Making Cars Fun To Drive Again

The first button I push on startup is to turn this off...

How about more manual transmissions?

I bought a Tesla back in 2018 when they were both novel and really fun to drive with insane acceleration. I now have a manual transmission Subaru BRZ with far less power that is much more engaging and fun (#savethemanuals !-). That wicked-annoying StartStop feature can almost certainly be defeated either with an aftermarket product or clever hack (we use a strategically placed zip tie on one car).

My (late) best friend had a 2009 GMC Yukon hybrid* that had this cut off feature. At traffic lights, the engine was off, and would start when the gas pedal was touched. Certainly, that feature which constantly cut the engine on and off was bound to wear down both the engine and the battery. *General Motors produced this model of hybrid for only one year, 2009. The Yukon hybrid had a 6.2 liter V8 with hybrid assist, sufficient horsepower (over 400) and torque to move that vehicle with alacrity. The electric power was provided by twenty-four (24!) extra lead acid car batteries under the back seat, in addition to the battery under the hood that started the car. The vehicle weighed 7,400 pounds. If you ease into the gas pedal, the hybrid would take off silently like an electric golf cart. Then when you pushed down harder on the gas, the engine would come to life. I suppose that GM eliminated that model because they preferred lithium ion batteries, which burn at 5,000 Fahrenheit, about three times hotter than a gasoline fire. Parenthetically, the top technological racing league, Formula 1, went hybrid in 2014. This year, the hybrid units provide about half the power (approximately 1,000 bhp total), and the race cars are running out of electric power halfway down some long straightaways, creating speed differentials of 50 kph. It's all battery management: pass, repass, pass, repass. After forty years of watching F1 with great enjoyment, I've turned it off completely. That venerable racing league has algored itself into irrelevance. Bring back the 3.5 liter V-10s with the 20,000 rpm redlines. Bring back real racing. Stop all Green. It's pure waste.

This "feature" would be largely avoided if AI and TV cameras were applied to traffic engineering in order to properly sequence traffic signals to smooth traffic flow. Another huge source of congestion - at least in California - is the preference given to left-hand turns, Eliminating left turns wherever possible would greatly reduce congestion. It's too late in many cities to implement grid-pattern streets. Our modern obsession with cul-de-sacs was a huge mistake. Parallel streets can be converted to parallel one-way streets, as has been done successfully in many cities. And the Europeans are way ahead of us when it comes to roundabouts .

FTA: "Has there ever been an automobile feature as widely despised as the stop-start system that the Obama administration forced on the country?" Yes: The automatic seat belts that wrapped around you when you closed the door.

Gee, I wonder if the Chinese ever managed such a feature for their cars made and sold in China. I mean, the US can't be the only country trying to save the planet. /sarc

The Obama administration. Basically symptomatic of what that high-level moron would approve of. I’ve heard the story before his first election that his car of choice was some Chrysler 300 V8 hog, and then they moved him into a Prius for appearances. This is the man that parked in handicap spaces and got tickets when he was a student in Cambridge MA. A total tool…. I hate that Switch.

Calculated plot to destroy automobile starters through overuse and run up operating costs.

Every time I get in the car I try to remember to turn that Sh**switch off. Nothing makes me madder than that jerk when the car starts.