Cars – and driving – used to be arguably the thing that separated childhood from adulthood. You went from pedaling a bicycle around the neighborhood to driving yourself anywhere you felt like going. It was freeing. At 16 – once upon a time – you got the same driver’s license your parents had in that yours was just as valid as theirs. No restrictions – as today.
It made you feel like an adult even as a teenager because you were treated as if you were an adult.
Things have – as they say – changed.
Modern cars infantilize adults. Treat them as if they were not-very-bright children who must be watched at all times and corrected when they step out of line. The line determined by the corporations that have become adjuncts of the government in that both agree that our “safety” must be ensured. Of course, our “safety” really means their control. But it also means much more than that.
People were controlled in Stalin’s Russia and of course National Socialist Germany (it is always sound policy to spell that out so as to draw attention to the fact there was not much in the way of fundamental difference between the totalitarian communism of Soviet Russia and the totalitarian socialism of “Nazi” Germany) but the controlling was less cloying. If you’ve ever read The Gulag Archipelago – which is a kind of tour guide of the prison system in the old Soviet Union written by Alexander Solzhenitsyn – you will have read about beatings and abuse and random brutality almost unimaginable to people in the West.
But at least it wasn’t for their “safety.”
No Gulag guard – certainly no GPU interrogator – thought of himself as a momma-knows-best. But today – in the West – the car companies are full of people like that. There are many examples that will make the point but here is one I just encountered while test driving a new car. More finely, a new crossover. The 2025 Mazda CX-90. It is overall a fine vehicle and I think Mazda is – overall – a fine company. But like all car companies, it devotes excessive effort in pursuit of “safety.” That is to say, parenting – which is a very good way to understand what is really intended whenever you hear that word deployed these days.
So, what is my example of vehicular parenting?
I stopped to pump some gas into the CX-90 because it was low and it was cold and the weather report said it might snow. It’s always a good idea to top-off when you might find yourself stuck in traffic that’s stuck on account of snow. It assures you won’t freeze because you’ll have heat – even if you can’t move (assuming you are not driving an EV, of course).
The point is, I just wanted to top-off the tank. So I stopped at the pump and got out to do just that. But the gas door was locked and would not open. It took me a minute to reason out why. I had failed to shut off the engine – and the Mazda has a saaaaaaaaaaaafety interlock system that keeps the gas door locked until the engine is turned off.
Now – before you start – I understand the worry (more akin to hysteria) that pumping gas with the engine running isn’t saaaaaaaaaaaaaafe – because a static electric spark might jump from hand to pump or some such and trigger an inferno. The actual risk is tiny, like that of dying from “COVID” if you’re not already near death from morbid obesity, old age and so on.
But that is beside the point.
The point is this being-parented business. Does it aggravate anyone else? Or am I the last of the Mohicans? A man who likes to decide for myself what’s “safe” – and what’s not. To evaluate and take risks, if the risk seems slight in my sight? Put another way: Am I the last man left who cannot stand this cloying parenting at every turn?
My refrigerator beeps at me like a Dalek if I leave the door open longer than it likes – because it thinks I am wasting energy. Never mind I’m the one paying for it and it’s my right – as a grown man – to leave the damned door open while I figure out what I want and for as long as I like. My washing machine locks the lid once the cycle starts – so I can’t just open it to toss in a dirty shirt, like I used to be able to do – because someone else’s unsupervised kid might crawl in and drown. My riding mower used to shut itself off if I got off the seat – until I fixed that.
There’s a whole lot of things that need fixing.
Beginning with this sickly-treacly, scolding schoolmarm business of trying to parent grown men (and grown women, too).
. . .
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I’m not precisely a Luddite but I like old stuff that works better. In the corner of my shop sits a 140 year old Frost Killer #5 potbelly stove. Heavy cast iron, very efficient burning, easy loading, no moving parts. It will make my shop 90 degrees when the outside temp is -30. In my barn sits a large collection of flathead engines, not an efficient design by modern standards, but every one runs or can be made to with minimal purchased parts. My houses were all built from 60 to 125 years ago, with real wood that doesn’t dissolve in humidity like a McMansion.
I am an automation engineer and know and use technology. But our corrupt and diseased culture has turned it against us, and until we resume our rightful mastery of our world it will continue.
