Posted by
michael
on from the welding-torches-work-both-ways dept.
An Ominous Cow Erred writes "A common argument used by open source advocates (myself included) in favor of open source is the simple question: 'Would you buy a car with the hood welded shut?' According to an article from the BBC, Volvo thinks the way of the future may be exactly that."
Re:It's a car for women!
by
Anonymous Coward
·
· Score: 0, Troll
No no no, you don't understand. Brake fluid is a special hydraulic fluid that doesn't compress under pressure, making it suitable for squeezing calipers to stop a car. By adding water, you are diluting that with a liquid that compresses a LOT under pressure, effectively decreasing the pressure in your brake lines when you stomp on the pedal. What will happen then, is it will take you 2-3 times the distance to stop, and your car will be VERY unsafe. Your dad was right to yell at you, you ARE an idiot. And so is your mechanic for letting you back on the road. I don't know where you live (I'm gonna guess Europe by your lingo) but if (and when) you get into an accident, you will CERTAINLY be at fault no matter what, in the insurance companies' eyes, because there was a defective system on the car, and they will deny your claim. Also, your car will fail inspection, and it will be just plain unsafe. HTH.
Re:Maybe it's different in England
by
FuzzyBad-Mofo
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· Score: 0, Troll
Now I'm curious, do the English have more than their share of poor drivers, or just a large number of psychotic individuals who will intentionally ram cars parked along the road?
Re:Not a new idea
by
intertwingled
·
· Score: 0, Troll
You have hit the crux of the problem. The automobile companies are hogging the DRBs (Diagnostic Readout Boxes). I STILL cannot purchase a Chrysler DRB III for my 1994 Jeep Wrangler. I can purchase after-market DRB's, but they can't perform all of the diagnostic tests that a Chrysler DRB III can. I think that Automobile Manufacturers should not only be ordered to publish the meanings of all engine check codes, but that all engine computers should come with a standard RS-232 serial port and software that runs on Windows and Linux so that anyone can use a laptop computer to diagnose engine problems.
-- --
SKYKING, SKYKING, DO NOT ANSWER.
I think that's OK
by
cookiepus
·
· Score: 0, Troll
Here's why.
A normal person, if they open their hood at all, do it for one of the few reasons below:
1. Check fluids (breaks, oil, trans, window-washer, coolant) 2. Do a jumpstart / maybe change battery 3. Change light bulbs in headlights 4. Change spark plugs 5. Change air filter.
Most of these things are considered "advanced" as is, and most people pay someone else to do it.
Now, there's nothing that says that any of these things should be inaccessible if the hood is welded shut.
1. All these levels can be checked electronically, altering you well in advance of any impending problem. In which case you can go get it toped off.
2. There maybe a special plug somewhere in the car for doing jump starts. Or better yet some coputerized logic that prevents your stupid ass from walking away while the lights are on.
3. Light bulbs can be left changeable without forcing you to reach around from the engine. *
4. Modern spark plugs don't need to be changed all the time anyway.
5. The airfilter can be left externally changeable as well *
* Perhaps by allowing access from underneath...
Other than that, there's really no reason for you to go under the hood. If you're a real advanced home mechanic, just keep your 1969 Mustang running forever;-) If you're not a mechanic, you're not even going to care whether you can physically open the hood or not.
Software / Car Comparison
by
AnalystX
·
· Score: 0, Troll
What the!? I've never spent over $20,000 on a software package. Of course if I did, I might actually want to get under the hood to work on the code. The comparison doesn't work for another very important reason though: Cars are mechanical, for crying out loud!!! Anything mechanical tends to need maintenance access points. Software has no moving parts, so nothing needed but to run it.
Slashdot Mirror
No no no, you don't understand. Brake fluid is a special hydraulic fluid that doesn't compress under pressure, making it suitable for squeezing calipers to stop a car. By adding water, you are diluting that with a liquid that compresses a LOT under pressure, effectively decreasing the pressure in your brake lines when you stomp on the pedal. What will happen then, is it will take you 2-3 times the distance to stop, and your car will be VERY unsafe. Your dad was right to yell at you, you ARE an idiot. And so is your mechanic for letting you back on the road. I don't know where you live (I'm gonna guess Europe by your lingo) but if (and when) you get into an accident, you will CERTAINLY be at fault no matter what, in the insurance companies' eyes, because there was a defective system on the car, and they will deny your claim. Also, your car will fail inspection, and it will be just plain unsafe. HTH.
Now I'm curious, do the English have more than their share of poor drivers, or just a large number of psychotic individuals who will intentionally ram cars parked along the road?
You have hit the crux of the problem. The automobile companies are hogging the DRBs (Diagnostic Readout Boxes). I STILL cannot purchase a Chrysler DRB III for my 1994 Jeep Wrangler. I can purchase after-market DRB's, but they can't perform all of the diagnostic tests that a Chrysler DRB III can. I think that Automobile Manufacturers should not only be ordered to publish the meanings of all engine check codes, but that all engine computers should come with a standard RS-232 serial port and software that runs on Windows and Linux so that anyone can use a laptop computer to diagnose engine problems.
-- SKYKING, SKYKING, DO NOT ANSWER.
Here's why.
;-) If you're not a mechanic, you're not even going to care whether you can physically open the hood or not.
A normal person, if they open their hood at all, do it for one of the few reasons below:
1. Check fluids (breaks, oil, trans, window-washer, coolant)
2. Do a jumpstart / maybe change battery
3. Change light bulbs in headlights
4. Change spark plugs
5. Change air filter.
Most of these things are considered "advanced" as is, and most people pay someone else to do it.
Now, there's nothing that says that any of these things should be inaccessible if the hood is welded shut.
1. All these levels can be checked electronically, altering you well in advance of any impending problem. In which case you can go get it toped off.
2. There maybe a special plug somewhere in the car for doing jump starts. Or better yet some coputerized logic that prevents your stupid ass from walking away while the lights are on.
3. Light bulbs can be left changeable without forcing you to reach around from the engine. *
4. Modern spark plugs don't need to be changed all the time anyway.
5. The airfilter can be left externally changeable as well *
* Perhaps by allowing access from underneath...
Other than that, there's really no reason for you to go under the hood. If you're a real advanced home mechanic, just keep your 1969 Mustang running forever
Ecce Europa - Web Design for Business
What the!? I've never spent over $20,000 on a software package. Of course if I did, I might actually want to get under the hood to work on the code. The comparison doesn't work for another very important reason though: Cars are mechanical, for crying out loud!!! Anything mechanical tends to need maintenance access points. Software has no moving parts, so nothing needed but to run it.