"Electrical trumps mechanical"

[dtengineering]

Originally Posted by FrankJ

Of course your old fashion mechanical key can be copied for a figurative dollar anywhere keys are made. Your key fob can cost upwards of a couple hundred dollars to have a copy.

Another example of mechanical verses electrical is carburetors verses fuel electronic fuel injection. A simple carburetor is cheaper & more reliable than fuel injection. As you add demands to the control scheme eventually electronic fuel injection becomes a better choice.

Ultimately this is a chicken or the egg question.

(Bold added).

While I have to agree mostly with the "apples trump oranges" comment, and also agree with the fact that a carb is simpler than fuel injection, I've driven my minivan 120,000km and never had to touch the fuel injection. Related to that I've never had to change the spark plugs, either. I don't know if I've ever got a carburated vehicle to go a decade without needing either new plugs (from the inefficient fuel mixture) or simply tuning. And don't even get me started about carbs gunking up when they sit around unused for a while.

But aside from giving a shout-out to those who design the awesome engines we get to enjoy in modern vehicles, let me suggest that the reason that we get so excited about advancements in electronics and controls is not because they in any way "trump" mechanical technologies, but because they are newer. The many brilliant mechanical solutions we have for problems, from cams to transmissions, have evolved over -- in many cases -- centuries. We're used to seeing them and thus tend to take them for granted, while newer developments that make them more efficient or precise are considered more exciting.

I love the technology in the Tesla cars... but they'd kind of suck if it weren't for ball bearings, eh?

Jason