commando1
Old Man with a Hat
NYC schools were closed today in observance of the Muslim holiday.
A shout out to Steve/Safeforwardlook.
- Thread starter commando1
- Start date
commando1
Old Man with a Hat
Oh look, Grandma sent us brownies.
Knebel
Senior Member
Interesting, in germany there is the rain tax too but you pay per squarefoort of roof which blocks rain to go into the groundwater. But you can get around it by installing a special drain which wont lead the water into the sewer.tHe used tdis tho, prices are still kinda high...
There is also a car tax based on engine size and emission/year of manufacture. A whatever 440 from the 80s would cost you 2000$ a year in taxes there. A new hemi with better emissions and catalic converters and such probably a couple hundered.
The good thing is, with a car 30years or older you get a classic car registration and "only" pay 250$ a year in tax, regardless of engine size. Man...im glad i dont live there anymore, and let alone the gasprices.
There is also a car tax based on engine size and emission/year of manufacture. A whatever 440 from the 80s would cost you 2000$ a year in taxes there. A new hemi with better emissions and catalic converters and such probably a couple hundered.
The good thing is, with a car 30years or older you get a classic car registration and "only" pay 250$ a year in tax, regardless of engine size. Man...im glad i dont live there anymore, and let alone the gasprices.
300rag
It's Not Going to Shift Itself
I really don't want to talk too much about what I did in the next 31 years after leaving Chrysler when they closed the California facility during the bankruptcy in 1980, but having grown up as a kid in California, I never could get used to Michigan - the cold, gloom, lack of mountains etc made it such that it never felt like home to me. But I know others thrive in that region, and that is fine. And the lack of traffic compared to California is certainly a plus. So even though I could have returned to Michigan and really loved working for Chrysler, I elected not to go back and took on another career. I just don't want to dwell on my past and now just want to focus on restoring my cars in the years I have left. It is my passion now.
But after Chrysler, I got to see first hand what the automotive companies worldwide were really like at every level and worked with their engineers on a daily basis, and on too many occasions their lawyers and upper management too. I can see, Stan how you can conclude what you have about companies and their management in general, and in some cases those impressions may be close to what goes on. But in general, nearly all of the automobile companies are pretty good with some notable exceptions. Rather than dwell on the ones that are at the bottom of my list, I just wanted to say that I learned pretty quickly which ones and in particular their engineers really stood out in terms of honesty, integrity and capability, and my list of companies at the top are based on their long term performance of that core group of people. The performance and ultimate long term success of a company many times, but not always, depends on the uniform tone set by upper management over the years and in particular the CEO and their leadership capabilities and integrity - in other words, their long term corporate culture. The best ones strive to develop advanced technology to keep ahead of the competition and demand integrity and accountability from all their employees and have a humble view of their vulnerability in a challenging, highly competitive industry with incredible complexity in their products at every level. My personal opinion of all the companies placed General Motors at the bottom of my list in the past due to a culture of arrogance and Chrysler has had dismal management at many levels over the years that sent both of them into bankruptcy and the accompanying bailout. But through it all over the years, I have consistently rated their engineers among the best in the business and that has been consistent despite management's dismal performance and arrogance in the past. And that is why I was in favor of the bailout and because of the number of jobs retained in a very important component of this countries' well being. But GM's relatively new CEO now, Mary Barra, is a true leader with the right motives and sets a clear tone of excellence and accountability. And their engineers remain incredibly honest and capable compared to many of the companies at the bottom of my list. Second, would be FCA or Chrysler. Their CEO, Sergio Marchionne has set a tone of product excellence at every level and is largely responsible for their exceptional performance - their weakness is size and capital needed to do advanced development to keep ahead of the intense competition worldwide. But Chrysler is definitely at the top in terms of honesty and integrity of their engineers and other employees, and right up there with GM in that regard. Maybe I am biased, but I don't think so. I really got to know many of the engineers in every automobile company that sells in the U.S. very well over the years and knew the ones I could really count on to give me the real story. After that Ford places a more distant third on the list, and then some of the German and Asian companies place further down the list. What this really tells me is that the American culture (not talking automotive companies now, but overall) has thrived because, despite our many and increasing weaknesses, our business culture and integrity surpasses the rest of the world. But I am truly worried about where this country is headed in this regard overall, especially when I see what goes on in Congress these days. And trust me, politicians and lawyers have not written the emission rules - engineers have, with some guidance from the lawyers in isolated cases relative to structure of the rules and compliance and penalty suggestions. So I still have hope in U.S industry overall, but I remain concerned about the current direction we are headed as a nation. I am glad the Pope is paying us a timely visit now, as I think we need his input, even though I am not a Catholic. We need to get back to our values that built this country. In the end, I believe it differentiates us in terms of quality of life compared to the rest of the world.
