Interview with former GM engineer on the general degeneration of the modern auto industry

[Chris]

This is about Billy Klapper, an old craftsman who made spurs and bits, but it seems that the same principle applies to pretty much all craftsmen that we knew in the past...

"When he's gone we're all out of legends, with nobody trying to be the next one."

I know this all too well.

Once Blaine is gone, that's going to be one hell of a huge hole to fill in the TJ community. The same can be said for craftsmen in various other trades.

Nobody wants to be a craftsman anymore, they want to be an "influencer".

 

[ColoJeep]

4L80E with manual conversion kit...

Lenco Brother !

 

[Chris]

Lenco Brother !

View attachment 626932

Think that will fit in a TJ?

 

[StG58]

Think that will fit in a TJ?

That rear drive shaft is now a CV joint welded to a u-joint.

 

[ColoJeep]

Think that will fit in a TJ?

I bet you would be looking at a comp cut and wheelbase stretch !

 

[Zorba]

Even my Adobe membership (so that I can use tools like Photoshop, Premier, Illustrator, etc.) is subscription based.

"Even"?!?

While they weren't the first, they certainly were a "pioneer" in the subscription based model. That was when I said "Adios" to Adobe! People are being $9.99/monthed to death. Just like I said many years back about Pay Per View TV - if people would refuse to play along with this crap, it wouldn't get a toehold.

 

[Chris]

"Even"?!?

While they weren't the first, they certainly were a "pioneer" in the subscription based model. That was when I said "Adios" to Adobe! People are being $9.99/monthed to death. Just like I said many years back about Pay Per View TV - if people would refuse to play along with this crap, it wouldn't get a toehold.

People should also refuse to pay taxes! If more people did that we’d actually get somewhere.

To be honest, I’ve been looking for an alternative to Adobe products that doesn't force the subscription model.

 

[Zorba]

Nobody wants to be a craftsman anymore, they want to be an "influencer".

Never thought of it that way before, but you're dead nuts right. "Influencers" are yet another "Social Media" phenomenon which, just like "Social Media" itself, has zero legitimacy with me and thus can be ignored like I do so very much else.

 

[Zorba]

To be honest, I’ve been looking for an alternative to Adobe products that doesn't force the subscription model.

Its hard, I know. I used to be a heavy Photoshop elements user. I now use GIMP. Its nowhere near as easy to use, and I usually have to search for things to figure out how to do something, but I generally get there in the end. "DarkTable" is more of a photographer oriented tool that I've been playing with recently. Very powerful.

 

[Chris]

Never thought of it that way before, but you're dead nuts right. "Influencers" are yet another "Social Media" phenomenon which, just like "Social Media" itself, has zero legitimacy with me and thus can be ignored like I do so very much else.

I always tell my wife, "all it will take is the grid going down and the natural order of things will be restored".

Its hard, I know. I used to be a heavy Photoshop elements user. I now use GIMP. Its nowhere near as easy to use, and I usually have to search for things to figure out how to do something, but I generally get there in the end. "DarkTable" is more of a photographer oriented tool that I've been playing with recently. Very powerful.

Yep, that's the same issue I've faced as well. There's a lot of alternatives out there but none of them are on the same level.

I guess the only good thing about any of this is I can write it off on taxes and get about 50% back. Of courses taxes is another scam in and of itself, so I digress.

 

[StG58]

Its hard, I know. I used to be a heavy Photoshop elements user. I now use GIMP. Its nowhere near as easy to use, and I usually have to search for things to figure out how to do something, but I generally get there in the end. "DarkTable" is more of a photographer oriented tool that I've been playing with recently. Very powerful.

This. GIMP has a bunch of specialized add-ons as well.

 

[ColoJeep]

Never thought of it that way before, but you're dead nuts right. "Influencers" are yet another "Social Media" phenomenon which, just like "Social Media" itself, has zero legitimacy with me and thus can be ignored like I do so very much else.

Many Automotive based You Tube posts are by clueless influencers . It just makes the real car guy postings the gold standard.

 

[StG58]

Short digression into craftsmanship...

I'm a shipbuilder. At one time a Master Shipbuilder, who could sign the builders certificates. I wanted to venture out on my own and build decent small ships, large boats. Steel, fiberglass / composite, wood. You know what? No one would pay me for my time and materials. Most wouldn't even pay enough to cover materials.

So much for being a craftsman.

 

[Chris]

Short digression into craftsmanship...

I'm a shipbuilder. At one time a Master Shipbuilder, who could sign the builders certificates. I wanted to venture out on my own and build decent small ships, large boats. Steel, fiberglass / composite, wood. You know what? No one would pay me for my time and materials. Most wouldn't even pay enough to cover materials.

