Car mechanics are leaving the industry. Cars are now too complicated, they're also junk, and the manufacturers don't want to pay a fair rate for repairs.
Showing posts with label Cars. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cars. Show all posts
June 17, 2026
May 21, 2026
Volkswagen Software Glitches
This is partly the reason I don't trust German software. It comes with bugs, because Germans always do things inhouse, instead of hiring the best. I've experienced this first hand with Lufthansa and so I had to laugh when I heard about it with Volkswagen.
I remember back in the late 90s and early 2000s, hearing about their diesel engines, how clean they were. I thought to myself, they're probably faking it. That turned out to be true!
(Excuse the AI voice, these narrations are becoming somewhat irritating)
December 22, 2025
New Age of Crap Cars
Automobiles these days are more expensive and unreliable. Who will go back to making a simple car?
October 26, 2025
Porsche's EV Blunder
Porsche treated their customers with contempt by producing cars not based on the internal combustion engine. Porsche makes fast cars, not sewing machines.
The future is not EVs. EVs are a cult. They're junk, and anyone who buys a battery electric vehicle is throwing their money away. In a few years', if you own one, not only will your EV be worthless, but you'll have to pay to have it removed from your property and disposed of. I can see the day coming when EV owners abandon their cars by the side of the road.
A fool and his money are easily parted - remember that.
March 25, 2024
Stellantis Layoffs
I wonder how much the EV nonsense had to do with the world's fourth largest car maker laying off staff?
December 01, 2022
July 28, 2022
No Cars or Property?
Now the WEF want to take away our cars. Tell them to shove off. This cult needs to be shut down.
A proposed universal model would take vehicle users “from owning to using” vehicles as the way to move forward to protect the planet.
The WEF paper uses the statistic the average car in England is only used 4% of the time, so it would be easy to share vehicles with other people.
According to the WEF, it is time to sell your car that just sits there not getting used and walking or sharing vehicles because “car sharing platforms such as Getaround and BlueSG have already seized that opportunity to offer vehicles where you pay per hour used.”
To save the planet, the end of private ownership is required and applies to everything, including cars, private homes, and even “city-wide design principles.”
May 07, 2022
The Jaguar S-Type
Here's a very useful video about the S-Type Jaguar. I used to own an S-Type. In New Zealand they tended to be automatic. That's because they were a bit more expensive than other Jaguar saloons and so you needed to be a bit richer to own one. That meant being older and older drivers preferred auto.
But not mine, it was sold to a doctor on the Kapiti coast, a 3.8 manual with overdrive. Legend has it that in the UK, getaway drivers used the S-Type. Its independent rear suspension gave it better handling, and its power meant it could outrun anything the cops were using, including Mk2 Jaguars. To illustrate the point, Sybil Lupp used to say that if an S-Type and a Mk2 left Wellington for Auckland at the same time and never exceeded the speed limit the whole way, the S-Type would arrive half an hour before the Mk2, due to that better handling (Archer and Lupp - Sybil Lupp was an expert on Jags and she developed a range of unique tools for working on them) .
I used my S-Type even when I started in business. It had a tow bar and I could be seen towing equipment all over Christchurch - I had moved from Wellington to the South Island. In one of those funny instances where someone tells you about yourself without them knowing who they're talking to; this guy was on the phone and I got the impression he had mistaken me for a competitor. So, I asked him what's that Ken Horlor like? The reply was, 'Oh he's all right, bit of a Yuppy, drives a Jag.' Praise then.
July 22, 2020
Tesla Model 3: Rubbish
Have you been on YouTube and checked out the reviews of the Tesla Model 3? I have and these owners seem to be a kind of masochist. The flaws they report on the car are many and varied, real problems which they explain away. Is this the coolness factor overpowering the realities with this piece of overpriced junk? It has got to be. I'm sticking with Subaru, a real car.
September 29, 2019
Big Oil and Electric Vehicles
I thought of this lovely conspiracy theory, have fun with it. I haven't seen this anywhere else, so I apologise in advance if this isn't an original idea.
As I've outlined numerous times, electric vehicles (EV's) are total nonsense, a complete waste of time, don't even think about them. That's the well considered experienced view of the matter, all very scientific.
