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
I’ve been following you all since….2010? Back on the old site, then to here, I never registered or commented ever until now. Glad to join in for a good cause, and to be able to support such a great group of people
I had missed that last comment, but it is spot-on. I work with a variety of people, including HVAC techs, electricians, engineers, programmers, and plumbers (all industrial). The trades folks are happiest if they work for a union shop. The work can be hard, especially if they do a lot of heavy install work, and the pay isn’t as amazing as some people will tell you (though it can be, depending on area, union, and demand). Currently, the state is working with companies and donors to subsidize training in the trades, so I suspect the pay will soon be lower here.
The ideal world is one in which people pursue a variety of educations and vocations. Preferably, each of them will get a well-rounded education that prepares them not just for the technical side of a job, but communication, logic, and other transferable skills that will be useful wherever they go. An injury can take you out of the trades, an influx of talent can drive you to a career pivot, and changes in the job market can render your job obsolete.
Plus, in my experience one of the biggest struggles small business owners (of which there are many in the trades) face is handling the business side of the job. It’s great that you can do the technical skill, but if you can’t properly invoice it too you won’t make the money you should.
Absolutely. I’m shocked how many people try to run businesses without any knowledge of business. Great that you want to make a go of it in your field, but you aren’t going to get far if you don’t know how to make it work.
I’ve also seen a lot of people who just don’t understand their expenses, both in business and just in the workplace. You get people who just can’t figure out why they’re making what feels like plenty of money and still struggling, because they didn’t actually take into account higher costs of living in an area or business expenses.
I also think we need to teach people how taxes work. I can’t count the number of coworkers who have thought they’d net less if they got a raise that pushed them into a higher tax bracket.
The gig economy is pretty much based on people not understanding concepts like depreciation. Uber’s business model would completely fall apart if people could do the math on how little money they’re actually making after expenses.
And in the interest of transparency, I didn’t understand how tax brackets worked when I first entered the workforce. Financial literacy really isn’t pushed enough in school.
That’s reasonable. I’ve known people planning for retirement who still hadn’t figured it out. And I don’t even blame them. I blame the system that has decided tax preparation should be a booming industry. We could make taxes more transparent, educate people on them, and/or even have the IRS calculate them for us, but we gotta keep H&R Block in business.
And you are so right on the gig economy. People are so used to assuming a car as an expense, they don’t even notice how much extra they have to spend on it when it’s the business. And I suspect a lot of them are in for a nasty surprise if they get in an accident and their insurance finds out they didn’t declare commercial use.
I never chased my interests and am now 48, sore and tired. I’ve always had barely enough money to do fun things with wheels. I got a degree I only used for about 4 years, then I worked as a human punching bag in Special Education as an EdTech. Current job is tuning up hospital surgical equipment. It’s on a box truck that is noisy and dusty and certainly is shortening my life. My hourly wage is about what dishwashers make in the city. But I get only *mildly* crappy and still expensive health insurance.
At least I did an autocross this past weekend, so life is good.
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
Hmph. Not to disagree with anything you said until that quote at the end, but Keynes can also stay irrational longer than the market. A century and counting, in fact.
Not a fan of MMT I take it.
Nope. Not sure who would be at this point, given that printing bucketloads of fiat dollars hasn’t helped at all.
Whatever you do, never make the mistake I once made of typing my father’s best income year total from the 1980s into an inflation calculator. You will pick up a pitchfork and light a torch and march straight to the Federal Reserve Bank.
Got my EE degree right when a market crash wiped out the retirement funds of the utility engineers my cohort was supposed to replace. Luckily I was able to fall back on the IT work that paid for the degree in the first place. Now I’m just hoping the other sectors survive the AI collapse and the end of the Biden Boom.
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.
“Which transmission best describes each Autopian staff member?” is a quiz and question that needs further examination, in my mind.
(/creates Tremec account to deploy at a later date)
Hey, at least it’s more fun than a damned CVT! 🙂
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.
Oh I know, if anything I agree.
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.
I’m not sure I get what you’re putting down. The editors actually publish these late, so the comments are often a day or more old by the time COTD goes up. Ha. 🙂
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
*4 Neutrals. Unless reverse counts, than 5 neutrals.
Plus the actual neutral. I suppose it could be 7 if park ended up a neutral too.
ooh, fair point! Forgot about actual neutral.