History, Politics And Current Affairs

https://finance.yahoo.com/technology/ai ... 39658.html

Ford executives said they have hired 350 veteran engineers — some of them were former employees, while others had been working at suppliers — after artificial intelligence and automated systems failed to deliver the desired quality level...

Being on the cusp of graybeard status, this warmed my heart

I was voluntarily retrenched along with many others 3 years ago, my department has just started hiring again! I can only speculate that there is either a proper EV as a T6 (Ranger) replacement (unlikely) Bronco gets a refresh (likely) or T6 gets a bit of a tartup (likely).

From what i've read, they are being hired to train the AI to be able to do the job.

and to train grads, which surprised me. At least in our group we had a slow but constant stream of new faces to mentor. However we may have been outliers.

somewhat of a tangent

saw a clip last night about how new cars are burning oil - something about the squeeze to get better gas mileage causes oil consumption. Can this be fixed? And on a side note, my 2016 honda accord ICE with 165k miles still gets 42mpg average on the highway in the summer and doesnt burn oil at all.

It could be they have reduced piston ring contact pressure to get less friction, or possible even the valve guides (dubious). I'd be a bit surprised, spark plugs don't much like oil and the cats won't either, the platinum will get poisoned by the metal in the oil.

warshipadmin wrote: ↑Wed Jul 15, 2026 12:36 am It could be they have reduced piston ring contact pressure to get less friction

That is my understanding. They're also using super-thin oil which I don't think bodes well for long-term wear protection.

IMVHO auto companies are pushing so hard for squeezing out ever better mileage (with turbos, direct injection, low-tension rings, lightweight oil, etc) that they are introducing maintainability, longevity, and reliability problems. Cars that die prematurely because the engines aren't reliable lead to more resource consumption and pollution by way of more new cars. Good for shareholders I guess, not good for the purported reasons for making the "improvements".

If Americans really wanted to cut down on gas usage and overall consumption, we would stop buying massive SUVs and full-size trucks for commuting and transporting kids...

I'd forgotten about oil viscousity. Certainly a factor to consider. Having said that I've been running ecoboost 2.0 litre biturbo engines for a decade with no oil related problems. But they are fully serviced, whereas in the past I've been running old cars on 20/50W with a fairly lax servicing schedule with no problems. Except that one time. I had an old Commer diesel. In the cold mornings the oil warning light would stay on for a bit and then go out. Until one day it didn't go out.

gtg947h wrote: ↑Wed Jul 15, 2026 11:02 am

warshipadmin wrote: ↑Wed Jul 15, 2026 12:36 am It could be they have reduced piston ring contact pressure to get less friction

That is my understanding. They're also using super-thin oil which I don't think bodes well for long-term wear protection.

IMVHO auto companies are pushing so hard for squeezing out ever better mileage (with turbos, direct injection, low-tension rings, lightweight oil, etc) that they are introducing maintainability, longevity, and reliability problems. Cars that die prematurely because the engines aren't reliable lead to more resource consumption and pollution by way of more new cars. Good for shareholders I guess, not good for the purported reasons for making the "improvements".

If Americans really wanted to cut down on gas usage and overall consumption, we would stop buying massive SUVs and full-size trucks for commuting and transporting kids...

The problem is that the required feature set of any new car makes it too damn expensive to buy multiple vehicles to have one suited to purpose. So we end up buying for the most stressing use case, and that means we have people commuting in Chevy Tahoes or F-250s.

Poohbah wrote: ↑Thu Jul 16, 2026 2:47 am

gtg947h wrote: ↑Wed Jul 15, 2026 11:02 am

warshipadmin wrote: ↑Wed Jul 15, 2026 12:36 am It could be they have reduced piston ring contact pressure to get less friction

That is my understanding. They're also using super-thin oil which I don't think bodes well for long-term wear protection.

IMVHO auto companies are pushing so hard for squeezing out ever better mileage (with turbos, direct injection, low-tension rings, lightweight oil, etc) that they are introducing maintainability, longevity, and reliability problems. Cars that die prematurely because the engines aren't reliable lead to more resource consumption and pollution by way of more new cars. Good for shareholders I guess, not good for the purported reasons for making the "improvements".

If Americans really wanted to cut down on gas usage and overall consumption, we would stop buying massive SUVs and full-size trucks for commuting and transporting kids...

The problem is that the required feature set of any new car makes it too damn expensive to buy multiple vehicles to have one suited to purpose. So we end up buying for the most stressing use case, and that means we have people commuting in Chevy Tahoes or F-250s.

I know I've looked at it multiple times over the years. Between insurance and payments, I'd have to get a second car costing no more than $10,000 and getting better than 50 mpg to make sense not having a 4Runner sized SUV. I'll just suck it up and pay a bit more for gas instead.

People with two car households can go with one big and one small. As long as there are no more than two kneebiters, and they don't invite friends.

Poohbah wrote: ↑Thu Jul 16, 2026 2:47 am The problem is that the required feature set of any new car makes it too damn expensive to buy multiple vehicles to have one suited to purpose. So we end up buying for the most stressing use case, and that means we have people commuting in Chevy Tahoes or F-250s.

let me be clear. It is your money; you get to spend it however you damn please. laugh!

The vast majority of Pickup trucks and large SUVs are more lifestyle choice than legitimate needs. If you only need a pickup a handful of times a year, it would be MUCH cheaper to rent or Uber a truck for that day and get a normal sedan. There have been multiple studies done on this. The vast majority of truck owners only need a truck 2-4 times a year. There are of course, many people with businesses or farms that need a truck constantly but they are something like 10-15% of truck owners.