But hang on, what if the fact EV's are utter crap has something to do with why they're being pushed so hard. What if the big oil companies and the myriad of companies heavily reliant on the liquid fuels infrastructure are pushing EV's as they know they're rubbish. They're doing this to discredit alternative fuels or forms of energy. The result would be to force people back to the internal combustion engine and this would be for the foreseeable future. In other words, EV's are a stalking horse, concealing big oil's desire to lock in fossil fuels. Hmm?
Note that Norway, the world's biggest hypocrite which has made a fortune from oil and gas is heavily promoting EV's. Sweden is not far behind this, they're massive hypocrite's too but they'd be promoting their carbon capture technology. There'd be a lot of interconnecting and overlapping agendas with this theory, but they all have one goal; to lock in people to a future that relies entirely on old industries that have morphed into new, sexy, born again new technology companies. Old technology companies that are really old tech re-branded or re-skinned.
To support this theory, consider ideas that never get looked at seriously. We have the idea of the water powered car, which are generally discredited. One in New Zealand was designed and built, the story of which you can read about here: https://waterpoweredcar.com/archieblue.html
The argument against this is that it involves more energy (or the same amount) to separate the hydrogen and so there is no gain. Fine, but what about a nuclear car? The nuclear reactor generating heat, then a steam engine is used for motive power. The amount of uranium needed to drive a car its entire useful life would be extremely small. Even microscopic. It would not be enough to create an explosion, it would be more like a clock with reflective hour and seconds hands and numbers.
Such a car completely circumvents the liquid fuels infrastructure. No gas stations, and very few oil refineries would be needed as only certain lubricants would be required for wheel bearings and the like. These ideas would be ditched because of that very fact. In this new green age of Corporate Green only the right technology is accepted and that has to be based upon centralised models that rely on the existing companies (or sources of capital ) to provide the solutions. Independence is not allowed, with this idea that's exactly why EV's are promoted, they're to fail as they must, sending people into the arms of Big Oil.
As I've outlined numerous times, electric vehicles (EV's) are total nonsense, a complete waste of time, don't even think about them. That's the well considered experienced view of the matter, all very scientific.
But hang on, what if the fact EV's are utter crap has something to do with why they're being pushed so hard. What if the big oil companies and the myriad of companies heavily reliant on the liquid fuels infrastructure are pushing EV's as they know they're rubbish. They're doing this to discredit alternative fuels or forms of energy. The result would be to force people back to the internal combustion engine and this would be for the foreseeable future. In other words, EV's are a stalking horse, concealing big oil's desire to lock in fossil fuels. Hmm?
Note that Norway, the world's biggest hypocrite which has made a fortune from oil and gas is heavily promoting EV's. Sweden is not far behind this, they're massive hypocrite's too but they'd be promoting their carbon capture technology. There'd be a lot of interconnecting and overlapping agendas with this theory, but they all have one goal; to lock in people to a future that relies entirely on old industries that have morphed into new, sexy, born again new technology companies. Old technology companies that are really old tech re-branded or re-skinned.
To support this theory, consider ideas that never get looked at seriously. We have the idea of the water powered car, which are generally discredited. One in New Zealand was designed and built, the story of which you can read about here: https://waterpoweredcar.com/archieblue.html
The argument against this is that it involves more energy (or the same amount) to separate the hydrogen and so there is no gain. Fine, but what about a nuclear car? The nuclear reactor generating heat, then a steam engine is used for motive power. The amount of uranium needed to drive a car its entire useful life would be extremely small. Even microscopic. It would not be enough to create an explosion, it would be more like a clock with reflective hour and seconds hands and numbers.
Such a car completely circumvents the liquid fuels infrastructure. No gas stations, and very few oil refineries would be needed as only certain lubricants would be required for wheel bearings and the like. These ideas would be ditched because of that very fact. In this new green age of Corporate Green only the right technology is accepted and that has to be based upon centralised models that rely on the existing companies (or sources of capital ) to provide the solutions. Independence is not allowed, with this idea that's exactly why EV's are promoted, they're to fail as they must, sending people into the arms of Big Oil.
