ESS and managing expectations

[Jebiruph]

I forgot to disable ESS on a recent outing and when it auto stopped, I had a sudden flash back to when I used to drive marginal 60s and 70s era cars and would struggle to keep them running at a stop.

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[aldo98229]

We don’t appreciate how good we have it now.

Drive behind an old car from the 1960s or 1970s: it doesn’t matter if it is fully restored and running perfectly; it smells and stinks!

But that’s what it was like driving back then, and it seemed perfectly normal to breathe in all those fumes.

 

[Sean L]

We don’t appreciate how good we have it now.

Drive behind an old car from the 1960s or 1970s: it doesn’t matter if they are fully restored and running perfectly; they smell and stink!

But that’s what it was like driving back then, itseemed perfectly breathing all those fumes. You just didn’t think about it.

My uncle has a 1968 Plymouth Satellite. 4 wheel Drum brakes... and it yanks the steering wheel to the left when you use em too! Otherwise a fun car to drive!

 

[aldo98229]

My uncle has a 1968 Plymouth Satellite. 4 wheel Drum brakes... and it yanks the steering wheel to the left when you use em too! Otherwise a fun car to drive!

Yeah.

Search “Bud Lindemann Road test” on YouTube: it’s a whole series of vintage road tests from the 1960s and 1970s. It is hilarious to see and hear the tires squealing, the suspensions slop around, the crummy brakes lock up and pull to the side! It is amazing we are still alive considering the crap we drove back then.

Our Jeeps would outslalom and outbrake many “sports” cars from that era.

 

[Sean L]

Yeah.

Search “Bud Lindemann Road test” on YouTube: it’s a whole series of vintage road tests from the 1960s and 1970s. It is hilarious to see and hear the tires squealing, the suspensions slop around, the crummy brakes lock up and pull to the side! It is amazing we are still alive considering the crap we drove back then.

Our Jeeps would outslalom and outbrake many “sports” cars from that era.

Motorweek has uploaded a lot of their old shows from the 80s when they were still just a local PBS show. Its got a lot of that type of stuff too. I'll be sure to check out Bud Lindemann though!

 

[Punjabi New Yorker]

Yeah.

Search “Bud Lindemann Road test” on YouTube: it’s a whole series of vintage road tests from the 1960s and 1970s. It is hilarious to see and hear the tires squealing, the suspensions slop around, the crummy brakes lock up and pull to the side! It is amazing we are still alive considering the crap we drove back then.

Our Jeeps would outslalom and outbrake many “sports” cars from that era.

Damn...and I complain about the steering in my JLUR being too shaky. Guess I will stop complaining after seeing some of that.

 

[aldo98229]

Motorweek has uploaded a lot of their old shows from the 80s when they were still just a local PBS show. Its got a lot of that type of stuff too. I'll be sure to check out Bud Lindemann though!

This is one of their most lauded vehicles: the 1971 Oldsmobile Cutlass 442.

Check out those horrible braking tests where the car nearly goes off the road.

Fifty years ago they were already saying that “concern for safety and the environment” were going to take all the fun from cars...

 

[Fsttanks]

ESS is nowhere as big of problem as the dang huge ass brick of a key Jeep gives us. Doesn’t fit in pockets well especially if you have a few other keys attached to it on a ring, no place to put it in the Jeep if you have cups in the center cup holder, the back up metal key seem to always unfold in your pocket and on and on. I would much rather have a smaller FCA key like our FIAT has that does exactly the same things as the Jeep brick key does but is 30% smaller.

ESS sucks but the key sucks more IMO.

 

[Punjabi New Yorker]

ESS is nowhere as big of problem as the dang huge ass brick of a key Jeep gives us. Doesn’t fit in pockets well especially if you have a few other keys attached to it on a ring, no place to put it in the Jeep if you have cups in the center cup holder, the back up metal key seem to always unfold in your pocket and on and on. I would much rather have a smaller FCA key like our FIAT has that does exactly the same things as the Jeep brick key does but is 30% smaller.

ESS sucks but the key sucks more IMO.

Once threw my Jeep key at a hissing squirrel. The guy ran thinking that it’s a big rock coming towards it.

 

[Gee-pah]

I don't even think twice about ESS. It's one of a few buttons I hit every time I drive my Jeep. I hit the start button, the climate control button, the radio button (well not always) and the ESS button. I don't see the big deal and I'm just thankful there is a button to turn it off as opposed to having ESS be always on...

Your thoughts find me considering another viewpoint.

Tons of people may not be that bothered by pressing the button like you or me (if I felt need to disengage ESS).

Their lack of distaste with the step finds them NOT posting here about it.

Far be it for a thread to begin here with, "you know, that dang ESS button is something I'm really indifferent about having to press!"

 

[Gee-pah]

I am like the only person around here that doesn't care about ESS. The only times I disable it are when I'm driving my kid around to get her to sleep because the restarts tend to wake her up. Otherwise I leave it on and it never gets in the way of my manual transmission driving habits.

I'd much, much rather had ESS than pay for a gas guzzler tax upon purchase. I am getting excellent (IMO) gas mileage but I'm not sure how much the ESS plays into it (not much, probably, since I seldom drive in conditions when it's active).

I suggest you don't point at the gubbermint as requiring ESS. FCA chose ESS as a means of achieving whatever it decided is the optimal level emissions and fuel efficiency figures to maximize profits based on the regulations it is beholden to in the US market and abroad. FCA might have been able to avoid ESS by designing the Pentastar to maximize fuel economy, lightening the JL(U) even more to reduce fuel consumption, opted for hybridization/electrification across all powertrains, or reduced the Wrangler's off-road capabilities by lightening/weakening components, etc. etc. IMHO FCA chose one of or the least disruptive means of achieving better fuel economy/profits. I'm getting nearly 23 mpg lifetime and that's pretty damn good.

Ok. Well taken. While FCA did choose to address the EPA standards with ESS, but no doubt they did so because the alternatives, like the ones you mentioned likely proved to be more costly; costs we would have to share with FCA in purchase price.

FWIW I support fleet mileage standards.

 

[Gee-pah]

I know this is in gest. I get that. But you know that destroying species of CO2 emitting creatures would screw with the food chain we depend upon.

Of course one exception, not that I want this, is elimination of mankind, which would do the earth good actually.

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