Calder wrote: ↑Thu Jul 16, 2026 6:41 pm The vast majority of Pickup trucks and large SUVs are more lifestyle choice than legitimate needs. If you only need a pickup a handful of times a year, it would be MUCH cheaper to rent or Uber a truck for that day and get a normal sedan. There have been multiple studies done on this. The vast majority of truck owners only need a truck 2-4 times a year. There are of course, many people with businesses or farms that need a truck constantly but they are something like 10-15% of truck owners.

For sure. I just love seeing the giant lifted Suburbans on all-terrain tires come rolling in to the parking lot at my son's school, and out jumps Mom (who can't see over the hood or even look in the windows without stepping on the running board) and two small kids. Yeah, a minivan is just so laaaame but hell, they drive and ride better than a full-size SUV, are more comfortable and practical inside, and infinitely more usable with small children (they can get in/out with less assistance and they won't bang the sliding doors into cars or nearby obstructions.

I had an old truck as the third vehicle for a while. Wound up selling it and getting a utility trailer that takes up less space, costs me practically nothing in tag fees and nothing in insurance. And it's actually rated for more payload than the truck was. The trailer is a bit less convenient when in use, but it more than makes up for it by not having to drive some monstrosity through traffic or park it in tight places.

Hey, there's a cloud I can yell at...

gtg947h wrote: ↑Thu Jul 16, 2026 7:13 pm Hey, there's a cloud I can yell at...

hey, I resemble that remark! laugh.

Oh of course and have to end with

Get off my lawn!

Thing is if you are buying a new car fuel cost is such a tiny proportion of the true cost of ownership it doesn't have much impact*. Hell my 2 ton 4WD gets slightly better fuel consumption than my 1300cc 1973 Escort wagon which weighed 800 kgf.

*However the targets for a new car place enormous weighting on headline mpg figures, at least at the mass market end of things.

I have a almost perfect milage situation, My company offers free charging for my Tesla, as a result, I've driven 44000 miles of which at least 40000 miles I paid nothing at all. So about 1200 gallons of gas for a nice efficient SUV, saving about 3000 to 4000 on gas over 3 years, not insignificant but its sobering that if I go to 200000 miles on my battery pack, at best I would only save 16,000 dollars, more likely 12000 or so, and I got 12500 in rebates upfront on buying it.

The savings from going electric aren't huge and vary by location and geopolitics. But there's the convenience factor (of how many stops at the gas station I don't have to make)...

When we bought our first Tesla I had a spreadsheet that detailed out all the costs as best I could manage for a variety of new cars (we were looking at a lot of driving and wanted something that would last without me needing to spend a bunch of time on maintenance). For our situation the Tesla broke even with a Prius after two or three years.



Now, Ill add that the self-driving has saved me from a couple of not-at-fault accidents, from deer darting out in the dark to jackasses flying up from behind on the interstate and cutting me off. I'd say the car has earned its keep by this point...

YMMV, quite literally.

Cars are not one-size fits all. Different vehicles fit different people’s needs, wants and desires. As long as we have a large enough pool of economically viable vehicle types to meet most consumers needs, we should be ok.

Johnnie Lyle wrote: ↑Sat Jul 18, 2026 3:46 am YMMV, quite literally.

Cars are not one-size fits all. Different vehicles fit different people’s needs, wants and desires. As long as we have a large enough pool of economically viable vehicle types to meet most consumers needs, we should be ok.

Except we don't have such a pool.

New cars have been rising in price extremely fast and that's feeding through to the secondhand market. People are being priced out of being able to own a car. That will have a profound economic impact.

David Newton wrote: ↑Sat Jul 18, 2026 2:02 pm

Johnnie Lyle wrote: ↑Sat Jul 18, 2026 3:46 am YMMV, quite literally.

Cars are not one-size fits all. Different vehicles fit different people’s needs, wants and desires. As long as we have a large enough pool of economically viable vehicle types to meet most consumers needs, we should be ok.

Except we don't have such a pool.

New cars have been rising in price extremely fast and that's feeding through to the secondhand market. People are being priced out of being able to own a car. That will have a profound economic impact.

We have a YUGE selection of vehicle types and a broad range of price points.

Options are plentiful.

It would help if we could fire all the regulators and legislators who keep adding co$t to vehicles.

But we do have an extraordinary range of options

Nightwatch2 wrote: ↑Sat Jul 18, 2026 2:31 pm

David Newton wrote: ↑Sat Jul 18, 2026 2:02 pm

Johnnie Lyle wrote: ↑Sat Jul 18, 2026 3:46 am YMMV, quite literally.

Cars are not one-size fits all. Different vehicles fit different people’s needs, wants and desires. As long as we have a large enough pool of economically viable vehicle types to meet most consumers needs, we should be ok.

Except we don't have such a pool.

New cars have been rising in price extremely fast and that's feeding through to the secondhand market. People are being priced out of being able to own a car. That will have a profound economic impact.

We have a YUGE selection of vehicle types and a broad range of price points.

Options are plentiful.

It would help if we could fire all the regulators and legislators who keep adding co$t to vehicles.

But we do have an extraordinary range of options

Ah yes - the new kill switch in 2027 coming at a cost to you complements of the Biden administration. For all you hybrid/EV types - the gasoline tax revenue will NOT be infringed. Mileage tax coming in 3-2-1

My ideal is one old beater for hauling stuff - runs 5k miles a year, one comfy high mileage car that goes the distance on one tank of gas, one super sports car vehicle for nice weather for pure driving pleasure