July 21, 2018
Why Electric Cars Are No Good
Forget Elon Musk. Ignore the hype around battery powered electric cars. An electric battery powered automobile is a poor option at any price and I'll tell you why.
But first, before doing that let's consider the mineral fuel burning internal combustion engine powered car. It is brilliant. Henry Ford was onto something when he mastered its mass production and brought freedom to planet Earth. Yes, freedom. Suddenly, the average Joe or Janet could go anywhere and often did. In a matter of minutes you can put enough energy into a car to get you clear across the country. That's a lot of energy.
And cars have got better over time. So good in fact they're now five star hotels on wheels. I'm surprised they can't perform minor medical procedures on the occupants as they drive along, that's how good they are. Running out of fuel is rarely a risk as, wait for it, there are filling stations everywhere and the fuel itself is plentiful and cheap. The alternatives are also pretty cheap whether that be bio-fuels or coal to oil, or even coal gas. You get the idea.
Now along comes the so-called planet friendly option. The battery powered electric vehicle. It's not new in fact, the option has been explored time and again and it always fails. It will fail now, things haven't changed that much.
First, let's consider the battery itself. It consumes valuable minerals that are hard to mine and places them in a box. The battery then wears out pretty fast. Compared to a gasoline powered car, that's very fast. Batteries lose their get up and go. And then they die. When they die the battery has to be recycled, and the car owner has to buy a replacement or throw the car away. Do you want to throw your battery powered car away after 5-6 years?
Second, the battery is a store of energy like the fuel tank on its competitor. But it's a poor store of energy; batteries are fast to discharge and slow to charge. With gasoline it's the other way around. And batteries get drained fast, faster than a tank of gas. So, power to weight, rolling resistance (wet roads and icy conditions), wind and so on are big factors in how range is affected. Then when you run out of juice, that first problem kicks you in the butt. Oh dear. It's like travelling back to the days of horse and cart, where travellers had to stop at an Inn to refresh the horses, often staying overnight. Do we want to go back to that?
Third, infrastructure. How many charging points are out there and how long will it take to wait for a charging plug to become vacant? At a petrol station the queue may last a few minutes. Imagine the length of queue at electric charging points. Right now that is not an issue as so few cars are electric. But when the car fleet gets to as little as 5% of all cars, watch the road rage. It's going to be incredible.
Fourth, what do you do with a stranded battery vehicle? With a gasoline powered vehicle, you simply hitch or walk to the nearest station, buy a jerry can, fill it up, then go back to the car and pour in the gas. Voilà , you're back going again. With a battery powered car if you have no generator back-up you'd have to get a car transporter costing hundreds of dollars. An expensive mistake running out of juice that one.
Fifth, what is the resale value on that battery powered car?
Sixth, have you had enough already?
What may work are hybrids and plugin hybrids. Or even electric cars with back-up generators on board, used solely to boost range. But purely electric is a fad pure and simple.
What are the advantages of electric? Well, as someone who has worked with electric powered equipment all his adult life, electric power provides more grunt. Lots of it. In industrial settings electric is superior. But you never want to rely on batteries as they're a dud. Trust me. So taking that into consideration I can see inner city commercial vehicles being electric as they often are now anyway. And electric is very useful in warehousing, fork hoists are often battery powered as you don't have to vent the enclosed spaces. It's all been thought of before.
And heavy trucks may be hybrid, but then why not just use rail? Construction vehicles like excavators are often hybrid these days, that's good too, but of course much industry runs on three phase power and has done so since Adam was a cowboy.
Basically what I'm saying is that anyone who tells you that battery powered electric automobiles are the way of the future is a snake oil salesman. It's as straightforward as that.
But first, before doing that let's consider the mineral fuel burning internal combustion engine powered car. It is brilliant. Henry Ford was onto something when he mastered its mass production and brought freedom to planet Earth. Yes, freedom. Suddenly, the average Joe or Janet could go anywhere and often did. In a matter of minutes you can put enough energy into a car to get you clear across the country. That's a lot of energy.
