The Rise of the Disposable Car

Re:The Rise of the Disposable Car by bityard on Wednesday May 29, 2024 @06:51PM (#40518025)

There is no such thing as owning an "older car" here in the midwest rust belt states. The frames corrode to orange dust on _every_ car when they get to be between 10-12 years old. You _do_ see cars older than that on the road, but that's only because we don't have mandatory inspections in my state. The only exceptions here are the "toys" that people buy for summer use only. (Sports cars, vintage cars, etc.)

Once in a while I see repair videos on cars from mechanics in Florida, Texas, Arizona, or Southern California. The car will be 15 years old and everything underneath will look entirely brand-new (minus some dust and scratches) compared to a brand-new car here that has seen only a winter or two.

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Re:The Rise of the Disposable Car by UniverseHacker on Wednesday May 29, 2024 @07:24PM (#40518319)

As someone that loves old cars that sounds terrible.

Are you sure every car? Some of the higher end European cars have a hot dipped galvanized frame. Volvo advertised pretty heavily that the 1980s 740s were galvanized… I’m pretty sure I’ve seen some that ended up out here on the west coast from the midwest and you can’t undo a suspension bolt, but the chassis was fine.

You could always buy a used car out of state and drive it back.

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Re:The Rise of the Disposable Car by bityard on Sunday June 02, 2024 @12:59PM (#40555565)

I haven't seen a hot-dipped galvanized frame here myself, but I would certainly be an interested buyer if any are still be made.

The only cars with aluminum frames are luxury/sports cars, and the Honda Insight from like 20 years ago. Some newer cars have aluminum bodies (F-150?) but not aluminum frames which makes no sense to me. Steel car bodies last a _very_ long time these days, compared to the frames.

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