The video that follows is interesting – but not entirely for the reasons intended. A mechanic does a walk-around of a 40-year-old time-capsule Toyota Camry with very low miles, which isn’t the interesting part. The interesting part is him critiquing the design of the cars of 40 years ago:
He begins by making obligatory obeisances to the “safety” advances of today’s cars vs. those of 40 years ago – which did not come standard with air bags and other such because most buyers didn’t want such stuff. This fact is always left unspoken whenever the subject of “safety” comes up. It is never mentioned that air bags were available decades before they were mandated – and that distinction matters, or ought to. Several car companies offered them in the early-mid 1970s – including GM’s Oldsmobile division – but few buyers thought they were worth the expense and so did not buy them. That was back when the market determined what features and equipment were available in new cars. It was the era before government intervened in the market, to force on people features they didn’t want to pay for such as air bags.
He then goes on describe the other “flaws” of this 40-year-old Toyota. The first of these being the exposed screws that secure turn signal lights and so in place. Heaven forbid people – average people – be able to replaced a turn signal bulb or the turn signal itself with just a Phillips head screwdriver. It is so much of an improvement for fasteners to be hidden out of reach and to need special tools most average people do not have in order to change out a turn signal light bulb.
The next “flaw” is the Toyota’s glass headlights. Glass is dangerous, the man says. Some innocent pedestrian might get cut if struck by a car so equipped.
He does not say that glass never yellows or that sealed beam headlights cost maybe $30 each to replace if they are ever broken and that anyone can replace one because of those – egads – exposed fasteners. As opposed to a plastic “assembly” that – in some cases – can cost $500 each (or more) replace and that is often very difficult to replace if you are not a professional mechanic who has the skills and the tools to do the job. Never mind that plastic headlights always yellow after a few years and give your car the look of a 15-year-old dog with glaucoma.
Next, he mocks the “bicycle wheels” mounted on the Toyota. Meaning, the car’s 13-inch wheels, which are at least three inches less tall than the wheels you can find fitted to any new car. But what exactly is the advantage of 16, 17, 18 – let alone 20-plus-inch-tall – “rims,” as wheels are called today? Well, there’s increased rolling resistance and lower gas mileage, for openers. Also, more expensive tires – because there’s more tire on the “rim” now. Hypothetically, there is greater cornering grip but this assumes people make use of it. Do they? Most drivers continue to drive (in the curves) as if their car did have 13 inch wheels – so it’s all mostly for looks. Yes, stopping distances are also reduced. But this – again – assumes the car is moving fast in the first place.
Most aren’t.
Then he begins with a compliment – about the excellent visibility in the 40-year-old Toyota, due to its slim B pillars and low door height and lots of glass area. And proceeds to amen-chorus the Safety Nags who worry (they are always worried) about what might happen if the car got T-boned by another car. This worry apparently taking precedence over worrying about the poor visibility that arises from chest-high doors, B pillars thicker than a 2×6 and so little ability to see outside that the car needs closed circuit cameras and various beeping warnings that you’re about to back into or turn into the path of something.
The next thing on the abuse list is the Toyota’s mechanical door locks. No fob! No keyless entry! Such a chore – back in the day – to manually lock (and unlock) the doors. And turn the engine on, too. Modern cars are so much easier to get into because they unlock automatically as you approach and you can start the engine just by pushing a button. But it’s not easy – and certainly not inexpensive – to get a new electronic key fob when you run yours through the wash or lose it someplace. Unlike the Toyota’s key, which just gets clean when you wash it – and which you can replace if you ever need to at any hardware store for about $10.
The guy then mocks the absence of “safety” interlocks for the automatic transmission. If the car had a manual transmission – which was standard in this car back then, as it was in most cars back then – you could gave started the engine without having to push the clutch in or have your foot on the brake. A small thing that makes working on the engine easier because you can start the engine without getting in the car. Never mind.
Saaaaaaaafety first!
Speaking of which. The Toyota’s rear seats do not have shoulder belts. Just lap belts. Oh, the humanity! In the ’80s, seat belt use was not yet mandated. Only that new vehicles have the things. Most Americans in those days did not use them precisely for that reason. It took decades of bullying enforcement to condition Americans to “buckle up” for “safety.” And now millions of Americans are as obsessed with “safety” as the offspring (if they’d had any) of Joan Claybrook and Ralph Nader.
Next the hood gets raised to mock what’s underneath. Not for being “very reliable” – his words – but because of its supposed complexity. Which is mostly mechanical (e.g., vacuum temp sensors and so on) that could be fixed without a $10,000 diagnostic computer and proprietary software. This car also only had one computer – that ran its fuel injection system. No computers for the door locks or the power windows.
Is all of this better now?
Or worse?
. . .
If you like what you’ve found here please consider supporting EPautos.
We depend on you to keep the wheels turning!
Our donate button is here.
If you prefer not to use PayPal, our mailing address is:
EPautos
721 Hummingbird Lane SE
Copper Hill, VA 24079
PS: Get an EPautos magnet or sticker or coaster in return for a $25 or more one-time donation or a $10 or more monthly recurring donation. (Please be sure to tell us you want a magnet or sticker or coaster – and also, provide an address, so we know where to mail the thing!)