And cars have got better over time. So good in fact they're now five star hotels on wheels. I'm surprised they can't perform minor medical procedures on the occupants as they drive along, that's how good they are. Running out of fuel is rarely a risk as, wait for it, there are filling stations everywhere and the fuel itself is plentiful and cheap. The alternatives are also pretty cheap whether that be bio-fuels or coal to oil, or even coal gas. You get the idea.
Now along comes the so-called planet friendly option. The battery powered electric vehicle. It's not new in fact, the option has been explored time and again and it always fails. It will fail now, things haven't changed that much.
First, let's consider the battery itself. It consumes valuable minerals that are hard to mine and places them in a box. The battery then wears out pretty fast. Compared to a gasoline powered car, that's very fast. Batteries lose their get up and go. And then they die. When they die the battery has to be recycled, and the car owner has to buy a replacement or throw the car away. Do you want to throw your battery powered car away after 5-6 years?
Second, the battery is a store of energy like the fuel tank on its competitor. But it's a poor store of energy; batteries are fast to discharge and slow to charge. With gasoline it's the other way around. And batteries get drained fast, faster than a tank of gas. So, power to weight, rolling resistance (wet roads and icy conditions), wind and so on are big factors in how range is affected. Then when you run out of juice, that first problem kicks you in the butt. Oh dear. It's like travelling back to the days of horse and cart, where travellers had to stop at an Inn to refresh the horses, often staying overnight. Do we want to go back to that?
Third, infrastructure. How many charging points are out there and how long will it take to wait for a charging plug to become vacant? At a petrol station the queue may last a few minutes. Imagine the length of queue at electric charging points. Right now that is not an issue as so few cars are electric. But when the car fleet gets to as little as 5% of all cars, watch the road rage. It's going to be incredible.
Fourth, what do you do with a stranded battery vehicle? With a gasoline powered vehicle, you simply hitch or walk to the nearest station, buy a jerry can, fill it up, then go back to the car and pour in the gas. Voilà , you're back going again. With a battery powered car if you have no generator back-up you'd have to get a car transporter costing hundreds of dollars. An expensive mistake running out of juice that one.
Fifth, what is the resale value on that battery powered car?
Sixth, have you had enough already?
What may work are hybrids and plugin hybrids. Or even electric cars with back-up generators on board, used solely to boost range. But purely electric is a fad pure and simple.
What are the advantages of electric? Well, as someone who has worked with electric powered equipment all his adult life, electric power provides more grunt. Lots of it. In industrial settings electric is superior. But you never want to rely on batteries as they're a dud. Trust me. So taking that into consideration I can see inner city commercial vehicles being electric as they often are now anyway. And electric is very useful in warehousing, fork hoists are often battery powered as you don't have to vent the enclosed spaces. It's all been thought of before.
And heavy trucks may be hybrid, but then why not just use rail? Construction vehicles like excavators are often hybrid these days, that's good too, but of course much industry runs on three phase power and has done so since Adam was a cowboy.
Basically what I'm saying is that anyone who tells you that battery powered electric automobiles are the way of the future is a snake oil salesman. It's as straightforward as that.
July 18, 2017
Automobile Innovation
Here's an idea I've had concerning electric cars. This has probably been thought of before, but my version goes like this: the problem with electric cars is range. Fine for around town stuff, but between cities the electric cars run out of juice.
What about cars that run on roads with an electrical supply reticulated into the road itself. Steam trains used to have water towers for refuelling, then a trough came along placed beside the track, a scoop picks up the water and the train never has to stop. Well, how about zones on highways where there is a live rail and the car lowers a wand to charge the batteries as the car drives along. Solar and wind could be added as a source of power as well as the surface also generating power from the wheels rolling across the surface.
Then what about nuclear cars. I currently have a car sitting in the garage with a full fuel tank. If invented today the set-up would probably be illegal. So what about a safe steam car, the heat coming from an on-board reactor. Within the useful life of the car it would never need refuelling. Think like a watch on the wrist glowing in the dark. As safe as that watch would be the design brief.
What about cars that run on roads with an electrical supply reticulated into the road itself. Steam trains used to have water towers for refuelling, then a trough came along placed beside the track, a scoop picks up the water and the train never has to stop. Well, how about zones on highways where there is a live rail and the car lowers a wand to charge the batteries as the car drives along. Solar and wind could be added as a source of power as well as the surface also generating power from the wheels rolling across the surface.
