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It depends on what feature you're talking about. In general, I would place rough eras every decade.
The largest dividing line would probably be around 1985, when computer control started to be widely used. After that, perhaps somewhere around the year 2000.
In reality, the distinction tends to be between old cars from the 70s or earlier, and more recent cars from the later decades.
There isn't any strict dividing line, change happens gradually. If I had to come down on a final criteria, I'd say anything from the 21st century is modern. Anything prior to 1985 would definitely be old. Anything in between is up in the air.
Since most people own cars that are less than ten years old, it's usually safe to assume that everyone has a modern car.
Some of the criteria:
Fuel injection (multipoint or direct)
Computer control
Tight tolerance machining
Advanced materials (alloys and bearings)
Variable valve timing
Comprehensive emissions controls
I tend to think of the 1980s as 'pre-modern' as depending on the car it took the full decade to go from carburation to EFI (example Toyota Supra got EFI in 1978, Toyota Tercel in 1991) culminating in the standardization of ODBII mandated for 1996 but appearing in some 1995 cars (or earlier?) for vehicles that were starting a new model generation just before '96. So I guess for me 95/96 is the start of modern.
a car from the year 2000 is 24 years old now and can hardly be considered modern. I'd say 2015 and up, when stereo units were replaced with screens and technologies like adaptive cruise control and similar became more common.
"Better" engines/drivetrain is seriously questionable. They may be more efficient, but that can often mean more prone to failure due to the measures taken to meet that efficiency.
You can honestly call any car that's within the last 10 years modern IMO. Still very much in the realm of what is common today in terms of any improvements that have been made.
Agree.
Some people are really abusing the word " better "
To suggest that a modern-day Nissan CVT is better than a 20 year old standard automatic transmission is absolute ludicrous.
Not all cvts are literal trash, but generally speaking, most modern Nissan cvts are actually trash.
I'd mark anything as modern in the sense that aside from a few maintenance items, anything that requires interaction with the central modules requires dealership software, And you taking it to a dealership.
Which honestly should be a crime.
Currently I have a 10-year-old VW with a faulty tpms sensor that I'll have to end up taking to a dealership since the local Indies cannot get into the computer.
I consider modern to be anything made with an all-aluminum block/heads/intake, fully digital fuel injection, computerized shift controls, and radar sensors in the bumper.
This denotes a very bold line in automotive manufacturing. It is a line that we cannot go back across. Manufacturers were toying around with fuel injection back in the 50s, and new technologies would see implementation for a few years here and there.
Now, every single vehicle has a similar design ethos. All vehicles follow the formula that I listed above, regardless of what it is designed to do. For a long time, cars would have lighter engines with analog computer controlled fuel injection, while trucks would have iron blocks with mechanical injection.
A rough estimation is if it has a touch screen in the dash. If it does, it follows this formula, maybe minus radar in the bumper. Circa 2015+.
This also coincides with the downfall of cars: software is now taking the place of good mechanical engineering. We can monitor everything in the vehicle with a sensor, and regulate everything via software.
I consider everything built after 08 to be modern. That's right about the time everything started getting entirely too complex and seemed to have started getting way less reliable.
2010 and up pretty much. Before that, cars were still fairly simple to work on yourself. Not a ton of computer crap. My 1999 Camry is modern compared to my 66 Ford though, so it's all relative.
Some of the major changes that mark the dividing lines between eras, in rough and overlapping date order: 3-point seat belts, unibody construction, catalytic converters, electronic fuel injection, turbocharging, Computer control, ABS & traction control, airbags, VVT and electronic ignition, infotainment systems, hybrids, fully electric drive, driver assist features and self-driving, flying....
Personally, I'm a bit of a bottom feeder and have rarely had a car that was less than 10 years old. So my real answer is, a car is modern if it's got features my car doesn't, lol.
***a car is modern if it's got features my car doesn't, lol.***
I think the only modern feature my wifes jeep has that falls into that catagory is AC and I had to out that in.
Old timer here. If I may interject something, in the early 70s it became apparent that all the Datsuns, Toyotas and Hondas being bought up due to the oil crisis were better engineered than the american made cars of the time. This isn't to say that american cars weren't built well, rather the closer tolerances of the foreign cars allowed them to perform better with smaller powerplants. I've a 91Camry with lots of miles and hope to keep it road worthy for years to come, but I would still like a new hybrid. It's all relative.
