Yeah, that DVD'll come in handy when you're trying to find the jack hardpoints on your new Cherokee while standing in water up to your ankles on a muddy roadside when it's pissing down rain. Maybe you could use it as a tiny umbrella.
(nose upturned) What, you don't have the standard flatscreen DVD player mounted in the dashboard??? How GAUCHE!!! (/sarc) Sadly, I think this is the wave of the future, and I weep. People can't READ anymore (see: congress), and anything not in a DVD 'show-me' format is just lost in the gray.
See, this is why the auto bailout with our tax money is such a good idea! Bet the "old" Chrysler, the one beholden to stockholders expecting profits, wouldn't have had the bold vision to take this monumental step into the future.
Oh, and anon 12:42, shame on you for your lack of faith! Obama is always around.
Accompanying the DVD will be an owner’s guide, with color photographs instead of the traditional manual’s minimalist line art, of 40 to 80 pages. The user’s guide, Mr. Motta said, will cover basic knowledge, including major features and instructions for handling typical roadside emergencies.
Having read the whole article, it seems pretty obvious that they have your scenario covered.
Owner's manual? Hey, if you've never, ever driven a car, well, yeah, there's a lot of useful info.
My new Tacoma's owner's manual has over 480 pages. Of those, maybe 50 contain what I'd call necessary or at least helpful information. The rest of it is purely an anti-tort-liability waste of trees.
Having a walk-through in a digital medium to make up for the black and white sketches in the manual is great, but I agree that a low-tech reference has been a feature in cars for (how long?) for a reason.
I have to agree with Anon 13. 99% of my owners manual is anti-tort garbage or so completely obvious that I'll never use it. The stuff that isn't totally worthless has just enough information to tell me that I actually need the full repair manual.
I've had the Bimmer for eight years now. Every other year or so, I get a wild hair to flip the trip computer over to metric, and it always requires a consult of the manual.
Heck, it was three years before I could stop looking up how to reset the clock every spring and fall.
"...when you're trying to find the jack hardpoints on your new Cherokee while standing in water up to your ankles on a muddy roadside when it's pissing down rain..."
Good news for the folks who publish Haynes's and Chilton's guides, I s'pose. I've kept the relevant Haynes manual tucked under the passenger seat of each of my last couple of vehicles. They're what I refer to more often, while the original manuals begin to fossilize in the profundal zone of the glove box.
When Chrysler was lobbying for bailout money I sent a letter, yes a good old fashioned hand written letter to them. I included a picture of my great grandfather sitting in his 1931 Dodge truck, my grandfather in his 1946 Dodge, my Dad standing next to his 1962 Dodge, my daughter and I next to our 1987, 1997 and 2007 Dodge vehicle. I told them if you take one penny of government bailout money you will lose my entire family as customers.
After they took the bailout money I sent them the same letter but added a picture of my daughter standing next to her brand new Toyota Corolla.
They can make the owners manual out of anything they want to. Me and mine don't care anymore.
$12.50 may be what they say the manual is wort when they cut it, but not when they offer it as an option- an ash tray in my new Jeep was like a $30 option.
Oh please, as if anyone ever strays outside of cell coverage and road-side assistance anymore.
/snark
Reality: if your car breaks down, throw DVD into windshield of someone who looks like they might be of help. After they swerve off the road and/or crash, rifle the wreckage for a repair manual.
verification: "obsese"- To worry about how flabby people's thinking has become.
(nose upturned)
ReplyDeleteWhat, you don't have the standard flatscreen DVD player mounted in the dashboard??? How GAUCHE!!!
(/sarc)
Sadly, I think this is the wave of the future, and I weep. People can't READ anymore (see: congress), and anything not in a DVD 'show-me' format is just lost in the gray.
Your lucid and elegantly phrased prose in these pages is the reflection of a sophisticated and well-read woman.
ReplyDelete- - - - -
Translation for Gen-Y: "You Rawk!!11!eleven!
Just hold the CD up to the light
ReplyDelete"Just hold the CD up to the light"
ReplyDeleteBut what if Obama's not around? ;-)
See, this is why the auto bailout with our tax money is such a good idea! Bet the "old" Chrysler, the one beholden to stockholders expecting profits, wouldn't have had the bold vision to take this monumental step into the future.