Then what about nuclear cars. I currently have a car sitting in the garage with a full fuel tank. If invented today the set-up would probably be illegal. So what about a safe steam car, the heat coming from an on-board reactor. Within the useful life of the car it would never need refuelling. Think like a watch on the wrist glowing in the dark. As safe as that watch would be the design brief.
December 09, 2016
Where to for Formula 1?
Formula 1 has lost the plot. The cars are too expensive, the number of teams competing too few, the races not competitive enough, just about everything is wrong. Changes are afoot, in 2017 tyres will be wider and the body will be modified, maybe some other things too, to be honest I've lost interest after devouring everything F1 since I was a little kid.
For me the most important thing is the sound of the car. Over the decades the sound has evolved to be more like a sewing machine than a fast car. There is something about the cars of the 1950's, 60's and 70's that hits you in the stomach, and it's the sound that does that. As the speeds rose and the cars became ever more technically complex, the sound changed, and it wasn't better. Finally the fans got sick of it and went looking elsewhere. I could see it coming in the 1990's.
To illustrate I've got a video to listen to, it is the sound of a BRM V16; they were used from 1947 up to 1955, listen to this monster and tell me it doesn't make you wet yourself:
For me the most important thing is the sound of the car. Over the decades the sound has evolved to be more like a sewing machine than a fast car. There is something about the cars of the 1950's, 60's and 70's that hits you in the stomach, and it's the sound that does that. As the speeds rose and the cars became ever more technically complex, the sound changed, and it wasn't better. Finally the fans got sick of it and went looking elsewhere. I could see it coming in the 1990's.
To illustrate I've got a video to listen to, it is the sound of a BRM V16; they were used from 1947 up to 1955, listen to this monster and tell me it doesn't make you wet yourself:
January 22, 2016
Tesla Cars Bad Customer Service
Ever wondered what it would be like to deal with the people at Tesla? Wonder no more as I've just read a horror story.
>>You Just Knew Tesla Was Crap<<
Some excerpts....
Elon Musk, get out of that car and let the man buy the damn thing.
>>You Just Knew Tesla Was Crap<<
Some excerpts....
On the evening of January 7, the day before I was to receive my car, Kevin called me to explain he had a call in with the Office of the CEO at Tesla and was working with his team in Tesla to resolve a problem that had come up — their CEO, Elon Musk, had taken my car and was using it as his personal vehicle to test a new version of autopilot. Even worse, he said he could see all the calls I had made into the Orlando delivery center this past week, and no one was taking my calls because no one knew what to do.
......
Tesla has a strange way of communicating with customers I think is best described as customer service vaporware. That is, they spend more time trying to create the illusion of customer service, rather than actually providing it. There is no mechanism for them to get feedback, as I tried to provide, so its difficult to see how they can improve if they don’t know where they are going wrong.
Elon Musk, get out of that car and let the man buy the damn thing.
January 06, 2016
Business Ideas
Hey, this an ideas thread. Ideas I've had for some time and done nothing about myself. I've taken note though, as time has gone by, that no-one has done them, or anything similar. Maybe there are good reasons for this. Hmm.
1. Baby Boomers Retiring:-
New Zealand this, not talking in the USA etc., where private equity is well established....
No, I'm not talking about retirement homes, or farming oldies. I'm thinking all those baby boomers are retiring and what happens to their businesses? Like Auckland house prices, the amount of capital needed to buy these businesses has gone beyond the reach of younger investors.
Baby boomers also inherit their parents business and want the cash out. Or the baby boomers don't have children capable of taking over, or the children are not interested, or the children have taken over and want to cash out. Whatever, you get the idea.
Simple idea really, a private fund buys these good businesses and runs them under management. They're either directly governed or brought together into industry groups which can be floated off onto a stock exchange, or sold to management later, maybe being split up before doing so.
I'm not aware of any consultant or investment banker in NZ operating in the space where the businesses are smaller, but not the corner shop either - let's not get carried away here; I'm thinking 20-50 employees and under $50 million worth.
