Actually the car companies were not the instigators of hich tech electronic controls, and they were not used for fuel economy. It was neccessary to comply with government mandated emmision limits. The "old" way just didn't work.

It is still about emisions, and not fuel economy,

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Charrlie_S
65 Valiant 100 2dr post 170 turbo
66 Valiant Signet 170 nitrous
64 Valiant Signet
64 Valiant 4dr 170
64 Valiant 4dr 225

Bob,

We are approaching your oil scenario. My 300's transmission dip stick reads: " For Dealer Use Only".

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67' Dart GT Convertible; the old Chrysler Corp.
82' LeBaron Convertible; the new Chrysler Corp
07' 300 C AWD; Now by Fiat, the old new Chrysler LLC

wj and charlie- looks like i spoke too soon. a trans oil dipstick which says for dealer use only. wonder what that check will cost- hmmm. if the real rate is $540/hr and it takes one minute to pull , wipe , reinsert and repull to check, that is going to cost you $9. careful charlie- looked at my fsm and owners manual for the 80 volare and both say these extra gadgets (sensors, air pumps, computers, cats )help emissions and mileage. on mileage i think what they reallymean is correct repair $$$and maintenance of the emission devices will prevent the mileage from getting worse. remember what walter winchell once said- the more things change themore they remain the same. i do appreciate your inputs. maybe well find an answer. regards bf

I can't afford a new BMW, but it looks as though I could afford the dealer maintenance. At least for the first few years anyway.

-James

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wow james interesting chart of comparisons. bmw is zero. would it be incaccurate for me to say the maintenance cost was built into the cost of the car. a friend witha late model bmw out of warranty told me the charge he paid for routine maintenance at that point was almost $1k. thought that went beyond a homerun or even the cleaners but was a case of ones wallet going on life support in the er. could you , me , dan , charlie, the doctor and maybe even the DI pool our knowledge and requirements and come up with a new car design that people would actually rush to buy. think lee did it back in 82. let me know if im too ambitious. bf