Pluggers by Rick McKee for April 30, 2023

… or continuing to chug and gurgle when parked and turned off.

sad

The car just need a little T L C.

I bought a new vehicle in 2020 and I scratched off any vehicle that did that (stop/start) from my list, along with cars with GDI engines, turbo ,and any other “feature” that would break and be costly to fix.

Why did chicken cross road? Well she was driving and at crossroads.

Another I hate when that happens moment ;-)

give me a flat block 6 cylinder, 6 volt electrical, manual transmission, manual choke, bench front seat, split window, Studebaker and I will be a happy camper. I can change the oil, gap the plugs, change the filters and grease the joints with the hand tools in my garage and not worry about on-board computer failures.

Those vehicles that automatically shut off their gasoline engines when you stop: that “feature” is really, really, really hard on the engine. Scotty Kilmer concurs.

I have been driving for over 50 years and I still hate to be the first at a red light. It happened to me when I was in my 20’s and I still have an irrational fear of the car stalling at the light.

A plugger’s Sleep Number is 3 blankets or 1 blanket.

Your features and your car’s features change over time.

It helps to always keep the bottom half of the gas tank full.

I rent cars occasionally and of course these are the new models. I was whaaatt??!! when the engine stopped and restarted when I was at red lights. I was definitely alarmed! Another was when my car slowed down when I had the cruise set on the interstate. I am definitely not getting those features on any new car I might get!

A plugger for sure, I remember the first time I was in a car with the keyless remote and the button had to be pushed to start and stop the engine. It had me remembering a car my dad had that had push buttons to put the car in gear. I know it was early ‘60s but don’t know the model of car, definitely not a new car!

good one. It creeps me out when I hear an engine start up when unexpected

TRUE

What was left to buy

Seriously? They have vehicles that do that? Why?! I thought it took more gas to start a car.

There are two levels of hybrids. There are golf carts with gasoline backup engines and gasoline drives with badly attached electric motors.

Scared this plugger years ago when I rented a car and was totally unaware of such a feature. In fact took it back to Budget as defective…

So many people take reliable cars for granted, they forget why it’s not a good idea to stop one inch from the bumper of the car in front of you. If there is a car doing the same to you, nobody can move if the front car stops working.

I don’t see how this feature saves money/gas. Doesn’t it take a toll on your engine or cause you to use more gas when you start up again?