[PRCo] Re: PCC Question

[Fred Schneider]

There are some of us who might recognize that oil supplies are finite.    I think it is pretty obvious, IMHO, that oil and gas supplies formed 300 to 350 million years ago and probably half used up in the last 150 years (and most of that half disappeared in the last 30 or 40 years), are not going to be replaced by nature.   Downsizing of cars might make it last a little longer for our grandchildren but with 2 billion people in China and India wanting their share, it isn't going to last long.   

So I applaud John's conversion from the Taurus to the Honda.   

By own changes went from a Packard (12 miles per gallon gushing through a straight 8) down through a series of Fords to a 2010 Volkswagen Jetta (35.5 mpg if I feed it straight gasoline instead of E-10 mixture).    I just kills me thinking about what it would have cost to drive that 1949 Packard to the west coast and back today on a vacation ... about 830 gallons of gasoline or $2,500 for fuel and then add in a grease job and oil change every 1,000 miles (ten of those) and a tune up half-way through the trip.   That would be another $400 for oil changes and greasing and perhaps another $500 for spark plugs and points.   I wonder how many bias-belted tires you might go through on a trip like that?   Probably five?   That's another $700 for tires that big.   That would probably come to about $4,100 today just to drive that friggen tank across the United States and back home.   

Be thankful for downsizing and the brains to make cars last a few hundred thousand miles.   




On Oct 20, 2010, at 3:00 PM, John Swindler wrote:

> 
> 72 Dodge Dart with slant 6 - 12 years and 144,000 miles
> 
> 82 Lynx - about 6 years and 100,000 miles
> 
> 1989, 93 and 97 Ford Taurus - lost confidence in reliability around 190,000 miles each
> 
> 2000 Honda Accord 5-speed - passed 202,000 miles and still going strong (looking for some wood to knock on)
> 
> And yes, Fred is correct, although it was 'with 150,000 fewer miles'.  (isn't this how everyone buys cars???)(:>)  The Honda represents a downsizing.
> 
> Cheers
> John
> 
> 
>> Subject: [PRCo] Re: PCC Question
>> From: fwschneider at comcast.net
>> Date: Wed, 20 Oct 2010 14:46:21 -0400
>> To: pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org
>> 
>> Russ Jackson, when he was working on the Kawasaki project for SEPTA, gained great appreciation for the car builder.   He showed me some pictures of a discolored gear that they had trouble with during the heat treating process.   He told me that when he visited the plant, Kawasaki turned the bad spot on the gear up for him to see, wiped it clean, and explained what they were doing to prevent it from happening again.
>> 
>> Russ asked me what I believed would happen under similar circumstances in a US factory.
>> 
>> I said, the bad spot would have been turned down and hidden under oil and they manufacturer would hope you don't find it.
>> 
>> Russ just smiled.   
>> 
>> So much for your comment on extreme reliability.
>> 
>> Except for Mr. Toyota's unusual probably last year, as rule, did not the Toyota, Nissan, Suburu and other Japanese auto makers also show the American automobile builders how to build an automobile?   What was the longevity of a Ford until the Japanese started competing?   I can tell you that there was a reason why in the 1960s Hertz used to advertise that they had no cars in their rental fleets older than 24,000 miles ... because at 24,000 they started nickel and diming the owners to death.  I owned Fords in that period.   Once the American car builders got a good dose of Japan, they learned and learned well.   Ask Swindler how long a Ford would last after Henry learned.  For a while there John was buying used a used Taurus every few years ... I think his line to the dealer was, "Can you get me another one of these with about 175,000 fewer miles?"   
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> On Oct 20, 2010, at 1:55 PM, Bill Robb wrote:
>> 
>>> Japanese rail cars are generally extremely reliable.  Most EMUs on JR East 
>>> lines will run 18-20 hours per day.  Shinkansens run similar hours. 
>>> 
>>> Their are three peak hours in places like Tokyo: morning, evening and last 
>>> trains. Unlike North America where cars and trains are pulling in the evening, 
>>> the peak number of trains are running 1900-2100 hours.
>>> 
>>> Bill
>>> 
>>> 
>>> On Wed, Oct 20, 2010 at 1:14 PM, Fred Schneider <fwschneider at comcast.net> wrote:
>>>> 
>>>> What is the proven need for more of them?
>>> 
>>> Other people have bought railcars. If the Kawasakis have that kind of
>>> reliability, why not those?
>>> The need is not proven but the demand is...
>>> 
>>> If the answer is "they only did/proven on 4 axle", sure, ok.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> -- 
>>> Derrick
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
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