Gonzo

. Good thing that beer is empty... wouldn't waste beer on some of these shows.

It was this morning 11/16 at 9:20 I'm waiting for them to put the recorded version up

Yea, I have... they sure don't want to come to my shop on a busy day... LOL

Real or Reality TV Have ya noticed all the reality programs on TV these days? There’s a reality show for every subject you can think of... and probably a few you never would have thought of. From high society in the big city to the suburbs, and even some from way … way back in the woods. They can be quite entertaining, funny, and sometimes pretty strange. Now, I’m not much on which rich neighbor is doing what with which rich neighbor or who makes the best moonshine, but what I do know a few things about is the automotive world. I might sit down and watch a few of those. Although, from my side of the wrench, as a professional mechanic, I take a completely different view of them. In my opinion, some of these reality shows are far from real reality. I’ve watched a few that I didn’t even make it to the first commercial break before I flipped the channel to something else. It’s not so much the cars; it’s how they go about restoring them that gets to me. They’ll start off with somebody flashing a wad of cash, and then they buy some old relic, tow it to their garage and present it to the crew. The crew will have this shocked look at what was just dropped off or they’ll have their own ideas as to what to do with this latest acquisition. That's about the time the boss gives them the lowdown on what is going to take place, which usually consists of a full restoration job, and only a few weeks to do it all in. By the end of the show there's a gleaming fully restored work of art on the screen that almost certainly has a buyer or two ready to shell out some ridiculous amount of money for it. But the shows that really irk me are the ones that use the “all-nighter” approach to car repair. They’ll completely dismantle a car and do all the mechanicals, electrical, vacuum systems, interior, dash and instrument panels, brakes, transmission, rear-end, engine, cooling system, heating systems, all the glass, and a full paint and body mod in less than 72 hours. And, the best part, (or biggest guffaw on these shows) is the final reveal to the owner/buyer of the newly restored gem. Off to the side, just out of the primary camera view is the entire crew that has spent the last three days bringing this ride back to life. I'm in awe of the crew to say the least, not one of them is covered in grease, or has half of their shirt untucked, no fresh cuts or scraps, and not one of them show any effects of sleep deprivation. Simply amazing… TV magic I guess. I’ve done my share of all night marathon repairs before and quite frankly, by the time the sun comes up I’m not the most coherent guy with a lug wrench in his hand. Hey, they call it “Reality TV” but, as this arm chair quarterback sees it……. it doesn’t seem all that realistic to me. I’m sure the entire staff involved are some of the finest mechanics, bodyman, electrical gurus of the automotive world, but I highly doubt you can turn out a truly professionally restored vehicle in that short amount of time. There has to be a huge number of short cuts that are taken to meet the deadlines. On the other hand, there are a lot of great automotive reality programs on the television that go to great lengths to show how a modification is installed and go through the process of explaining those mods to the “nth” degree. Any show that portrays the reality of doing the job I do every day in a professional manner I'll sit down and watch it from beginning to end. You want to show me how you install some super cool new rear tail light lenses or wild looking front grill... awesome!!! Or, pulling an engine out of a classic and doing the necessary rebuild on it... super!!! Love that stuff. But, when you try to convince me that you're going to take some car that has been sitting for ten years in the back of some family garage totally neglected and you're going to raise it from the dead overnight... ya lost me. Come on, I do resto's all the time and the biggest hassle with any of them is … parts availability…. The job comes in the shop, you put it up on the lift and ya spin the drive shaft only to find out the differential or bearings are shot. It’s not like you're going to run down to the local parts store and pick up a set of bearings for a thirty year old low production car just like that. But, somehow some of these shows pull it off... (That's TV for ya.) And, someone also should consider what the original reason was for the car to be parked for so long in the first place. Something is usually worn out, hard to find, or really expensive to repair. Not every car in the back of the garage is there because someone was collecting it. I guess these TV shows neglect that part of the reality of restoring old cars. I think it gives the novice car enthusiast the wrong impression of what it takes to restore a car. Lately I've been doing a lot more restoration projects than I've done in the past and I do believe it's a result of all these reality shows being aired. For that, I thank you. But, at the same time... shame on you! I can't live up to the overnight results that seem so possible on the big screen. Even though the customer doesn't mention they have been watching a reality show, you know... they're thinking … “This shouldn’t take any longer than it does on TV.” The idea that you're going to be able to resurrect a dilapidated hunk of iron into a show stopper in such a short span of time is not reality. And, let's not forget the real big issue.... cost. Now there's some reality for ya. When the customer starts to see the costs, WOW!!! Then the reality of doing a restoration project starts to set in. I'm certainly grateful for the few shows that have that “sit-down-with-the-customer” session explaining the cost of the restoration. It does add to the realism and makes it more believable. I’ve got a big “Thank You” to the guys and gals on these shows that portray the automotive world in its true form. It's a pleasure for me as a professional mechanic to see the artistry and talent of another professional on screen. Watching them dealing with a stuck bolt, rusty bodywork, or dodging the fumes from the soldering gun is all part of the real reality. But, I do have to give credit to all the other shows too, they are entertaining, and in some small way add to the resurgence in restorations projects across the country…. The only thing I ask is… keep it real. . View full article

