What's the last car ever made with no computers?
Posted by dev1lm4n@reddit | askcarguys | View on Reddit | 47 comments
A thought occured to me that all cars in the last 30 years have had some sort of microchip in them in the form of their stereo systems or fuel regulators. Even the cars from 1990s had plenty of chips in them. So I just suddently wondered, what is the last car ever made with no computers in it?
To clarify, by last car, I mean last production car with ~5000+ units produced. Not including limited production, niche quirky cars like Peel P50. And by computer, I mean any sort of electronic with silicon and transistors in it. So if it has a tiny chip anywhere in it that can do basic calculations, I'd consider it as having a computer.
I know this is a very strange question that has no use to me in real life whatsoever, but I don't know any other subreddit where I could ask this odd question and get an answer to quench my sudden curiosity.
Master-Potato@reddit
So to round up to electronic controlled ignition timing, I would go with a 90 jeep wagoner. However by your definition, mid 1960 most cars came standard with a transistor radio.
Now if you break it down to cars that can run without a “computer” but still include them, the first half of 1998 Dodge Rams came with the 12 valve. I have firsthand knowledge you can start and run that truck with no electrical what so ever (alternator dead shorted, just wired the fuel shut off open and poped the clutch while rolling down a hill)
Helpful-Ad-3457@reddit
As we consider the possibility of an EMP via the friendly CCP I believe this to be an important and extremely pertinent question. So, please, don't apologize for asking it. Some day we may all be thanking you for having done so.
Eggman8728@reddit
Relax, an emp isn't gonna fry your car. You should be a lot more worried about the larger scale stuff. A car is small enough that an EMP can't really do much, it needs long wires to let it induce enough current to dsmage much. I'd be more worried about the infrastructure around you. Even if your car works, how will you fuel it if your area doesn't even have power for weeks, or all the infrastructure required to make your gas just had a few extra hundred volts passed through it?
myheadfelloff@reddit
You getting ready for the EMP apocalypse, mate?
dev1lm4n@reddit (OP)
Yep
throwaway007676@reddit
Get a VW diesel, no computer there. 1.6 IDI
browneyedgenemachine@reddit
what years?
throwaway007676@reddit
Roughly 77-92 . It would be both the 1.5 and 1.6 diesel. The 1.6 was also available turbo but it wasn't really much faster. But they just need a battery and a fuel line to run. Will run forever if you don't let the timing belt snap.
Visible_Cup213@reddit
I too plan to get a car that is not susceptible to an emp as well as overly aggressive federal government. I have no doubt that in America our government will eventually demand every vehicle be such that a federal agency or employee can disable it remotely
Megaton_194_@reddit
They’d first pass a law to prohibit older cars from circulation
Recent_Seat_2345@reddit
turbo great high altitudes
RhubarbAggressive427@reddit
True but that sucks too. Lol!
SelectPreference5879@reddit
You don’t need no computer my 88 doge can survive a Emp and all it will need is the battery jumped and spark plugs
Cautious_Edge5256@reddit
NASA is reported to have a fleet full of 1980s vehicles at their facilities somewhere maybe Hoiston
RhubarbAggressive427@reddit
Seriously!
Inner-Chance-4347@reddit
Im crying at the mate
myheadfelloff@reddit
I love when my dumb jokes from a year ago or more on here make someone happy
Potential_Koala_3136@reddit
Bicycle 🚲
Safe_Report2404@reddit
Cars
WoodpeckerFit7846@reddit
I was wondering this same thing. I want a car that cannot be hacked. My cars electronic components were hacked - and I have a Honda CRV. Sometimes I have to fight the car to drive it. It revs when I turn it on. My system connects remotely to devices I do t recognize and I can’t remove them. The car is not safe to drive, so I have to tow it to the dealer. But so I want to trade it in for another car? I don’t know.
failbetterfuckfaster@reddit
Anyone else here trying to prepare for the emp apocalypse ?
RhubarbAggressive427@reddit
There is a system in vehicles my Husband works on Computers mehanic for the Big Rigs 😉 I forget what it's call but it can take over and control vehicles.
failbetterfuckfaster@reddit
Do you know if every vehicle has it or is it a system in specific models?
BimboPlay@reddit
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which passed Congress in December 2021 and has since become law, gave the federal government three years to establish a rule that would require new cars to be “equipped with advanced drunk and impaired driving prevention technology.” Aka a Killswitch. US Congress infrastructure bill, 2021
EC_CO@reddit
Are we limited to the US or the entire world? The Lada if I remember correctly is one of the longest production running vehicles using pretty much the same everything since it was introduced in the mid '70s, being a Soviet block vehicle it's about as basic as you can get
shorteedf@reddit
If I was looking exclusively in the U.S. do you have a similar suggestion for me? I looked at the lady website. Would be interested in test driving one of their sedans if they were available in the U.S.