If you’d like a Baaaaa hat or other EPautos gear, see here!
Bought my wife a 2009 RAV4 last week. Only 105,000 miles, and it has the V6 engine. Wife loves the ~6 second 0-60 time! Our family has had good fortune with several (used!) Avalons over the years.
But I got only one key with it, so I had to get a backup key. Toyota dealer wanted $340! A nearby Batteries Plus Bulbs place wanted $198. That’s 2 orders of magnitude more than a key for my old Silverado. This is progress?
Loved this article! Huge, ‘Thumbs Up!”
I frankly miss the days when seat belts were optional, cars burned leaded gas, the PRNDL shift arrangement wasn’t standard, dash boards were metal and there were differing grades of brake fluid. You had to guess which was good and not.
The only thing I didn’t miss about pre 1967 automobiles was the crap suspensions. I like a car with sway bars and very heavy duty shocks. quick ratio steering And lots of sound insulation. Those are the true ingredients of a safe automobile.
I would also add that I like overdrive transmissions and mid level numeric gear ratios. Long highway legs reduce engine rpms and driver fatigue.
I don’t miss the leaded gas, the sweet spot was no lead and no alcohol. Exhaust systems last far longer even my old school galvanized pipes on the 91 truck. Also oil stays cleaner longer, saw a Buick side by side oil display when no lead came out showing this.
The Commanders ‘71 Nova 307 V8 was equipped with “no lead heads” and we sold it on in 1989 with 205k care free miles. Ran as good then as it did in the ‘70s, zero engine work.
I hear you. Sometimes I exaggerate to make a point. The way that unleaded should have been sold to the public is lower maintenance costs. Period.
I bet that if the oil companies would have refined a high octane regular (today’s plus) unleaded back in the day and ran some good ads on engine longevity, maintenance, etc it would have been great. But no, the ecology nitwits got a hold of everything and helped to turn the auto industry into an ashheap.
I’m lucky we have a farm co-op in town, 87 and 92 no alcohol. The Harley runs on 92 per the book. They also have 87 with alcohol which works fine in the ‘18 Jeep and the ‘91 Chev truck. All grades are top tier and are a noticeable enhancement to the usual crud around here. Throttle response on the Jeep is crisp and the Chev runs like it got fed steroids. Feed the Jeep “discount gas” at the Fred Meyer (Kroger) station the response turns to mush.
I would gladly choose a 1985 Toyota vs. a 2025, for many reasons
I hear ya, dood. How-freaking-evah; unless you’re in the Sunbelt, or where they don’t put down evil road salt,… the choice is almost, nil.
My ’94 Toy 4×4 still sits, frame rusted out at the axle, waiting to be fixed, or sold as parts.
A rust-free restored $20,000 1986 4×4 S-10 Blazer For Sale online sure looks enticing. (Too bad I don’t like red, with white on top, color scheme.)
…I don’t have $20,000. Should I go see Mr. Banker?
Sure beats $65,000, tho.
So many nice older vehicles to choose from in the sunbelt. When I look at cars for sale in Lake Havasu or Sun City, it sends my ADD into overdrive. As the boomers pass away, and their Millennial Kids inherit their 3O and 4O year old cars with 5OK miles the choices become almost limitless.
Most of you are totally misunderstanding The Car Care Nut (some without even watching his content). I’ve watched the guy for five or six years or about as long as I’ve been reading EP Autos. TCCN really only cares about three things when he evaluates a car: 1) is what’s under the hood well designed and easy to work on? 2) is the structure assembled in a way that will prevent rust? 3) is the thing visually appealing outside and comfortable inside? The final question he wants to help you ask is “Should I buy one?”
That’s it. If you are wasting space here whining about his supposed obsession with “saaaaaaaaaaafety” you are putting words in his mouth and totally missing what are, in fact, subtle critiques of nanny culture. Congrats to the one or two of the commenters here who get it, the rest of you need to stop projecting your obsessions onto YT content creators who are actually in the business of being helpful.
Kirk:
Putting words in his mouth? He literally says in the video that glass headlights, low window sills, thin roof pillars, etc. are “dangerous.”
With that said, he did also say he loves that car. I’ve watched many of his videos. He’s a big-time advocate for Toyotas (which is a good thing). I generally like him, because he’s a very meticulous mechanic. However, he has drunk the hive-mind safety kool-aid a bit about older cars being unsafe.
Chill out, bro. It’s gonna be ok.
Hi Kirk,
I literally quoted his own words. I don’t know the guy and maybe he’s ok. But I’m so damned tired of hearing people regurgitate the nonsense that cars made before the Safety Cult went national are “unsafe.” In many ways, the new stuff is more actually unsafe. Today, I was trying to make a left turn onto a road and I couldn’t see traffic in the oncoming lane to my right because the B pillar of the ’25 Mazda CX50 I’m driving this week is about 8 inches wide… for saaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaafety! The roof is less likely to collapse if I roll the thing. But it is far more likely I’ll get t-boned from the side because of the horrendous outward visibility.
Mazda have horrible outward visibility as well as annoying chimes and indications as you attempt to just start the damned things. I wouldn’t ever buy it or any other car on the market today. Never.