It could even be handled like a reverse mortgage, the retiring owner stays in place in a senior governance role and is paid out over time. Nothing really new in that angle I guess though, but where I think I'm different is that the group buying these businesses packages or bundles them up.
I can think of literally dozens of businesses where the owner is older, nearing retirement and carrying on regardless. Some I personally know and they say they have to carry on as no-one can buy their business.
So that's an opportunity for an enterprising investor.
2. Search by thought and eyes:-
The next Google is a search engine that processes your thinking. Reads your mind. Maybe through your webcam it reads your eye movement. Touch screens yes, but if you can touch the screen why can't the screen touch you?
3. HorlorVision:-
This is an implant, far beyond Google glasses. It's in your brain and you can see any movie or TV show ever made, right inside your head.
Or driving along you can see Google street view in part of your brain.
Or the military application - you can implant all the necessary steps for being an excellent soldier. Correctly configured, the soldier can work with satellites and drones, seeing behind targets ( who's hiding behind the wall?).
4. Basketball Jumping Shoes
Intelligent clothing. The rules of basketball say you're not allowed to get an advantage by jumping off or being held by someone else (technical foul). So no riding on someone's shoulders or jumping off something (such as jumping off a body crouching like a stool, or a hand off or climbing onto the backboard). But shoes have some leeway, and have improved over the years. I think Adidas put out a shoe they said allowed a higher jump, and the sole looked good.
But I'm talking a sole that applies leverage but never changes shape. This avoids the charge that the shoes are like someone standing on stilts. The interior of the shoe would use leverage to propel the player higher (the foot inside the shoe would need room).
In the next development the sole itself would have a memory that equates to a spring like a lever spring, but no actual large spring. The sole is flat but when activated by toe reflex, springs the player upward. Look at these Rosta bearings, the unit on the far right is what I'm talking about miniaturising, get the idea? This could be inside the sole and would provide massive lift...
These elements pictured work in industrial applications, inside a shoe they'd provide maybe two and a half feet of lift for the average size person - BOOM - every competent player is a dunker.
5. Water Driven Car
People go on about electric vs petrol vs fuel cell.
Well woop de doo. I'd get excited if one day you can get the garden hose and fill your tank with water and drive along using that.
Two ways this could be possible, c'mon engineers do it...
(a) the first is you have a uranium using nuclear plant in your car and it turns the water to steam, which then drives your car. The advantage of this is that when at home the same plant can power your house with electricity and feed the national grid, or;
(b) The water is fed through a cracker which splits the water into hydrogen and oxygen. Most talk about hydrogen, but the oxygen is useful here I think, bring the elements back together and boom, ignition. The nuclear unit would crack the water.
The idea is that you fit the nuclear unit to the car and it goes for the life of the car without replacement uranium, the car being disposed of when dead after 20 years or so. I haven't costed the uranium and the quantity available on planet earth. The idea falls over if there isn't enough uranium to go around.
1. Baby Boomers Retiring:-
New Zealand this, not talking in the USA etc., where private equity is well established....
No, I'm not talking about retirement homes, or farming oldies. I'm thinking all those baby boomers are retiring and what happens to their businesses? Like Auckland house prices, the amount of capital needed to buy these businesses has gone beyond the reach of younger investors.
Baby boomers also inherit their parents business and want the cash out. Or the baby boomers don't have children capable of taking over, or the children are not interested, or the children have taken over and want to cash out. Whatever, you get the idea.
Simple idea really, a private fund buys these good businesses and runs them under management. They're either directly governed or brought together into industry groups which can be floated off onto a stock exchange, or sold to management later, maybe being split up before doing so.
I'm not aware of any consultant or investment banker in NZ operating in the space where the businesses are smaller, but not the corner shop either - let's not get carried away here; I'm thinking 20-50 employees and under $50 million worth.
It could even be handled like a reverse mortgage, the retiring owner stays in place in a senior governance role and is paid out over time. Nothing really new in that angle I guess though, but where I think I'm different is that the group buying these businesses packages or bundles them up.
I can think of literally dozens of businesses where the owner is older, nearing retirement and carrying on regardless. Some I personally know and they say they have to carry on as no-one can buy their business.
