Nissan's plan to take control of ailing Mitsubishi

General Discussion
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Response to quotes "“How could changing the fan speed to high blow a compressor out?”

Like you, I don’t believe that the fan speed would have any effect on the compressor.
I think that the mechanic used by Ed Frugal’s Dad blamed compressor problems on the fan speed because he didn’t know how to properly diagnose/fix the problem." (end quote)

That COULD be true. OR, perhaps I’ve got my nomenclature wrong again. Remember, this was over 30 years ago, I was just a kid at the time, and my father died many years ago so I can’t go ask him for clarification. I DO remember that running the a/c on high for more than a few minutes or so tended to cause the a/c to not work anymore. Whether it was the compressor, the fan, a fuse, or some other reason why could be debated I suppose. After the mechanic told him that, the rule was, nobody puts the a/c on “high” or else. . . . back when I was a kid, Fathers had that kind of authority. . .

Its just funny how we can carry a childhood experience like that throughout our lives. So there I sit in my 2015 Mitsubishi Mirage, almost 35 years later, with the automatic climate control that many of you say is so-o-o-o-o much better than regular old a/c. You set the temperature you want, and the computer quickly cranks the a/c up to maximum speed, and I’m sitting there, my automatic reaction is, “holy crap, that’s loud, I need to override this and turn down the fan speed before the compressor blows out.”

WILL I blow out my compressor if I run the a/c at the highest speed? Probably not. And regardless, I’m under warranty anyway. But my preconceptions remain. Seems like after about level “5” all its doing is making more noise anyway. Perhaps when we get into the dog days of summer I’ll try it out at the highest settings. . . . IF it IS going to break, I want it to break while its still under warranty (no worries there because I’ve got that super long Mitsubishi warranty :smile: )

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@db4690 "What job are you thinking of getting that requires a CDL . . . ? And exactly which CDL are you thinking of getting? "

Well, my understanding is that most everything moves by truck. From transporting children to school, the elderly to the casino, everything at every store you shop at, construction materials, asphalt, taking away the garbage, everything moves by truck. Even the stuff that comes on ships and trains, they take it off the ship and train and put it on a trailer to move it to its final destination.

Apparently there’s a shortage of CDL drivers, at least on the east coast. Several Union reps have told me, “If you have a clean CDL and can pass a drug & criminal background check, I can put you to work tomorrow.” Not just in a job, but a Union job with health insurance and a real pension. Others claim its better to be an owner operator and get paid by the load. I’ve had a bad experience with “independent contractor” work in the past, but that’s probably another discussion.

@insightful “Too late… Google “self-driving semi.” ;-]” That’s all right. Believe me, right now I’m surrounded by people telling me what I’m NOT going to do, and what AIN’T going to happen, etc. In times of difficult times, you find out who your friends really are. Right now there’s certain “friends” of mine who I won’t even pick up the phone when they call. . .

In regards to the self-driving semis (and funny how this is kind of dovetailing with the self-driving cars thread, huh?) My co-workers and I have been discussing this at length lately, . The consensus seems to be that this technology is not ready for prime time. Even when it is, how long will it take for the population to accept 80,000 pounds of gasoline, asphalt etc rolling down the highway at 70+ mph with NO HUMAN at the controls?! Just like, right now, many airplanes can take off, fly, and, land, all by the computer only with no human assistance, but all the planes still have a “Captain” and “Co-Pilot”. Ask yourself, would YOU board a plane knowing there was NOBODY in the cockpit? Would you?

My prediction is the self-driving technology will be brought in incrementally, making the truck driving job easier and safer, but it will be a long time before the driver him (or her) self is actually phased out, and I will hopefully be safely retired by then. Indeed, a lot of the old-timers already say technology has made driving a truck easier and safer. Automatic transmissions, backup cameras, lane departure and blind spot warning systems, driver fatigue warning systems, and so on, already in widespread use.

P.S.- You folks are debating what happens when a self-driving car with a drunk in it has an accident. We-ll, what about the liability when a self-driving gasoline truck crashes into a daycare playground?