Restoration for the Mechanic Electrical issues on today’s cars have certainly taken center stage. Mechanical issues are still there too, but it’s not uncommon to have a mechanical problem be diagnosed, monitored, or calibrated by some electronic means. You just can’t get away from the electrical if you’re in the automotive repair business these days. It’s taken over just about every facet of the automobile. Today’s mechanics have become something entirely different from the stereotypical mechanic from just a few decades ago. It’s not that long ago when the electrical section of the repair manuals were just a chapter or two, today… its volumes and volumes of schematics and diagnostic procedures. I’m old enough to remember when points and condensers were still the norm, and I’ve watched the industry go from electronic ignition to today’s electronic jungle of wires and processors. We’ve definitely come a long way with the technology. Even though I work on all these newfangled electrical wizardry systems on the modern car, deep down I’m still the kid who got a kick out of tearing down an old junker and putting it back together. Now, I’m surrounded by modules, proximity keys, and sensors. Occasionally it’s kind of nice just to step away from the computer and just turn a wrench or two. I look forward to those simpler kinds of jobs, the ones that need a craftsman’s touch and not a box of transistors and capacitors to figure out what to do. Back to a time when a driver was more mechanical involved in the process of operating the vehicle. Heating vents with levers and cables, or a hand choke that needed just the right touch to get it started. No electronics, no service light, just the essentials. (For you younger techs, I’m referring to the days when you actually had to unlock a door with a key.) I still marvel at the ingenuity and engineering of those times. I guess it’s one of the reasons why I like going to old car and steam engine shows so much. It’s all about the mechanics for me. Electronics are great, but to see the early mechanical devices that were commonplace a century ago still amazes me. How they figured it out, and how they made it work is shear brilliance. (If you ever get a chance to study some of those early mechanical systems, you might be surprised how things were accomplished prior to the computer age. It’s quite fascinating… well at least to me it is.) It’s great to be able to step back once in a while and just be a mechanic. Back when things were rebuilt and not just replaced with new. There’s a certain satisfaction in taking a broken mechanical device and making it functional again. It’s those jobs that after you’ve wrestled the components into place, and everything is finished you realize that you’re covered in grease, but for some reason you’ve got this big smile on your face. It’s the look of accomplishment, a smile of pride in a job well done. And while you’re cleaning up the tools, you look over at the finished project still smiling, knowing you’re done and can move onto the next project. It just doesn’t compare to finishing up on a modern car when the last thing to do is watch that blue line steadily move across the computer screen, waiting for it to say “Task completed”. Not that I’m putting down the modern car, no far from it. It’s just nice to take a break once in a while from the technical mumbo-jumbo and just be a mechanic for a change. Even though it’s pretty awesome to solve a difficult electrical issue, it’s hard to beat a good old fashion mechanical repair. For me, when a restoration project shows up at the shop I get a chance to turn off the laptop and open the toolbox. These restoration jobs are just as much for the customer as they are for me. It’s a restoration of some of my old almost forgotten mechanical abilities. (Yea, I still got it…) We put a lot of trust in the modern electronics, something the engineers and designers of those automobiles from a few decades ago never even though of. Their own ingenuity and craftsmanship kept them going. Components were built to be repaired not replaced. I think it’s safe to say that a car from 50 years ago is more likely to start and run in another 50 years but I seriously doubt a car from today would have the same luck. There again, it might be something a technician/mechanic of that era might figure out how to do by then. Me I’ll still stick with being a mechanic/technician … I still like the physical repair aspect of the job. The future of electronics in today’s cars is constantly changing; sometimes we notice the changes while other times you can’t physically see them. Sometimes all it takes is a little R&R on an old jalopy just to make me remember how far we’ve come. In the meantime, the latest restoration job is done so it’s time to go for a test drive. I’ll get back to the laptop and the modern car world just as soon as I get all the tools cleaned up… it might take a bit though … I’m still admiring the restoration job and I’ve got some more smilin’ to do. ... View full article

