When I was a kid–which was a VERY long time ago–I can recall seeing my first color TV, in an appliance store. Walter Cronkite’s face was a bilious shade of green, and even though I was young at the time, I can recall thinking… This needs more work.
In reality, it was probably a case of the store’s employees not knowing how to adjust the set properly, but let’s just say that it did not make a positive impression on me.
@VDCdriver. Some years back, an independent used car dealer that had been a family business since the mid 1920s had an MG Midget on the lot for $700. It needed a lot of body work and a clutch. I had purchased a 1993 Oldsmobile 88 from this dealer in December of 1995 and knew the owners. The two sons were busy with customers, but their mother, who did the business end of the agency gave me the keys and told me to go start it up. She also said, “If you can get in the car, we might just give it to you”. I got in the MG Midget and started the engine. She came out and looked at me on the car and said, “If you can’t get out of the car, you will have to buy it”. I almost had to buy that MG.
The most expensive or prestigious is not necessarily the best.
Years ago I worked for a small metal working company owned by a self-made man.
He proudly bought himself s a Roll Royce to prove how successful he really was.
In our cold winters it often refused to start and the wheels leaked air so that by 5 pm some his tires needed to be aired up.
Our company cars were standard Fords sedan models and seldom gave trouble.
He should have bought an Olds 98 with all the trimmings and would have had far fewer problems. The fact that our city had no Rolls dealer or mechanics made the problem worse.
2 Likes
If high priced did equal good, I’d totally be into buying expensive things that last. You make a good point. I think that used to be the case.
But cheap jeans last longer than expensive fashionable ones now. So it gets confusing!
I have no problem with someone enjoying “the best” of a particular item. But you have to be careful these days or you’ll pay for the name that doesn’t mean what it previously did with a lot of things.
When it comes to tools a Snap On or MAC brand is not always a sign of reliability. I’ve got tools of both makes that are in the junk drawer and never used.
As for Snap On ratchets there is simply nothing better. My ratchets and Snap On torque wrenches are still in use after 40 years. Some of the ratchets quit being chrome years ago after being worn down to the brass underlay and still work like new.
When I lived in Washington State I had the best Snap On dealer I’ve ever dealt with. One day on his weekly visit I saw him going through my wrench and socket drawers. He grabbed a few items and replaced them with new. I asked what that was about. He said some of my tools had chrome flaking off of them and he wasn’t going to have customers on his route with Snap On hand tools that didn’t look good as new.
I expect that’s correct. Every once in awhile Chumley gets to give a little talk about the history of one of the objects, and it’s pretty clear he’s reading from a script presumably on a card held off to the side of the camera. Rick doesn’t seem to be reading from anything when he’s talking about the history , although he has probably rehearsed the salient points. The Ferrari race was fun to watch, even if Cory didn’t actually receive a speeding ticket. I sort of get the impression that they incorporate comedic things that have happened to them over the years in order to make the show more entertaining, but when they refer to an event (such as a traffic ticket) as recently happening, it’s probably the case that it did happen, but not recently. My only measure of a tv show, reality or not, is whether its entertaining to watch or not.
Some times the low-priced stuff is as good or better than the high-priced stuff. Anker makes portable batteries, jump starters, and their Eufy division makes robotic vacuums. All priced lower than the competition, and generally better quality with excellent customer service.
And that’s not a new phenomenon either - back in the day, the fake Rolexes you could get from guys in trench coats in Chicago often kept time better than the real thing. 
Since this is a Ferrari thread…I thought I’d remind people who like car movies…that “Ford vs Ferrari” hits the theaters next week. I’m looking forward to seeing it. And it’s playing at my favorite theater I like to go to for big special effects movies.
If you live in the Boston area and like movies…then you should check out Jordan’s Furniture Imax (Reading or Natick). It’s an experience.
Some years ago there was an article about a hardware salesman who covered Minnesota and surrounding areas. He had logged 456,000 trouble-free miles on a 1957 Chevy Bel Air sedan.
When asked about his good fortune he had a simple list of advice:
- Select a manufacturer with a reputation for quality. In his case GM was the best choice at that time.
- Pick the best selling model in the medium price range. This assures parts availability at a reasonable price.
3 Be punctual about maintenance and don’t skimp or skip.
- Take it easy for the first 500,000 miles!!
In those days companies traded cars every 2 years and private owners every 4 years or so. This salesman was self-employed and the article was written in 1971!!!
If the salesman was alive today he would likely pick a Toyota Camry 4 cylinder without any special equipment other than automatic, air conditioning and cruise control.
I think it’s your number 3 that’s the really crucial part. While I do still think that Toyota/Honda has a quality edge over the American makes, I don’t think it’s quite as much of an edge as people think. But when you buy a (relatively) cheap car, you might be looking to save money elsewhere, and you’ll forego maintenance. If you’re willing to pony up the extra up-front cost for the Japanese makes, you’re probably more willing to cough up the maintenance costs too. That adherence to maintenance helps the cars last longer.
I had an acquaintance in college who bought an old Civic for a song - below book - and then ran it for 2 years without changing the oil. When the motor finally gave up the ghost, she went around telling anyone who’d listen what garbage cars Honda makes because hers only lasted 2 years.
First, it was 15 years old when she bought it so it lasted 17 years, and second, she destroyed it through her own negligence and then wanted to blame Honda. This wasn’t much of a surprise because she also liked to espouse the opinion that her professors owed her A’s because she was paying for the classes.
She did not graduate with the rest of us. 
Good point! I’ve had 3 rear drive US cars, a 1980 Olds Delta 88, a 1984 Chevy Impala and a 1988 Chevy Caprice. They were good reliable cars, but individual components did not last as long as on Japanese cars. All had new starters, alternators, water pumps, exhaust systems before they were traded. None of these items were very expensive, however. The gas tank on the Impala cost about 1/3 of what it would have cost on a 3 Series BMW, for instance.
When you watch old movies, FBI, police and other law enforcement vehicles are either rear drive Chevies or Ford Crown Victoria models.
When Checker Cabs went bankrupt, Chevy and Ford taxis mostly filled the gap
I’m very frugal with money but if I turned up filthy stinking Power Ball rich I would blow 3 million bucks on a Bugatti Chiron without thinking twice about it.
No good reason for having one other than just wanting to be the biggest and fastest dog on the block.
And to resurrect a bit of my younger days I’m sure there would be a high speed chase at some point.
3 Likes
YouTube is great for vlogers working on expensive foreign wrecks. Sort of a reality, car repair show. Jeez, those lambos with LS motors are stupid though.