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According to BMW…they said they’d assume ALL liability if any of their driverless cars cause an accident.

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Yeah, fathers know best. I remember I borrowed my dad’s 1960 Falcon for a date. It was winter and he said whatever you do don’t use the radio. Naturally I paid him no attention and we rode around all night with the radio on. When we stopped at a teen hangout and went to start the car again, the battery was dead. Had to get a jump start and never told him, but left the radio off after that.

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(Note to self: Don’t buy stock in BMW.) Now everybody pile on and tell me what a Luddite I am.

But seriously, any takers? Would anybody board a commercial plane with nobody at the controls, only the computer pilot? Maybe you’ll say you will to a stranger on the internet, but would you really?

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I don’t know exactly what make/model the rental car was but seem to recall my grandpa telling me a story about running the balls of this poor rental car. He was going like 100mph and the AC froze up. I don’t know where this was but have noticed that you can thaw a window AC by turning it to fan only and letting it run. I have seen a few freeze up when people let the filter get really dirty. Otherwise they seem fine.

I doubt you will blow the compressor on the Mirage. Run it at whatever speed you want and go with it. Remember this car has a great warranty. If you blow it, get it fixed for free and then don’t run it hard after that. Cars aren’t made like they used to be and that is a good thing. Inflation adjusted, the Mirage is the same price as some really bad cars from days past but has so much more to offer.

I agree with you on trucking. I bought some mutual funds related to trucking and apparently something wasn’t going in my favor. They all tanked and really badly. I would have thought that with all the online commerce, this would have been something good to invest in. Even brick and mortar places get all their stuff by truck. Either way, the trucking jobs will not go away anytime soon.

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Would anybody board a commercial plane with nobody at the controls, only the computer pilot?

That’s not a valid comparison at all. If a plane crashes - very little chance of surviving…In a car…high probability of surviving.

While I probably wouldn’t get in a pilotless plane…I have no problem getting into a driverless car (once the technology is proven).

I suggest you actually read up on the technology.

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@Ed Frugal

I’ve actually heard this is NOT a good time to be a long-haul owner operator. There are many reasons why this may be the case, but I don’t really feel like getting into it at this time. I suggest you do your own research

If FedEx or UPS are hiring, that might be a good deal.

Do you want to be long-haul or local . . . ?

Or do you want a CDL to drive vocational vehicles . . . think construction site, sanitation trucks, forestry, asphalt, cement, etc. . . . ?

Yes, if you ALREADY have a CDL of the type that the employer is looking for, you’ll be hired quickly. But some employers will pay for the training

I’m kind of biased, but I recommend you look for a job in the public sector

Trust me, the benefits and job stability are good. Lots of opportunities for promotions, training, transfers, etc. And if you have some kind of disability, you will be treated well, unlike some other situations.

If you were to land a job as a trash truck driver for a local city, as a public service worker, you would make a killing. I kid you not, you would earn as much as some doctors

Public service heavy equipment operators also earn an EXTREMELY good living

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@cwatkin , yeah, that Mirage was quite a lot of value for the money. IF they could sell them everyday for the ($3,500 off) clearance price, I bet they sure COULD sell a million of 'em here. Let me tell ya, (so far, knock on wood) I don’t regret my decision at all. And I’m glad that obnoxious Honda salesman didn’t make a commission on me, either. Now that my employment situation has completely disintegrated, having that extra $8,000 in my checking account gives me an incredible amount of breathing room such that I don’t have to run out and take the first crappy job I can get.

As far as mutual funds related to trucking, my understanding is the trucking industry is generally a crappy industry to invest in. So many regulations, high turnover of employees, cutthroat competition, and razor thin profit margins, plus you’re largely at the mercy of fuel price swings.

@MikeInNH , well, I should know better than to pick this up, because I know you like to argue and will have a clever rebuttal for ANYTHING I might say, but here goes anyway. So YOU would ". . . have no problem getting into a driverless car (once the technology is proven). " Would you also not have a problem with heavy loads of, well, everything, rolling all up and down the highways and bi-ways of America in driverless trucks?

