The 70's Rabbit that got 50mpg or more wasn't a gas one; it was a stripped, excruciatingly-slow, noisy, vibrating diesel one. The bare-bones, 'relatively-slow', standard gas ones got about 32 mpg; about the same that the high-tech, heavier, faster, fully-loaded ones do now. It seems to me that you're 'remembering' things as better than they really were. Mike B. ----- Original Message ----- From: "craig cowan" <phishman068@GMAIL.COM> To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM> Sent: Thursday, August 14, 2008 6:01 PM Subject: Re: Are Today's Young People Mechanical Nitwits?
> Well i feel like chiming in...... as a young person. > > I have to both agree with your guys, and disagree. It seems the general > decision here so far has been that young people as a whole have lost the > bulk of their mechanical knownhow that used to be passed down, and that > as > a result cars have been built without being adventagous to the established > principle of fixing your own car. Well these are both valid points, and > there is a great deal of truth in this argument, but at the same time i > feel > the need to disagree. > > When i was 16 i purchased my vanagon, i couldn't drive a stick (heck i > couldn't drive.), i was recovering from a severe car crash (and not well), > and i had essentially no money. I was of course, unemployed (unable to > work), and i must say, the bus was a WRECK. Well I've come a long way, and > my bus is very happy now. I've rebuilt the engine, the coolings system, > the > brakes, the clutch system, and a whole slue of various other bits here and > there (Not to mention adding a full westfalia interior). I've learned > alot, > but not necessarily from any one person.... > I've had help from many local vanagon friends and i can't thank them > enough > for the lessons they've helped me with.....but i don't feel i couldn't > have > done it without any one person.... > I think that's the problem with the whole conversation we're having; > Everyone has ONE person to thank for all their mechanical skills. Well i'm > sorry, that's just not true. We as humans are curious creatures with an > internal desire to act, and as such I feel it's only human nature to make > a > decision to get something done. While the decision has become > subconciously > imbedded in today's youths (and quite a few generations older than me i > might add!) that acting can be as simple as "Taking it to the > professionals". We still have the desire to accomplish, and you'd be > suprised just how much any young person really does know about mechanics > just from observation, but the sociological impact of "disposable" is what > has resulted in the problem we face. I had a professor that once said > "There > is No 'Away'. Show me where 'Away' is. You cannot throw anything away, as > it's always SOMEWHERE". Well here is where the problem begins... Every > aspect of the way the world lives today (Not just the youth) perpetuates > the > idea of "AWAY". We drink water out of disposable bottles, we replace > computers and cell phones every few years as a new generation progresses, > and Cars have some kind of "wear limit" that no one can quite define. You > would not believe how many people twice or 3 times my age have come up to > me > when talking about cars and said something along the lines of "ya, but it > has 90K miles on it....its getting up there" or "Ya, but it has 190K miles > on it.....". My answer to them is and always will be "SO?" Does it say > somewhere that it WILL stop at 100K miles? Why do you reallly want to > replace it anyway? There's nothing wrong with it, it's not even out dated, > it has all the features of the newest vehicles.....if you want to throw > your > money away fine, but untill it give s you problems, that's when it's worn > out. > > Our society of disposability and "AWAY" is what i feel really has resulted > in the modular and "high tech" vehicles of today. Try convincing most > people > of that though..... They all feel we've made such huge leaps foward in > transportation technology....but i will always present the following > argument: > In the '70's VW made a small 2 door hatchback vehicle that was affordable > and utilitarian, marketed to the masses as "The Rabbit" that got 50mpg (or > more). In 2008 VW is producing a small 2 door hatchback vehicle that is > ment > to be affordable and marketed to the masses, but would struggle to get > 30mpg. WOW. What a technelogical advancement towards practicality!!!! > (yes, > i know the holes in this argument, "They're not the same vehicle" Etc) > > It's simple enough for me to say truthfully that there is more than just > hope for the youth of today. Last year a girl i barely knew, through a > mutual friend, contacted me and said she'd like to thank me for getting > her > interested in vintage VW's. She hung out in my bus once, and decided to > pursue her dream of buying a beetle! So at that point we became better > friends, and i've been helping her to mechanically master her '74 > autostick > superbeetle.....HELP. I don't teach. I won't even do it for her unless > she's > WAY off, but i show up, tell her to "just replace the front brake > cylinder", > and provide tools. When she's goign to mess up, sometimes i let her. We > can > fix it later... > We've had a great summer of working on the beetle, and shes' doing alot of > the work on her own now. Remember what i said way up there about > confidence > being the problem? Once the decision has been made (as decision making > creatures) that progress must be made, it's just a matter of providing the > tools to do it......the knowledge will come in "doing". We cannot just > give > up on these youth. Where do you expect them to learn? You're just throwing > your knowledge "AWAY" (But remember, there is no Away. So someone, will > pick > up on it). > > I firmly believe that when the world gets struck by whatever it will be > struck by, and the framework of our society is broken down, there will > only > be a few people such as myself that will be able not just to remember and > reinvent the wheel, but to find a practical application for it again and > continue to develop it. This is and always will be my intention. To be > able > to fix the world when it breaks. > > -Craig > '85GL (Now WESTY) > Younger than my bus.... > > On Thu, Aug 14, 2008 at 5:12 PM, Allan Streib <streib@cs.indiana.edu> > wrote: > >> "Don Hanson" <dhanson@GORGE.NET> said: >> >> > Young people today (especially in the USA) don't need look very closely >> at >> > life to know that those who do stuff with their hands, as in "the >> > Trades" >> > are now mostly living below poverty level. >> > Remember those professions? "Tradesmen"? You know, Carpenters, >> > Electricians, Plumbers, Mechanics, Painters..etc?. Not "Happening" any >> > more. Learning how to do something like fix a car or hang a door...That >> is >> > considered a waste of time and beneath a "real person"..All the trades >> seem >> > to be handled by the illegals now, because they are jobs "Americans" >> won't >> > do any more (for the money that's being paid, anyways) >> >> Um, you live in a different universe than I do. Some of the most >> well-to-do people I know are electricians and plumbers. I'm talking >> six-figure income, lavish homes, and working when they want to, for the >> most part. Well above my income as a software developer. If any of my >> kids don't want to go to college, I'd definitely steer them to >> electrical or plumbing vocational training. These professions are not >> going anywhere soon. >> >> Allan >> |
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