I like your term "cryptic crap". The damned thing is full of "stuff". I'm putting in a battery isolator for an auxillary battery planning for a trip and I haven't seen yet where there is room.

What still surprises me is how much better cars run and their reliability either because of the crap or in spite of it. Everything is so much better. It used to be that 20,000 miles on a set of tires was a lot, and every 20,000 miles the valves had to be reground. One didn't get options such as power windows because they just didn't last long without an expensive repair. And now with some simple maintenance the things last for a long, long time. Cars with 100,000 miles can appear as new.

I bitched and railed about mandatory car inspections, much like you over the light bulbs, and I have to admit I like driving down the road without having cars spewing smoke all over the place. The same with backyard burning. As a kid I remember the burn barrel behind the garage where we lived in LA! And I considered it my right to burn anything anytime ever since. It's funny but I don't miss it, but I was sure put out when they banned it.

But they don't build cars the way they used to, and a damned good thing it is!

Arf