Follies of the Madmen #456

... or that their mothers never taught them not to pick their nose in public.

I’ve driven several cars well over 200,000 miles, and I’ve never had to replace piston rings.

Brian, presumably you haven't driven 1940s cars over 200,000 miles. I'm guessing there have been some technological changes since then. When was the last time you had to get a new muffler? Yet there used to be chains of muffler shops (Midas, Meineke).

The big advance is the metallurgy of the rings, I feel sure. I can testify about the tech advance in spark plugs. Remember that repetitive changing and gapping those plugs, some being in damnable inaccessible places? When doing the 100k mile service on my car, my mechanic assumed I would want the currently best replacement plugs (which are $20 each). The hot parts of today's plugs are made from iridium, and they never need changing.

Ges, you’re right. 1940s cars were a bit before my time. 😊

It's like the guy complaining about how various engine parts weren't working. He said "The spark plugs don't spark, the carburetor doesn't carburette, and the pistons don't work either."