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History New Cars

Discussion in 'Traditional Customs' started by J.Ukrop, Jun 15, 2018.

  1. my new 2017 Camaro SS doesn't come with a anything. It has factory run flats so that is the factories way around not giving you a spare. My 2014 Camaro SS I owned did have a air compressor and fix a flat fluid.


    As far as the old cars if I know im cruising to an area of poor cell service I do throw in a can of fix a flat and a last resort spare but with big and littles front and rear its kind of a pain to find a happy medium for a spare. Also have AAA as well. I usually take more tools and engine related stuff on longer drives.
     
  2. crashfarmer
    Joined: Apr 4, 2006
    Posts: 1,285

    crashfarmer
    Member
    from Iowa

    Here in gravel road country flat tires that are not blown out are a lot more common than blowouts for a reason to put the spare tire on, done it many, many times. Those tire pressure warnings systems are the first thing that quits functioning on a new vehicle. My ex-employer would buy a new Chevy pickup or two a year and it wouldn't be long until that pressure warning wouldn't function on them . But since they farmed around 18,000 acres those pickups saw a lot of gravel road miles and very few pavement, that gravel just eats the tires up. It's worse now than it was when I was young since the county keeps the roads stirred up all the time with their road graders. When I was young they used to drag these roads about once a summer. The gravels would get hard packed and were almost like driving on pavement. Now they eat up tax dollars running those things along with everybody's tires since they have full time employees running the graders instead of some part time farmer. The grader for our area used to sit at one of my neighbor's farms most of the time until one of us would let him know we wanted the road graded. :) Oh the good old days!
     
    Hnstray likes this.
  3. They eliminated the jacks and spare tires to save themselves the money and charge more for the cars


    Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
     
  4. XXL__
    Joined: Dec 28, 2009
    Posts: 2,117

    XXL__
    Member

    So, are the people being called supposed to have the jacks and spares?
     
  5. No. But they come with a tilt and load to take you to the dealership or tire store.

    Anyone notice the last part of original article? Something about that being the end of late model talk? Four pages of late model posts..... (I really don't care. Just pointing it out for interests sake)


    Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.
     
  6. Not sure about the jack/spare thing but those getting the calls do usually have hydraulic tilt, flat tow beds.
     
  7. XXL__
    Joined: Dec 28, 2009
    Posts: 2,117

    XXL__
    Member

    Unfortunately, my SO calls me... so I get to hunt her down with... a jack and a spare.
     
    The Shift Wizard likes this.
  8. You do realize Model A Fords only came with a spare wheel. The tire and tube were an option! Nothing new here.
     
    tb33anda3rd and Hnstray like this.
  9. Latigo
    Joined: Mar 24, 2014
    Posts: 739

    Latigo
    Member

    I sold cars for a Chrysler, Plymouth, Dodge dealer in the late 70's. We went through a period where the factory deleted the spare to save money. Lot's of pissed off buyers wondering where their spare was or spare tires thrown in to close the deal. That plan didn't last too long.
     
  10. AldeanFan
    Joined: Dec 12, 2014
    Posts: 892

    AldeanFan

    My ‘77 Airstream doesn’t have a spare tire,
    The owners manual says to take off the flat tire and drive on 3 wheels at 30mph to the nearest Airstream dealer. Apparently that works for a trailer with torsion axles.
    My nearest dealer is 3 hours away.

    My Mini Cooper has no spare and no jack but no mention of driving on 3 wheels in the owners manual, must not have torsion axles ;)



    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     
  11. tubman
    Joined: May 16, 2007
    Posts: 6,918

    tubman
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    I have a question. Do pickup trucks also come without spares these days, or is it just cars (and SUV's, I suppose)?
     
