[Mgs] Diminishing returns

[Bert Palte]

I'm not too knowledgeable but my guess is - can't OBD be emulated? 
Think Arduino?



Op 15-11-2022 om 12:53 schreef Richard Lindsay:
> Hello MG friends,
>    I recently attended an 'All British Car Show' in a neighborhood
> called 'The Woodlands', here in South Texas. It was a fun show with
> MGs ranging from a single 1934 PA through to many MGB Tourers, all
> dominating the collection of British marques. Just guessing, I
> estimate about 30 or so cars in total were on display.
>    Two issues came to mind, one obvious from talking with the owners,
> and another a worrisome trend.
>    Firstly, almost all of the MG owners and restorers were gray haired
> old men. Now, I won't make any gender related comments but it is
> obvious that our hobby and passion lives on, mostly in old people.
> That's just fine because retired people have more free time to pursue
> the hobby. But where are the younger people? Will there be
> replacements for us as we fade away? And what will happen to our cars?
> I already see too many cars left languishing or worse, decaying in
> garages and storage.
>    Secondly, I wonder about the whole car hobby in general. What cars
> are being restored today? Sixties 'muscle cars' may always be popular
> but so many of them are resto-mods, not restorations. But what newer
> cars can be restored?
>    I recently gave away a rough Jaguar XK8 because it had a failed CAN
> buss, and therefore couldn't pass safety and emissions inspection.
> Most of the repair parts for that car are still available, if at
> better-than-gold prices, but how many hobbyists can diagnose, repair,
> and restore serial computer networks like the Jaguar's CAN buss?! BTW,
> a CAN bus is a serial computer network not terribly unlike the old
> strings of Christmas lights where if one lamp goes out, they all go
> out! Well, except in the XK8, if one component like the transmission
> reverse safety switch goes out, the whole network goes down.
> Everything from the engine to the seat position computers! And do you
> think Jaguar sells the diagnostic tool to find the 'burned out bulb'?
> Yea right.
>    My point isn't to criticize Jaguar. Rather, it's to make the point
> that modern cars, especially the interesting and exotic ones, just
> aren't really restorable - not by hobbyists like the next generation
> of potential enthusiasts (or us?!). So is ours a dying hobby? I fear
> so. And in the extreme, do you want your grandson attempting to
> restore a 400 volt electric car? Yikes.
>    So what should we do? Well, first of all I think we should save all
> the old British cars that we can. Wait! Don't we already do that?! My
> wife says that, "I never met an 'old junk car' that I didn't love!" I
> also think we should introduce our cars and our hobby to younger
> people, especially kids. Car shows and tech sessions help with that.
> Not only might that exposure help to preserve our cars, maybe, but
> also there's lots to learn pulling spanners that wiggling an X-Box
> controller just can't teach! There is a kind of perverse value in
> 'busted knuckles'.
>    As we say, 'YMMV' but my grandson loves my old cars and he can
> handle a Whitworth spanner quite expertly. My granddaughter likes the
> cars too but 'My Little Ponies' are more fun, for now.
>
> Yes, YMMV,
>
> Rick
>
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