I’m convinced this is because they designed the cars, started building the things, got the first to the end of the assembly line and discovered it wouldn’t do anything because they had forgotten to include the battery.

This is kinda like if the fan in your computer’s power supply goes out.  You *can* replace it, I’ve done it many times, but most of the time you just throw the unit out and get a new PSU.

I want my sealed beams back

Battery replacement for a Dodge Stratus (aliases include Chrysler Cirrus and Plymouth Breeze).

I think it’s more like he expected to be able to get the regulator and replace it himself.  He was surprised they didn’t carry repair parts for the alternator.  I’d be someone does, but you are right, that is not going to be a chain auto parts store.

German Motors - got it!

A buddy of mine bought a salvage Elise for like $15k a year or two ago that was totaled for this exact reason. Good shape mechanically and reasonable miles, but the cracks in the front clamshell did it in. He just drives it as-is with no issues.

I knew a guy that used to stalk the junkyards collecting these. Made some money till the junkyards realized it and started taking them off before putting them out in the lot.

Cadillac XLR tail lights. Sealed LED units with a chip board inside that go bad with age, so they need to be replaced. BUT, they also don’t make them anymore! So truly unserviceable. So used ones go for $2k+ each. When all those go we’ll have a lot of mechanically totaled XLRs just because the tail lights can’t be…

But that’s servicable:

The Lotus Elise’s front clamshell. Essentially, all of the bodywork fore the A-pillar is one big piece. A crack in that clamshell can total the entire vehicle. It is difficult to remove, expensive to paint, and incredibly labor intensive to re-install. R&T ran a story in 2018 about a guy who bought one with a salvage…

VAG’s check engine light

1. Brass doesn’t warp

But, wouldn’t his current position disprove most of what he’s saying? Sounds like more virtue signaling to me. But what do I know? I’m not worth $285M.
XD

The Tesla Fanboism is strong with this one. Sounds like he’s begging for some Elon ... “musk.”

As they say in the video. This isn’t a radiator circulating hot coolant through an internal combustion engine. It’s not even 2psi of pressure.

It cracked because it got slammed into by road debris. That is a whole lot beefier bit of plastic than what you will find in a typical radiator end tank. It’s going to be just fine for a LOOONG time. Probably longer than if it had never been repaired. 

It cracked before, what makes you all think it wont crack now that it’s been drilled and tapped with some backyard mechanics?

Not sure how a brass piece is going to warp. This is likely stronger than the plastic piece ever was. The only downside I can see is that the plastic housing it went into will likely break before it does, so the potential for the next repair to be much more difficult is higher.

How is this janky? This fix is less likely to break than the original design.