The manufacturers are not the root of the problem, nor is government.
The bitter fruit we are tasting is femmunism in all its rancid ripe fullness. When reasonable men are pushed out of their rightful places in society, there is a vacuum, and nature abhors a vacuum. So the reasoned actions of men are replaced by brute force and bitter infighting.
The Captain in Cool Hand Luke is now the ideal…it’s fer yer own good…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_WUyZXhLHMk
These paternalistic safety systems are annoying, but the gas door being sealed is actually required now. It’s part of the evaporative emissions control system. In some kooky states, like California, we have vapor scavenging gas nozzles (so you don’t emit the smell of gas into the air). When your engine is running, your gas tank is under vacuum, there’s a hose that goes to the intake manifold or to a vacuum pump. This really doesn’t play nice with vapor scavenging pumps.
The EPA, which is a thrall to CARB mandates a very complex venting system for your car (via OBD-II requirements). The car must constantly monitor that the tank is airtight (via engine vacuum) and if there’s ever an air leak, it must light the check engine light. Rather than dealing with all the check engine visits to the dealer under warranty, cars just disable opening the gas door when the engine is running.
I had to reverse engineer this complex monstrosity when it started acting up in my old car, and that old car is much simpler than modern cars.
Hi OL,
Sealed, yes – interlocked (i.e., the gas door won’t open unless you turn the engine off) no. At least not that I’m aware of. I have not encountered this other new cars I’ve test driven this year (and last) so far…
My stove. It has some sort of weight sensor on the burners, so if a pan isn’t sitting on it just right, it powers down. So my pork chop pan, which was slightly raised in the center, making a nice little grease moat to fry them and use less oil, was now a no-no. But it gets worse than that. If it senses too.much heat (this is a frigging stove, you’ll remember) the burner reduces heat. So right in the middle of boiling pasta, for example, it would just reduce the heat. And if I put something light on there, like a cup of water for tea, the pan isn’t heavy enough to hold the button down, so no heat. Finally just had to buy replacement burners, which lucky for me, are available. The two smaller burners still have the buttons, but at least I can use the large ones.
But it was so dumb and annoying and treated me like an idiot who doesn’t know you’re supposed to turn the burner off when you’re done cooking.
Oy vey, Amy!
I would have broken out the sledgehammer over that…!
The flat top stove we bought a few years ago cycles the burners on/off. It’s a PITA when you’re canning and trying to get your product up to a consistent boil.
In a similar vein we just stayed at a TRU Hotel by Hilton. I think Paris herself designed this Barbie Hostel. The teevee was the only thing not designed in a childish manner. I wanted to puke.
Anybody see the Cybertruck drive through the wall of a shop building when WhistlinDiesel used a remote control to command the truck to drive itself. It just drove through the wall.
There is a video at Zerohedge today, the Ford F-150 won the contest.
When I was young and by the time you I was 16 yo, you didn’t want your parents interfering with what you wanted to do.
Just don’t do anything bad, they won’t discipline you then.
Get a driver’s license and a job. Your parents will thank you.
Now a car has a backseat driver who sounds like your parents giving you some instruction to do something.
The car is in control of you.
Old Man Winter is brutally making life miserable today.
It was -20 F this morning.
You stay inside and keep the house warm.
Old Man Winter ain’t my dad, but he does advise you to stay inside.
You heed his warning.
Plug in the car, let it run for an hour, then go buy beer.
I have some beer, maybe I’ll just sit it out today.
Happy to have a furnace that kicks out plenty of heat.
Natural gas burns with no ash left behind. Burns clean, just pipe it to your house from the utility. That is how it is done in this world.
Make Natural Gas Great Again
At the risk of eliciting the OK Boomer meme,
This “feature” illustrates why I will never buy a new car again. The companies manufacturing these devices have sucked any and all joy out of the driving experience. I wish I had my old 67 VW back…..
In any case, Eric, et al, the market is largely rejecting the compelled distribution of these devices and the companies making them are finding the government tit they depend on for survival drying up.