That might make a hilarious video BTW. Eric recording all the chimes, buzzer and whatnot just to start the cars.
I don’t care. I will watch him on how to change an intake or a wheel bearing.
Toyotas are not that easy to work on. On a V6 Camry or a Lexus, you have to remove the intake manifold to change plugs and valve covers. They are virtually impossible to get to.
Their lower control arms are an absolute nightmare. You really need two people to change or you have to be the size of a gorilla.
Screw Toyota.
Unfortunately, my woman owns one, so I have to somehow get the thing repaired. Sometimes I work on it myself. Sometimes not.
As far as this Car Care Nut goes, he’s a frigging parrot for the safety and ecology movement. Works on cars. Like I said, soft underbelly.
My Mk. IV Supra is very easy to work on and the 2JZ inline 6 is ridiculously reliable. Same with my last-generation Tundra and its iForce V-8, which is the best small block plant not built by GM. Not all Toyotas are a pain. However, I will add that the Corollas and RAV4s are pretty tightly packed under the hood and they can be the source of a lot of profanity.
Honda / Acura the same drill. Try the lower rear shock mounts on a 14 year old MDX. I gave up and took it to a local shop – they struggled too.
I did the front struts good grief, heavy on the grief. 1/2 breaker bar and the floor jack handle as a cheater bar on that finally got the mount bolts loose. Oriental rigs not much on corrosion control.
HA! “2) is the structure assembled in a way that will prevent rust?”
There ain’t No such thing, young-un.
Rust, never sleeps.
I have watched him since 2020 when he operated a garage from his house. And I had a 2001 Camry which we sold last year as my wife bought a used Kia Carnival van with 2.5 l diesel engine. He has picked up numerous design faults on the Toyota and Lexus vehicles he works on. I consider his channel one of the best for car repairs.
You want to see a truly insufferable douche “car guy”? Check out “The Car Wizard”! (An obsequious maskoid EV-cheering obese faggot who’s married to a woman). That these are what pass for “car guys” now, is really illustrative of how society has devolved. In the past, these kind of guys could never pose as “car guys”, much less work as mechanics AND do so on Youtube; Guys like this would have been florists, if even that.
florists car guys. That’s something I wish I never woulda known about or read & may never forget.
LMAO. I have seen him. He’s tough to take. He treats his customers like shit, likely overcharging the hell out of him. I love it when that twerp goes and says the sway bar links look good as they are under tension hanging from the lift. A false test.
Good one, Arthur.
The other one is “Eric the Car Guy” (not Eric Peters, of course). He has some left lean tendencies.
Recently drove my 98’ Camry 5300+ miles on a cross country road trip. No problem. Now at 84k ish miles. I took the Camry over the BMW X5.
If the Camry were to have had an issue, it can be addressed by any mechanic, anywhere. The BMW would end up on a flatbed and likely have to be serviced by dealer or nearest German Indy which in the west can be literally several hundred miles away.
The BMW rear tires are 315/35/R20. Regardless of where you live these are 3-10 days out. No one stocks that tire.
I will never get rid of the Camry.
The car in the video has a few disadvantages vs my car but would gladly take that earlier generation Camry in a heartbeat.
Dang, 98’ Camry. Another option really not available here in road-salt-landia.
I’ve been looking at them & the oldest is usually about 2010 w/160,000 to 210,000 miles. The multiple-eyeball socket popping airbags & sunroofs (ever been in a car w/a sunroof in a hailstorm?) totally turn me off.
…I’m reflecting on how in the 1980’s. or even the ’90’s, no way did I ever anticipate the stupidity of the “technology” in the cars of today & of the limited & forced ‘options’.
I think, besides Uncle Sugar, there is another reason why cars have gotten endlessly complex and expensive. When you’re chasing consumers and trying to bait them into taking out ridiculous loans to buy something they can’t afford, you need all of the bells and whistles to tickle their fancy and make it where they have to have this vehicle so they can one-up their neighbor or family member. You want to win the “oh, look at this gadget” show-off when your friend or family member sees your new ride for the first time.
That’s one reason why everything got faster, heavier and more loaded with gewgaws. That’s not to mention Uncle and his constant regulations that require more weight and smaller engines to please contradictory dictates about safffffffffffffffeeeeeeeettttttty, fuel consumption and the dreaded carbon emissions. If you oppose the latter, you’re an Earth-destroying pig. If you oppose the former, you want people to die on the roads. Maybe pay attention to the road instead of having to drive in the automotive equivalent of a M1A2 Abrams!
My wife had an 1986 Camry and she talks about that car with a lot of fondness. I’d love to have a car with sealed beam headlights, a real key (my Tundra has one) and simple, throttle-body fuel injection that was the best compared to having to adjust a fiddly carburetor.
I just want a marketplace where if you just want a car with four seats, a steering wheel and the basics (air conditioning, a decently peppy engine, etc), you don’t have to buy all of this “stability control” and “prebraking collision avoidance” and all of this gimcrackery. If my Infiniti or my Tundra wasn’t larded up with all of this side-impact stuff and multiple airbags, imagine how fast they’d be. Not to mention more efficient. I’m a believer in Colin Chapman’s adage “just add lightness.” Shame we can’t do that any longer.
