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Started working on cars in 1965, had to if I wanted something to drive. First injected car was a 73 Alfa Romeo GTV in 1977. Marelli system with a mechanical FI pump and injectors like a diesel but not as high pressure. Pull throttle on the dash and thermal sensor for enrichment at the pump.
These days it's all FI and the vast majority of them are electronic. OBD systems make diagnostics much less of a mystery but you can still slip betewen the cracks with some problems, particularly intermittent. The worst I ever saw for intermittent was every 6 months per malfunction. You never saw this with carbs and 0 feedback systems. The early 1975-77 Nissan Z car systems were very reliable and many are still working on the original ECU, but it was just a basic system compared to today.
Either carbs or EFI has their plusses and minuses, and in many cases it's the age and background of the individual that determines their preference.
I'll take the very complex system on the Altima, and the very basic system on the Honda Rebel, with the Rebel's electronic ignition system over the points on the 71 CB350. The Rebel is even functional with total battery failure which is something I really like.
Maybe I just don't trust the elctron pathways as much as many of the younger folks here. One the other hand I see people every day moving though traffic and I can tell that they probably never drove a carbureted car in their lives. Mechanical systems tended to fail in a predictable manner and a weak accelerator pump made you a more cautious driver in the old days.
I prefer mechanical but there are certain areas where electronic is essential, but I don't absolutely trust either like many do these days.
Diagnostic nightmares certainly have proliferated with modern systems and I have seen cars junked for relaitvely simple problems that were considered unrepairable by many experienced techs, to the point where the owners gave up on the vehicle. While you can argue the tech was simply not good enough, you will never argue the system complexity has not progressed exponentially. If you want to use that rationale just compare the wiring diagram on a 37 Ford to the one on my current Altima.
regards
Mech
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