Thanks Joe, ain't it crazy? If you tell someone go "right", which way are they facing? LOL For me, dealing with some of these people is the hardest part of my job. The cars and procedures may change, but I can get through that...but...there's something new around the corner with people all the time. Now was that a right or left? Oh that's right it's down yonder.... got it.

I was finishing up this story at the shop the other day when the phone rang. It was a lady sitting in front of the lobby door, in her car, on the phone and asking......"Where are you?" I had to laugh... I opened the lobby door and said, "Looking at you ma'am." Too friggin funny.

Directionally Challenged These days there are all kinds of ways to keep from getting lost on the highways and city streets. From GPS units mounted in your car, to phone apps that will talk back to you and actually tell you when to turn. There are still the old standby folded maps available at most convenience stores, if that’s what you prefer. But, if technology lets you down, you can always ask someone for directions. If you think you’re close to your destination and still can’t seem to find it, the best person to ask directions from is … the pizza guy. If you spot a pizza delivery place, just stop in and ask. I’ll bet they know every street in the area. For some people, finding their way to the repair shop is more than a little confusing. These directionally challenged individuals can’t make it out of their own driveway without getting lost, which has me wondering if all the technology they build into today’s cars is just a way to keep some goofball from becoming a fatality at the next intersection. (Mainly, because they don’t know their left from their right.) Maybe their little GPS voice should try to get their attention by screaming at them, or just go to full out “autonomous control” and drive the car for them. But, I’m sure…even then…they’ll find a way to screw that up too. About an hour or so before closing one day, I got a call from a guy who wanted to drop off his car. “Sure, no problem,” I told him. This wasn’t the first call from this guy; he’s been calling for days, and every time he calls he must be thinking he’s talking to someone new, because he has to tell his entire story about his car all over again. Like a lot of these types of phone calls, you never know if they’ll actually show up or not. Sometimes they do, sometimes they don’t, and sometimes if they do… you wish they didn’t. In the meantime it was back to work as usual. It wasn’t long before the phone rang again. Same guy, same story… weird yes, but for this guy… pretty predictable. He asked, “Now, you’re going to be there, right?” “Yes, I’ll be here, but I’m not waiting all night for ya.” “Not a problem, I’ll be there on the double,” he hurriedly answered. Closing time was getting closer and closer. The phone rang again. “Say man, where are you?” the caller asked. It’s that same guy again. I gave him the address (again), and he thanked me and hung up. A few minutes later the phone rang again. It’s him again. “So what are you near?” I gave him the name of the businesses on the corner of the main street and told him we were a block east of the intersection. He hung up again. A few minutes later he called back. “I’m at the convenience store at the corner and I don’t see you. Where you at?” Again, I gave him the address and told him “again” that we are a block east of the intersection. (Seems this guy couldn’t remember anything.) He would hang up and call back…over and over, asking the same questions. Finally, after about the 15th phone call, instead of just hanging up, he asked, “OK, so how far “up” the street do I have to go?” I had stop and gather my thoughts for a second. I really was getting tired of this. “We are east of the intersection. Up doesn’t tell me anything. You need to be a little more specific, the convenience store is on the south-east corner of the intersection. Now go east one block.” “So I go “down” the street?” “Which way is down?” “I don’t know, I’m not from around here.” (Obviously he’s not from around here. He’s probably from some nearby planet or something, maybe one that uses “up” for east and “down” for west. I really don’t know.) Actually, I think this guy could have gotten lost in his own backyard. Looks like I’ll have to lead this one in. I’m going to have to get creative because this guy doesn’t have a clue which “up” or “down” to take. It’s a good thing we’re not back in the early pioneering days when people crossed the vast uncharted prairies with nothing more than the sun to guide them. No doubt this guy would have been lost on the trail somewhere. At least you’d be able to find him… just look for the buzzards circling overhead. “Let’s try this,” I told him, while trying to keep my composure, “If you’re standing at the corner with the convenience store on it. You’re only a block away. Just go east one block. We’re on the north side of the street.” “Is that left or right?” he asked. “Are you standing in front of the store?” “Yes.” “Do you see a veterinarian hospital in front of you?” “Yea, it’s on the other side of the street.” “OK, you’re facing north, East is to your right side… go in that direction about a block and you’ll see us on the north side of the street… that would be on your left.” I hung up the phone expecting him any minute… only seconds went by… the phone rang again… it’s the girl friend this time. “What’s that address again?” Apparently these two were meant for each other. Neither one of them could figure out where they were, or where they’re going. All said and done, it took nearly an hour for these two to figure out how to navigate one city block. (I almost had to break out the orange flashlights like they use at the airports.) I know I’m not the only one who has run across these “directionally challenged” customers. I hear stories like this from everyone. A good friend of mine who owns a shop just off a four lane highway told me an interesting one. One of his usual (as he put it) wacky type customers walked all the way to his shop to pick up his car after it had been repaired. He paid for the repair, and asked for directions to an address he wasn’t sure of. He told the guy, “Oh sure, it’s on the main highway about 4 miles south of here. You’ll have to go about a half mile north to get to the nearest place to turn back south.” The guy thanked him and left. Moments later my friend realized something rather strange about the traveler… he wasn’t taking his car… he was on foot….and walk he did…north to the intersection, U-turned and then south past his shop. My friend said to me, “Why he didn’t take his car, I’ll never know. The address he gave me is on this side of the highway. Now he’ll have to walk across all 4 lanes of traffic again.” Repairing cars can be a challenge, and yes… sometimes just getting the job to the shop, or giving directions can be an even bigger one. View full article

