Car electronics

["Scott Johnson" <scott@domain.elided>]

Simon Favre makes an interesting point about "future old" electronic cars.

However, it is my understanding that Alfas used bosch electronics for the most
part. The question is how far were the electronics adapted for specific
applications? 

Considering the large number of aftermarket mods available to electronic cars,
even Alfas, it would seem to me to be not *quite* as hard to create reproduction
units as Simon implies. This is not to say it will be easy, it won't and it will
be expensive.

Still, one of the primary advantages of electronic items is their lack of moving
parts and comparative durability. ECUs typically won't "wear out" in the same
way that mechanical components do.

One of these days I'm sure someone will use up the last Bosch ECU. However,
considering that even pre-war cars can still find NOS parts, that day may be a
long, long way off.

(PS. I do agree about the glass dash note though. Engine ECUs seem to have been
designed for the rugged environment of a car, but for some reason designers
never seem to take the environment of the INSIDE of the car seriously. Not many
other places where people sit can be expected to take temperature extremes of
160 to -50 F for years and years.)

Scott Johnson
Alfa Spider FAQ Author

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