the extent of being horse-pucky).


My 2c's worth.

Q.
 
If you want some sadness/ ignorance look at a craigslist ad.

"Needs wheel barons" (Imagine a verbal diagnosis report by a New England mechanic.)

altinator, cadillac convertor, tire thread, all exist in unicorn land.
 
Originally Posted By: Boarsnest
Ford "secretly" owns Cummins Diesel. They sell them to Dodge because they make more money that way.


And I have a friend that always comments on how Dodge made engines and things and secretly sold them to the Nazi's during WWII because it was profitable.

Not sure how he figures that one but I always find it kinda hilarious.
 
Originally Posted By: Boarsnest
Ford "secretly" owns Cummins Diesel. They sell them to Dodge because they make more money that way.


Ford did own shares of Cummins for quite some time, but they were bought back by Cummins in the 90's.

http://www.nytimes.com/1997/01/04/busine...-from-ford.html

Originally Posted By: NY Times
The Cummins Engine Company said yesterday that it had bought back 1.3 million of its common shares from the Ford Motor Company and would repurchase 1.7 million more shares on the open market. The company also said that Kenneth R. Dabrowski, a vice president at Ford, had resigned from Cummins Engine's board, as planned under a 1990 investment agreement with the auto maker. Cummins, a maker of diesel engines, said it would issue 3.75 million shares of its common stock to an employee benefits trust. The stock would be used to finance employee retirement savings programs. In New York Stock Exchange trading, Cummins Engine rose $1.25, to $46. After the purchase from Ford, Cummins has about 38.2 million shares outstanding.
 
Originally Posted By: eljefino
If you want some sadness/ ignorance look at a craigslist ad.

"Needs wheel barons" (Imagine a verbal diagnosis report by a New England mechanic.)

altinator, cadillac convertor, tire thread, all exist in unicorn land.


Add "12 volt posi" to that list.
 
You don't need to change the oil on this car...but you need to push this button on the speedometer and hold it in so the yellow oil light goes out a couple of times a year...

as told by a woman who had 41,000 miles on her Toyota Corolla with the factory oil still in it.

shocked2.gif
 
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