How Plastic Panels are Ruining Your Commute

"Brian Tschiegg" (WritingInCars)
04/28/2014 at 10:02 • Filed to: None

Go pop the hood on the car nearest you. Go ahead. I'll wait.

What did you see? Chances are it was a bunch of plastic panels unless you drive something that's more than two decades old. Especially in recent years, there's been a move to insulate the driver from the mechanical aspects of the vehicle. Insulation, plastic panels, and hidden mechanics make the car quiet and help the driver forget about those pesky parts that are always breaking.

The problem is that, by hiding all of the parts that make a car work, the engineers have effectively made cars into an unsolvable enigma for most drivers. Most people no longer understand how their car manages to shuttle them from place to place. Thanks to plastic panels many people now just assume their cars are powered by magic rather than small, contained explosions.

The fact is that engines are amazingly complex now and the average person shouldn't work on them, but without a healthy respect for what they do,there can be no respect for how they work and how they should be maintained. This has led to a crisis in car maintenance that is especially obvious in my home state of Florida.

The Great State of Florida has no mandatory state vehicle inspections (Get 'yer laws of my car!). That means there are no emissions or safety requirements outside of what the National Highway Safety Administration requires. This is great in many ways for people who maintain their car and don't have to deal with unnecessary expenses and hasslesof getting their car certified, but it is also causing a huge problem. I have yet to take a drive, no matter how short, where I do not see a car with bald tires, shattered windshields, or smoke pouring out of it. Yesterday, I saw a car with its bumper literally hanging off and scraping along the ground. The worst part is that the drive seemed oblivious to the shower of sparks he was flinging at the drivers behind him.

Now, I'm not advocating for a mandatory vehicle inspection because they still allow many dangerous cars back on the road. What I am advocating for is a mandatory vehicle maintenance course that is taught during a student's driving lessons. This would be easy to implement as one of the most important things you can do to ensure vehicle safety is to visually check your vehicle regularly, so it can be taught before taking a drive with the instructor. You don't even need to pull those plastic panels out. Teaching young drivers to visually check their tires, body, and fluids regularly could help prevent many unnecessary delays and accidents.

The problem is that most people still view their car as a sort of magic carpet that shuttles them from place to place without any demands or concerns rather than a complicated set of mechanical systems working in tandem to harness exploding dinosaurs into forward movement. If you can teach young drivers to respect and care for their vehicles, you will decrease the likelihood of negligence or abuse of vehicles that you share the road with as well as driving home the point of how dangerous and complicated a car is. A healthy respect for how a car works is one of the most important things a young driver (and quite a few older ones here in Florida) can learn. Don't take the panels away, but make sure you demystify what is underneath of them.

DISCUSSION (33)

CalzoneGolem > Brian Tschiegg
04/28/2014 at 10:04

While I agree that the plastic panels are a crime, I don't think people understand how the car works any less than they always have.

Milky > Brian Tschiegg
04/28/2014 at 10:06

Michigan doesn't have any vehicle inspection either and I agree with what was said here … all of it.

Every time I see the smoke-pouring-out-of-the-tailpipe POS driving down the road, all I can think is "there is no way this is ending well".

EDIT: side note, I do genuinely hate how my filters are in the engine cover so I can't take it off.

Kinja'd!!!

thebigbossyboss > Brian Tschiegg
04/28/2014 at 10:06

If I ever own a car with the plastic cover ( I don't and my car is only 1 decade old!) I will most likely remove it.

GTI MkVII > Brian Tschiegg
04/28/2014 at 10:06

Definitely agree. Also a FL resident and see just as many atrocities every day. The bottom line is that average people don't like driving. And like Clarkson put it, when someone doesn't particularly like something, they have no motivation to actually be good at it.

davedave1111 > Brian Tschiegg
04/28/2014 at 10:08

"Teaching young drivers to visually check their tires, body, and fluids regularly could help prevent many unnecessary delays and accidents."