There is economic logic behind this when you think about it. Back in 1984 this was a highly optioned Toyota because the base model was spartan, even power steering would have been option, and luxury was a Cadillac or Lincoln that was definitely bigger, faster, cushy. We all want to move up while spending the least amount possible. So the car companies were naturally going to move down scale creature comforts like an automatic transmission, power windows and air conditioning to lower trims over time.
The inversion I think came about 10 years ago when all the relatively easy options had been moved down market, the most base of Corolla had all the key power things, an awesome stereo and an automatic. The only difference was physical size and engine power between the cars. When you look at a 2010 or so car you got the peak of value. That’s not to say they were the “best” cars in terms of power, size or quality (I think the best made cars were mid 90s to about 2005) but just that for the price you paid for an entry car around 2010 what you got was very nearly the same as the top trim cars a decade or two earlier.
The same things happened in computers, phones, audio gear, homes. It’s the natural cycle of consumerism. Features trickle down, prices fall, as a product goes through it’s lifecycle, R&D investment is recouped, economy of scale reduces production cost, etc.
At that point with cars about 10 years ago the cost in safety and emissions mandates became evident in their weight and complexity. Their size had to shrink and price had to rise since all the profit had been squeezed by moving all the features down scale. Car companies had no choice. If they didn’t comply they’d get the VW treatment and they weren’t going to eat the cost of regulation. That’s also an economic fundamental. The cost (both in price and design) of inflation, taxes, tariffs, regulation isn’t borne by the manufacturer, it’s on the shoulders of the buyer. It’s passed through.
Well stated Minnie
Well put. Imagine what the market would be like if we didn’t have this constant government interference in the marketplace. Let people buy what they want.
I’ve said many times before, but Volvo became a Chinese-owned, useless niche brand and Saab was acquired by GM and run into the ground precisely because federal regulations took away the whole reason for Swedish cars, which was safety. You certainly didn’t buy a Volvo wagon because it was a fun car to drive. They had a niche in the marketplace and forcing every car and truck to become a Volvo took away the whole point of Volvo.
Now everything is a homogenized, soulless crossover vehicle that has zero personality and is driven by compliance powertrains: Boring 2.0 liter turbo 4s, buzzy turbo 3s, hybrids, moaning CVTs and the worst of all, the silly electric motor.
I believe the car companies have given up on being transportation for the masses and the car companies, which have transformed into financial companies, see their future as smaller sales and bigger profits thanks to now-standard gadgets and quality cost cutting rather than profiting on sales numbers alone.
Absolutely spot on. It’s hashed over and over. Cars now are compliance boxes with the only real exceptions being very, very expensive super cars for owners who have no financial restriction to cover the penalty costs. For a while light trucks were the pathway for regular people to work around regulation to still get what they wanted but that “loophole” was closed. It’s a matter of thinking your free because you can choose blue or red paint. The cars are fundamentally no different than a Trebant or Yugo behind the Iron Curtain other than the compliance is soft power of being sued or fined instead of hard power that gets the factory owner in front of a firing squad.
“Glass headlights were a lot heavier…” [Looks at 84′ Camry]
Yeah…
That thing should have lead weights strapped to it! Light cars were so unsafe, kids these days would confuse it for an airplane. Imagine that, cars that got good gas mileage without slave labor/acid rain hybrid battery pack, which had handling characteristics other than being weighed down to the road for maximum tire-torture traction, that didn’t have the inertia of a freight train in a wreck.
I got a 87-93 Jeep Wrangler YJ and despite it having all leaf springs and the same wheelbase as my friends 2012, less about 3″ total length,
I can drive it pretty fast around corners and it handles fine.
I tried going almost as fast in the 2012 version, the EBTCM went “Danger Will Robinson” and the thing wanted to tip over just for looking at a corner with all the on-board saaftey equipment!
Cars today have a Delta-V equation problem. +1,500Lbs. of high-tech equipment to safely save 2 MPG
/Rant
I saw an eco-terrorist the other day with an un-licensed moped, an old Schwinn bicycle with a kit from bikeberry.com
Hi Steve,
Yup! My ancient (1976) Trans-Am only weighs about 3,800 lbs. That’s about 400 pounds less than the Camry Signia I just wrote about. It’s a unibody car that has a small four cylinder engine and entirely plastic front and rear clips, wafer-thin metal body panels and extensive use of aluminum for suspension bits. My TA has a heavy steel front subframe, a cast iron V8, cast iron solid rear axle, steel leaf springs and steel coil springs and massive steel bumpers; the hood and other body panels are much thicker; it takes two strong men to take off my car’s hood. I could bend the Signia’s hood with my bare hands. Not joking.
I’m not a mechanical engineer but it’s long confused me how these cars can be so darn heavy and yet built so cheap. My 2016 Tacoma has very nearly the same GVWR as a 1986 Hilux I had in college. They both have about 5,200 lbs GVWR but this newer truck weighs 1600 lbs more (4400 lbs vs 2800) while having sheet metal in the body and frame walls that’s aluminum foil thick. It is physically larger of course, which is certainly part of it. But the overseas Hilux didn’t grow as much as the Tacoma, so they are more similar sized, and they can weigh anywhere from 500 to 2000 lbs more, too. It’s not a thing unique just to U.S. compliance boxes.