Cars don't talk back....people do. Keep that in mind when you're in the service writer side of things. Ya get used to it, but it's a lot easier to bitch at a stubborn bolt then deal with a "bitch" in the lobby.

I stopped taking the customer rants and screaming fits serious years and years ago. These days I'm writing them down...ROFL. AND...YES... you're only informing of the results, it ain't bad news or good news...facts are facts. The last time I had a guy complain at the price of a tuneup and used the analogy of comparing it to 55 Belair I told him, "Step out here... you do it!" He shut up then and I went ahead with the tuneup. Well, it wasn't a tuneup after all it was a bad coil. DAH!?!

the technology is here already and I have no doubts that it will be common place in a decade or two. As cars of today age they soon will be scrap metal and likely not be around. I can't see anyone getting excited about restoring a car from this time period. If the trend of high dollar components such as air bags and the like keeps rising. The insurance companies will probably push for crash avoidance as a standard feature, rather than the "air bag seperate policy" they've tried in the past. And yes, the morons of the world will still have their time in drivers seat..LOL So..there's always a chance of some bent fenders. My only question is... "Who are they marketing this technology too?" The hamburger flippers of the world are still going to be around, not every body is going to have the cash to purchase this technology. That is unless it becomes so cheap as they have done with the cel phone industry I just can't see it...but...it's going to happen whether we like it or not. The reality of it all comes down to the "throw away" society issues. Will the cars of the 2050 era be throw away? WIll you even change a brake pad or just toss it aside for another ride? That's the real question. Something to think about......................................................

