The Wrongologist

The Daily Escape:

Arches NP, Moab, UT after rainstorm- August 2022 photo by Ian Coulter

A few words today about cars. Oil Price has an article about car quality:

“J.D. Power published its latest report this past weekend. The 2022 U.S. Initial Quality Study (IQS) took the time to highlight the issues currently afflicting the industry. However, they also called out “premium” car companies for their extensive quality issues.”

According to Forbes, Kia, Buick and Hyundai topped this year’s dependability rankings. Volvo, Ram, and Land Rover ranked at the bottom. J.D. Power’s research showed that many European brands struggled with technology at the 90-day mark of a new vehicle’s ownership.

Apparently, J.D. Power saw the highest number of vehicle problems reported in their 36-year history, with an 11% increase in problems per 100 vehicles, compared with 2021. The report also stated that while vehicle quality has declined across the board since the pandemic, pricier models had more quality issues than more affordable cars.

Oil Price says that the increase in problems is caused by cars having more “bells and whistles” than in the past. And, these high-end features require increasingly rare components. As an example, Wrongo didn’t know that BMW now offers its heated seat function on a subscription basis.

Another thing that can go wrong when your ass is cold.

Oil Price quotes J.D. Power’s Director of Global Automotive, David Amodeo:

“…automakers continue to launch vehicles that are more and more technologically complex in an era in which there have been many shortages of critical components to support them.”

Big picture, the question is whether there is a market for simpler, more reliable cars. The success of Dacia in Europe seems to indicate that the answer is yes. Dacia is owned by Renault; their cars are a mix of well proven hand-me-down components mated to modern compact gas engines. Their simplicity and toughness is appreciated in France and their residual value stays high.

But this is an unlikely market in the US.

Without being a Luddite, is anyone capable of backing up a car using only the rear view mirror? Did the high-definition backup camera become necessary because American drivers became incompetent?

And what about: Automatic headlights? Power windows? Power locks? Remote (vs. mechanical) keys? LCD touch screen dashboards? Automatic climate control? Cell phone integration? All of these improvements mean that your new car contains about 1,400 microchips.

Some microprocessors have been added to meet US regulations, like engine control to reduce emissions. Then there are things that make assembling the cars easier. For example, electric windows are now controlled by a circuit board, so that the manufacturer doesn’t have to run 10+ wires to the driver side door.

Still, Wrongo thinks that most car electronics are a true value-add. Think air bags, or blind-spot mirror warning, and radar-assisted cruise control. These things add to the cost of the car and as we’re discovering, add to the risk of parts shortages.

The chip shortage isn’t going away. The auto manufacturers have contracted for their chips and sub-components on a long-term basis. They aren’t interested in taking a financial hit by changing their engineering designs for cars that are currently being sold. Their Asian suppliers are under long-term contracts, a cancellation could poison those relationships, and the suppliers would be very difficult to replace.

OTOH, some suppliers are pushing the auto manufacturers to move to more modern chips. But the current chip shortage is mainly of more basic units used in power windows and seat heaters, not the high-end microprocessors used in the most expensive cars.

So let your inner Luddite fly. Get an old, analog, manual transmission car. If you can find one.

But now it’s time for our Saturday Soother, where we unplug from the latest Trumpfest (or is it Trumpest?). Let’s shed our anxiety about too many IRS agents and too many anti-Trump FBI agents. Here on the Fields of Wrong, the heat wave has broken. We’re able to be outside again doing yardwork.

But before starting the yardwork, grab a cold brew coffee and a seat in the shade.

Now, take a few minutes to watch and listen to the Stanisław Moniuszko School of Music Orchestra play Vivaldi’s “Summer” from his “The Four Seasons”.

It’s performed here in 2016 at the Polish National Opera House in Warsaw, with violin soloist Agnieszka Uścińska, who now makes her home in Cleveland:

It appears to Wrongo that the entire orchestra is female.