I did not yet watch the video but from what I’ve read the guy must be insufferable.
Your loss. The mechanic (“Ahmed” aka “The Car Care Nut”) has one of the best car channels on YouTube. He’s a Toyota specialist by training but critiques all kinds of cars. His examination of the Mustang Mach E is especially entertaining. Try giving something a try next time before making a snap judgement.
Hi Kirk. I’ve been watching him for years and he’s educational to watch. His explanation how ASS works shows how complex it is and indirectly why you don’t want it.
I’ve test driven a number of Toyota vehicles that he did a full review on (even bought one – despite him not actually liking it) and his analysis/test drive was spot-on.
He does provide his personal opinion, but doesn’t sugar coat facts or BS the watcher and leaves it up to the buyer to make the ultimate decision – just like the reviews on this website.
Best Toyota-centric YT channel IMO.
HA! “He’s a Toyota specialist by training”
I worked with an old guy (Vietnam Vet, old) who was a true Yoda master. The “Toyota specialist” here would call him when they couldn’t figure sheet out.
“Toyota specialist” is not a shiny badge.
I once had a 1990 22R-E that was very similar to this car and now a 1985 unicorn EFI pickup with the same generation systems, although a 22R-E and not a 2S-E.
The cold start injector on this vintage Toyota engine is a bit of a kludge. It does work fine when it works but it tends to be dodgy and leak, which can cause a headache making the engine run rich randomly. I wouldn’t make such a big deal over it as he did, it’s not that hard to figure out and you can have injector rebuilt, so you’ll be good for another 100k.
And the VSV (vacuum switching valves) are all the same in these era Toyota, you can get them by the handful from junk yards. And if you can’t find the exact one, which might be different in temp setpoint or in trivial things like the number of ports or how they come off the sensor they’re all close enough to at least try.
He doesn’t mention it but you can get the computer to diagnose itself. You actually have to put it into diagnostic mode for some test. It’s a jumper you stick in a plug on next to the under hood main fuse box labeled DIAG. When you do that the ECU goes into fail safe, pulls the timing to the base, flashes the check engine light with stored codes (you count pulses and run down a list in the manual). It’s OBD 1, nothing difficult to understand. You don’t need a diagnostic computer like you did with OBD 2 and newer.
The fuel pump for my truck is in the tank. That’s been a problem for decades, nothing new. My old, old truck had a 20R with a carb and fuel pump on the side of the engine. That’s a lot nicer.
He glazes over EGR. That system is the bane of my existence. Pointless, stupid EPA.
I converted my truck’s AC to R134. It’s not a big deal, although I did still have my original compressor and didn’t have to hunt one down.
It is ironic he mentioned external screws and people taking your lower valence. Back in the day that wasn’t a problem, well as long as your car wasn’t stolen and got to a chop shop. In 2025, that’s actually a problem. I put a brand new set of NOS front blinker lenses on my truck. Found them from an eBay shop in Japan. And guess what got stolen from my truck? Those sweet, clear, uncracked lenses I paid $50 to get. Dammit.
Oh, I can’t stand that guy. He’s a safety nag behind a mechanic’s jumpsuit. Thank you for watching so I don’t have to, although I may just jump on and comment on his page.
When that car was built, the highway fatality rates were dropping. By 1984, every car in the United States had radial tires, rack and pinion steering (with the exception of trucks and large cars), and much firmer, controlled rides. Cars in the 1980’s were sufficiently well designed enough to drop the fatality rate from 3.35 during the beginning of the decade to 2.0 by the end. In 1984, the year of that Toyota it was 2.57. His blithering and blathering about the car’s saaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaafety is insufferable. Cars were already becoming safer. Primarily because of predictible handling, improved outward visibility (use of side mirrors), improved lighting technology and better suspensions. And they did so without government help.
The 1980-1990 period was marked by very few safety regulations and not ONE safety regulation covered vehicle suspension dynamics/handling predictability. Not one. By the middle 1990s, as seat belt use increased, the fatality rate dropped further to 1.72 by 1995. Today, the number sits at about 1.2-1.3. Reason: just more cars on the g-d road. That’s it. None of today’s vehicles are any saaaaaafer then they were in the 1980s. You may survive a crash but you are more likely to get into one due to driver distractions and limited visibility.
People like this guy are the soft underbelly of the automotive industry this time, dressed up as “technicians.” They parrot safety and emissions, undermining the work of real people who want to improve motoring. They parrot the talking points of the ecology and safety movements while giving lip service to a maintainable automobile.
That guy makes me sick
Amen, Swamp –
I loathe this reflexive parroting of orthodoxies. The groupthink mindset. We saw this during the “pandemic” when almost everyone you met would say: “We’re all in this together”or “stay safe.”
God almighty. What happened to this country?
Scotty Kilmer goes into parrot mode when it comes to speeeeeeeeeeeeeeding or eeeeeeeeeemissions. He isn’t as loathsome as this quack, though.
Ha! Pretty ironic for a guy whose tagline is “Rev up your engines”, then proceeds to admonish everyone to not actually rev up your engine.
