We’ve announced our latest car, and it’s something really exciting, or vulgar, depending on your point of view. We gently convinced resident car designer Adrian Clarke to take on a SsangYong Rodius, probably one of the most tragic cars in the world. This has brought everyone, from The Autopian staff to our readers, some great amusement.
Adrian has written a brilliant post about acquiring this car, and honestly, you just have to read it. This is really only the beginning of the fun, and you readers are already spreading the joy. Mr E:
Oh, come now! It looks good from some angles.
Like upside down. In a lake. Perhaps on fire.
Paul_Walkers_Brother:
Ssorry not Ssorry.
Cody:
“…but I weigh nothing and smoke for a living” is a hilarious way to put it.
Taargus Taargus:
Everything about this makes me very, very happy.
That fucking spoiler man. I’m sure it’s undriveable without all the provided downforce.
Last week, I wrote about how Nissan built a great van with the NV, but the commercial market just didn’t bite. Jatco Xtronic CVT said:
Did they even try putting a CVT in the big van? That might have helped with the fuel economy and transmission shifting problems. Don’t even get me started on shifting.
But now, there’s a new sheriff in town. Meet Ford PowerShift DCT:
There ain’t enough room in this town for the both of us.
Oh my gosh, I’m loving these transmission-based meme commenter accounts!
Finally, as we reported in the Morning Dump, Ford says that AI is going to replace a lot of white-collar jobs. If you’re young, the future may seem bleak, but Taargus Taargus returns with good advice:
My advice to young people is to not listen to anyone about what career is going to be hot in the future. By the time you get through whatever training you need, you’re probably going to be way late to the game. And the reality is, you don’t really have control over what jobs are going to exist in the future anyway. Go for something the you have a passion and motivation for, that has some sort of value to others.
-Signed, engineer who graduated during the peak of the recession
Somewhat related, I’m pretty bummed about how hostile people have gotten towards the premise of college, and the idea that soon everyone is going to have a massively lucrative job in the trades. I know plenty of people in the trades, and most of them are pretty unhappy with the pay and the impact that the work has on them physically. I’ll never understand why people are excited for this future where white collar jobs are eliminated, and everyone gets to become a skilled laborer? I have plenty of respect for blue-collar jobs and the people that do them, but we should be trying to target a balance between these two options, not completely eliminate one for the other. Does everyone really believe that these jobs are going to pay oodles of cash? Especially after you supposedly train hordes of people to do them? Does anyone really believe that these companies are excited to pay their workers “top dollar”? No, once they get the supply of workers they need, they’re going to milk that workforce just like every industry always has.
Have a great evening, everyone!
Topshot: SsangYong
The Rodius is a shitty car that just happens to look cool.
For those pursuing the trades, community college is better than the for-profit trade schools.
Honestly on the trades vs college thing i definitely see that their should be a balance, though since i was only okayish at best in school due to multiple factors in and beyond my control, i saw very little point of going through mandatory Gen-Ed classes before eventually getting to whatever actual elective programs for the specific field i *MAY* have wanted to go into at the time for the cost. Are trades worth the (relatively) less monetary cost for the more perhaps physically demanding trades? It truly depends on the person in a case by case basis. But looking at the tuition costs against the chance of m a y b e getting into a solid career i may have liked for a time shown me too much uncertainty for an already uncertain part of my life at the time so i just decided on puttying around until i found something I truly enjoyed.
I never thought the Rodius was that ugly. In fact, it’s actually quite reasonable compared to, say, any modern crossover.
I mean being an HVAC tech does make bank, but also you’re generally working in the heat when the AC isn’t working(and the attic of all places!), and the cold when the heater isn’t working so that’s pretty rough.
Then there’s the ones that really cash in, like drill rig workers, except you might experience explosive decompression or just general drowning so there’s that.
Being a homeowner I’ve dabbled in a few of the skilled trades, carpentry, electrical, plumbing, hvac, landscaping, masonry, and of course general mechanic work. I’m not sure I’d want to do any professionally.
I did mechanic for a while semi-professionally for a minute, 30 years ago, oil changes, wasn’t bad, but still have some of the burns scars on my arms from hot exhaust pipes they hid oil filters behind.
“Does everyone really believe that these jobs are going to pay oodles of cash?”
You do when you pay a plumber more than you pay a lawyer.
The only time I’ve paid for a plumber, I paid a plumbing contractor that employed multiple people who did the labor that were definitely not being paid like lawyers.
Related: Do not buy a house with an original sewer outlet from the late 1800s.
Lawyers that get plumber pay have paralegals and/or interns to do the work.
Trade labor is driven by scarcity, at least in my area. Carpenters, electricians, contractors of various kinds, no one will take a job unless it’s a big one. Every job starts at $5k, minimum, because they’re so busy and booked out months.
There are many people for whom a trade would be far better than college, even though college has been pushed on so many people. More trades are needed, which will lower prices and pay.
So, while they pay a lot now, I think it’s only because of an imbalance in the labor market, which will hopefully correct itself.
I recall speaking with an electrician and his apprentice around 1998. That trade sounded just as appealing then as it does now.
Conversely I was also hearing rumors about how the labor shortage in own STEM profession was vastly overblown to the point of being nonsense. I didn’t believe it. When I graduated with my doctorate six long years later and experienced the STEM labor surplus firsthand I thought “it’s only because of an imbalance in the labor market, which will hopefully correct itself.”
That was 20 years ago and I have yet to see proof that anything, at least in my field has changed.
“the market can stay irrational longer than you can stay solvent”
– John Maynard Keynes
I’d rather we didn’t encourage that sort of behavior.
It reminds me of one of Heller’s lines from Catch-22: “Major Major’s father repeated this good joke at every opportunity”, which was not a compliment.
That final comment is a little bit depressing.
Sorry! Lol.
I did not mean it to attack you in any way. Actually I think it’s pretty accurate. It’s just kind of a sad commentary on where we are and where we are going, I think.
Instead of COTD comment of the day isn’t it really comment of the last 20 minutes? Why are COTD decided the same second one okay comment is made.
Gonna change my username to 4L60E and just respond to every thread with Stares in 6 Neutrals
Maybe throw in a PNNNNNNN every so often