I guess I fall into the "Chrome Era" myself. LOL

thanks for the book plug Wes, appreciate it. Quoting nmikmik, "Low prices tend to attract people that can't pay." Well, ... sort of... I would say it differently, "Low prices bring in customers who can't afford paying for a total repair, but some sort of Band-Aid and make they always want you to make it cheap." From my past experiences these are not only the toughest to deal with but tend to be the most argumentative. (Actually, if you took the very high end customer and the very low end customer the arguments they generally have are basically the same. The rich do it because they can afford it but still want something for nothing, while the poorer cliental do it because they can't afford it and really could use something for nothing. and...as the mechanic....you're stuck in the middle.) My favorite ones are the kind that come in with some broken down, POS, and you do the minimum you can, but of course it's never enough, you tell them what "really" needs done and not based on their pocket book prices but the actual repair that it needs.... what do they always blurt out to you..."I'm calling my lawyer." I laugh, giggle, and sometimes fall back in my chair. Seriously, you've got a lawyer on retainer but you're driving this bucket of rusted metal around? ROFL... LMAO! Years ago I'd deal with them, get what I could out of them and move on.... anymore...nope, nada, ain't happenin. Like I said, I know the outcome, I've seen it before, Heck...I wrote the book...LOL I just tell them to move on to the next shop cause it ain't getting done here. Pass it on to the new guy on the block...time for him to learn the lessons that I've learned from doing this job for so long.

