Plastic Jaguar

[Telly]

Just got back from the local New car Auto show where I checked out the latest Jaguars.

Nothing to look at under the hood, it's all covered with plastic!

What's wrong with showing off a good looking valve cover or manifold?? I must be living in the past.

Terry

 

[RomanH]

I think the reasoning behind covering the engine with plastic (along with everything else in a new car) is to discourage owners from doing any of their own maintenance and to take the car back to the dealer for any service. /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/frown.gif

 

[Brosky]

It's worked for Cadillac, Lincoln and Lexus as well all German cars for years, so why not Jaguar? The days of marques wanting owners who like to play are long gone.

 

[DNK]

If I want to play ,I go to my TR. For my daily ,it's the dealer!

 

[Brosky]

Amen to that. With the miles that I put on the daily on a yearly basis, the last thing that I want to do is work on it.

 

[Andrew Mace]

...What's wrong with showing off a good looking valve cover or manifold?? I must be living in the past.

You mean like the WORK OF ART that was the original XK six-cylinder? /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/bow.gif

 

[Geo Hahn]

The engine compartment of my wife's new Toyota looks about as DIY friendly as the back of a television set. But I've been known to open those up too.

 

[Aldwyn]

First time I popped the hood on my Acura TL to change the oil, I was shocked. Plastic everywhere. Covering everything but the valve cover.

I had no idea where the air filter even was.

Scary stuff.

Scarier even... there isnt much of a hint as to how to get these plastic pieces off!

 

[Twosheds]

My sister-in-law just bought a Porsche Boxster. My brother can't find the engine.

 

[AngliaGT]

That's why we have our older cars.
To me,most newer cars ar "appliances".
They get you there & back,do the job
well,but there's not the personality
of an older British car.

- Doug

 

[Aeroken]

It was my wife's new Toyota van that drove me over the edge back to an LBC after an 8 year hiatus. There was just no satisfaction working on (er, maintaining... ok, just changing oil) in our newer cars. They are great cars (over 90k on my Honda CR-V and other than fluids, filters, tires I haven't even replaced a light bulb!), but alas, there is no soul.

Ken

 

[frankenstang57]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:]Nothing to look at under the hood, it's all covered with plastic! [/QUOTE]

If they didn't do that then you'd know you were drivin' a Ford! /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/wink.gif I know what you guys are sayin' though. My last Kia wasn't so bad, but after working under the hood the first time,the big plastic cover stayed off. My brother's Jetta is like that. Can't find the motor when the hood's up... I will say this, both of my newer Fords have none of this nonsence.('05 Focus & '06 Ranger 4-banger) I think the auto makers want want give consumers the warm fuzzies by "streamlinig" the engine bay.

 

[swift6]

Those covers are also part of the sound insulation. Helps keep all those mechanical noises from leaving the engine bay. Of course most of us like those mechanical noises.

 

[IanF]

It depends... Give me a choice between diagnosing a CEL in Jerseygirl's former '97 M3 or getting the Z-S CD150 in her Spitfire to run better and I'll choose the M3 every time.

I probably split my DIY wrenching time equally between our old cars (the Spitfire and Volvos) and newer cars (my '03 TDI and her '03 MINI) as well as friends' cars and my recently purchased '95 Dodge Cummins. After awhile, they all (even the diesels) become the same: input fuel and air and output exhaust. They all just go about it a little differently.

When you get used to them, newer cars are very easy to work on (especially since OBD II). After a bit of reading, you learn what all of those wires do and why theyr'e there. I noticed this when we popped the bonnet on a brand new '07 MINI Cooper S so look at the differences between the new turbo engine and the previous SC mill. Right away, I could point to the various electronic parts and knew what they did. Although I'd never seen the engine before, the basic components are still the same.

I highly recommend one of Charles Probst's Fuel Injection books to anyone even remotely interested in understanding how modern car engines work. Available from Bentley Publishers amoung other sources.

The big plastic covers on newer cars' engines are not only for appearance. They also reduce noise and to help the engine warm up faster to improve emissions control.

 

[jackag91]

does anyone remember the concept car that volvo came out with for women?

Some of the key "woman" features on it:
Split headrest. so you could comfortably drive with a pony tail.
A hood only a dealer open. since they felt that most women buying thier cars didn't know how to do anything with it.
I think it also had somekind of vanity mirror that would only work if the car was in park.

 

[YankeeTR]

Just got back from the local New car Auto show where I checked out the latest Jaguars.

Nothing to look at under the hood, it's all covered with plastic!

What's wrong with showing off a good looking valve cover or manifold?? I must be living in the past.

Terry

You should have been at the Detroit Autorama this weekend...lots of real cars with real engines...


These new 'plastio-mobiles' will never have the soul of a Brit roadster or American hot rod.

 

[John Loftus]

does anyone remember the concept car that volvo came out with for women?

Some of the key "woman" features on it:
Split headrest. so you could comfortably drive with a pony tail.
A hood only a dealer open. since they felt that most women buying thier cars didn't know how to do anything with it.
I think it also had somekind of vanity mirror that would only work if the car was in park.

yes I remember reading about that .. and it should be pointed out that it was designed by a group of female designers. More here ..

volvo

 

[RobT]

I have a '04 Mini Cooper S, and have actually done some "mods" myself on it. At first look the engine bay is a bit intimidating - so many pipes and bits in so small a space, and a fair bit of plastic, but not as bad as most. They make them pretty modular, and so long as you are willing to be patient remove lots of bits before you get to the part you are after, its not a bad car to work on. Just different. You need a more delicate touch, and a tool kit that has more in common with an authopedic surgeon than a mechanic. Still fun though.