So that's an opportunity for an enterprising investor.
2. Search by thought and eyes:-
The next Google is a search engine that processes your thinking. Reads your mind. Maybe through your webcam it reads your eye movement. Touch screens yes, but if you can touch the screen why can't the screen touch you?
3. HorlorVision:-
This is an implant, far beyond Google glasses. It's in your brain and you can see any movie or TV show ever made, right inside your head.
Or driving along you can see Google street view in part of your brain.
Or the military application - you can implant all the necessary steps for being an excellent soldier. Correctly configured, the soldier can work with satellites and drones, seeing behind targets ( who's hiding behind the wall?).
4. Basketball Jumping Shoes
Intelligent clothing. The rules of basketball say you're not allowed to get an advantage by jumping off or being held by someone else (technical foul). So no riding on someone's shoulders or jumping off something (such as jumping off a body crouching like a stool, or a hand off or climbing onto the backboard). But shoes have some leeway, and have improved over the years. I think Adidas put out a shoe they said allowed a higher jump, and the sole looked good.
But I'm talking a sole that applies leverage but never changes shape. This avoids the charge that the shoes are like someone standing on stilts. The interior of the shoe would use leverage to propel the player higher (the foot inside the shoe would need room).
In the next development the sole itself would have a memory that equates to a spring like a lever spring, but no actual large spring. The sole is flat but when activated by toe reflex, springs the player upward. Look at these Rosta bearings, the unit on the far right is what I'm talking about miniaturising, get the idea? This could be inside the sole and would provide massive lift...
These elements pictured work in industrial applications, inside a shoe they'd provide maybe two and a half feet of lift for the average size person - BOOM - every competent player is a dunker.
5. Water Driven Car
People go on about electric vs petrol vs fuel cell.
Well woop de doo. I'd get excited if one day you can get the garden hose and fill your tank with water and drive along using that.
Two ways this could be possible, c'mon engineers do it...
(a) the first is you have a uranium using nuclear plant in your car and it turns the water to steam, which then drives your car. The advantage of this is that when at home the same plant can power your house with electricity and feed the national grid, or;
(b) The water is fed through a cracker which splits the water into hydrogen and oxygen. Most talk about hydrogen, but the oxygen is useful here I think, bring the elements back together and boom, ignition. The nuclear unit would crack the water.
The idea is that you fit the nuclear unit to the car and it goes for the life of the car without replacement uranium, the car being disposed of when dead after 20 years or so. I haven't costed the uranium and the quantity available on planet earth. The idea falls over if there isn't enough uranium to go around.
November 23, 2015
Ken's 10 Most Underrated Cars
Here is my list of the most underrated cars. Bear in mind I'm a Kiwi and so this list will be biased toward cars that were available down under. They all held up well and I'm weighting for that fact principally, but also important is the car's utilitarian usefulness, reliability and cost of ownership. Without further ado, in ascending order:-
10. 1950's Standard Ten
A cute little car that held up well, they're still used on a daily basis in NZ, mostly by little old ladies who as we all know, know their cars. The great little Triumph Herald came later, and the Ten gets little mention as a result.
9. Lada Niva
Heh, the Suzuki Vitara copies this car, imitation being the sincerest form of flattery of course. The Niva people invented the crossover SUV with this brilliant car. It is almost never rated unless they're a serious off-road driver or German farmer.
8. 1960's Humber Super Snipe
These cars last forever and you would be foolish to discount it even today if you're looking for something cheap and indestructible. Older versions have won just about every demolition derby, but the 60's models are great rides and are just modern enough to be acceptable still.
7. Jaguar Mk X
I just about wet myself whenever I see one of these. I've owned Jags, including a Mk1 and 1967 S-Type but always wanted a Mk X, I just never found one in good enough condition. They tended to get thrashed (they're very powerful). A big car this.
6. Ford Ka with black bumpers (pre 1999)
Such a practical car and a good secondhand buy though you rarely see it mentioned.
5. Leyland P76 with the V8
Considered the biggest failure in Australian car manufacturing they're actually a good car. They have a boot that will take a couple of sheep.