Back When … Which Era Are You From? We’ve all heard the old mechanic at the repair shop tell us about those simpler times; the times when you could fix a car with bailing wire and a boot strap. Let’s take a look back at the way things were, back to the time when the old salty dog mechanic was just a green apprentice in the shop, and see what it was really like. Maybe you’ll find where you are, where you come from, and where we’re all heading. 1940’s to 1949 Pre-War and Post War Era The Artisan Years The major setback to the automotive industry was of course World War II. The 1940’s is by far the most unusual time in automotive industry. This was the only time when production actually stopped. 1942 was the last civilian production year and no new production was started back up until 1946. Early 40’s cars were all about luxury, and showcased the wealth and status of its owner. Throughout the 40’s there was a sense of pride to the craft of creating an automobile. Luxury, style, and pure craftsmanship were evident in almost all the models produced back then. A new car in the 1940’s would set you back about $800.00, and a full out luxury convertible by 1949. with all the bells and whistles could run a whopping $3,970.00 (Chrysler’s Town and Country Woody). By the mid 40’s gas prices shot up to .18 cents a gallon. Average mileage back then for a production car… 15-20 mpg. Fluid drives, over drives, and power brakes were offered as standard features. Sealed headlights and heating systems were becoming standard features as well. 1950 – 1959 The Style and Chrome Era The post war years brought on a prosperous time in America. Soldiers returned and settled with their young families in a new concept of housing… the suburbs. Farms were getting larger and smaller farms were being combined. Farm tractors and implements made huge advancements in their capabilities, which meant that fewer hands were needed on the farms. It was the time when more roads and bridges were being constructed, as well as full scale manufacturing of all types of goods was sweeping the nation. More returning GI’s searched out work in the big cities, and getting there required a car. By 1950 there were almost 40 million cars on the road, (40% increase from the 40’s) and 3 out of 5 families owned a car. Car manufacturers were going for the glitz, glamor, and larger size of cars. Some models by the late 50’s reached epic proportions. Advertising was more likely to emphasize the cosmetics of the car rather than the mechanical features. New colors, chrome, automatic and power accessories overwhelmed a new car buyer. Tail fins started out small in the early 50’s, but by the end of the decade they were the size of small sails. These designs all grew out of the big fad of space travel, rockets, air ships, and plane travel. Tail light lenses had the shade of ruby red lipstick, paint schemes came in two tones, large front bumpers and lots and lots of chrome. Chrome seemed to be everywhere, inside and out. Car sales dipped a bit by the mid 50’s, which drove a few of the smaller car manufacturers out of business. Mechanics of that era were all about turning wrenches and keeping things in working shape, and with so many cars on the road it wasn’t hard to stay busy. A new trend was starting to take hold in communities all over the country… the used car market. It had been there for many years before, but wasn’t as strong a player in the automotive market. Now with more models, more changes and innovations people started trading in their cars more frequently. Everyone wanted the latest, greatest models offered. (Advertising at work…) By 1957, buying a car on credit became the norm. 1955 the average car cost $1500. to $3000, and a gallon of gas… .23 cents. 1960 to 1969 The early Muscle Car era Most connoisseurs of the muscle cars would say the first muscle car was the Olds Rocket 88 from the 40’s. True… but, in the 60’s mom and dad could go down and purchase a new family station wagon that could run on the drag strip that afternoon with no modifications… straight from the showroom. By the early 60’s the “Big Three” (GM, Ford, Chrysler) dominated the global market. 93% of all cars came from the big three back then. Although companies like VW and other foreign manufacturers began to gain a foothold on American soil with their small economical vehicles as well. Styling was still important, but raw horsepower was definitely the selling point at the dealerships. Some cars got the term “sleeper”, because from the outside the dull and unassuming body style hid a raging high powered V8 engine under the hood. Every manufacturer was putting out more and more muscle type cars well into the mid 70’s, but the mid-size and compact market was a growing market as well. The Chevy II, Monza, Corvair, Dodge Dart, Chrysler Valiant and the Ford Falcon are just a few examples of the small sized cars available back then. Some say it was the VW Beetle and the gas crunch that brought it on, others say it was government regulation on emission and safety standards, and the smog conditions in some parts of the country that brought the end to the leaded gas years, but whatever it was, I’m still a fan of the raw horsepower of a muscle cars. In the 60’s a new car might set you back about $3000, while .32 cents put a gallon of gas in it. 1970 – 1979 The Last of the Muscle Cars The Technical Era The first microprocessor came out in 1971 (the Intel 4004), the video game “Pong” came out in 1972, and things like the liquid crystal watch made its debut. Electronic ignition was a biggie, which started in the early 70’s It became popular for a lot of mechanics to switch older rides over to the more reliable electronic ignitions. Lots of various systems were developed; on board lean burn systems (Chrysler) in 1976, Dura spark, and many others. Radial tires, stamped out aluminum rims, and electronic charging systems became common place. (Chrysler had the first alternator car back in the 60’s). Anti-lock brakes became an option, and many other innovative ideas started being added to the cars back then. A lot of the technology had been around for decades, and some manufacturers used some of those innovative ideas even as early as the 40’s, although, most of them didn’t become a standard feature or workable until the advent of the early computer age. By far the technical aspect of what was happening around the automotive world had a bigger influence on the market place than any styling or horsepower. It was the sign of the times … economy, safety, emissions, and mpg that stood out as the biggest concerns. By the 70’s it wasn’t uncommon for a family to have more than one car. Mom would have the family car, while dad had his ride. The signs of the busy, fast pace life (as we know it today) had its meager start with the ability to do more, go to more places, and be more mobile. By the mid 70’s a new car had a price tag of around $2500.00 to $4000.00 while a gallon of gas ran about .57 cents. 