When does a vehicle die?

TwistedKestrel

TwistedKestrel

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Cars, motorcycles, airplanes, whatever. These things are not truly alive, of course - merely machines.

Let's say "alive" in the sense of whatever "life" they have. Does a vehicle come alive every time when you turn the key, and die every time you kill the ignition? You can say, well, there is life in the circuits when the car rests. The clocks, the computers, keeping things prepared for when you return. Does an old diesel truck, or an old kickstart only motorcycle have any life in it when it is not running?

Hypothetically if a car goes to a junkyard, has most of its parts removed, sits for years, but then has the parts reinstalled and is returned to the road, did it die and come back to life? What if you simply pull the battery out of your car in the driveway?

Thinking about this while pulling a few sellable items off my old clunker before I sell it to a wrecker (stuff they won't want or care about)
 
For me, when it comes to machinery. Alive = On and Dead = Off it can only be in one of these states at a time.
Now for a vehicle that has many components each would be in its own state of On/Off, Alive/Dead.
But I put value into my vehicles, they serve me when and I appreciate and trust them. So I tend to put a bit more emotion into a vehicle then say a sewing machine.. You're post is interesting, made me think!
 
It dies when it no longer has value or use . A really cool outboard hanging in a bar or vintage obscure motorcycle that hasn’t run in decades but has an aesthetic charm is not dead , its just repurposed


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Or the Upanishads...
When is a doll a doll?

These days devices are rarely fully "off" ....they sit on standby.
 
Did the Art of the Motorcycle show many years ago. Very impressive display, but all of the bikes were mounted on display stands dry. Very sad to think that they may never run.
Same thing at Anchor Bar in Buffalo.
 
TwistedKestrel said:
Cars, motorcycles, airplanes, whatever. These things are not truly alive, of course - merely machines.

Let's say "alive" in the sense of whatever "life" they have. Does a vehicle come alive every time when you turn the key, and die every time you kill the ignition? You can say, well, there is life in the circuits when the car rests. The clocks, the computers, keeping things prepared for when you return. Does an old diesel truck, or an old kickstart only motorcycle have any life in it when it is not running?

Hypothetically if a car goes to a junkyard, has most of its parts removed, sits for years, but then has the parts reinstalled and is returned to the road, did it die and come back to life? What if you simply pull the battery out of your car in the driveway?

Thinking about this while pulling a few sellable items off my old clunker before I sell it to a wrecker (stuff they won't want or care about)
Click to expand...
There is a Stephen King novel and movie based on it that answer some of those questions...

IMO the vehicle is "dead" when it is no longer viable to keep on the road and it either heads to the junk yard or becomes a redneck yard ornament.
 
Upon catastrophic mechanical failure
Or
Severe thermal event
Or
When the earth has significantly reclaimed the basic elemental ferrous
 
After I've had it for ten years from new. Less if used.
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