  12. AldeanFan
    Joined: Dec 12, 2014
    Posts: 892

    AldeanFan

    My Toyota Tundra has a full size spare but the jack won’t lift the truck high enough to get the wheel off


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     
  13. Terrible80
    Joined: Oct 1, 2010
    Posts: 785

    Terrible80
    Member

    I have a Jack/ spare tire in all my vehicles, ot pick ups. But , I haven't had to change a tire in a long time ( knock on wood). However my wife tears up tires at an amazing rate. She'll call for me to go rescue her, shredded tire. What did you run over? Nothing, I don't know what happened. Lol.

    Sent from my LG-TP450 using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
     
  14. Our '06 Acura SUV has a full sized spare. I've never used the jack but I think it should lift the car high enough. I've only used my roller hydraulic jack on it when I swap the snow tires on it. I'd worry about my wife getting a flat on it. She drives it most of the time. Those tires, and rims even though alloy, are heavy.
     
  15. Corvette Fever
    Joined: Feb 18, 2014
    Posts: 142

    Corvette Fever
    Member
    from Michigan

    I can’t imagine how you would change a flat tire on my 53 Chrysler Town & Country New Yorker with a bumper jack, left hand threads, and bolts instead of lugs nuts


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  16. just going back to our automotive roots, a time when heaters, a second wiper, spare, rear bumper etc...were all optional. as a kid i remember always seeing cars pulled over on the side of the road with a flat, not often now. tires are better.
    Don Imus' had a line when the traffic reporter would mention a backup do to a person changing a tire "why would they do that there? they should just change it at home"
     
  17. It's not just men... my daughters (both in college now) were not allowed to take their road tests to get a licence until they successfully changed a tire start to finish in the drive way.
    And when they got their first cars I made them learn to change the oil, check tire pressure, fill washer fluid.

    But I do agree about the man card...
    My youngest was dating one of those bearded wonders and they go a flat a few blocks from the house...she had to change the tire for him...he had no clue...
    They got home and told me about it and I said if you cant change a tire or chop down a tree you need to shave that beard off...needless to say he didnt last long as a boyfriend.
    Chappy
     
  18. Yep, new cars can leave you feeling as useless as tits on a bull...I listen as people say that they were stranded when their "taco sensor" or the "oxygen thingamajig" packed up, and the repair bill was as much as I paid for my last 2 cars!
    And I know why car manufacturers leave out spares and jacks (besides saving money) 1- if some arseclown tries to change a wheel and ends up dropping the car on himself, who's he gonna call? Not ghostbusters, but his lawyer, and he'll be looking to sue. And 2- yes, there are plenty of (supposedly) big, strong men who are scared to change a wheel just in case they mess up their hair or dirty their hands.
     
  19. I'm going to guess that because pickups and SUVs are considered to be built for rougher duty, it would just about impossible to pass them off to the buying public without full-size spares. Trucks are a high profit sale for manufacturers and they don't want to screw with that. Plus they have a ready-made place to store spares behind the rear axle without having to carve out a space with trap doors, etc. I haven't shopped trucks since the late 90's so I'm not sure if anyone offers a "delete option" at this time.
     
  20. primotl
    Joined: Mar 18, 2012
    Posts: 5

    primotl
    Member

    2017 Toyota has a can of fix-a-flat and a tiny compressor! No joke.

    Sent from my XT1254 using H.A.M.B. mobile app
     
  21. The37Kid
    Joined: Apr 30, 2004
    Posts: 30,629

    The37Kid
    Member

    Personally I carry a tie rod pickle fork.

    Bob
     
  22. jnaki
    Joined: Jan 1, 2015
    Posts: 9,295

    jnaki




    Hey J

    “Let’s turn back the clock to 1964. Hot rodding is booming, early iron is still somewhat affordable and the aftermarket industry is taking flight. But for those looking for year-round reliability and contemporary styling, a late model may have been the best bet.”

    Old cars, jacks, lug nuts, spinners vs lug wrenches, hubcaps…all part of early cars. That was one of the first things we learned when our dad was in the same predicament as your new car episode. Stranded… that is the worst feeling, being left by the side of the road somewhere. Back in those old days, no cell phones or local contacts.

