Random Thought Thread

Nathan the Machinist said:
I got the base model. Not because it was cheaper cuz I looked at the price and it really wasn't a significant difference once I added the stuff I needed. I just like it better because it's more basic. Unadorned. I don't want Chrome that's going to peel and power extension trailer mirrors that are just going to break and serve no real purpose, etc.


It's funny, I haven't really considered it before. But I like my trucks like I like my knives. No unnecessary adornment. Function first, and the add-ons reduce reliability without actually making the truck a better truck.

I did drop the $$$$ for the high output motor though. Stainless exhaust and water cooled turbo are probably a pretty good idea for me for the way I drive in the mountains.

I got four-wheel drive and the off-road package for the locking differential because I store my trailers in that field. This actually reduced my tow capacity a little bit but 33K is plenty.

Function function function. I care little about anything else.

I apply this same philosophy to my knife production. It's actually pretty wild people buy my work because I make no effort to make fancy cool looking stuff. Function function function.
Click to expand...
That's exactly why I buy your knives.

Are there cooler/fancier looking knives? Sure.
Are there knives that stand above how your knives perform? Not that I've ever used, seen, or heard of.
Are there knives with a better warranty? No, absolutely not.
 
I understand the reasoning behind buying the basic model truck. Although I have added accessories to some of my vehicles to make them look nice, most additions are performance based usually.

The first truck that I bought new I had to special order, because I didn't want power locks or windows. And I didn't want that new fangled push button 4 wheel drive, that was starting to be a "feature" in trucks.

Hell I think the fact that people started buying trucks and 4 wheel drive SUVs as commuter vehicles ruined trucks ... and is why they are so outrageously priced now.

Trucks used to be built tough and lasted forever. I never minded a truck that rode a little rougher or didn't have a vibrating heated seat and concierge service to wipe my chin if I dripped bbq sauce off my McNuggets on my tie ... I just appreciated a well built piece of equipment that hauled what I need where I needed and got me there in crappy weather if I needed.

Murica!
 
I think the main reasons trucks are so expensive are:

A: $15,000 of largely not necessary emissions stuff. Fuel efficiency standards and low hanging fruit for emissions such as clean tuning and catalytic converter etc makes sense but you're not going to convince me that DPF and EGR (the way they're doing it) has a reasonable cost benefit ratio. It doesn't. It just doesn't. It's expensive to build into the truck, expensive to repair and most importantly it reduces the lifespan of the vehicle by a lot. You're losing over 100000 miles of useful life because of the harm from these systems to address a problem that was fixed good enough a long time ago.

B: many thousands of dollars of safety stuff like government mandated automatic breaking

C: many thousands of dollars of obscene profit margins

D: many thousands of dollars of legitimate improvements like backup camera, transmission that can handle obscene amounts of torque, stronger frame, better tires and stuff like ABS and disk brakes etc.

Don't forget 25% inflation

70k is the new 35k :confused:

And if you think the purchase price is bananas, don't forget about maintenance and repairs!
 
Nathan the Machinist said:
I think the main reasons trucks are so expensive are:

A: $15,000 of largely not necessary emissions stuff. Fuel efficiency standards and low hanging fruit for emissions such as clean tuning and catalytic converter etc makes sense but you're not going to convince me that DPF and EGR (the way they're doing it) has a reasonable cost benefit ratio. It doesn't. It just doesn't. It's expensive to build into the truck, expensive to repair and most importantly it reduces the lifespan of the vehicle by a lot. You're losing over 100000 miles of useful life because of the harm from these systems to address a problem that was fixed good enough a long time ago.

B: many thousands of dollars of safety stuff like government mandated automatic breaking

C: many thousands of dollars of obscene profit margins

D: many thousands of dollars of legitimate improvements like backup camera, transmission that can handle obscene amounts of torque, stronger frame, better tires and stuff like ABS and disk brakes etc.

Don't forget 25% inflation

70k is the new 35k :confused:

And if you think the purchase price is bananas, don't forget about maintenance and repairs!
Click to expand...
Freudian slip? 😁
 
Nathan the Machinist said:
I got the base model. Not because it was cheaper cuz I looked at the price and it really wasn't a significant difference once I added the stuff I needed. I just like it better because it's more basic. Unadorned. I don't want Chrome that's going to peel and power extension trailer mirrors that are just going to break and serve no real purpose, etc.


It's funny, I haven't really considered it before. But I like my trucks like I like my knives. No unnecessary adornment. Function first, and the add-ons reduce reliability without actually making the truck a better truck.

I did drop the $$$$ for the high output motor though. Stainless exhaust and water cooled turbo are probably a pretty good idea for me for the way I drive in the mountains.

I got four-wheel drive and the off-road package for the locking differential because I store my trailers in that field. This actually reduced my tow capacity a little bit but 33K is plenty.

Function function function. I care little about anything else.

I apply this same philosophy to my knife production. It's actually pretty wild people buy my work because I make no effort to make fancy cool looking stuff. Function function function.
Click to expand...


I find your pragmatism wearying.
 
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