The “keep us safe” shit seemed to have entered the lexicon after 9/11. Now it is in common usage.
Of course it coincides with the feminization of society as well.
As with most things, the devil is in the details. Yes, shoulder belts are a good thing. They have been empirically and rigorously tested and they do help keep your face from slamming into things in the event of a collision.
On the other hand, glass headlights being “unsafe”? That’s just bullshit.
…On the other hand, glass headlights being “unsafe”? That’s just bullshit.
It is. I hate it when people like that clown refuse to back up their assertions on something being unsaaaaaaaaaafe with hard objective numbers.
If you don’t have the numbers, it isn’t unsafe.
Crack. Me. Up! Love it: “I can’t stand that guy. He’s a safety nag behind a mechanic’s jumpsuit.”
I can’t read the rest of your comment because it’s not ‘Word-wrapping’ right on my browser, but that’s a perfect description, man.
Now I have the term for my brother’s baby-momma, “a safety nag”. This year was the 1st year she let them play with fireworks. …They are 11yrs. old & 15 yrs. old.
I guess she Freaked Out when they pointed one at her & screamed like-no-fun-banshee. …I digress.
Thanks Helot. Yeah. I think my spelling of saaaaafety confused the page editor or something. I unsubscribed from that douche nugget a while ago when he started talking that climate crap.
Plastic people like him have always made me throw up.a little. Someone else mentioned the Car Wizard, a hateful dorf who does fake suspension tests on the lift for the camera and pans his “crazy” customers. I actually contacted him once and was going to take my car to his shop. He wasn’t too interested and I’m glad I didn’t.
Forgot about holding up the door handle to lock and the button to release the key from the ignition. Brought back fond memories.
Also, I don’t think he was critical of the exposed screws, he was just pointing out that today’s designers would frown on that.
Right. He actually *likes* exposed screws in certain applications because they make the mechanic’s life easier. Amazing how everyone in these comments seems immune to irony/sarcasm/dry humor. Hate to hear what they have to say about Derek Bieri.
I don’t understand this, seems like panty-twisting, or something? “he was just pointing out that today’s designers would frown on that”.
“frown”? Psft.
I sense no irony/sarcasm/dry humor, seems more like a dweeb. A.k.a. … oh, what’s the point, you guy’s just don’t ‘get it’. Not. At. All.
Ironically, the 1985 Toyota Camry in that photo looks a lot better than automobiles made within the past 10 years or so, and was probably built better too. I don’t know what it is, but nowadays automobile manufacturers seem to make their vehicles look like beasts or something out of a dystopian movie or novel. Examples would be the Tesla Cybertruck or the behemoth trucks that other auto manufacturers make today. Not only that, but brand new vehicles seem to be as well built as a new Boeing airplane.
Oops, a 1984 Toyota Camry, but it still looks better than automobiles made today.
Infinitely better built than any 21st century Toyota car, including any Lexus model.
The mid-80s were certainly Toyota’s high water mark. But, if you spend a minute watching The Car Care Nut’s channel, you’ll see that his favorites are Lexus 4XX series cars from the 1990s. The engineering on those was taken to a whole other level. And only a midwit would accuse him of being “safety obsessed”. He gets in a car that doesn’t have extra airbags and he is visibly overjoyed.
Kirk
You seem to have quite a hard on for the car nut. Get a room!
Nova Savant, Ha! Ha! Ha!
…
Elegant simplicity. I particularly like the external fuel pump, which could be replaced in about 15 minutes. Now they’re all inside the fuel tanks. Oh, and the ease of taillight bulb access and exposed fasteners are great.
Yeah, this internal fuel pump crap is for the birds. Worse, fuel filters in teh gas tank versus ones in the engine compartment for easier replacement seemed to die out in the 1990s.
I’m not super familiar with this generation Camry but my 1985 Pickup has the pump and sender in the tank and I think this would, too. What he’s pointing to I think is the fuel filter. On my truck the fuel filter is on the side of the engine, under the intake manifold. A real gymnastics move to get at it, so some people move it to the frame rail, not unlike what it looks like Toyota did from the factory here.
It likely is. In my 1981 Toyota Starlet, it was in the engine compartment near the carb. In my 1987 Acura it in the engine near the fuel rails. It was nice metal piece.
In my dad’s 1986 Taurus Wagon, it was outside along the body somewhere near the fuel tank.
All of these cars it was easily removable.
I haven’t seen a car like that since.
For what it’s worth the guy’s YouTube channel is pretty good for Toyota diagnostics and repair. I don’t think he’s into antiques or collectable cars though.
I’ve watched his Toyota videos before. I lost a little bit of respect for him over this one.
I’ve seen this parrot talk about saaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaafety and eeeeeeeeeeeeeeemissions as well as cliiiiiiiiiiiimate change before. He’s an enemy. Probably a good tech and a nice guy. In the vain of John McCain and Benedict Arnold. Both military men, but traitors
Hi Swamp,
I think they all do this; well, most do. Because in the finest American tradition, they want to be liked and to get along.
I don’t watch him for his political commentary. He works on a lot of Toyotas and eventually he’ll have a video that helps you fix your old Toyota. Is it possible for a thing to just be what it looks like? It’s not his or our fault everything is viewed through a political lens. It seems we’re the flip side of the nannies, always looking to be offended by everything.
