|
About Me
As a man thinks, so he is. Some people are never. Recent Posts
Categories
Links
CarSpace Alternate RouteTurn off the nav system, crumple up that MapQuest printout, and let's find out where the next random turn may take us! Nov 6, 2009 - Style Or Substance?
Sounds noble enough, and I'll even give them clever on the marketing side. But when is enough going to be enough on this quest toward the "100% safe car". There's no such thing and every safety feature added to vehicles not only adds weight (I thought mileage was important), cost and complexity to the vehicles, but it also seems to give a signal to a large number of drivers that there's one less thing that they have to worry about while driving their car. The list keeps growing. ABS Brakes - wonderful idea, but some think to seem they mean you'll be able to stop no matter what situation they put themselves in. Daytime Running Lights - another seemingly clever idea to make your car stand out in traffic. Only problem is that as soon as a large number of vehicles had them, you didn't stand out in traffic so much any more. Then there are the mental giants you think DRL's are headlight and run with them at night. I seriously doubt that DRL's have prevented anything. Air Bags - again, I agree they are a good thing if you happen to put yourself in a crash situation, but I get the feeling that some think they don't need to buckle up because the airbag will protect them. Yet we constantly hear news items about fatal accidents where the victim wasn't wearing a seat belt, but people who survived were. The list of future ideas is even scarier. Cars that brake for you, cars that drive themselves. Here's an idea. When you're in control of a couple of tons of steel heading down the road, turn off the cell phone, buckle up, and take care of driving your car!
Oct 25, 2009 - Terminal Do-Goodness
Cash for Clunkers put cash in the pockets of new car dealers this summer but left used car dealers scrambling to find pre-owned cars and trucks to sell. The geniuses who thought up Cash for Clunkers didn't think of this unintended consequence either? This is what happens when you try to do something that feels good to "help people". Kind of like when the terminal do-gooder-in-chief signed a bill to restrict interest rate increases from credit card companies. Only problem is he gave them nine months to comply and the letters jacking interest rates before they're restircted are flying all over the place. But hey, that interest rate on my charge card tripling to 29.99% isn't what you meant to happen, right? Keep on paving that road with good intentions and you know where we'll wind up. Please stop trying to help me Mr. President. You're apparently not any good at it.
Aug 8, 2009 - Ask Dub Schwartz!
Good luck with your new ride... and your new debt... and your new insurance bill... and all the stuff that comes along with that new car. But hey, on the bright side, we might even get a TV show out of this... can you see it? C*A*S*H* (Cars Ain't Stopping Here)... Enjoy the antics of Sgt. Schwatrz, a motor pool sergeant with too much time on his hands when the President decides to replace all the clunkers in the Army with new vehicles.
Aug 7, 2009 - Pass The Popcorn
Ferris Bueller's Day Off - After all, Cameron's father DID leave the garage unlocked. Who wouldn't take the Ferrari out for a spin? By the way, Cameron's house is actually for sale if you have a car you'd like to keep safe and on display. National Lampoon's Vacation - I've been on more than a few of those Family Truckster vacations by car (including a 6-week, 16,000 mile Atlantic to Pacific camping adventure) I don't remember Christie Brinkley racing alongside at any point. Planes, Trains, and Automobiles - This is why I always sit and wait if my flight has been cancelled or delayed. A plane will eventually come along and there are far too many shower ring salesmen out there to take a chance. Thanks for the memories John Hughes!
Aug 6, 2009 - So Sorry, More Moving Lips
Uh huh...How long do you think it will be before one of these two things happens? 1) They change their mind and throw money we don't have at the partsmakers. 2) They announce (without releasing figures of course) that the benefits of the cash for clunkers program will actually "trickle down" and help the partsmakers as they need to supply parts for increased demand that C4C has created. Here's a thought for the day... you don't get out of a hole by buying a bigger shovel.
Aug 4, 2009 - Movin' On UpAR Index 667.65 +73.45 (+12.36%) Stocks of individual interest Dow 9286.56 +178.05 (+1.95%) Well at least two of the new Big Three are trending in the right direction. And Ford was the only one to have an increase in sales in July compared to a year ago. Cash for clunkers may have put them over to the plus side, but a 2% increase compared to the 19% decrease at GM speaks volumes for the kind of shape Ford is in, and more importantly, the kind of shape the public thinks they're in. The chart of the last five months is fairly convincing. I guess that whole "avoiding bankruptcy on your own without government money" thing must have been a good thing.
Aug 1, 2009 - Ask Dub Schwartz!
Why don't you listen to yourself? You said it. You don't NEED a car payment right now. That ought to be the end fo your quandry right there. There's a big difference between wanting to buy a new car and needing to buy one, and I think a majority of the people who rushed out to buy a car under C4C really aren't thinking beyond, "Wow, what a deal I'm getting." If you have reliable transportation that you can afford and a new car payment (and the increased insurance costs you aren't thinking about either) is something you don't need, you'd be crazy to buy. Wish lists can be dangerous things to jump into. I have my own wish list regarding the program and the people rushing to take advantage of the "deal"... I don't want to hear ANYONE complaining about the car payment they just decided to take on, or about being "upside down" on their loans. YOU made the choice to purchase, YOU have to pay. Don't expect me to bail you out of your own stupidity. NOBODY should be surprised when car sales don't continue at the same pace for the rest of the year. And I don't want to hear anything about the car companies needing more help because sales are dropping off. You're selling next year's cars now, don't whine when you realize these sales came at the expense of next year's demand. And this was supposed to be a "jump start" for auto sales, not a never ending entitlement. Funny how a $1 billion program TRIPLED in size in the blink of an eye. When the sale is over, it's over. If someone misses out, well, gee isn't life tough.
Jul 31, 2009 - Pleading Poverty?
Congressional officials say the government plans to suspend the popular "cash for clunkers" program amid concerns it could quickly use up the $1 billion in rebates for new car purchases. Excuse me?? Wasn't that the whole idea??? I certainly hope some of this "fiscal restraint" shows up while they're talking about bankrupting us with national health care. Congress truly is the opposite of progress.
Jul 28, 2009 - Significant Digits
Stocks of individual interest Dow 9108.51 +260.36 (+2.94%) There's a concept in math called significant digits or figures which basically deals with rounding. Just for curiousity's sake, if you plug zero in for the value of GM now, a 100% decrease, the index would only drop by just over 1%. Smart investors are staying away from GM right now. Sort of makes you wonder what we the people are doing owning a big chunk of GM doesn't it?
Jul 25, 2009 - Ask Dub Schwartz!
GPS units are neat, but they haven't driven the mapmakers out of business and don't prevent people from having no idea of where they are or where they are going. So keep a positive outlook and remain dubious of "the future is now" claims when people are trying to force change. I haven't run into an electric vehicle enthusiast yet who doesn't honestly believe it's going to cost them less than $1 to "fill up" their EV when they charge it. Having visions and dreams about the future is one thing, hallucinating is another.
|