Yes, I do realize that day will come, sooner or later. I’m gambling that I will be safely retired by the time that technology takes over.

My own personal view is maybe the trucks will be safe, but who’s gonna protect you (the generic ‘you’, not you specifically) from the millions of unemployed workers displaced by automation. We can’t put ‘em all on early retirement, food stamps etc. I know that’s opening up a whole other can of worms though, the 200 year old argument over technology displacing jobs. My views are shaped by what I see going on all around me. The good paying middle class jobs are going away. Those with advanced degrees will do well, but everybody can’t go get a Masters’ or PhD.

It looks to me that in the next few decades, the United States is going to look increasingly like a 3rd world nation. Those with money will live in gated communities with their own private security, and the rest of us will be cutting each others throats for a crust of moldy bread. I sincerely HOPE I am wrong, but everything I see unfolding in the community around me, and everything I see / read about in the news, suggests this is our future.

@db4690 , I absolutely DO NOT want to do long haul OR owner-operator, for MANY reasons. In fact, that’s certainly enough material for an entire other thread. And I don’t have the time or energy to open up that can of worms either, not today anyway, maybe some other day. . . (I’m already bracing myself for @MikeInNH 's rebuttal to what I’ve posted above :cold_sweat: )

There are several different directions I could go in. I think my Union local may help some of us with placement, trouble is you get typecast, much like actors. They tend to want to place warehouse in warehouse jobs, drivers in driver jobs. I’d LOVE to get in with a company like Pepsico or Coca-Cola even just for the Employee Stock Purchase Plan, but I don’t think my back is up to throwing heavy cases of soda. :frowning:

I WANT to take about 4 months off to seriously deal with a few health issues before I get serious about finding a new career. Trouble is, if they’ve lined up help for you NOW and you don’t jump on it, in 4 months everybody will have forgotten about you.

Push comes to shove, I’ve got my eye on a school bus driving job. If you can pass the D.O.T. physical, criminal and sex offender background check, and clean driving record, they’ll pay for your CDL “B” with passenger endorsement and everything. This is in a neighboring municipality where the school bus drivers are all county gov’t employees. The pay isn’t so great, but the hours are light and there’s real health insurance and, as I understand it, pension AND some sort of 401k type plan. Seems like it’d be an ideal job for someone who is “semi-retired”. I look at it as something I could do for a year, and then re-assess where I go from there.

I’m just nervous about the idea of driving around busloads of other peoples children. Some in fact many, children don’t have good upbringing and can be very unruly. I think I’d be more comfortable driving something like a dump truck or a garbage truck. There’s gotta be a reason they do school bus driver hiring fairs every single month.

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My own personal view is maybe the trucks will be safe, but who's gonna protect you (the generic 'you', not you specifically) from the millions of unemployed workers displaced by automation.

That argument has been waged against the advancement of technology since the 50’s…yet it’s been the technology sector that has been one of the main factors in economic growth in this country for the past 50+ years. Without the technology sector this country could easily be seeing 25% unemployment. It was a bad argument then…it’s a bad argument now.

" Would you also not have a problem with heavy loads of, well, everything, rolling all up and down the highways and bi-ways of America in driverless trucks?

No problem what-so-ever…(if it’s proven to be safe). I don’t feel safe right now with many idiot truck drivers doing 70+ within 4’ of my back bumper (happens every single day I travel on 495 or 128). I’d feel MUCH MUCH safer with an autonomous driver then many of the idiots behind big rigs these days…especially the independents.

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Automation has always advanced our living standard as it substituted brain work for physical work.

Several hundred years ago Belgian protesting hand weavers threw their clogs (“sabots” in French) into the new weaving machines, like the Luddites did in England.

The word “sabotage” was created at that time!!!

The Reagan/Clinton era saw a massive increase in computer power which eliminated many clerical Mcjobs, but created a whole new field of better paying IT jobs. Both presidents took personal credit for these advances!!!