Hi Jerry,
It’s not about being offended; it’s about challenging this nauseating rote-repetition of PC orthodoxies – “safety” – as if they were received truths. I particularly chafe when air bags are brought up as an “advance” and no mention is made that they were mandated. Or that they were available prior to the mandating – and didn’t sell because few people wanted them.
If I need to watch his channel to get some maintenance tips, I will. I’m open about my hypocrisy. He’s getting views and some amount of compensation for the channel. I like that part. If he stuck with maintenance and showing the features of that car without the political commentary, I’d be okay with it. He put politics in the discussion. We didn’t.
That is exactly why I said I lost respect for him. I like coming to Eric’s site but it’s beating a well dead horse every day, the same tropes, the same complaints to the same people. The Youtube guy isn’t going to change by posting a fit over it here. He’ll never see it and will get a slight bump in views that might in his analytics reinforce his content rather than have him step back in reconsideration. I’ll put a comment under the video to this effect but even that I doubt will change anything.
I suspect EP’s goal in writing this article is not to change The Car Care Nut’s videos. I think he’s just using it as an example of the safety cult that dominates society, which, in this case, mindlessly conflates older things with unsafe things.
“I like coming to Eric’s site but it’s beating a well dead horse every day, the same tropes, the same complaints to the same people.”
It sounds to me like you really don’t like coming to Eric’s site. What would you suggest he write about?
Maybe heel and toe shifting? Or maybe showing the connected features on a modern car touchscreen?
That’s my guess.
Maybe how automakers could create a more diverse and intersectional workplace.
Swamprat & Mister Liberty, You 2 guys gots some good comments, there.
I hope the young-un’s take note.
‘Is all of this better now?’ — eric
Are all of us better now?
Minimalism began as an art movement in the 1960s. By the 1990s it had expanded into architecture, interior design and a lifestyle philosophy promoted in popular books.
Yet cars were going the opposite direction, just as the mid-20th century Western Electric landline telephone — designed to last half a century with no maintenance — was evolving into the iPhone that debuted in 2007. Now cars are cellphones on wheels, with touchscreens to operate them and software updates.
This week I’m attending a seminar in which an app is used to poll attendees. I tried to download the app onto my iPhone 11, which had been updated to IOS 15 when I bought it less than four years ago. Whoops: the app now requires IOS 16 — and earlier versions compatible with IOS 15 are no longer available.
An ecosystem is at work here, compelling phone users to constantly upgrade both hardware and software for minimal benefit. I refuse to play that game. Turns out there’s on an online workaround for the poll. So no need to cripple my aging phone with resource-hogging ‘updates.’
Using cell phones as the design inspiration for vehicles is a fatal mistake by the auto industry. It needs to wiped out and reborn with a completely different ethos and set of players. Until then, I shun their shit cars like rat poison.
I enjoy seeing the looks of bewilderment on peoples’ faces when I tell them I don’t have a cell phone, when one is required to proceed. It’s a lie of course. I have one, but I try to leave it at home as much as possible.
I was at the dentist for a cleaning the other day and the nice lady at the desk said “we texted you a link to fill out your paperwork online”.
“I don’t have a cell phone. You texted it to my home phone.”
I swear her brain went into a maintenance cycle for a few moments before rebooting. She had to print some paperwork for me that I filled out with a pen. LOL
It’s just a given that each of us must be tethered to a device at all times and that we must embrace all of the modern digital wonders of new vehicles.
It sure feels good to defy expectations.
I’m still rocking an iPhone stuck on iOS 16 (it’s older than the iPhone 11). I’m in the same camp as both of you guys. I treat mine like a landline, it’s left at home usually. When we moved a few years ago I wanted to have a phone line put but the telco not only refuses them but actually cannot put one back in. They pulled most of the copper off the poles and sent the central office switching gear to the recyclers years ago. The people who had landlines when they did got a VoIP box put on the back of their house and any new home phone numbers are assigned to IP phones. Nothing wrong in that but I wanted a hardwired, switched circuit, stand alone phone that would work without power. Ironically a cell phone now is a better option for that because the towers all have UPSes and generators. If you leave it at home the only difference from most landlines is the last mile is over the air instead of fiber to the house or a fiber/twisted pair house drop.
I JUST replaced my Note 3 from 2013. I installed Lineage on it, and they stopped making builds for it a few months ago.
It got replaced by a refurbished 2023 One Plus, also to get Lineage once I get the time.
Philo, my cell phone accidentally went through a tree chipper in ’22 and I’ve been intentionally cell-phone-free since then.
It’s been blissful for me … but not for family and friends.
“What if you break down somewhere?”
“What if you have a heart attack?”
Since phone booths and call boxes are long-gone, I suppose I’d have to borrow someone’s cell phone to call. Or if I’m dead or injured, just as things were back in the 1970s, those who worry about my whereabouts will eventually find out, good or bad — the only difference being hours later, instead of minutes. But will it really matter?
On the minus side, I don’t hear from friends or family as often any more. To them, I “went dark”.
