Posted by Bill Martinelli [ 24.93.17.174 ] on October 31, 2004 at 00:48:57:
In Reply to: Re: Competitive edge - too much nostalgia? posted by Wayne Parham on October 30, 2004 at 17:24:54:
It's funny every (myself included) thinks the old cars were better built. If you think about it for a minute they are not better built, only made more heavy. In a crash test the old cars survived impact but defered all the impact to the passenger. Now days with 'crumple zones' the car is destroyed but the people live on. Sure for us gear heads the whole car and design was more simple in the 60's. things were thicker and we could do more modifications with less thought.
The 60's had some of the most horse power per cubic inch. The 80's took it all away, but it's coming back today in full force with great fuel economy as well. Todays 350 hp vette gets 25mpg on the highway. a 65 small block vette got 12 mpg on good days.
Quality today is actually better. Engines for example have an increased life expectancy every new model. In the 60's and 70's cars with 100,000 miles on them were very rare and would soon be in need of a resting spot. Today a 100k on an engine is not much at all.
Some companies are shooting for 100k as the first tune up point.
Living in a town where Rochester Products and Delco started and lived, we were all found of carburators, points and plugs to earn livings. I dont miss carbs and points these days. I dont miss having to change plugs 1 or 2 times a year either.
In the north east we get snow and then put crazy things like salt on the roads so we can still drive. Here, in 1970 a car never had a chance to make 100k because it would tottally rust out in 4 years. The cars are now thinner, lighter, and we say cheaper. but they last longer. run better, and handle better. There are only a handfull of post war cars that were good handling cars. Sure the big muscle cars went fast,,, in a line. But cars of the showroom floor of yesteryear did not handle good, were not easy or comfortable to drive and didnt brake well either, compared to the new stuff.
There is a problem growing today with the outsourcing and perceptions of loosings jobs. I sure dont have any answers it is all very concerning if you need to work for a living. The typewriter was a great invention. we dont use them any more and all those people lost jobs making them. The transister took over the vacuum tube (for normal people!) The ice house doesnt get to come by and drop a block of ice in the small door on my back porch anymore, I have a fridge now and dont need them.
The technology changes, and as leaders of the free world, If thats the way we want to look at ourselves. We need to make changes and work on the next level. We need to make our own markets. We cant compete with labor in far away lands. If those products were made in USA, we wouldnt be able to afford to buy them. But, Thats not saying there isnt something else we can make here that we all can afford. That is what has kept us a world appart in past.
Lots of changes and I imagine the econimic profs at the college's have no shortage of things to talk about in class these days.
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