Simplest sort of modern vehicle

ebonyandivory wrote:

Osterkraut wrote: I'm sorry, but unless the Samurai uses points, it's infinitely more complex than the 6BT and wrapper. After a nuclear detonation, the 12V is going to start. The Samurai will not, it's far more complex.

Does it count that the carbed models are vacuum advance points ignitions? I may be wrong here, it's been a while.

http://zukioffroad.com/Tech_Library/pdf_documents/1986-1988_SuzukiSamurai_ignition_manual.pdf

You might be incorrect, but I don't know Sammis. Still, the 6BT doesn't even HAVE a distributor.

My first thought was of an Austin Healey Bugeye Sprite. No trunk, no outside door handles, mechanical starter solenoid, no radio, no air conditioning, pup tent for a top and bolt on windows. Electrical system would fit in a standard lunchbox. And the parts were so simple, most of them didn't work! But it did have 2 carburetors.

My 91 Escort Pony is as simple of a modern computer car as I have seen. From the factory with no air, power steering, radio, passenger side mirror, airbags, tachometer or intermittant wipers.

It has power brakes but I was of the understanding that the government made changes to brake pad material and the extra pressure required power assist.

Bruce

street legal/designed to be a street car? Lotus 6 (styling like a 7, suspension that makes a beetle look complex...)

anything with a motor and 4 wheels? modern non-winged sprint. think about it... stick axle front and rear, no diff, no transmission, no clutch, no fancy coil springs, the ones that use a Hillborn MFI are a bit hard to wrap one's head around (there was a reason Ferrari wouldn't sell mechanical fuel injected 312s to customer teams...) and the rear suspension must be using some sort of voodoo to produce enough grip to put 900+hp down with less than 1000 lbs pushing down on it, but other than that... if they got any more simple, there would be a hole in the floor to fred-flinstone it around the track

I can't help but interpret this thread as a search for a vehicle that's most suited to operating for an extended period away from modern services and without spare parts. Whether that's third-world, middle of nowhere, or post-apocalyptic is left up to the imagination, but it makes me think about things that are tough as well as simple.

Given that, I really like the Thing over the Beetle. I think it's a little more versatile in terms of where you can go with it. The fact that everything is square even makes things like replacing windows a whole lot easier.

In a similar vein, though, I think 70s and 80s Toyota trucks and B13 Nissan Sentras are worth looking at. Both are super reliable, tough, and easy to fix, as evidenced by their huge popularity in the third world.

Truck: Dodge Diesel. As previously stated, pretty damned simple. About the most complex thing in the bloody truck would be the fuel pumps.

Car: Chevette? I've always likened it to a tractor with a car body. Rudimentary inline 4, carbed, distributor, 5 speed manual, rwd. Pretty sure you could fix most problems that come up in the car with a hammer and a screwdriver. Hell, you could even get them with a diesel if you really wanted "simple".

The one my parents had gave me the impression that if the bodies were more rot resistant, they'd be the cockroaches of the automotive world: Universally despised but they keep crawling along until the end of time...

Current Neighborhood Electric Vehicles are pretty simple. They are street legal, generally have a ~30 mile range and a ~25 MPH top speed. They're legally restricted to operation on roads with a speed limit of 35 miles per hour or lower. They often charge on 110v.

There is an electric motor, a rudimentary transmission, a motor controller box, and a charger. There may or may not be doors. Sometimes high/low beam headlights are optional.

Morgan 3 Wheeler. It's new. I think it counts as post war.

Osterkraut wrote: Has somebody said 12V Cummins Dodge yet? Must not have, if this thread is still going. I think most of you are crazy if you're calling post-WW2 "modern" for automobiles. Modern is less than 20-30 years old (I'd lean towards 30).

I said it on page 2!

I don't know how much fun it would be to drive something with ~3000lbs on the front axle around without power steering.

Or stopping it without power brakes, both are obviously doable, but I don't think it would drive very "modern" without them.

Some of the Japanese mini-trucks are uber-simple;

2CV. Even simpler

My own preference would be a Sprite/Midget. This '73 is my part chaser, built from an unwanted parts car and and ancient 948 engine. Cost me a lot less than an I-pad. Runs great, excellent mileage and can be repaired with a stone and a crowbar.

What about a dirt bike? Most owners I know can rebuild them from the ground up with a hammer.

Horse-hockey. I don't see any Commie cars driving to work. I don't see any of those other things at the grocery store. But I >still< see people solving their daily driving needs with Volkswagen Beetles. It's modern because modern people use it to solve their modern transportation problems. And it's worlds simpler than any other car or truck in your grocery store parking lot.

Simplest car you can use as a daily driver:

BEETLE, hands down.

David

This modern business is kinda silly.

Everbody needs to go drive a brand new civic ex and a 1990 civic ex back to back. I bet nearly all cars sold before 2000 couldn't be legally sold in the US today. If you define modern as including modern safety standards, you are limiting yourself to things made since... what, 2006? (except trucks, they never lose crash tests).

I think the Canadian Armed Forces would tell you a Bantam Jeep

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgwF8mdQwlw

There is some pre-disassembly, but you get the idea.

In reply to LainfordExpress:

No, more like modern vs. antique. And I don't mean the age that East Bumbleberkeley will issue classic plates.

IIRC, the original Beetle didn't even have an oil filter, just a mesh screen. The windshield washer on my old Type 4 used air pressure (from the gas-station hose) instead of a pump...that's pretty simple!

But the Beetle did have doors, and the Mini Moke did not.

An original Mini Moke is basically just a Mini minus some bodywork.