ReplyDeleteOh, and anon 12:42, shame on you for your lack of faith! Obama is always around.
In the year 2525
ReplyDeleteIf man is still alive
If woman can survive
They may find
They can read DVDs
With their minds
I want to be the lawyer when someone is crippled from misaligning the jack, wrongly connecting the jumper cables, or something like that.
ReplyDeletePINTO, people.
P. S. the "bullet" shortage is on Yahoo's front page. Scoop!
Accompanying the DVD will be an owner’s guide, with color photographs instead of the traditional manual’s minimalist line art, of 40 to 80 pages. The user’s guide, Mr. Motta said, will cover basic knowledge, including major features and instructions for handling typical roadside emergencies.
ReplyDeleteHaving read the whole article, it seems pretty obvious that they have your scenario covered.
Well, I expect my new Town and Country to go from $26,340 to $26,328.50
ReplyDeleteIt will be interesting to see what impact this has on the 0.006% of people who actually read their vehicle owners manual.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, it will leave room for 68 more napkins in the glove box, alongside 12 additional inoperative pens.
Once again, I repeat my thesis that the harder something is to reverse-engineer, the worse it will be when it fails without an analog back-up handy.
ReplyDeleteReleasing it as an iPhone app, though, might have some serious potential. Especially if it came with five free iTunes songs.
ReplyDeleteOwner's manual? Hey, if you've never, ever driven a car, well, yeah, there's a lot of useful info.
ReplyDeleteMy new Tacoma's owner's manual has over 480 pages. Of those, maybe 50 contain what I'd call necessary or at least helpful information. The rest of it is purely an anti-tort-liability waste of trees.
Art
Having a walk-through in a digital medium to make up for the black and white sketches in the manual is great, but I agree that a low-tech reference has been a feature in cars for (how long?) for a reason.
ReplyDeleteJim
I have to agree with Anon 13. 99% of my owners manual is anti-tort garbage or so completely obvious that I'll never use it. The stuff that isn't totally worthless has just enough information to tell me that I actually need the full repair manual.
ReplyDeleteI've had the Bimmer for eight years now. Every other year or so, I get a wild hair to flip the trip computer over to metric, and it always requires a consult of the manual.
ReplyDeleteHeck, it was three years before I could stop looking up how to reset the clock every spring and fall.
"...when you're trying to find the jack hardpoints on your new Cherokee while standing in water up to your ankles on a muddy roadside when it's pissing down rain..."
ReplyDeleteA common malady, I find, considering the make.
Good news for the folks who publish Haynes's and Chilton's guides, I s'pose. I've kept the relevant Haynes manual tucked under the passenger seat of each of my last couple of vehicles. They're what I refer to more often, while the original manuals begin to fossilize in the profundal zone of the glove box.
ReplyDeleteI would prefer to just phase out Chrysler.
ReplyDeleteWhen Chrysler was lobbying for bailout money I sent a letter, yes a good old fashioned hand written letter to them. I included a picture of my great grandfather sitting in his 1931 Dodge truck, my grandfather in his 1946 Dodge, my Dad standing next to his 1962 Dodge, my daughter and I next to our 1987, 1997 and 2007 Dodge vehicle. I told them if you take one penny of government bailout money you will lose my entire family as customers.
ReplyDeleteAfter they took the bailout money I sent them the same letter but added a picture of my daughter standing next to her brand new Toyota Corolla.
They can make the owners manual out of anything they want to. Me and mine don't care anymore.
David: Nice. I like your style.
ReplyDelete$12.50 may be what they say the manual is wort when they cut it, but not when they offer it as an option- an ash tray in my new Jeep was like a $30 option.
ReplyDeleteBut government agencies are bound (heh) by the Paperwork Reduction Act...
ReplyDeleteOh please, as if anyone ever strays outside of cell coverage and road-side assistance anymore.
ReplyDelete/snark
Reality: if your car breaks down, throw DVD into windshield of someone who looks like they might be of help. After they swerve off the road and/or crash, rifle the wreckage for a repair manual.
verification: "obsese"- To worry about how flabby people's thinking has become.
Dvd includes a printable umbrella
ReplyDelete