Replacement for Old Faithful

Well the insurance company finally heard me.  I stated quite clearly that it was not fair for a drunk driver to smash into my vehicle and then I have to fork out over a thousand dollars just to replace it.  Apparently something clicked, because the offer saw a 33% increase.  I was satisfied that it represented a value close to what my vehicle was worth.

Friday, I picked up my replacement for Old Faithful.  You may have read the previous installment where a drunk driver smashed into my pick-up truck and pushed it into our tree and across the sidewalk.  To honor my long history with Dodge trucks, I decided to purchase another one.   With as little as I drive and as long as I usually keep a vehicle, we bought the extended warranty that reads 99 years, 999,999 miles. The coverage is for most everything on the vehicle, except wear items such as:  brakes, tires, and spark plugs.  All the electronics, seats, and things like that are covered for as long as I own the vehicle (not transferrable).  For us that is quite good, we usually hold a vehicle 12-15 years.  This is the best warranty I’ve heard of for a truck.

We bought a two door with a V-6 engine and an eight speed transmission. The EPA sticker announces 25 mpg. The paint is a silver (light grey). The shorter truck swings around much easier than the longer Quad cab did. I find the eight speed transmission very smooth, and a bit odd. The shifter is below the radio on the dash – it’s a knob you turn to P-R-N-D with no other choices, if you want to upshift or downshift you do that by pressing the + or – on the steering wheel.  So far,  I’ve only driven 50 miles so there is much to experiment with – interestingly, the tachometer stays near 1500 everywhere except when driving over 65 mph.

An interesting sidelight to the accident is the tree.  You will remember all the hassle I’ve gone through with the estimates for the truck’s value, well the tree is done completely differently.  I find a nurseryman (or woman) to estimate the value of the tree replacement, and submit the estimate.  Here was my opportunity to go to Beverly Hills and gouge the eyes out of the insurance people, but instead, I went to our favorite nursery, Moneta Nursery in Gardena, CA.  Where we were provided a fair estimate of the replacement costs.  The insurance company took almost no notice of it.  I find this very odd.   I could have easily improved the price by a couple thousand dollars and been the beneficiary of a small windfall, well not exactly a windfall, but enough for some extra wine. 

If you have any questions about the truck or want to know more about dealing with insurance companies, please add a comment, or send me a note. 

 

Fedoras

Why aren't all the men wearing fedoras?  or large lapeled wool suits?  Where are the women in the large brimmed hats and skirts well below the knee.  All the photos should be in black and white. Large spoke-wheeled cars should be rumbling over brick streets, streetcar tracks or washboard dirt roads.   Where are the giant sandstorms?  the rickety pick-up trucks? How can we have a depression?  

Here we are in hybrid cars, tight jeans, mini-skirts, and 4 inch heels.  We don't even know how to dress for a depression.   Where’s the modesty, where is the shame?  Aren’t we supposed to be ashamed of failing to continually prosper?  Shouldn't 20% of the population be hiding from public view.  

So, let me try to understand this depression thing: the gas prices double for a few months  making billions for Exxon-Mobile and everybody freaks out.  It costs more to ship Wal-Mart goods to Boise, where some market forcaster notices the 3 cent increase.  She panics.  Stocks are sold for fear of losing gain.  Then the selling becomes epidemic.  Everyone wants out of the house of cards, it's all about the money.  Those with too much lose the least, and those with nothing still have nothing, and those in the middle unwittingly give to the extraordinary bonuses of the shysters   that schemed to exploit the market.  So then the mortages of the poor slobs that have lost the jobs, can't pay the mortgage, so it  bring sdown the giant investment banks and the shysters  again collect  As I see it, we are not investing in companies, we are investing in a company’s potential profits or more likely their artificial worth.    Our fear is a failure to support the suspiciously, imaginary wealth of America. 

From my little view from the lower left corner of the country, I wonder why knowledge base becomes trivial compared to expanded year-over-year profits.  Throw the workers away, keeping the bewildered, bloated management.  Cut the union wages and give the executives bonuses for thinking up another quality scheme that failed under a different headline several years ago.  Continue to reward the yes-men (and women) who’ll sell their mother for a promotion.  Why should we remain invested in these companies?  Why should they have worth?   Because they provide a profit at the cost of human comfort?

The running of corporate America by micro-sighted, self-rewarding mega-stars has finally begun to fail.  Why?  Because the way I see it, the value of everything is labor.  We may have to drill down several layers, but the true value of everything is the labor that was expended to research, develop, produce and deliver the product.  Work is the only added value to a resource.  Throwing away the laborers for the continued profit on the bottom line eventually makes the CEO, a sole proprietor.  This country needs to reward companies that keep workers against the bottom line. 

The model for corporations must change; the companies that make a widget with disposable workers need to be penalized with added taxes.  The companies that research and develop and companies that provide long term employment need to be rewarded with tax breaks.  This will drive higher employment of permanent workers.  Encouraging the increased wealth of workers will reduce our voracious appetite for discounted prices.   Balance of Trade, deficit reduction, return of manufacturing all begin to change.