Wednesday, January 07, 2009

A change of pace.



This isn't really motorcycle related. I realize that's a pretty unusual situation for this blog. I live, eat, and breathe motorcycles, as the saying goes. Right now, as strange as it seems, I've had enough of two wheels for one day. It's time for some Chianti and to heat up some roast beef that's left over from my culinary activities on Sunday.

Ok, so I have to get motorcycles in here someplace. I spent all day on one in the rain, wind, and with idiot road users. Did their brains melt in the heavy rain? According to the weather guessers, the jet stream is bringing in three storms, one right after the other. You know how TV people are fond of cliches. Their favorite for this situation is that it's like being at the end of a fire hose. In this case the fire hose is pointed about 90 miles North of me and slowly slipping South. Of course, I'm never content to just let things come to me. So what do I do?

Yeah, you guessed it. I rode to Portland to check on some projects. I know, dumb idea. Portland's in the fire hose stream. What was I thinking? It's just not funny battling heavy rain and wind all day. Suffice it to say I'm tired. The 'Stich even soaked through which is saying something about the rain. Stacy should have been with me to try out her new Rukka jacket! So the jacket and pants are hanging on the bathtub shower curtain rod, dripping everywhere. My helmet is sitting on the dining room table near a heater vent. Gloves are secured to hangers with clothespins and hanging in a doorway. My boots are steaming as my magic boot dryer goes to work. Remind me to tell you some day about this absolutely wonderful gift my dear friend Ray gave me. Boot dryers rock!

Anyway, I'm catching up on e-mails and opened a folder I'd created for just "stuff". It's the electronic equivalent of Doug C's coffee cup storage system. This ad was stashed in there. I don't remember where it came from. I'd like to credit the source and maybe even ask permission to use it. It's too funny to pass up and I'm just hoping whoever owns it is happy to see it shared some more to show off their creativity.

As you look at this ad, remember that it's not an actual advertisement. I'm proud to be an American and have put a lot on the line for this country. I believe in American products despite owning two Japanese motorcycles. I do own a Chevy truck. Yet, there are individual corporations who just don't get it as well as a government who doesn't always do things exactly right. Right now, I'm also pretty disgusted with a bunch of drivers in American SUV's. So here's the ad. If you can't read the print on the bottom, you should be able to click on the picture and make it a bit bigger.



Stay tuned. I've got something coming up on a couple of unusual police bikes. I'm also toying with an idea for something to do with a motorcycle and a Christmas tree. Blame Steve Williams and one of his comments!

Miles and smiles,

Dan

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Would you believe I have never owned a Japanese car or Truck? Oh, the odd Fiat, but Mercurys, Fords, and Chevrolets have been my automotive preferences (for four wheeled transportation). And they STILL screwed me! So, with that in mind, I'll buy an Isuzu before I'll buy an American made 2 ton piece of crap. Or maybe even a Renault. Better think twice...

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Lucky said...

Honestly, I loved the hell out of my Buick. I even like my (current) Ford. I enjoyed my little Nissan sportscar, but it broke a LOT, and every darn part was too expensive.

But, frankly, I'm the happiest yet with my Triumph. I never thought I'd say that about an English-made vehicle. :D

Biker Betty said...

Guilty - have bought foreign thru and thru. I have a japanese motorcycle and just bought my Subaru a couple of months ago (gasp!)

Whoever created that ad did a great job, lol.

RichardM said...

Over the years, I've had trucks from Ford, GM and Dodge. The entire driveline of the Ford was replaced (under warranty), the Chevy completely fell apart at 100k miles (the engineering required to accomplish that feat still amazes me) and so far the only problem on the Dodge has been a defective horn relay. Of all the other cars I've owned (Toyota, Honda, Saab, Kia, VW, GMC, Isuzu, Mazda, and Ford) the most reliable one was the Saab and the worst by far was the Suburban.

Conchscooter said...

Hey I own a Renault- they call it a Nissan but I know who owns Nissan.
I love the ad, but I think the complexity of the car issue goes to poor management, yes, and poor buying choices. The big three made huge profits off SUV trucks that are exempt from costly passenger vehicle safety requirements, and people bought the stupid things, by the ton. So they kept building them and selling them.
Had we demanded the mini cars that get super high mileage in Europe we would have reduced our national demand for oil but we the people kept blathering on about safety and comfort and we "needed" our SUVs. Wait a minute I'm ranting. Time to go back to my own blog I feel an essay coming on.
Be back later.

Baron's Life said...

I don't think this is an actual add. It's a hoax guys...!
I've always refused and will continue to refuse buying a foreign car or vehicle. OK I know the quality of our home made cars in US are all that good...but I will still buy American/Canadian first. I refuse to finance and support foreigners and sit idle while our jobs are being exported and people are losing their homes...!
We can win this economic war

Stacy said...

Baron, I have to point out that "American" cars are largely made overseas.

Honda has factories in the US. So does Toyota. The Japanese manufacturers employ more Americans in making their cars than the Detroit "Lions" do. Example: the Ford Fusion is made in Mexico, and less than 50% of its parts are made in the US. On the other hand, the Toyota Camry is made from 80% parts sourced from the US.

Food for thought.

The first thing that came to mind when I saw this ad is that it could also be applied to a certain company in Wisconsin. Remember tariffs?

Unknown said...

Baron:

Stacy is RIGHT . I have bought American/Canadian for many years and I was the fool. They just don't retain any residual value. I have had mainly Chrysler corp, incl Jeep, and some GM but every time I compared the value of an equivalent purchased foreign car such as Toyota or Honda, I would have been farther ahead, and my Honda is made in Canada.