1980 to 1989 The Check Engine Light Era With the clean air act established in 1963, improved amendments added in 1970 (more changes in 1990 also), and the national speed limit dropped to 55 mph in 1974, (prompted by the spike in oil prices of the late 70’s) a huge change was under way for cars that were produced by the time the 80’s came along. Car and Driver Magazine referred to the last muscle car as "The Last of the Fast Ones". Their pick for the last of the show room hot rods was Pontiac's Firebird Trans Am SD455 model of 1973–1974. The 80’s had an entirely different outlook about cars than they did in 70’s… times were changing. The big car was getting smaller. Some of the same names for those muscle cars of the 60’s and 70’s were still used on the new models, but the car was entirely different, and was nothing like its earlier predecessors. Gone were the tail fins of the 50’s, and so were the muscle cars of the 60’s and 70’s. Now things were geared for fuel economy and safety. By 1984 some states started making seat belt use mandatory, and it wasn’t long before everyone else required it. Computer aided systems were the new innovations. There were a few earlier computerized/ECU controlled systems before the 80’s (the first production car with a working electronic computer system was a 1968 VW type 4. In the USA the 1975 Cosworth Vega, and later the 1979 Cadillac were the first that I know about.), but by the mid 80’s most productions vehicles had a check engine light and some sort of ECU. All in all styling was secondary, horsepower wasn’t what it used to be, and the overall length and size of the family car was changing as well. Now controlling emission and gas mileage was the big concern. The check engine light was here to stay, and so was the computer age in the automotive world. Things were changing and changing rapidly. By 1985 an average car would cost about $8500.00 and gas was a whopping $1.20 a gallon. 1990 to 1999 Converters - O2’s The Smart Car Era By the time the mid 90’s rolled around computers were in charge. The biggest changes were definitely with the electronics in cars, and that hasn’t stopped yet. The ECU, ECM, PCM became not just a device that watched for failed emission readings, but now has become part of the actual operation of the car. There were a lot of earlier models with chips and proms that governed the operation of the vehicle, but with the more up to date computers things like the air conditioning, transmission, lighting, and practically every other function in the car was handled by some form of computerized control. If you could take a time capsule back to the 60’s and see the smog level in some of the larger cities, and compare it to now, you’d see a dramatic difference in the air quality. Needless to say, the catalytic converter made the difference. Using the modern computer systems with their O2 sensors monitoring the exhaust, the car of today has a much healthier emission foot print than those of a few decades ago. Granted, a lot of “tuner” mechanics will tell you that a properly tuned and well maintained car from the muscle car era will have just as clean an exhaust as its modern counterpart. That might be true, but… that’s a hard and probably impossible task, considering the number of cars on the road. You’re just not going to be able to keep them all tuned to that efficiency. But, the converter in today’s car makes it all possible. By the late 90’s styling starting coming back into the picture. Gone were the boxy body styles, the early emission systems with their countless vacuum tubes, and toned down horsepower models of the 80’s. Horsepower started to get some notice again, and there was definitely some interest in a show room hot rod, just as it was way back when. Especially after 1995 when the 55 mph act was repealed. The need for speed was back. Of course we also have the added features like air bag systems, better suspensions, better handling, better brake systems, better engines, better transmissions, etc… (the list goes on and on.) Computers and technology really made a difference in the automotive industry in the 90’s. Handling was better, performance was better, and overall the cars were better. With proper care a lot of these cars could go well past 100k miles on the odometer. The average car off the show room floor in 1995 was around $15,000. While a gallon of gas was $1.15 (Interesting compared to the 80’s) 2000 to the present The Computerized Era It’s the era of computers, internet, smart phones, face book and the like. Cars have GPS satellite coverage, self-parking, automatous capabilities, and can perform a lot of its own self checks with internal diagnostics. Styling is alive and well… maybe not to the extremes of the 50’s, but a more modern approach to a stream lined body style with a touch of the old nostalgic look as well. Horsepower from smaller displacement engines is the norm, lots of horsepower by the way. Mileage is increasing with every new model, too. There’s no doubt the electronic computerized engine control era is upon us. With more advancements and better technology waiting to be implemented, it’s just a matter of time before cars surpass anything that resembles the mechanical wonders from decades ago. In the near future the next generation of mechanics will undoubtedly be nothing like the mechanic from the 40’s. Oh sure, they’ll still have a big box of tools, but along with that they’ll also have an understanding of electronics and computers their predecessors never needed. The sad part of that is the craftsmanship of those early pioneers in the industry will be few and far between. Computers and technology override the old “hands on” approach to car repair. Average new car in 2005 was around $25,000. In 2010 the average car would set you back about $28,000. 2005 a gallon of gas averaged 1.95, while in 2010 it was 2.51 I’m looking forward to introducing those mechanics born in this time period to the world of automotive repair, and what a world it’s going to be, Hybrids, Electrics, GDIs, and other variations and innovations. I hope I haven’t bored you with my take on what it was like to be a mechanic throughout these decades I’ve listed. Of course I couldn’t cover everything, or some of the other important highlights. It’s more of what I thought was interesting for those time periods. So which decade do you fit in? When were you born? The changes are all around us, and sometimes those changes are evident by which decade your car comes from. Taking a look back at the automotive industry from a different perspective might make you appreciate your mechanic and your car just a little more than usual. But don’t forget, keep one an eye on the future too. View full article

Great article Joe, Having been around the biz for as long as we have there's a lot to be said. Changes, technology, and the customers have changed. Back in the 70's the dash warning lights were called "idiot" lights mainly because you could never trust them to be accurate. Now their vital. How times have changed. ASO rocks!

I'm selling the T shirts, I'll leave the tattoo to somebody else. LOL