2BigBottlesOfWater@reddit
Is the Lada the car that's like beloved in Russia and it's surrounding countries?
Successful-Pea505@reddit
In Russia, as well as all post-Soviet republics, it's referred to by the specific model number, not the general name "Lada". There is VAZ-2101 (the original model that looks like Fiat 124), VAZ -2102 -2103 -2104, 2106, and the most modern variant with square headlights, which was manufactured until 2012 - VAZ-2107. "Lada" was simply the name given to the car so that Westerners would have easier time pronouncing it, instead of Volga Automobile Factory (Волжский Автомобильный Завод). In a similar vein VAZ "Niva" was branded as Lada 4x4 in the west. It is an easy car to repair. No onboard computers, just simple analogue electronics. All the tools you have to have is a hammer and sickle, and a lot of Russian swear words. If you swear enough, and bang enough at the engine, it will start, and get you home.
RhubarbAggressive427@reddit
Italian made ? Expensive.
RhubarbAggressive427@reddit
Aren't all the cars coming from China and Japan, why all the computer technology? As Surprised they're not called Samsung smart cars yet?
Competitive-Buy-5803@reddit
Ok…who is the “”expert”” answering the questions? A transistor is NOT a computer. It is one of many components in a computer, however, a transistor is not a computer. I think the original question is geared toward a car you can fix with pliers, #2 phillips head screwdriver, duct tape and baling wire. Look, a battery is a component in a computer, but clearly, is not a computer. I remember those cars because they were very simple to work on. Yeah, they require fracking…on the other hand, most of the corporate American drivers prefer big complicated vehicles that get gallons to the mile and they have the economic deep pockets to have them repaired at exorbitant costs or just simply lease another one. Putting it in layman’s terms, it costs less for an older uncomplicated vehicle ….. period
shorteedf@reddit
Do you have any suggestions of the kind of car you describe?
Master_Contract_1072@reddit
If I wanted an emp safe car what would you suggest for a starting point? Yr?
brav08@reddit
A 1972 car?
imothers@reddit
Would you include a relay as a "computer" ? If yes, you'll have to go waaaay back. I think the 1952 Morris Minor my family had when I was a kid might not have had any relays - it had a pull-out knob to engage the starter, a generator not an alternator, and semaphore "trafficators" for turn signals (mechanical arms the swung out from the side of the car).
Maybe something made in Eastern Europe before the Berlin wall came down in the late 80s, like a Trabant?
Negative_Photo_4557@reddit
Gotta admit, those semaphore turn signal "arms" - that sounds pretty damn cool!
RhubarbAggressive427@reddit
Wow really stopped 80s huh? I was wondering my self. Interesting. Why us it that they have coverted? I really don't like relying on the computer systems. As a female more comfortable with old way. Just know them better? Eventhough quick learner with computer I just don't feel as safe. Just as with any computers not private. :( And as far as electric, I feel even more unsafe. I 🤔 the idea sucks!
newoldschool@reddit
Diesel Mercedes /8
RhubarbAggressive427@reddit
Yes but they I heard nightmare to fix !
newoldschool@reddit
Mercedes om606 diesel engine is simple
frenchfortomato@reddit
Something else to think about: What were the last vehicles offered with engines that had originally been designed to run without computers? Where I'm going with this is, say, a 1996 F-150 does use computers. But, its engine was originally offered with a points distributor and a single-barrel carb. So with $500 of RockAuto parts, you can make it run perfectly with no computers.
As far as stuff that left the factory without computers, yeah, I'd guess that was made somewhere in a Soviet-bloc nation.
Not a "car" per se, but until 1994.5, Ford light trucks with diesel engine and manual trans had no electronics to run the powertrain, and only 1 electrical component needed to run it. There were electronics on the vehicle but most of them weren't digital and none of them were strictly necessary for safe operation of the vehicle.
RhubarbAggressive427@reddit
Interesting and sounds about right too. My Husband has a F150 not sure what yr? New middle
The_Burt@reddit
Microchip was invented in '58, so before that. First ECU in a car was '68 in VW efi, so somwhere in there I think.
RhubarbAggressive427@reddit
Wow! How old am I? Lol! 57 they say. ;)
Retiredwidowerdad@reddit
My 1982 Toyota Land Cruiser (BJ42) with 3B diesel and a 4 speed manual transmission has no electronics. Even the fuel injection system is all mechanical. They made the 40 series for a long time ending in the mid 1980s, but it’s basically 1950s technology. I think another related question is what cars can you get and actually use as a daily driver without many electronics - just the minimum to run the engine and emissions. Zero integration with the entertainment system. All mechanical switches. No electronics for the transmission. Something simple, repairable, comfortable and safe ish. And what electronics it has are readily available from a salvage yard or even new from the dealer.
ponpbe@reddit
What would that daily driver car would be?
Modernbeauty20@reddit
That’s not an odd question. It is a very smart question if you are trying to find a car that would survive an EMP.