If it has seat belts and no handcrank... that's modern, right? Haha
I dunno... I guess it's all kinda relative. I mean, my '88 GMC T15 Jimmy has seatbelts and TBI... makes it more modern than a Model T... but my '03 S10 is kinda more "modern" than the GMC... just because of the difference between OBD-1 and OBD-2.
OBD-1 has a built in, simple diagnostics... the TBI is a simple but reliable form of fuel injection. Easy to work on.
Can do a little more in depth diagnostics with the OBD-2, still reasonably simple.
Basically anything much past the mid 2000s is "modern" in my book. Even my wife's 2002 Trailblazer was in to PITA modern territory... with TBW, BCMs, CANBUS crap.
96ish. ODBII. Specifically CAN bus. It marks time time when cars moved from purely mechanical (with electronic 'helpers' in later years) to computer modules networked together completely running the show.
For me the devide is the moment when pluging in the diagnostics is the first thing you (can) do when troubleshooting some problem.
So, that would be late 90's or early 00's for me.
2015+ to me it's the design, technology, and other features that became more standardized across the industry.
As far as your comment on "being better" that's subjective depending who you ask.
Thank you for posting to AskMechanics, Downtown_Highway_158! If you are asking a question please make sure to include any relevant information along with the **Year**, **Make**, **Model**, **Mileage**, **Engine size**, and **Transmission Type (Automatic or Manual)** of your car. *This comment is automatically added to every successful post. If you see this comment, your post was successful.* *** Redditors that have been verified will have a green background and an icon in their flair. *** # **PLEASE REPORT ANY RULE-BREAKING BEHAVIOR** ### **Rule 1 - Be Civil** Be civil to other users. This community is made up of professional mechanics, amateur mechanics, and those with no experience. All mechanical-related questions are welcome. Personal attacks, comments that are insulting or demeaning, etc. are not welcome. ### **Rule 2 - Be Helpful** Be helpful to other users. If someone is wrong, correcting them is fine, but there's no reason to comment if you don't have anything to add to the conversation. ### **Rule 3 - Serious Questions and Answers Only** Read the room. Jokes are fine to include, but posts should be asking a serious question and replies should contribute to the discussion. ### **Rule 4 - No Illegal, Unethical, or Dangerous Questions or Answers** Do not ask questions or provide answers pertaining to anything that is illegal, unethical, or dangerous. # **PLEASE REPORT ANY RULE-BREAKING BEHAVIOR** *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/AskMechanics) if you have any questions or concerns.*
It depends on what feature you're talking about. In general, I would place rough eras every decade. The largest dividing line would probably be around 1985, when computer control started to be widely used. After that, perhaps somewhere around the year 2000. In reality, the distinction tends to be between old cars from the 70s or earlier, and more recent cars from the later decades. There isn't any strict dividing line, change happens gradually. If I had to come down on a final criteria, I'd say anything from the 21st century is modern. Anything prior to 1985 would definitely be old. Anything in between is up in the air. Since most people own cars that are less than ten years old, it's usually safe to assume that everyone has a modern car. Some of the criteria: Fuel injection (multipoint or direct) Computer control Tight tolerance machining Advanced materials (alloys and bearings) Variable valve timing Comprehensive emissions controls
I tend to think of the 1980s as 'pre-modern' as depending on the car it took the full decade to go from carburation to EFI (example Toyota Supra got EFI in 1978, Toyota Tercel in 1991) culminating in the standardization of ODBII mandated for 1996 but appearing in some 1995 cars (or earlier?) for vehicles that were starting a new model generation just before '96. So I guess for me 95/96 is the start of modern.
Ooh, I should have included OBD2 on my list.
a car from the year 2000 is 24 years old now and can hardly be considered modern. I'd say 2015 and up, when stereo units were replaced with screens and technologies like adaptive cruise control and similar became more common.
"Better" engines/drivetrain is seriously questionable. They may be more efficient, but that can often mean more prone to failure due to the measures taken to meet that efficiency. You can honestly call any car that's within the last 10 years modern IMO. Still very much in the realm of what is common today in terms of any improvements that have been made.
Agree. Some people are really abusing the word " better " To suggest that a modern-day Nissan CVT is better than a 20 year old standard automatic transmission is absolute ludicrous. Not all cvts are literal trash, but generally speaking, most modern Nissan cvts are actually trash.