Unions have always opposed any form of automation because of their very short-sighted attitude. When the Canadian Post Office introduced Zip Codes and automated letter scanning there was widespread SABOTAGE of the system by postal workers. Over the years and by attrition the work force was reduced and UPGRADED to accommodate the new technology.

In the 60s it was cheaper in India to have an employee retype a whole page than to use the new XEROX machines! That is no way to raise the population’s living standard.

If any job can be replaced by a computer chip, then it should be. That is what progress is all about.

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Yes, I agree on the Mirage. I have no regrets and think this was a GREAT DEAL for myself, Ed, and others who don’t need a more loaded up car and want mileage. The thing is a Cadillac compared to my old Geo Metro.

Yes, computer tech is where the world is going. These minimum wage increases have prompted fast food chains to install automated kiosks for ordering, etc. in their stores. McDonalds is going that route as are others. I don’t think these wage increases are going people any favors. Companies will just replace workers with machines for sure then. I personally would rather deal with a real person. Those automated checkouts at Wal-Mart and such are nothing but a pain. They are always available to use while the manned checkouts have lines of people. Well, then something doesn’t scan right or the scale isn’t calibrated properly and it thinks I have put something extra in the bagging area. Or some item I am buying (commonly automotive chemicals) is a meth ingredient and they want to see your ID so the system stops the process until a real person comes over to check. Liquor is another time when this will happen.

Computers/technology have created many jobs including my own so of course I am not going to knock them overall. Some things are just better left to people. But people are willing to pay good money to have their point of sale systems, office computers, ATM machines, etc. repaired, especially when I can rush the job for them if I am not too backed up. Time is money for a business and they are aware of that. I have been focusing more and more on servicing businesses because of the problems I have dealing with individual consumers. Some are great but others are just entitlement types that want things for free and then become threatening. I have pretty much learned to cut all contact with people once they become threatening. I even have it in the fine print on a form I make people sign that irrational, unreasonable, and threatening behavior voids all contracts and guarantees and that no further contact or support will be provided. I never have to worry about this with business owners but regular people are a different story.

Lots of retired/semi-retired people in my area drive school buses. I have heard some of the stories about things kids do these days. A driver got fired and nearly prosecuted because some psychopath/sociopath girl accused him of sexual assault. Nothing was shown on camera but they got rid of him anyway. This girl had a LONG track record of pulling stuff like this and SHE never got in trouble. Unfortunately there are people like this out there. I deal with them on computer repairs more often than I would like.

The sanitation type jobs always pay well and have great benefits but remember they are HARD WORK in all types of weather. If you are worried about your back, something in the sanitation field might not be the best for you. Trash cans, etc. can get heavy and quick. Can your back hold up to this all day, day after day? Then there are the janitorial type jobs. You can make a killing doing this if you own your own company/service. The pay as just an employee isn’t that great but if you work for a government agency, they have great benefits. Again, there is a physical component to this job but don’t think it would be nearly as bad as a garbage service. The people who work these kinds of jobs always seem to be great to deal with. It is hard work and not glamorous so the people who do this kind of work seem to have a great work ethic and understand that you don’t get something for nothing.

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The thing is you can make the argument that there has always been resistance to change and technology etc. etc. But simply because there is resistance doesn’t mean its a good or bad idea. A bad idea will have resistance too. There are all kinds of bad technology ideas that met resistance over time and with equal supporters that claimed it would change the world but flopped big time. Good and bad ideas are sorted out in the market place and if it can’t support itself, the enthusiastic crowd loses their money and life goes on.

I have no facts to back it up but seems to me the truck traffic picked up with the advent of just in time inventory control plus everything being imported. Stuff has to be moved from the docks to the warehouses now. Reduce the imports and truck traffic may go down. I agree though it is a cut throat business. I used to see the trucks advertising getting paid 50 cents a mile, when I would almost get that much in reimbursement for driving my car, plus salary, and tax free. I didn’t see how anyone could make any money at that rate unless they drove 5000 miles a month.

