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harrybarbon

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Posts posted by harrybarbon

  1. Local motoring article in Australian newspaper recently. Toyota car owner left it at the dealer for service. Paid the invoice. At home checked the invoice, had charge for rotating the wheels. Returned to the dealer, spoke to the service manager, asked him they did the wheel rotation because the wheels had a key lock and he forgot to leave the key when he left the car for service. Got ya!

    Same article stated from insider at one dealer, come 4 pm if the cars not serviced they dont do any service, bring to pick up and charge for service. And another apprentice whistle blower said up to 60% of cars at his dealership are not serviced and charge for full service.

    But the comments re the new bikes is not new. Back in the 1960's my dad would spend up to full day at International Harvester Melbourne going over his new trucks, and checking every nut and bolt because of nasty experience in late 1950's with an Inter. And later with Benz's, although Benz's were near perfect, German excellence then.

    • Like 2
  2. 6 hours ago, Quickfarms said:

    I should be noted that in 2020 the population of Japan was 125.8 million.

    So this is roughly 1 in 6, and this will force a huge change 

    Yes, the analysis I read forecast the population to be under 100M, based on current age of the population, births and deaths. And I read a similar article that forecast the China population to fall for same reasons as in Japan coupled with China's 1 child policy. Hence why the Chinese powers have changed and allow 2 children.

  3. A few years ago I read an analysis of the Japanese population, birth and death rates, the conclusion was that within the next 10 years the total population will decrease by about 20 million, unless the birth rate rises dramatically. This has not followed for various reasons, one example I saw young couples interviewed and they said it was to costly to have the baby and to raise it to 20 odd years, so they had no plans to have a child.

    Plus Japan never had and never will in the foreseeable future have an immigration policy to allow people to go live in Japan, it has been a closed country and will remain closed to new migrants. Unlike USA, New Zealand, Canada and Australia, new migrants have been coming for 60 plus years and that boosts our economies. Good or bad, I am not qualified to comment.

    On that basis an aging population, it is comparable to a dying country town or like Detroit City, people leaving and place becomes empty, take 20 million out of Japan, no need for new buildings and infrastructure, etc!!!! What will that do to the Japanese economy?

  4. Interesting comments! Maybe not on point here but worth noting.

    I read a review and excerpts from a new book by Michael Shellenberger's  - 'San Fran sicko" . The reviewer's opening sentence was - "the road to social catastrophe is paved not only with good intentions but with huge amounts of taxpayers funds as well, according to this disturbing study about the decline of San Francisco and the progressives etc". If true to whatever level, how is it that a once thriving city like San Francisco declines/decays - and Tony Bennett sang "I left my heart in San Francisco ...".

    By coincidence over recent weeks local free TV has been running Clint Eastwood movies and in one Dirty Harry San Fran movie (about early 1970's) he grits his teeth in disbelief when in the city prosecutor's office with the police chief, he is being scolded for his tough actions and he is told in put down language by the city prosecutor that the bad guy irrespective of what he has done will be out on the streets by the afternoon. To which DH replied words like ... 'who is going to speak for the dead young girl pulled out of the drain pipe that he killed and how long are you going to wait until he rapes and kills more innocent women ...'.

    This week I saw 'Bullitt', 1968, it too had a similar message coming thru loud and clear ... especially the slick would be mayor!

    The messages were there, maybe ahead of their time, so going on the San fran sicko book, if objective and relevant today, well someone has let the rot set in and what happens now?

    We have it here too, but seems nobody is home 😂

    • Like 2
  5. Correct aluminum cabs, in all the 3 cab sizes built. But from my reading of Crismon's International Truck book/bible the early low rise cabs were steel. Not sure if any of the low rise were aluminum!

    I have seen pictures of the DCO 405's being built in the Illinois plant considering that the majority of the built DCO's were operating east of the Rockies, especially in big fleet operators. For about 4 yrs (early 60's) the DCO 405's were the highest selling class 8 truck in USA. The low rise cab models which came out first around 1956 were widely used by local east coast council's for waste units, fire trucks, local delivery trucks and US military.

    • Like 1
  6. Thank you, that is Michelle. She gave her best promptly without any hesitation, wonderful human being. Her LTL was a great looking truck and well kept by Michelle, tandem drive, Cummins, it had a sleeper (60 inches) and I think it may have been red colour, not sure?

    Condolences to her family and friends.

  7. Brocky - please do you recall if Michelle was in the military in her younger years? Possibly I had several communications with her around 2015 when I was interested in some non Mack trucks in the US that were for sale and if it was Michelle, she knew the vendors and she was very helpful.

     

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