So much for being a craftsman.

There's a small group of people who would pay you, but it's going to be the purists who seek perfection and are willing to pay for something that is done once and done right.

I think of it similarly to what Blaine does. Most people will scoff at the idea of paying him to build their TJ. Then there are those of us who once we see his attention to detail, the quality of his work, and most importantly, his character, we are more than willing to pay.

While the market is niche, it is there. You just have to know how to reach your audience.

Once you get established, you become like Blaine and all your business is word-of-mouth. That is of course the best sort of business you can get.

 

[TJMexico]

"Even"?!?

While they weren't the first, they certainly were a "pioneer" in the subscription based model. That was when I said "Adios" to Adobe! People are being $9.99/monthed to death. Just like I said many years back about Pay Per View TV - if people would refuse to play along with this crap, it wouldn't get a toehold.

One word ...

LINUX.

I went Linux in about 2008 and never looked back. And it's easier now than ever. Yeah, it's a bit harder to do some stuff, but for me the freedom from the corporate monster is the main thing.

Man, this thread has taken an unexpected turn.

 

[TJMexico]

People should also refuse to pay taxes! If more people did that we’d actually get somewhere.

To be honest, I’ve been looking for an alternative to Adobe products that doesn't force the subscription model.

I've always fantasized about a tax revolt. Like if one year, 70% of people just didn't file. What could they do?

(Now I'm on a list, for sure. But I always say, if you ain't on a list somewhere, you ain't livin' right.)

 

[Chris]

I've always fantasized about a tax revolt. Like if one year, 70% of people just didn't file. What could they do?

(Now I'm on a list, for sure. But I always say, if you ain't on a list somewhere, you ain't livin' right.)

I believe they say that if 40% of people stopped paying taxes, it would effectively shut down the government and cripple them.

Of course our representatives hate us so much that I'm almost certain they'd deploy the military and try and kill us all.

That is of course what needs to happen, but we're currently living through a time in history in which weak men have created hard times.

What comes next is the "hard times create strong men" part. It's coming, mark my word. The question is will we live to see it in our lifetime? I sure hope we do.

Nothing is worse than living in a society run by weak, cowardly men.

 

[mrblaine]

So many screws

Not much more than a fancy toilet. Once you think of them that way, all the mystery disappears.

 

[Zorba]

One word ...

LINUX.

I went Linux in about 2008 and never looked back. And it's easier now than ever. Yeah, it's a bit harder to do some stuff, but for me the freedom from the corporate monster is the main thing.

Man, this thread has taken an unexpected turn.

You're preaching to the choir.

I'm "over" the dumbing down and smartphone-ization both Apple and M$ are doing and ruining their respective ecosystems as a result. I used Linux back in the 90s, but switched to Apple around Y2K as it seemed to be a *nix that someone else maintained. After awhile, Apple's stupidity started getting on my nerves - the amount of stupid things Apple has done would get them laughed out of business if they were ANYONE but Apple. But since they are Apple, its a Good Thing (tm). Anyway, in 2012 I was working IT and needed a new system. Was thinking seriously of Windows as Win 7 was fast, stable, easy to use, and looked good. Then M$ introduced the smartphone-esque Win 8. I bought a new Mac the next day. Apple continued to piss me off with their useless yearly OS "updates" that broke everything and didn't really bring much new to the table. The straw that broke the camel's back was Apple killing off the very nice and useful iPhoto program and replacing it with an abomination called "Photos" that was made - by Apple's own admission - for the snapchat crowd. It was then that I knew I'd be returning to Linux "next time".

Wife wanted a new laptop, we got a steal of a deal on a new Lenovo Win 10 box. Wife *HATED* it. When it developed a strange and wonderful video problem, I sat her down and talked to her about Linux as she wanted to get out from under Micro$oft, and Bill Gates's evil. Bought her a Dell laptop with Ubuntu pre-installed. Much to my utter surprise, she not only loves it, but has over all had less problems using it than any other computer she's ever touched. So I went ahead and bought and assembled a new desktop about February of this year, installed Ubuntu on it and am over all very happy. I probably should have installed kubuntu instead - Gnome is a bit too smartphone-like for my taste, I might switch it over to KDE which I've always preferred anyway. *shrug*

 

[CreepinDeth]

Bad news…..

The Govt deficit spends far more then it takes in
Has for many years. Stopping payin in does nothing but guarantee they seize your entire lifes worth, and borrow it anyways and spend everything theyve stolen from you

We lost control many years ago. Fiat system
Living under a facade of control these days

Ask yourself how the FBI has a 96% conviction rate
Its a rigged system