On the plus side, if I’m paying in cash, Big Brother can’t easily know where I am, or where I’ve been. If they must know, they’d have to use their LPR network or AI spy cams to find out. 🙂
I don’t have a smart phone either. But you needn’t worry about being unable to call for help on a road trip. You can use a used cell phone to call 911 without paying anything at all. Cell phones are regulated by the FCC. FCC requirements state that ALL cell phones, regardless of status of service (or even the lack of service) must be able to dial 911. Whether you have a telephone number or not, whether you have signed up for service or not, your cell phone can connect to 911. Keep your emergency phone (any old cell phone will do) in your car under the seat or the trunk. You don’t need to recharge it or keep it charged. Just plug the phone into your car’s cigarette lighter, turn it on, dial 911, and it will work.
Lotsa articles on The Internet with titles like, “Never dial 911”.
…Don’t say nobody ever told ya.
Good stuff, Sandy – thanks!
I myself don’t worry about having a phone with me at all times because I didn’t even have one until after I got divorced and that was less thna ten years ago. I never felt the need prior – and still don’t, today.
Another, I Love it (been there, done that) moment. “It’s been blissful for me … but not for family and friends.
“What if you break down somewhere?”
“What if you have a heart attack?
Since phone booths and call boxes are long-gone, I suppose I’d have to borrow someone’s cell phone to call. Or if I’m dead or injured, just as things were back in the 1970s, those who worry about my whereabouts will eventually find out, good or bad — the only difference being hours later, instead of minutes. But will it really matter?”
[…You’re not the same MrBill as in other threads. You can’t be.]
Phil, I can say “I don’t have a phone” and be telling 100% truth. Because I don’t. Own. A. Phone. And, no, it’s not at home on the kitchen counter. I don’t own a “flip phone”. I don’t even own a land line. And I am the only person I know who is phoneless. Just send me an email or a letter. Things really were better 40 years ago, not just cars but life in general.
Is this for real? “Just send me an email or a letter.”
It seems so Very opposite of everything I’ve read from you on this thread.
That said. I like it.
One other thing, the seats are buckets. Not adult-sized child seats. No excessive “bolstering” to lock you into one position that is optimized for airbag deployment. Not a bench (although bench in the back), but you’re still able to shift around as needed.
This resonates, “the seats are buckets. Not adult-sized child seats. ”
Our overlords, & helicopter mom’s everywhere, disagree.
I’ll take the 1985 Toyota Camry before the 2025 Toyota Signia.
Money would be the number one reason, you will be on the hook for 40,000 dollars.
Just bought a 1997 Jeep Cherokee, a spartan vehicle which is simple in design. A super selling point. Crank windows, in-line six cylinder, a radio, AC, good tires, drives like new, immaculate interior, the paint is peeling, I’d consider a wrap for it.
A few dings, which is normal for a 28 year-old car that is in good mechanical shape. Going to change the oil, necessary to do. I’ll license it to make it legal.
You’ll look for a long time to come across a find like that. When it is staring you in the face, might as well make the purchase.
Coffee does help to tame your wild side, can’t be that crazy all of the time.
Makes me fondly remember my ’66 Bug. All I needed was 50 cents in the ashtray for gas to get to the beach to go surfing and I was set. What a genius in simplicity with the air cooled engine VWs were.
You make me super envious, Vic, “All I needed was 50 cents in the ashtray for gas to get to the beach to go surfing and I was set.”
What better example is there of how our overlords have screwed us all?
Morning, Helot –
Here’s another: When I was a college kid, I was able to drive a V8 Camaro because in the ’80s, a $20 would fill the tank of a V8 muscle car. Today it takes close to $70 to fill the tank of my Trans-Am (same basic car) and I – a middle aged dude with a full-time job only drive the thing occasionally because I can’t afford to drive it often.
It’s part and parcel of the idea that Newer Is Better and that Old Ways Must Be Rejected.
This is what is driving our society down the drain and so many of us into madness. The true insanity is thinking that everything must be “fixed” even if it’s not broken. It also rejects the Law of Diminishing Return. Just because you can doesn’t mean you should. It results in massive amounts of Contrived Complexity. People used to laugh at Rube Goldberg’s drawings of massively complex ways to achieve the simplest tasks. Now that kind of thinking is a resume’ enhancement.
Bottom line, an anvil doesn’t need to be connected to the Internet of Things to perform its proper function. Stop trying to make it thus.
It’s high time the world was subjected to “smart” anvils.
Introducing “ANVL” everything today’s blacksmith needs! Just scan the QR code to get the app and get registered.
Hi Mister Liberty:
With a couple transducers, a Raspberry Pi and a program to interpret hits versus metal movement it could be useful to train home black smiths. I say this as someone with a few anvils and an assortment of hammers. Home blacksmithing can save you money on some repairs if you’re handy with tools.
As a metal fabricator in factories long ago, I find this hard to fathom: “With a couple transducers, a Raspberry Pi and a program to interpret hits versus metal movement it could be useful to train home black smiths.”
…I can’t even imagine it. All I can come up with is an image of, The Borg.
…You may very well be correct, tho. Idk.
I was thinking, ““smart” anvils” was something like you hinted at, then I read Landru’s comment, then,…
Square wheels, is next. Oh, wait…