Glad you brought up The Gulag Archipelago….it had a very profound effect on me when I read it in the late seventies. Your mention of the methods used in the Gulags was just one way Stalin and his ilk dehumanized the Soviet population. We are now seeing the same tactics used here in the U.S.S.A. BTW, WRT Twitter/X…..I resisted for years entering that cesspool, and though I have an account, I almost never use it because it’s, IMO, a useless conditioning tool with very little in the way of value for me…a veritable psyop in 240 characters or less.
I just got my semi annual scolding letter from the gas company for using more gas than my more “efficient” neighbors. Of course they’re comparing apples and oranges since our house is a 160 year old Victorian style with 12 ft ceilings, 7 ft tall leaky windows, etc. Even so I’m old and retired and I prefer to be warm and comfy in my own house, so enough with the shaming already. I think our control freak climate hysterics in government would ration my evil natural gas if they could, and I bet someone is already working on how to do just that.
Here in SoCal, if AQMD implements their proposed regulations, it will become illegal, as of 2028, to purchase or install a gas furnace or water heater to replace an existing unit.
https://www.mountain-news.com/news/scaqmd-has-a-plan-to-get-rid-of-your-gas-appliances/article_10a83a80-75f8-11ef-9c25-d777c994220e.html
SCAQMD (The South Coast Air Quality Management District, which includes the mountain communities but without any local representation on the oversight board) is planning a stricter—and more impactful—set of regulations. They are proposing to the Board an amendment to two existing regulations: Rule 1111 and Rule 1121. These amendments will effectively ban the use of gas-fired furnaces and water heaters after the proposed requirements take effect in 2028.
>When your gas furnace needs to be replaced (or your hot water heater), you will not be legally allowed to replace them with a unit that uses natural gas. The proposed regulation will require you to switch to an electrically-powered appliance known as a heat pump. This may require upgrades to a sizable portion of the electrical panels on the mountain at an average cost of $3000-$5000,
Will Home Depot and other hardware stores stock and be allowed to sell them? If so I suppose you can always drive across the border to buy one.
Hi Adi,
That really sucks; not sure how old your appliances are but it would be worth it to buy replacement units in the next year or two if you plan on staying in your current home for awhile.
“ I’m old and retired and I prefer to be warm and comfy in my own house “
Ditto here in Central WA. Gas furnace, the new one had installation issues but I will say, it’s kicks out forced hot air – HOT – like our diesel furnace in the prior Western WA house.
You probably remember that idiot Pres Carter and his sweater speech turn down that thermostat for the good of America. Next week the local news had a story of an old couple found dead, found out it was from hypothermia and then a discussion with a doctor of the danger to oldsters from slow onset hypothermia – they turn down the heat and over days it sets in and they can die. I will never forget that story.
I also have a gas fireplace with fan. And hot water is analog old school pilot light gas unit. Lose power we’re not going to freeze. The portable generator is duel fuel.
Triumph of the tort lawyers:
Boy who lost arm awarded $9 million; Limb was ripped off by washing machine in Door County
A 12-year-old Egg Harbor boy whose arm was wrenched off last year by a defective Laundromat washing machine won nearly $9 million Thursday in what legal experts believe is among the largest personal-injury settlements in state history.
The $8.85 million awarded Michael R. Newell and his family by the manufacturers and distributors of the heavy-duty commercial washing machine is believed to be the largest award ever for an amputation injury in Wisconsin.
“This is probably the fifth-or-sixth-largest settlement ever for personal-injury case in Wisconsin history,” Cannon added. “And for an arm amputation, there are no ifs ands or buts – this is a record.”
https://www.cannon-dunphy.com/boy-who-lost-arm-awarded-9-million-limb-was-ripped-off-by-washing-machine-in-door-county/
Based on this precedent, born-male minor victims of gender transitioning ought to be able to win $90 million for a dick amputation. Just sayin’!
This Mazda gas flap interlock might not be a safety feature but rather functional, although no less insidious (EPA or NHTSA/DOT, pick your lesser favorite).
Filling the tank with the engine running could interfere with the emissions systems.
Specifically the system’s vacuum is equalized when you take off the gas cap. Whether this creates an actual problem like sucking liquid gasoline into the charcoal canister or just a warning light (such as might happen if your cap itself seals poorly) isn’t important.
