I agree with those who think new cars are simpler than those from 20 years ago. Certainly all those I've owned since 2000 have converged on a common design with the minimum components that will meet the product requirements. Emissions control systems are relatively simple now and nothing is half-baked like it was in the '80s. Mechanically it's all the same, 4-cyl, OHC, 4 valves/cyl, variable valve timing, fuel injection, primary and secondary cats.
Each major item (engine, transmission, body) has a rugged microcontroller on a 2-wire common area network (CAN.)
The quality of engineering in today's car is unmatched from a few decades ago, in no small part due to the computer simulation tools that are used. Sensors may be plastic but top-quality engineering plastics and well-tested. There is no other consumer product sold today that has such industrial levels of quality - at least where it counts.
Anyone who works in engineering knows how difficult it is to get things right and it's much harder in a big company. I'm really impressed with the reliability we get today, at least for the cars we get in this part of the world which are mostly Asian and European brands.
Each major item (engine, transmission, body) has a rugged microcontroller on a 2-wire common area network (CAN.)
The quality of engineering in today's car is unmatched from a few decades ago, in no small part due to the computer simulation tools that are used. Sensors may be plastic but top-quality engineering plastics and well-tested. There is no other consumer product sold today that has such industrial levels of quality - at least where it counts.
Anyone who works in engineering knows how difficult it is to get things right and it's much harder in a big company. I'm really impressed with the reliability we get today, at least for the cars we get in this part of the world which are mostly Asian and European brands.