Why Engineering And Sales Aren’t The Same Department: COTD

The art world is a fascinating place. People will happily spend tons of money on a piece that’s unique, or just really popular. Someone spent a whopping $6.2 million on a banana taped to a wall! But you don’t need to spend $15,000 to get a cam-actuated mechanical bird when you can just buy a motorcycle.

Jason wrote about how the mechanical bird that Kelly Clarkson wanted actually works. Dave Larkman:

Artist: I made this thing with nine cam lobes that does nothing useful in a whimsical way.

Potential buyer: $15k? More? I want it, please sell it to me! I must have one!

Engineer: I made this thing with 16 cam lobes, on two cams. It’s part of an engine that makes 200bhp/litre and revs to 15,000rpm. You also get an entire motorcycle with it too, with six axis accelerometers, anti-wheelie, anti-rear wheel lift, traction control and ABS. It’s one of the most exciting ways to travel and will make you feel like a total hero.

Potential buyer: $11k seems like a lot, it’s only a 600. Why is the 1000cc version twice as expensive?

Engineer: would it help if I had it made by artisans in Italy rather than by Honda? It’ll be worse. What if I halve the number of cylinders to make it cheaper to build?

Potential buyer: I won’t pay more than twice as much, but I’ll probably keep it in my house so people can look at it, rather than actually riding it.

Engineer: this is why I’m not allowed to talk to customers. You people are all insane.

Christocyclist:

Further proof that BIRDS AREN’T REAL!

MaximillianMeen:

Here, you can Alta Vista it and see for yourself,

I’m pretty sure DuckDuckGo is the appropriate search engine for avian related content.

SNL-LOL Jr:

Bird wants to buy bird, but the shop gives her the bird.

Hoonicus:

The artist didn’t want to flip the bird, but had it prominently displayed in an upscale store to get attention for birds he did want to flip. The store didn’t want to flip the bird, per agreement. Clarkson, with her post, wanted to flip the bird.

Taargus Taargus:

This post has it all. Genuinely cool craftsmanship. Celebrity shenanigans. Sequential taillights. And a shitting swan car?

Jason wrote about all of Elon’s silly promises for the new Tesla Roadster. Nsane In The MembraNe:

BOO THIS MAN! BOOOOOOOOO.

Spikedlemon:

They’re saying “Booo-urns, sir.”

The reference:

Ranwhenparked:

What advantages does this motor car have over, say, a private rigid airship, which I can also afford, and is equally likely to reach production?

Peter wrote about the new GM UGV. V10omous delivered some delicious trolling:

-Lower lift-in height

-Swapping cab space for extended bed length

-Thick sidewall on small steel rims

The commenters should be all over this one, a manufacturer is finally giving them the truck they’ve been begging for.

Goose:

You forgot some other biggies:

-Extremely basic. Nothing has been designed for comfort, luxury, or even basic habitability just like a real truck.

-It’s available in green.

Have a great day, everyone!

Top graphic image: Bliss Kolb Design/Honda