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Doesn’t matter if you agree with the technology or not. Doesn’t matter if you have a problem with technology will dislodge workers. We can feel bad about it. But unless you’re willing to allow the government to start passing laws to prevent… There’s not much you can do.

When new technology becomes available companies will adapt it or not. You want to force them not to adopt it???

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@MikeInNH One hundred years ago a substantial part of the US work force was employed in food production, mostly growing it… That has dwindled to about 5% or so. And the US is still the world’s greatest food producer/exporter.

My local bank branch used to have 6 tellers on duty at anyone time. Now with ATM machines and online banking there are only two most of the time. The branch does a lot more business now as well.

I still write checks occasionally; mostly to charities.

Our local library has self checkout for books and returns. There are computer terminals all over and only one or two staff to help visitors locate things. Those are mostly children and seniors.

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Good discussion here, and believe me, I HOPE you guys are right. I’ve never been able to visualize positive things happening in the future, its probably one of the things that have held me back in life. Just going by what I see unfolding around me, it seems like all the $20+ hour jobs are going away and being replaced by lots and lots of $12 an hour jobs. So you either take a big hit to your standard of living, or you work twice as many hours to keep up. I wonder how people are able to afford to buy anything anymore. Many aren’t. That’s why most car commercials are for super-ultra low mileage leases for exceptionally extra super well qualified lessees, and all the rent-to-own and fingerhut type commercials. Could anyone afford a new car if they had to put 20% down and finance the rest for no more than 3 years?

Yeah, all the school buses have cameras around here, not just to protect the students, but to protect YOU from the students. That speaks volumes.

I’ve been told that if one can afford it, its best to just go pay for the CDL training straight up. That way you’re not obligated to anyone and can find the job that suits you best.

When I talk about driving a garbage truck, I’m talking about the kind that go around to fast food restaurants and apartment complexes and scoop up the whole dumpster, not residential. I always see those trucks around in the middle of the night, when there’s hardly any traffic on the road. The residential garbage collection around here is all outsourced / subcontracted, so there’s no money or security in it. (They lose the bid next year, you lose your job next year)

There’s a lot of fringe benefits to the school bus driver thing. If the weather is really bad they close the schools (at least around here) you get paid off days for all the obscure government holidays nobody else gets off for, there’s no nights or weekends, and you’ve got the option to take the whole summer off if you want to knowing your job is waiting for you come September. And then there’s the real health insurance and retirement plan(s).

Ideally, I’d like a job with a ROTH 401k plan. Unfortunately, few companies seem to offer them and even so, you can’t really tell from the outside if a prospective employer has one.

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Yeah consumer spending is down but the good news is that they are not willing to use the charge card as much anymore. If they don’t have the cash they aren’t buying. That’s a good thing in the long run but a bad thing for the blood suckers. The other thing is they are spending for home improvement items so more investing than just spending.

Agree with you on the wage issue. No one expects or should expect a store clerk to make $20 an hour but when I saw that a local company was advertising for welders for $12 for second shift, I knew we were in deep trouble. In the past this would have been $25 and time and a half after 8. Production jobs were always well paying but not necessarily anymore. I used to be able to make enough in a few months to pay for a year of private college. Hard pressed to do that now.

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College is one thing…living is another. 30 years ago you could at least have a roof over your head and put food on the table on a minimum wage job. But infation has far surpassed lower income wages. Here in Nh… Husband and wife in minimum wage jobs with no kids…barely have enough to rent an appartment and they are on food stamps for food. But let’s keep heading in that direction.

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Oh, please…

1986, min wage $3.35/hr, CPI 110.

2016, min wage $7.25/hr, CPI 239.

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@cwatkin

I took a trip to Santa Barbara last year. ALL of the city bus drivers are retirement age

About those trash cans . . . in my neck of the woods, the garbage man does NOT get out of the truck. A hydraulic arm grabs the trash can, lifts it and empties it into the back of the truck

One guy can do an entire route with no helpers. Those days with the guy holding onto the back of the truck, running out to grab and empty the cans . . . they’re long gone, AFAIK