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Alberta startup sells no-tech tractors for half price

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Re: Alberta startup sells no-tech tractors for half price

#361

Post by PunchyHamster »

AlotOfReading wrote: post #47
sarchertech wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That’s part of the issue. But packing a tractor (or car) with electronics and computers does make it inherently harder to work on—even if it’s not locked down.

You need electronics and computers for cost-effective compliance with emissions requirements. Emissions limits have been one of the most positive government policies in my lifetime, saving millions of QALYs. There's lots of other electronics in most modern vehicles, but the public manufacturer rationales for electronic lockdowns almost always point back to emissions concerns because they're so defensible. How do you…

defeat devices aren't even complicated (they just fake the sensor data to ECU to get what owner needs). Locking down is pointless. Most people are not tuning their cars.

IF we wanted to do it properly, I'd imagine we'd have zero mandatory locks on ECU, just a little closed down black box with sensor installed in relatively tamper-proof way (of course there will always be one, the target is for 90% of people to not bother), logging away and maybe sending check engine light if it detects wrong AFR for too long.

Then you just check that on yearly MOT + any signs of tampering. Then owner is free to tune the engine as they want, provided the exhaust is still within the norms for most of the time.

Re: Alberta startup sells no-tech tractors for half price

#363

Post by rickypp »

narenst wrote: post #109
rickypp wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you're mechanically inclined, the compacts of yesterdecade are still out there. Popular brands like Ford or Massey Ferguson have amazingly good supply chain for 50 year old models. I run my hobby farm with a 1975 MF135, and I just sold a 1947 Massey Harris Pony that ran like a top doing pasture/arena dragging duties. I've put a ton of hours on the 135 and only done basic maintenance like replacing a few hydraulic…

Can you share more about your hobby farm? I would love to learn more about how you got into that? My family had a small farm growing up and my parents are still actively working on the farm everyday and I would like to take that up at some point. So curious to hear what you farm and how much involved you are in the process.

We're in the very early stages, but the short is that we're raising highland cattle and starting to board horses. We started after my wife bought a horse and we realized boarding costs in a HCOL area are pretty close to a rural mortgage in a LCOL area. So we moved and bought a farm property. Then we bought a couple highland heifers because they're very cute and fluffy. We're working towards growing that herd up to have a few calves to sell each year for pasture pets / meat. The property is also well suited for horse boarding with a sand arena and lots of trails accessible from the back woods. These first few years will be pretty scrappy. Mostly getting all the pasture acres fenced properly and rebuilding the forage quality, plus setting up all the other infrastructure to keep things running smoothly longer term. My wife handles the day-to-day on feeding and caring for the animals, she is a trained farrier and a licensed veterinary technician so we have a big advantage there. I step in for the project work and infrastructure planning. And anything that's an excuse to run the MF135 (snow plowing, moving manure and dirt, grading the driveway, post hole digging, dragging, mowing, etc...)

Re: Alberta startup sells no-tech tractors for half price

#364

Post by PunchyHamster »

cout wrote: post #121
svnt wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This seems almost completely untrue? The new models have engines that are smaller turbos, that part is true — but they get >30% better fuel economy, and they output more power. The reliability might become an issue down the road especially in hybrid engines but the data so far don’t seem to support your assertions. The one exception is maybe the Tundra 3.4L but that seems to still be ambiguous as to the root cause, a…

I wonder if this notion comes from the 80s, when engines with turbos had lower compression ratios for reliability. Today's turbocharged motors have higher compression ratios than in the malaise era, and the turbos have a lot less lag. Turbos no longer mean you have to sacrifice fuel economy for performance (unless you have a lead foot).

Nope, just engineering to do not much more for warranty. Turbo engines arent inherently unreliable (tho you might need to replace the turbo itself every 100-200k so still more expensive to maintain), just need to build extra strong block and components if you want it to run for a long time.

And why would company do that if that would put it far over warranty period?

Re: Alberta startup sells no-tech tractors for half price

#365

Post by origin_ »

throwaway85825 wrote: post #292
throwa356262 wrote: post #269

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, at least you are not in Spain. https://community.cloudflare.com/t/website-inaccessible-from...

The Spanish government no longer had to care about the consequences of their actions since they found a new voting block.

I'm not familiar with spanish politics, care to explain?

Re: Alberta startup sells no-tech tractors for half price

#366

Post by hypercube33 »

jadbox wrote: post #104
jmward01 wrote: post #59

I want this for cars but to keep the modern powertrain. So an EV without the tracking/touch screens, etc etc. Or an internal combustion engine car that is just simple and efficient (and again, no tracking). I'll take the low-tech but nice features like heated seats and power windows still thank you.

I'd love this. I really don't want my car to be an iPhone with "apps" and random background software on it. The car touchscreen was perhaps the worst design choice in the history of the automobile, and is likely the cause of countless crashes. It's insane when I see car UIs that have the 'cancel / go back' button located in DIFFERENT areas depending on the screen context.

I favor my 2018 car with knobs and buttons but has car and android auto and a modern turbo inline 4...just wish it had metal valve covers and coolant joints instead of crappy plastic...

Re: Alberta startup sells no-tech tractors for half price

#367

Post by hypercube33 »

irq-1 wrote: post #347
m01 wrote: post #160

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One example: https://www.caricecars.com (via https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45823186 )

Another: https://www.slate.auto/en/personalization A basic truck that you can customize. > BRING YOUR OWN TECH > Bring the apps you know and love to create the experience you want. Instead of a bulky, distracting, and quickly outdated infotainment system, a Slate can come with something simpler: a smartly designed mount that fits a phone or tablet and a holder for a portable Bluetooth speaker. Heating and air conditi…

No door speakers or mounts for them, like it hasn't been a thing for 70 years irks me to no end

Re: Alberta startup sells no-tech tractors for half price

#368

Post by c0decracker »

adamcharnock wrote: post #134

Up until a year ago I was regularly using a Massy Fergusson 135 [0] (Perkins Diesel version), made sometime in the 1970s. It was wonderful! So amazing to drive and use. Clunky and heavy, but you really really felt like you were using a machine. In low gears, if you put you foot down on the accelerator the engine would roar, and your speed would barely change! And there was no fancy technology in it at all. If I was i…

One of my early memories was driving a tractor like this hauling potato harvest with my late grandfather when his "big" tractor wouldn't start. Feels like a 1000 years ago...

Re: Alberta startup sells no-tech tractors for half price

#369

Post by crazygringo »

I'm not totally sure I understand. I expected these to be selling for twice the price, not half price.

I thought the whole idea of so much of the tech is to be able to lock you in and make profit that way, through servicing and features and subscriptions and whatever else.

If they're giving up that entire profit stream, they have to make money somewhere else. So how are they selling these for so much less and still making a profit? What am I missing?

Re: Alberta startup sells no-tech tractors for half price

#370

Post by post-it »

throwaway27448 wrote: post #306
post-it wrote: post #304

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, free, and created in Canada by developers not burdened by American red tape.

I have a hard time imagining that canada has expertise in tractor software. Let's rein our nationalist tendencies in to something that approaches common sense

Do you think we live in fucking igloos bud?
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