    It was 1954, 150 miles south of the USA border in Baja Mexico on a fishing/camping trip with family and friends. My dad loved his Buicks, but he was rather useless as a mechanic or in things mechanical. We got a flat tire and the right front tire rolled into a drainage ditch miles from civilization near a secluded beach in Baja.

    He was one of those stubborn men driving with no knowledge of where he was going, but drove with a sense of: “I know this is the way.” The brothers were in the back seat just having an adventure and not paying attention to where my dad was driving. South, north, east? Couldn’t be west or we would be in the ocean.

    The big 4 door 52 Buick was handling weird going down this old winding road toward the beach from the main highway. All of a sudden my mom yells…"There is the beach,” making my dad turn his head and also the steering wheel. So our ill handling front tire drops off the road, into a drainage ditch, about a foot down.

    Now, we were stuck with a teeny small set of houses about 5 miles away toward the ocean. It was also about 5-10 miles back to the main road. This secluded surf fishing spot was so hidden that it was a miracle we were actually on a road leading to the ocean.

    First, we tried old planks we found in the ditch, no go…then lugged big rocks to get it under the tire for the planks to get leverage. No go…Finally, we got a rope, more boulders and more planks. I sat on the fender, my brother and dad pulled on the attached rope, and my mom gave the car some power to try and get us out of that deep ditch. Definitely, a no go…

    My dad and brother decided to walk down to the fishing village on the beach. They took a Thermos of water. It seemed like they were gone for hours. It was hot, dry and a ton of flying bugs were on the attack. Finally, a dirt cloud was sighted on the road from the beach.

    An old square nose, Ford Truck was coming up the winding road. When they arrived, it was all of the men ranch hands, and my dad/brother. It took them another hour to get the big Buick out of the ditch using 6 adults, two kids, and an old Ford truck to yank us out of that deep drainage ditch. Then it was using the Buick jack to replace the spare tire for the front one with the flat.

    Jnaki

    This episode was so vivid in our young minds that it has lasted forever…starting with my mom yelling…"There’s the beach!” The scary part was not being stranded on that empty winding road in Baja, (that was an adventure) but, the long 7+ hour drive back to Long Beach without a good spare. It was flat…

    My dad seemed like he knew the way, but that empty beach was the wrong one. We were off by 10 miles. His recollection was that the small gates all looked the same from the main highway south and he just happened to chose the wrong one.

    No digital maps or GPS, but the map he did have was read incorrectly. Map reading back then was all estimates, without local knowledge. Cell phones? They would not have worked this far down and isolated, away from a big city.

    So, it just seems like innovation, preparedness, and perserverance are what is left.

    Driving around in a "newish" car these days, without a jack and wrenches is a little disheartening. Especially when that dash tire symbol pops up red. Good thing those air, flat fix bottles are available and so are those small electric air pumps. But, who has a spare $.25 for the "AIR" machine at gas stations?
     
    Last edited: Jun 30, 2018
  23. Ned Ludd
    Joined: May 15, 2009
    Posts: 5,026

    Ned Ludd
    Member

    It's what you might call the War Against Parts. There is a concerted, though not necessarily always conscious, effort to redefine the automobile as One Big Part, rather than a collection of parts. Part of it is that the complexity of the One Big Part is almost mystically impressive, the work of a divinely superhuman entity; while any given traditional car part, considered in isolation, is really very simple. Making one from scratch isn't beyond comprehension, even if it isn't within my capabilities right here and now.

    I must say that I've never had a blowout in my life. I've had flats due to road hazards and malice enough, though. I haven't needed a spare since I stopped commuting. My DD, such as it is, is FWD and therefore doesn't raise big-and-little issues. I can't see a spare being practical in either of my projects, though.
     