4. Trekka
A useful New Zealand car and still in everyday use. They're powered by a Skoda engine. Usually mentioned is the Kiwi Duzgo (it does go...get it?) which was a dud to be honest, despite the hype and faithful few who promote it. Always overlooked is the Trekka, which was a success.
3. Vauxhall Velox LIP
The 6 cylinder car in the Wyvern body. Don't think about going over 70 mph and the suicide doors are a joy. Later Velox models get all the credit but this car is amazing. My father got a 1951 LIP as his first company car and he kept it until the early 1980's when he sold it for a few dollars. It was thrashed its whole life, got rarely cared for yet just kept on going.
2. Ford Anglia c. 1960
Bullet proof, just about.
1. Studebaker Champion c. 1950
My most underrated car. Reliable, robust, modern, own it today and it will go just fine.
10. 1950's Standard Ten
A cute little car that held up well, they're still used on a daily basis in NZ, mostly by little old ladies who as we all know, know their cars. The great little Triumph Herald came later, and the Ten gets little mention as a result.
9. Lada Niva
Heh, the Suzuki Vitara copies this car, imitation being the sincerest form of flattery of course. The Niva people invented the crossover SUV with this brilliant car. It is almost never rated unless they're a serious off-road driver or German farmer.
8. 1960's Humber Super Snipe
These cars last forever and you would be foolish to discount it even today if you're looking for something cheap and indestructible. Older versions have won just about every demolition derby, but the 60's models are great rides and are just modern enough to be acceptable still.
7. Jaguar Mk X
I just about wet myself whenever I see one of these. I've owned Jags, including a Mk1 and 1967 S-Type but always wanted a Mk X, I just never found one in good enough condition. They tended to get thrashed (they're very powerful). A big car this.
6. Ford Ka with black bumpers (pre 1999)
Such a practical car and a good secondhand buy though you rarely see it mentioned.
5. Leyland P76 with the V8
Considered the biggest failure in Australian car manufacturing they're actually a good car. They have a boot that will take a couple of sheep.
4. Trekka
A useful New Zealand car and still in everyday use. They're powered by a Skoda engine. Usually mentioned is the Kiwi Duzgo (it does go...get it?) which was a dud to be honest, despite the hype and faithful few who promote it. Always overlooked is the Trekka, which was a success.
3. Vauxhall Velox LIP
The 6 cylinder car in the Wyvern body. Don't think about going over 70 mph and the suicide doors are a joy. Later Velox models get all the credit but this car is amazing. My father got a 1951 LIP as his first company car and he kept it until the early 1980's when he sold it for a few dollars. It was thrashed its whole life, got rarely cared for yet just kept on going.
2. Ford Anglia c. 1960
Bullet proof, just about.
1. Studebaker Champion c. 1950
My most underrated car. Reliable, robust, modern, own it today and it will go just fine.
September 12, 2015
Warren Buffett Nightmare
Those who have seen the Motley Fool internet advertisement about what makes Warren Buffett lose sleep at night will be wondering what it is. I can tell you they're talking about driverless cars and the impact that may have on the auto insurance industry. The argument goes that the Berkshire Hathaway owned Geico insurance will be impacted by these cars which are predicted to be commonplace within five years.
Motley Fool then recommend a computer chip maker that makes the type of chip for driverless cars.
A word of caution; while the insurance landscape may well change due to these cars, who is to say the business will be less profitable? Accidents will be fewer, meaning less claims and thus cost to the insurer, but car owners will still need to insure for those accidents that are unavoidable.
Which chip maker will win in the race ahead is anyone's guess, invest carefully and only when you're confident, and the first thing to ignore I'd say, would be scaremongering of the Motley kind.
Motley Fool then recommend a computer chip maker that makes the type of chip for driverless cars.
A word of caution; while the insurance landscape may well change due to these cars, who is to say the business will be less profitable? Accidents will be fewer, meaning less claims and thus cost to the insurer, but car owners will still need to insure for those accidents that are unavoidable.
Which chip maker will win in the race ahead is anyone's guess, invest carefully and only when you're confident, and the first thing to ignore I'd say, would be scaremongering of the Motley kind.