That's part of the test here in the UK (and I think the whole EU). But as long as the US refuses to so much as dream about contemplating the mere thought of real driver training, basic roadworthiness education is a very low priority.

offroadkarter > Brian Tschiegg
04/28/2014 at 10:13

I know some people will argue with this, but I think the safety part of inspections is more important than the emissions parts. Even up here in NJ I've seen tons of "how the **** is that on the road?" cars driving around. When our Gov't passed the law saying they would do emissions only testing they said somewhere around 3-5% of cars failed for something not emissions related. With how modern new emissions systems are, and since vehicles from 1996+ are all OBDII testing by just checking the monitors I'd love to know how many actually fail for legitimate emissions reasons. I shouldn't have my car rejected because the EGR is non-existent while the guy in the lane next to me is driving a 90's ram 1500 where the cab is literally pushed 8-10" in from either sliding into a pole or being hit. Cars driving diagonally down the road shouldn't fly through inspection either and I've seen a few of those to.

Dingers Ghost, Champion Jockey > Brian Tschiegg
04/28/2014 at 10:14

I live in PA. We have inspections for anything not registered as classic. Many areas also have emmissions testing required. My state is still teeming with death traps, rust buckets, and junkyard dogs.

offroadkarter > CalzoneGolem
04/28/2014 at 10:15

I would argue that they do. I'm willing to bet back in the 30's-70's most men of the household could do a basic tuneup with a screwdriver and socket set on their cars. Granted cars are more advanced and its harder to work on, I would argue people knew more of how they worked back in because they were a much bigger deal to own years ago.

Its also possible that since cars have become so maintenance free compared to what they were 50 years ago, people have paid attention less.

ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) > Brian Tschiegg
04/28/2014 at 10:17

Have to disagree, there should be a national mandatory annual vehicle inspection in the US, just like in the UK.

By driving a car, you are agreeing to a social contract not to endanger those around you with either your behavior, your vehicle, or both. Our system only works if everyone follows the same set of rules.

You are correct that most people haven't a clue how their vehicular appliance works. Starting with some basics in driver's education is a good idea, but it must be constantly reinforced that owning a car is a serious responsibility. It's not a right. It's a privilege, and can be removed from you at any time should you not adhere to the same standards as everyone else.

EL_ULY > Brian Tschiegg
04/28/2014 at 10:18

like most direct injection engines, the fuel regulator/line pump assembly is running on one of the cam lobes atop the motor. Direct injection is a very high pressure system. One of the cams has an extra lobe to run that pump mechanism. The draw back is sound. A very loud sound. The main engine cover like on Lexus and V8 German cars are insulated like crazy. Customers of these expensive cars do not like this ticking noise. Running those engines without it, you;d swear it's diesel. Once the cover is on, and the hood close, they make the world of a difference. As far as high tech engines, not too bad. Maybe compared to something in the early 80's but modern engines are not these ultra complicated things. All still just bolts, nuts, parts, fluids and software. Nothing too new from the last 15 years not including hybrid but even then the regular motors are still basic mechanical. If I could to piston rings on a LS600hL or a heads on a Aston Martin Rapide anyone can.

BrownMiataDieselWagon > Brian Tschiegg
04/28/2014 at 10:18

If automakers truly want to hide the "pesky parts" or a car (aka tubes and wires), they should shave the engine bay. At least shaved bays look better than plastic covers.

Kinja'd!!!

Brian Tschiegg > offroadkarter
04/28/2014 at 10:20

Agreed. I know people now who don't even know their car requires oil changes (shudder).

GTI MkVII > ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable)
04/28/2014 at 10:20

This. All of this. It will never happen in the US though, thanks to a thing called federalism and close-minded idiots rambling about how "evil" "big government" is.

Brian Tschiegg > Milky
04/28/2014 at 10:22

Yeah it's a pain in the ass to get to my air filter in my Jetta as well, but I don't mind the cover otherwise.

Brian Tschiegg > davedave1111
04/28/2014 at 10:23

They definitely stress that driving is a right here but regularly forget to stress the duties that come with that right. It's a real problem here.

GTI MkVII > thebigbossyboss
04/28/2014 at 10:24

I've told myself this as well, but you only expose more plastic manifolds and millions of cables. They're easy enough to remove and do a good job of hiding/managing clutter. Some are incredibly worse than others (take the Lexus LS460 for example).

