Tachometer red lines may flatline in the near future
Dear Car Talk: First, thanks for the many years of Car Talk. I head straight for your column every week.
Secondly, why do cars still have tachometers? I remember the days when we really did need them. My dad bought a red 1952 MG-TD in 1954. I was about 16 years old, and I thought this was the greatest car I had ever seen.
It was really fun to drive – top down and windscreen folded flat. It didn’t go very fast, but it felt like it did. The little engine really revved up, and my dad always reminded me to watch out for that red line on the tach.
You didn’t need to worry about carrying jumper cables, because a very handy crank was stowed behind the driver’s seat. I saw my dad several early mornings cranking that engine so he could leave for work. We lived in Southern California, and he could leave the top down almost all year.
Anyway, I’ve noticed that most cars still have tachometers. Why? Most of us rarely glance at the tach, or we forget it’s there, or some don’t know what it’s for!
My wife and I own four vehicles. None of them are Peterbilt’s! We don’t need the tachometers and could not red line any of them even if we tried!
I can only guess that some obscure highway safety regulation mandates that every vehicle have a tachometer. Do you know the answer to this riddle?
– Ed
No, it’s not a regulation, Ed. I think it’s one part tradition (it’s always been there), one part theater (it looks cool and suggests performance), and one part needing to fill up space on the instrument cluster (what are we going to do with all this extra space on the dashboard? Make the oil light 30 times bigger?).
You’re right that the tachometer – or the “tach” for short – which measures the engine speed in revolutions per minute or RPM, is completely unnecessary for most cars. It was originally there to prevent you from revving the engine too high (“red lining it,” or letting the needle pass the red line on the tachometer).
If you revved an engine too high, centrifugal force could cause its internal parts to fly apart. I’ve always found it very exciting when that happens.
But the computers in today’s cars prevent you from ever red-lining an engine. You can’t do it if you try. And that’s even true with stick shift cars now. The computer will cut back the fuel injectors as you hit the red line.
Some people who drive stick shifts still like to know their engine speed. But most people have less than zero interest in it. And I think we probably will see instrument panels without tachometers in the coming years. For several reasons.
One is we’re moving to electric cars. There will be no engine, so there’s no need to know how fast its internal parts are moving.
Second, instrumentation is changing. Head-up displays now allow you to see crucial information without ever taking your eyes off the road and looking at your instrument panel. A head-up display projects key information, like the vehicle speed, on the windshield, so it appears to be floating at the end of your hood as your drive. So the instrument panel itself will become less important.
And finally, we’re also seeing more digital instrument panels, which are essentially computer screens instead of analog gauges and dials. As you might imagine, those can be configured to include anything the car can display.
And when you can see stuff on your dashboard that’s as exciting as where the nearest Denny’s is or the name of the Taylor Swift song that’s playing, why would you choose to watch your engine speed?
Got a question about cars? Write to Ray in care of King Features, 628 Virginia Drive, Orlando, FL 32803, or email by visiting the Car Talk website at cartalk.com.
AUSTIN, Texas – A Texas school district has removed an assignment that called for girls to follow the “Rules of Chivalry,” including dressing “in a feminine manner to please men” and to “not complain or whine.”
KLBK-TV reported that the assignment was to be completed this week by students at Shallowater High School and was shared in a private Facebook group. The assignment sparked online criticism of the district.
The instructions said “ladies deemed worthy of the honor by the gentlemen” would receive 10 points for every signature they received as they completed each task. The tasks also included cooking for the boys in their class, walking “behind men daintily as if their feet were bound,” cleaning up after the boys and outside of the classroom, not “show intellectual superiority if it would offend the men around them.”
Carolyn B. Klunk, age 81, passed away on March 3, 2021, reuniting in heaven with Jim, the love of her life. Born June 6, 1939, she was a proud graduate of St. Mary of the Springs Academy and The Ohio State University, where she was a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority. Carol went on to work at KKG headquarters for 30 years, where she loved her accounting job and coworkers. Following her retirement, she tutored adult English language learners.
She was an avid reader and card player, spending many joyful hours with friends in bridge and book clubs. Carol was forever guided by her faith. As a devoted member of St. Catharine Church, she sang in the choir, served as a sacristan, coached softball, and volunteered at the school and countless summer festivals. Carol brightened up every room with her grace, laughter, and radiant smile. She was a devoted wife, mother, grandmother, aunt, and friend. She cared deeply for others and always saw the goodness in them. All were touched by her generosity, optimism, and strength. Preceded in death by her husband Jim Klunk, with whom she shared a blessed life for 51 years. Loving mother of Cathy and Chris Armstrong, Sue and Jim Klunk, and Cindy Brehmer, and grandmother of the late Jacob Brehmer, Megan and Shelby Brehmer, and Annie and Wendy
Klunk. Cherished sister of the late Tom and late Mary Lou Bringardner, Al and the late Pat Bringarder, Mary and Bruce Segal, Bill and the late Rosemary Bringardner, and Nancy and the late David Bringardner. Survived by sisters-in-law, Suzy Klunk and Mary Anne Weixel; and many treasured nieces, nephews, and lifelong friends. Friends may call Monday 3-7pm at EGAN-RYAN FUNERAL HOME, 403 E. BROAD ST. Mass of Christian Burial will be Tuesday 11am at St. Catharine Church, 500 S. Gould Rd. Masks required; social distancing observed. The service will be live-streamed at www. stcatharine.com/live/. In lieu of flowers, the family
suggests donations to St. Catharine Special People in Catholic Education (SPICE) Program, 504 S. Gould Rd., Cols., OH 43209. Visit www. egan-ryan.com to send condolences.