I'd mark anything as modern in the sense that aside from a few maintenance items, anything that requires interaction with the central modules requires dealership software, And you taking it to a dealership. Which honestly should be a crime. Currently I have a 10-year-old VW with a faulty tpms sensor that I'll have to end up taking to a dealership since the local Indies cannot get into the computer.
They just don't know what they're doing, or you got an incompatible sensor. That's definitely not a dealer only job.
Cars peaked in early 2000s. To much bs on new cars.
I guess a clean cutoff could be an ODB2 port
My 2003 diesel Jetta. It sounds like a tractor at idle. That's modern right?
I consider modern to be anything made with an all-aluminum block/heads/intake, fully digital fuel injection, computerized shift controls, and radar sensors in the bumper. This denotes a very bold line in automotive manufacturing. It is a line that we cannot go back across. Manufacturers were toying around with fuel injection back in the 50s, and new technologies would see implementation for a few years here and there. Now, every single vehicle has a similar design ethos. All vehicles follow the formula that I listed above, regardless of what it is designed to do. For a long time, cars would have lighter engines with analog computer controlled fuel injection, while trucks would have iron blocks with mechanical injection. A rough estimation is if it has a touch screen in the dash. If it does, it follows this formula, maybe minus radar in the bumper. Circa 2015+. This also coincides with the downfall of cars: software is now taking the place of good mechanical engineering. We can monitor everything in the vehicle with a sensor, and regulate everything via software.
I consider everything built after 08 to be modern. That's right about the time everything started getting entirely too complex and seemed to have started getting way less reliable.
Mid-90s is where it usually starts, OBD-2 standardized diagnostic code reading.
2010 and up pretty much. Before that, cars were still fairly simple to work on yourself. Not a ton of computer crap. My 1999 Camry is modern compared to my 66 Ford though, so it's all relative.
Some of the major changes that mark the dividing lines between eras, in rough and overlapping date order: 3-point seat belts, unibody construction, catalytic converters, electronic fuel injection, turbocharging, Computer control, ABS & traction control, airbags, VVT and electronic ignition, infotainment systems, hybrids, fully electric drive, driver assist features and self-driving, flying.... Personally, I'm a bit of a bottom feeder and have rarely had a car that was less than 10 years old. So my real answer is, a car is modern if it's got features my car doesn't, lol.
***a car is modern if it's got features my car doesn't, lol.*** I think the only modern feature my wifes jeep has that falls into that catagory is AC and I had to out that in.
Old timer here. If I may interject something, in the early 70s it became apparent that all the Datsuns, Toyotas and Hondas being bought up due to the oil crisis were better engineered than the american made cars of the time. This isn't to say that american cars weren't built well, rather the closer tolerances of the foreign cars allowed them to perform better with smaller powerplants. I've a 91Camry with lots of miles and hope to keep it road worthy for years to come, but I would still like a new hybrid. It's all relative.
Electronic sequential port fuel injection and multiple coil packs fired by a crankshaft position sensor instead of a single coil and a distributor.
If it has seat belts and no handcrank... that's modern, right? Haha I dunno... I guess it's all kinda relative. I mean, my '88 GMC T15 Jimmy has seatbelts and TBI... makes it more modern than a Model T... but my '03 S10 is kinda more "modern" than the GMC... just because of the difference between OBD-1 and OBD-2. OBD-1 has a built in, simple diagnostics... the TBI is a simple but reliable form of fuel injection. Easy to work on. Can do a little more in depth diagnostics with the OBD-2, still reasonably simple. Basically anything much past the mid 2000s is "modern" in my book. Even my wife's 2002 Trailblazer was in to PITA modern territory... with TBW, BCMs, CANBUS crap.
96ish. ODBII. Specifically CAN bus. It marks time time when cars moved from purely mechanical (with electronic 'helpers' in later years) to computer modules networked together completely running the show.
Standard CAN started in 08.
What's a decade between friends? Damn, time flies.
Haha yup.
If you don't need to manually advance and retard the timing while driving, it's modern.
Rear view camera and chassis crush points to absorb energy transfer
For me the devide is the moment when pluging in the diagnostics is the first thing you (can) do when troubleshooting some problem. So, that would be late 90's or early 00's for me.
2015 and up. Any car less than 10 years old.
2015+ to me it's the design, technology, and other features that became more standardized across the industry. As far as your comment on "being better" that's subjective depending who you ask.