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Reinventing the Wheel
bob zee sent in this link about reinventing the wheel, err, tweel, err, whatever. Wheels are an interesting challenge in engineering design: they need to be hard to be durable, soft for a smooth ride, grippy to grab the road, but smooth to reduce rolling resistance, flexible to absorb shocks, yet stiff to reduce heat build-up, and so on. Rubber tires are a relatively recent invention.
Airbus's new jumbo jet is causing amazing amounts of new tech, including things like developing landing gear that can hold the plane up and not punch right through the runway upon landing.
All kinds of materials sciences, too.
500GB of disk, 5TB of transfer, $5.95/mo
Tubeless mountain bike tires---and their special rim counter parts---have been around for years now. And not just fancy prototypes or obscure brands, but full-fledged consumer-ready tires and wheels for the casual rider to the cross country racing champ.
Note, however, they're not airless. They have the same profile as regular tube tires, but the air is pressurized between the tire casing and the rim (much like regular car tires). It means the tire can have better casing (less flats), with no tube there are no pinch flats, and less rotating weight (better handling) and better rolling in general (they are noticably faster). But you're pretty screwed if you flat in a race because they have to sit on the rim very tight to hold pressure, thus very hard to remove/install.
Michelin has been making a popular model since 2000. They were even used by Miguel Martinez (winner) at the 2000 Olympics.
The MOT is German, correct?
:P
In any case, that's more a problem of too much government interference than a car being ready to be trashed at 6 years. ABS out? Not a safety issue. When the antilock braking system fails, you still have full use of your brakes, but they can now lock up. Oil leak? Once again, not a safety issue. Environmental, sure, but there are worse things than leaking an few ounces of oil onto the pavement (which is, surprise, made of oil and rocks). Suspension? Depending on what part of the system, it could just mean a rough ride. Either way, it shouldn't be costing you that much! On my car (a 1998 Mazda 626 ES-V6, with 300,000 miles [482,803 km for you metric whiners], a japanese designed but american built car), ABS system replacement would run about $500. New struts all around would run about $350. I do have an oil leak, at the oil pan, and I plan to fix it myself, and it would only take a garage an hour or two to fix, plus the cost of the gasket, so not much over $75. If that quote is from a dealer, then that's your first problem. Independent mechanics are much cheaper, usually quicker to finish the job, and most of the time, they really need your business! They might not have a clean cut, greaseless secretary to take your keys, but they're always more than willing to take you in the shop and quite literally show you exactly what is wrong. If you walk in with an idea of what is wrong, you can drive out with a cheap fix and more knowledge about the problem then you ever needed