But after Chrysler, I got to see first hand what the automotive companies worldwide were really like at every level and worked with their engineers on a daily basis, and on too many occasions their lawyers and upper management too. I can see, Stan how you can conclude what you have about companies and their management in general, and in some cases those impressions may be close to what goes on. But in general, nearly all of the automobile companies are pretty good with some notable exceptions. Rather than dwell on the ones that are at the bottom of my list, I just wanted to say that I learned pretty quickly which ones and in particular their engineers really stood out in terms of honesty, integrity and capability, and my list of companies at the top are based on their long term performance of that core group of people. The performance and ultimate long term success of a company many times, but not always, depends on the uniform tone set by upper management over the years and in particular the CEO and their leadership capabilities and integrity - in other words, their long term corporate culture. The best ones strive to develop advanced technology to keep ahead of the competition and demand integrity and accountability from all their employees and have a humble view of their vulnerability in a challenging, highly competitive industry with incredible complexity in their products at every level. My personal opinion of all the companies placed General Motors at the bottom of my list in the past due to a culture of arrogance and Chrysler has had dismal management at many levels over the years that sent both of them into bankruptcy and the accompanying bailout. But through it all over the years, I have consistently rated their engineers among the best in the business and that has been consistent despite management's dismal performance and arrogance in the past. And that is why I was in favor of the bailout and because of the number of jobs retained in a very important component of this countries' well being. But GM's relatively new CEO now, Mary Barra, is a true leader with the right motives and sets a clear tone of excellence and accountability. And their engineers remain incredibly honest and capable compared to many of the companies at the bottom of my list. Second, would be FCA or Chrysler. Their CEO, Sergio Marchionne has set a tone of product excellence at every level and is largely responsible for their exceptional performance - their weakness is size and capital needed to do advanced development to keep ahead of the intense competition worldwide. But Chrysler is definitely at the top in terms of honesty and integrity of their engineers and other employees, and right up there with GM in that regard. Maybe I am biased, but I don't think so. I really got to know many of the engineers in every automobile company that sells in the U.S. very well over the years and knew the ones I could really count on to give me the real story. After that Ford places a more distant third on the list, and then some of the German and Asian companies place further down the list. What this really tells me is that the American culture (not talking automotive companies now, but overall) has thrived because, despite our many and increasing weaknesses, our business culture and integrity surpasses the rest of the world. But I am truly worried about where this country is headed in this regard overall, especially when I see what goes on in Congress these days. And trust me, politicians and lawyers have not written the emission rules - engineers have, with some guidance from the lawyers in isolated cases relative to structure of the rules and compliance and penalty suggestions. So I still have hope in U.S industry overall, but I remain concerned about the current direction we are headed as a nation. I am glad the Pope is paying us a timely visit now, as I think we need his input, even though I am not a Catholic. We need to get back to our values that built this country. In the end, I believe it differentiates us in terms of quality of life compared to the rest of the world.
Tink
Well-Known Member
I used to think Congress poked their noses into the auto industry for the insurance lobbies. We've had Ralph Nader and his bogus safety claims. We have CAFE thanks to the bogus claims of the oil industry. We have the clean air act thanks to mainly California and for them, a real concern and result. Now we have global warming to consider. Lets not forget the evils (rightly so) of leaded fuel. The hole in the ozone caused the demise of R-12 and R-22. We are all evil humans striving to destroy the environment with our too fast, too destructive toys except for the super rich of course. They as always are exempt 
The luxury tax is just another write off for them as they tool around in their supercars that can pass none of the above.
The luxury tax is just another write off for them as they tool around in their supercars that can pass none of the above.
70bigblockdodge
Old Man with a Hat
I will be buying a electric car as soon as they get price normalized. The complexity of the modern car and the burdens of all of its systems is just too much. A second point of the modern car is not fixing anything its all component replacement, waiting for the day when a spark plug change involves just changing the head, its coming, need a transmission filter and fluid change out comes the trans.
I was last stationed in Germany in 1992. Had a test tube instead of a converter on my Z28. No taxes for GI's, just had to pass a safety inspection and a brake test. We had gas rations and paid U.S. prices for fuel. Gas was almost $6 a gallon then for the locals (converted cost from liters). BP and Esso stations.
commando1
Old Man with a Hat
The benchmark of a non worry never touch it never think about it is a 350 pre-emmisons Cummins.
Next come Slant sixes.
And then come electric motors.
Next come Slant sixes.
And then come electric motors.
330dTA
Senior Member
Exactly my thoughts. - Or better still, replace the word "bulldozer" by almost anything combustion engine driven, that is not an automobile. An ocean liner, a container ship, aeroplanes, ... your pick.
commando1
Old Man with a Hat
I noted with great irony recently while behind three vehicles, all abreast, while we waited at a red light.
Left lane: Older pickup spewing clouds of black smoke up its bubba-style twin "stacks".
Middle lane: New Prius still on its temporary plates.
Right lane: Old beat up Freightliner, yep... spewing black clouds of smoke up its twin stacks.
You just sit there and shake your head...
Yet, they regulate the emissions that come out of a lawn mower...
Ripinator
Old Man with a Hat
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