> Until the late 1980s, a cable on the engine throttle connected directly to the accelerator pedal, giving drivers total control of their engine speed and power. Throttle problems were quick, easy to diagnose, and, more importantly, fixed at home without paying exorbitant mechanic prices.

> Cars now use an ETC (electronic throttle control) managed by a computer, as is just about everything else on engines these days. Naturally, this makes vehicles more difficult to repair, not to mention the glaring “right to repair” issue growing by the day when everything runs on a chip.

It isn't more difficult because anyone is conspiring against you. Maybe it's more difficult because electricity is invisible, the techniques require new knowledge, or you're not familiar with it. Go get some CAN bus debugging equipment, plug it into your high-speed CAN bus, move the accelerator pedal, and you'll see the CAN messages.

Although, there's usually no debugging necessary for your accelerator pedal, because you no longer need to lubricate your accelerator cable; bits don't require lubrication.

From an engineering perspective, it is very convenient (and reliable) to have everything in the car just sit on a communication bus and write software to do the logic, rather than have dedicated wires or mechanical connections.