  24. theHIGHLANDER
    Joined: Jun 3, 2005
    Posts: 10,248

    theHIGHLANDER
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    As the guy from the movie Used Cars said before the 57 Chevy test drive,


    "C'mon, ya gotta be jackin me!"


    1st thought as I read the topic, and at least there was a 57 in it...:cool:
     
  25. jnaki
    Joined: Jan 1, 2015
    Posts: 9,295

    jnaki




    PART 2
    Hello,

    In 1964, My mom decided that if I was driving about an 800 mile round trip to go to and from college, I needed a reliable new car. So, both the 40 Ford Sedan Delivery and the 58 Impala got sold. A GM product was within my budget and help from her.

    The 1965 El Camino was so reliable that I only replaced a battery at 60k and a water pump at 115k miles, then sold it at 125k. (Tires, yes, three sets.) But that new car was flawless and fun to drive, rear air shocks and all.

    All through college, driving all over California, Baja Mexico, and the Rock Concert trail, I was never stuck by the side of the road from November, 1964 until the Summer of 1972. I got a right front, flat tire at night, on the fast lane of the 405 freeway in Orange County.

    That was an episode of scariness, as the cars whipped by when I was in the center divider, exchanging the flat tire. No auto inflate, flat fix, solutions in a can back then. Just twenty something muscle and idiocy according to the CHP that happened by when I was finished.

    Why idiocy? He said I was very lucky changing in the narrow, center divider and not getting hit. I should have driven across all lanes to get to the right side shoulder to fix the flat tire. Of course, the tire and rim would have been a total mess and useless. He also said that no flashing red lights should be turned on, as it is like a “moth to a flame” scenario for the oncoming cars.

    Jnaki

    When he stopped, he did not have his red lights flashing when he was talking to me near the fence in the middle. His explanation was that seeing red lights just makes your eyes move to the light and not concentrating on how you are driving in that fast lane. New car or not, that jack, wrench, and full size spare came in handy that night.
     
  26. I have a semi-mini spare for my D.D. , its from a later model Chevy p/u or van. 5 on 4 3/4 bolt pattern, 15 inch rim and only 4 inches wide. It takes up less space in my trunk so there's room for the floor jack and 4-way.
    Corvette fever,
    I'd change it the same way as my 1950 Chrysler Windsor!;) However you are correct about bumper jacks. Them old school ones are down right scary!:eek:
    Jack E/NJ,
    I got several spare tire irons. You need some spares? No questions asked! I don't know nuthin'!;);):rolleyes:
     
  27. Bandit Billy
    Joined: Sep 16, 2014
    Posts: 12,287

    Bandit Billy
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    My OT Cadillac CTS-V for one. No spare, no jack, no lug wrench just an air pump mounted in the well where the spare would have been. Of course it takes a rear tire about 2 feet wide to glue a 600 HP sedan to the ground and they just don't fit in the trunk. I sold that car after the $1300 EACH! rear tires were replaced at 12,000 miles, cant say as I miss her, but much like an old girlfriend I had once, she sure was fun.
     
  28. Deuces
    Joined: Nov 3, 2009
    Posts: 23,758

    Deuces

    Next new car I buy will have a spare and I'll make the sales rep pay for it..... ;)
     
  29. Speedwrench
    Joined: Nov 21, 2009
    Posts: 1,032

    Speedwrench
    Member

    The last new truck I bought - in 1985 - did not come with a spare. I could buy a mounted tire and wheel as an added cost option or a wheel with no tire. Same deal.

    I ended up opting for the wheel because I could get it cheaper than buying the wheel across the counter. Buying my own tire and having it mounted on that wheel was cheaper than the cost from the factory for their price for the same package.
     
  30. Speedwrench
    Joined: Nov 21, 2009
    Posts: 1,032

    Speedwrench
    Member

    Then you have to find a place to put it and not have it rattle around like a bowling ball in a boxcar.
     

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