The flippant response would probably come down to “But the spark plugs are sparking, thus a problem.” But that’s just as likely to happen when the person on the other side of the pump island starts their car, too. Any static built up that will discharge between the pump and car will occur regardless if it’s running or not.
More safety BS: Our new house. Tepid water in the shower. It had a hot water limiter / regulator to keep idiots from scalding themselves. Searched the internet, found out how to adjust the limiter. Works properly now.
My wife and I purchased a washer and a dryer in 1998 (both made in Mexico), both analog. Since then, we’ve replaced a belt on the washer, and the heating element (twice) on the dryer. Friends with new washers complain that they don’t clean clothes properly. We purchased a brand-new home in 2020, which had a new dishwasher. On his second visit, the dishwasher tech told us that it didn’t wash dishes properly on account of the mandated water-saving feature. So, we wash all dishes by hand.
Lord knows, F. Joe Biden imported 11 million migrants to help y’all with that dishwashing. But you wouldn’t hire them. /sarc
Clothes washer, top loader Speed Queen FTW, actually can get it to fill with water and has an agitator to actually clean the clothes. Extra rinse feature too.
Dishwasher, I’m still using powder detergent that I mix with food grade tri poly phosphate (about 10% t p p) to actually get stuff clean and rinsed. Phosphates banned here so it’s internet order only. Rinse agent, use Lemi Shine as it works decent in our hard water.
I just bought a new Speed Queen TC5 washing machine because it is made like washing machines of old, in that it has a great agitator, bottom suspension (no cheap suspension rods) and NO LID LOCK! I also had to “fix” my new lawn mower so I can get off and pick up a stick without having to stop the blade and set the brake. Finally, I went to Tractor Supply and got a bunch of the gas can spouts and vents, and “fixed” all my gas cans so that I can actually pour gas out of them.
Ditto, Gary –
Isn’t it something to live at a time when it is necessary (for reasons of sanity and functionality) to “fix” brand-new machines?
Yes, crazy. The top loader Speed Queen has the lid activated stop switch which isn’t a deal killer. Besides, it’s a “wow I forgot how nice really clean clothes look and smell” first time reaction from Speed Queen users. Ours is about seven years old probably could use a belt soon no repairs needed. No leaks, no funky smells just consistently clean clothes.
Sparky: Not familiar with the design, but if the Speed Queen uses the “wig-wag solenoid assemblyh” to shift from wash to spin, you might consider that as another maintenance item. Seems eventually, time indeterminate, one of the two solenoids that do the shifting will fail. I can’t guess how many of those I have replaced on our washers (over 60 years of marriage) but I even started saving the good solenoid out of the assembly so the next time one failed I could swap it out instead of buying the entire assembly.
Got it, thanks for that tip!
Best designed washing machine we ever owned was a used late 60s Maytag, believe it was called “helical drive”. Anyway the very simple (thus reliable) – agitation with motor running one direction. Reverse the motor direction it moved internally the “guts” for spin. No solenoids, no levers, no stuff to break. The belt drive was outside the bottom pan so tilt up a couple inches slip the belt off and replace no tools.
Maytag dryer was also bulletproof, “halo of heat” it was called the element was in a circle around the door opening and drew thru the rear mounted filter zero hot spots. It was auto dry, no timer. Set the heat level & hit go. Used sensor wires on the drum paddles and a capacitor for control (all analog in the 60s!) perfectly dry clothes every time. Drum rode on a giant oilite bushing in the back. Totally quiet.
Point is, we could have nice stuff BECAUSE we used to have nice stuff and it’s easily replicated today if only the gov would stay the hell out of it.
I very rarely use an automatic car wash. They’re expensive and I do a better job myself. Besides, washing the car is sorta cathartic.
Anyhow, late yesterday afternoon my daily mover got pooped on by every bird in the area. I knew I’d get home after dark & wouldn’t have an opportunity to wash it so I went through a car wash (cheapest package was $9).
Having never had the buggy through one it didn’t occur to me the proximity sensors would go ballistic. Never again.
Thank our courts and the associated lawyers. One stupid action by a “consumer” can cost a company millions. Remember the gal who burned herself spilling hot coffee in her crotch? Even though she bought hot coffee, and probably would sue McDonalds if her coffee was not hot enough to suit her.