Brian Tschiegg > Dingers Ghost, Champion Jockey
04/28/2014 at 10:25

That's why I think state inspections are more of a racket than a solution. They still allow cars to pass through that are unsafe and now those cars give the false sense of security because they've been approved as "safe."

Brian Tschiegg > thebigbossyboss
04/28/2014 at 10:26

Most companies build the air filter and other components into them to keep you from doing that. Plus, you may not want to remove it to cut down on noise from your engine .

ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) > GTI MkVII
04/28/2014 at 10:28

Under the hood of every new Lexus resides a sea of black plastic. There is no use trying to remove it either, as some of those bits incorporate sensors and intake systems now.

offroadkarter > Brian Tschiegg
04/28/2014 at 10:28

I can't confirm this at all but one of my friends told me one of his friends mothers went 60,000 miles over on the oil on their yukon and somehow it didn't blow up.

CalzoneGolem > offroadkarter
04/28/2014 at 10:37

Sure, baseline knowledge was more in depth when you had to manually advance the spark.

Meatcoma > offroadkarter
04/28/2014 at 10:51

It probably burned a quart every two weeks and they assumed it was like getting an oil change. LOL

offroadkarter > CalzoneGolem
04/28/2014 at 10:52

or pull the choke while yelling "start you mother ****ing piece of ****" when it was 10F out and your car wouldn't start. It was not a good time when you were late for your meeting with the board to deliver the details on the big Johnson Account and your 49 Ford wouldn't turn over in the morning!

offroadkarter > Meatcoma
04/28/2014 at 10:53

its a self flushing system!

CalzoneGolem > offroadkarter
04/28/2014 at 10:54

That's when you dump some gas right into the carb.

Makoyouidiot > Brian Tschiegg
04/28/2014 at 10:58

I know I'm in the minority here...but I like the Brits MOT inspection. Ours here in TX are a joke. Especially if you buddy up with the mechanic and he just fobs you a sticker. Even if you get the proper inspection done, I myself have gotten things passed that were clearly not safe, and I see vehicles all the time that need serious TLC or a trip to the scrapheap, and yet they have a valid inspection. Crazy.

E92M3 > offroadkarter
04/28/2014 at 11:20

I believe it. My sister has a 90's Suburban with 250k miles. I guarantee you at least half of those miles it was low on oil.

BigBlock440 > Dingers Ghost, Champion Jockey
04/28/2014 at 11:30

Classics still need to be inspected, not sure about cars with Antique plates though.

Dingers Ghost, Champion Jockey > BigBlock440
04/28/2014 at 12:08

I couldn't remember if it was classics or antiques. I should, considering I have a license to inspect (not currently doing any though)

yamahog > Brian Tschiegg
04/28/2014 at 13:23

Don't blame engineers for this shit, you think we wanted more stuff to package around??

wtrmlnjuc > Brian Tschiegg
04/28/2014 at 19:13

Aren't the plastic engine covers for pedestrian protection?

Matt Urban > Brian Tschiegg
04/29/2014 at 15:33

When I bought my wife's Mazda, I popped the hood, removed, and left the engine cover with the salesman.

GRawesome > Brian Tschiegg
05/01/2014 at 07:44

These plastic panels are the worst (that's why mine is hanging in the garage), but I don't think they are leading to people not knowing how to work on their car. I bet if you asked a random selection of 100 new car drivers to pop their hood, it would take 75% of them over 5 minutes to figure out the secondary latch. I think most owners just don't need to get under their hood anymore, cars are much more reliable than they were 20-30 years ago, no carb to tune, no points to adjust. And with some new cars going 8-10,000 miles between oil changes and dealers usually throwing in the first 4 free, most drivers never even need to look at their engine until 3-4 years into ownership.

The no inspection thing in Florida is a blessing and a curse. It a blessing for car guys who maintain their vehicles because it is one less hassle and expense to keeping your car on the road. But it definitely leads to more beaters on the road that can be a safety concern and cause traffic.

What part of our great state of Florida are you in. I'm down in Miami.