On Sunday, April 25, 2021 at 6:38:23 PM UTC-5, Leo wrote:
> On 2021 Apr 25, , Dave Smith wrote
> (in article >):
> > Kids have it much easier these days. The cars are built so much better
> > and last longer. When I was younger I had to commute about 40 miles
> > each way to work and did a lot of driving around on my own time. I used
> > to fiance them over 3-4 years and by that time they were pretty well
> > worn out and rusted out so it would be time to buy a new one.
> Don´t forget bias-plied tires. They didn´t last too long either.. Retreads
> were big business. Radials were too expensive for commoners.
> Computerized ignition added a hundred thousand miles to vehicle life.
> Remember points, plugs and condenser? You had to change them all, and often,
> or ignition-timing went to hell and the engine suffered early death.
>
And engine oils have improved tremendously. The high end synthetics
have very high film strengths, and the anti-wear additives have also
been improved. All electrics are still impractical for long distance travel,
and there are too few plug-in hybrids, but the engines in hybrids seldom
have to run at high RPMs, so they should last a million miles. Barring a
collision, the weakest component is the driver's seat.

--Bryan