It’s much easier tp call a lawyer than pay attention to what your doing. And as a bonus, you don’t have to take the blame for your stupidity.
In case you didn’t get the update
https://www.citizen.org/article/legal-myths-the-mcdonalds-hot-coffee-case/
“My washing machine locks the lid once the cycle starts – so I can’t just open it to toss in a dirty shirt, like I used to be able to do – because someone else’s unsupervised kid might crawl in and drown.”
Laughed so hard. My latch “somehow” got removed from the lid and taped into the hole in the chassis it mates with.
As an OCD engineer having this latch taped to the chassis drives me crazy. It’s just not an elegant solution.
But I don’t have the time to do waste getting into the chassis to bypass the interlock switch completely. And that will cause its own issues because the microprocessor won’t end the cycle and actually shut off the washing machine until it sees the lid open and then close (signaling laundry was removed). I do this by simply flipping the tape (and the attached lid latch), up, then back down.
Ugh!
Really just need to find a good old 20 year old washer on Craigslist – you know the kind. Easily repairable, without safety Nannie’s.
Sound familiar?
Don’t even get me started on the fact that it doesn’t wash as well as the old one it replaced because of “energy efficiency” that saves water and has reduced the aggressiveness of the agitator.
Death to the injury lawyers and courts that have brought this plague to bear upon us!
It’s a sign of the impending collapse of society when each new device is less capable of doing its intended job than the old one it replaced and costs much more money to get less capability.
Ugh auto correct got me again . . . Doesn’t wash as well as the old one it replaced!!!!
Luckily my washing machine is old. However I’ve used the newer ones that “sense” the amount of laundry and only allow the minimum amount of water. I’ve found they don’t clean as well.
With all the latest technology they build into appliances now they just don’t seem to work or last as long as they used to. Funny isn’t it.
Landru: Try wetting a towel or something similar and put it in the load. The sensor will decide you have a larger load since it is testing weight, and you will get more water to do that job. I know, I know……but until the regulators are gone and the manufacturers come to their senses, you can at least cheat a bit and take satisfaction that they haven’t figured that out yet.
59 Maytag. It even looks beautiful. Needs restoration but still works.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mEOhjb-JPow
‘the Mazda has a saaaaaaaaaaaafety interlock system that keeps the gas door locked until the engine is turned off.’ — eric
Not only does this interlock circuit add wiring and a sensor, but also some small percentage of such circuits eventually will fail, usually because the sensor malfunctions.
Currently my 1998 Frontier displays a check engine light. The trouble codes indicate a problem with the evaporative emissions canister near the fuel tank. It doesn’t disable the car, and fortunately there are no vehicle inspections where I live. Still, the glowing light is annoying, and I would have to spend my time or pay someone to fix it.
My interest in cars pretty much ended along with the 20th century. Today’s chip-encrusted, Clownscreen-fitted, cell-phones-on-wheels are oppressive, internet-linked spy devices, full of restrictive functions and monitoring that no one (other than Nanny Gov) asked for. Send them to the crusher, every christ-forsaken one of them.
Hey, I was just a skinny lad
Never knew no good from bad
But I knew life before I left my nursery, huh
Left alone with big fat Fanny
She was such a naughty nanny
Hey, big woman
You made a bad boy out of me
Get on yer bikes and ride
— Queen, Fat Bottomed Girls
Hi Jim,
Yup! A little black electrical tape easily solves that problem…
This parenting by corporations has been going on for a long time time now, more than 30 years for sure. How do I know this? Because about 30 years ago I was at True Value Hardware buying some exterior house paint and reading the label I asked the guy if this was really a problem and he said “What was a problem?” and I said people drinking paint. He gave me a funny look until I showed him the label that stated “Do not drink paint” and he responded with apparently it is.
So there you go we’ve moved from written warnings to your car deciding how you will drive it.
Fun times ahead, just like the sign in the article the fine print is the most important.
Ah Ha Ha Ha! I didn’t read/notice the fine print on the sign until after I read your comment pointing it out.
Fuggin’ hilarious.
Reminds me of the scene in ‘Gremlins’ where they show a jar with the label
Acid – Do Not Throw on Face. 😆