@insightful–We use the decimal system because we have 5 digits on each hand. If we go to base 12 we would have to have an extra finger grafted to each hand. I would like this as I could have another valve on my horn.
Multiple bases are fun to play with, Criss cross multiplication was a fav from vedic mathematics, http://www.vedantatree.com/2012/12/vedic-math-multiplication-of-any-numbers.html There are many ways to skin a cat so to speak, but who the heck would skin a cat and why?
I use base 12 from time to time, like when someone asks my age. Actually, I choose a new base every year so that I can quote an age under the base 10 age and tell the truth. Only one person ever asked what base when I offered my age in the 10 or more years that I’ve been doing it.
I read an interview with the manager of a large Chevy dealer and he is running low on Suburban’s and Tahoe’s. This seems like this might be the time to make a good deal on a fuel efficient car. Even if the fuel prices do not increase I imagine the taxes at the pump will.
I remember when a crew cab pickup was a rarity. These trucks were used by utility companies and railroads to get a crew and their tools to a,worksite and weren’t used for family transportation. Even regular cab pickup trucks were a work vehicle. The Chevrolet Suburban, which was first marketed in 1936 or thereabouts was,used mostly by institutions to transport people. It wasn’t a family transportation vehicle. The market wasn’t very big because Ford and Chrysler didn’t produce such a vehicle even though it wasn’t difficult to convert a panel truck to such a vehicle. The only competition for the Suburban was the International Travelall
I have a theory. I have long felt that Americans never outgrew thier liking ( and need) for the traditional large RWD car you could use to tow or seat at least five with luggage in comfort. Crew cabs with short beds are not the practical truck their counterparts are with eight foot beds and seating for two, but they do a great job of replacing the truck based SUVS which are rare now which are the repkacement for large rwd cars that many Americans grew up with…still a theory. The minivan is not for everyone…especially for those with more active lifestyles or those with famines who still like their trucks.
Now, with trucks getting lighter and more efficient, gas prices dropping and few truck based SUVS to be found, it’s their " perfect storm".
As long as I knew any 76 on suburban = gas hog.
The American automobile industry is a dim witted juggerhaut. It is slow to recognize the need for change and by the time it recognizes that change is needed and sets the appropriate change in motion they are too late, the market has changed again. And the Ron Popiel strategy of producing gimmick imagery and hyping their glitzy junk products with midway barker zeal results in a great deal of buyer remorse for much of their model lineup. But apparently the American automobile buyers are as dim witted as the manufacturers and buy for the immediate gratification relative to the status quo of the moment.
Deciding what the buyer wants and then producing it though is like driving an aircraft carrier. Conditions change while you are in mid stream committing yourself to a particular idea. The more successful auto makers seem to have different models either in production elsewhere or as prototypes ready to throw on the market in as little time as possible. There seems to be a melting of autos between the U.S. and Europe as conditions slowly become unified and people in their old and young age begin moving more towards the cities. Car companies that had that in mind long term, seem more successful. Ford may have taken that long view before GM. Their overseas products seem more diverse and better prepared.
One thing that never goes out of style ? In my mind, it’s committing yourself to more fuel efficient and reliable cars and trucks . Regardless of the price of gas, driving a car cheaper and having it last longer has always been in the forefront of succesful car companies. You can make frumpy cars and trucks that are mediocre in every other way…but they will sell if they are reliable and economical.
My first ride in a Suburban was in an olive green one owned by the Army. They picked us up at various locations and drove us to the Camp.
I vaguely remember my first ride in a suburban. I was about 4 years old and it was before the end of WW II. At that time my dad was a music professor at a small state college in Illinois. He was taking a group of students someplace to perform and I got to go along. I remember riding in the middle of the front seat and my dad letting me shift the floor shift into high gear when he would say “when”.
@RodKnox Lee Iacocca may have been an exception to that rule, He created the Mustang, Minivan, and revived the convertible.
I,remember my dad looking for a car to rsplace his 1954 Buick sedan back in 1959. After test driving a new Buick and a new Oldsmobile, he decided to keep his 1954 Buick. The trunk space on the 1959_GM cars was poorly arranged and the seats were hard in the middle because the cars were lowered to the point that the driveshaft tunnel interfered with the passenger space making the cars really suitable for just 4 people. Yet these cars were longer, wider and used more gas.
I think most front runners eventually lose the lead. Their formula for success eventually becomes a liability. We might be seeing that in the current design of the Toyota Camry and Homda Accord. They once were the unanimous best in the market. That does not appear to be the case anymore.
Yes, @jtsanders. Henry Ford was way too reluctant to call it quits with the Model T and corporate geniuses today seem to fall into the same rut.
I don’t know. It takes quite a bit of cash and time to come up with the tooling for a new model and actually get it to market. There’s bound to be a lag and in a changing environment, its a tough nut to crack. Those that have a vision of what people want that the people haven’t thought of yet, like Iacocca did are likely to beat the odds with a winner.
I think about when small computers were coming out, the salesmen would start out asking what you wanted the software to do for you, of course then tailor their product recommendations accordingly. I would often answer though, how the heck do I know? They are the ones that were supposed to dream up the products to solve business problems, not me. The ones that did, had a hit.
Guess I’m just saying, asking people what they want today is fraught with the fickleness of the moment, but the visionary will provide something that people haven’t thought of yet. That’s one thing Americans are good at, creative thinking, if its allowed.
Remember when…
Well I don’t have a pic but I remember when they had to change all the pumps from the mechanical wheels to electronic because they needed the extra digit. Once they went over a dollar, the pumps had to go.
Then again I still remember the gas war in Sioux Falls in about 1968 and paid 19 cents a gallon. Down from the normal 32.9. Filled up my VW for less than $2. Ahhh, the memories.
From my student days I remember 3 things that cost the same: a decent bottle of whiskey, a case of 24 beers, and a fill up for my Chevy stove bolt 6. All were $3 or so.
Today, 24 beers cost about $18+ or so as does a good bottle of whiskey. A tank of gas for a full size Chevy can be 3 times that amount. Clearly, although the cost of cars has not exceeded the rate of inflation, 500% since the 50s, the price of gasoline and postage stamps, as well as a cup of coffee (10cents then) has risen totally out of proportion.
I don’t drink much so I was astounded at the price of beer last week. Gotta remember though, the post office goes through a lot of gas so it would make some sense that postage prices would have to increase as the cost of gas does.