[savoche]

Luckily we had Dutch at school. Afrikaans is, after all, just kitchen Dutch so Afrikaans Higher Grade at school used to include a fair bit of proper Dutch, including Dutch prescribed reading books.
I read it as easily as I read Afrikaans or English. I do find it harder to speak it and mix up some words, mainly due to lack of use. A week in the Netherlands, and I sound almost like a local! (If a bit like a poorly educated country bumpkin, which is not necessarily a bad thing.)

Yes, well, I don't have to worry about that as I speak neither of them It's tricky enough to identify which one I'm reading (or hearing).

The easiest to spot are the ij->y and ijk->ik, and the missing letters, as in post->pos and vrouw->vrou. And the double negatives, I guess.

[savoche]

I know Sav showed me how to downsize a photo, maybe I'll try it.....next time.

Good luck, then

[savoche]

Hey, it's winter up here. They gotta burn something to keep warm, and burning the letters isn't an option, as they are all in the lost mail bin.

Canuckian postal workers keeping their fellow countrymen warm.

[eddie1960]

Canuckian postal workers keeping their fellow countrymen warm.

Our post office actually turns a profit for the government last I looked. fueled largely by Amazon lately
the 25 year fleet thing may well be less expensive to operate as well, mechanics are going to be on staff and paid either way so having them maintain the fleet is primarily a parts cost the labour is there either way . from expeience on my cars it is, in fact, cheaper long term to keep the car on the road than replace it every 3-4 years, yearly I spend maybe 2500-3000 on maintenance, I cannot buy a car for that if I keep my mini (which included 4 years free service) for say 15 years I will have spent approximately 3900 Canadian a year to own and still have say 3500 in residual value at minimum, the maintenance includes tires brakes clutch etc etc . If I lease and walk away at end of 4 years that same car costs 4400 on a lease (which will increase over the years as car values increase to replace but for argument's sake if it stays the same it costs 11 grand more to lease for the same 15 years ...and that is with me paying shop rates etc. so definitely if the vehicle is built to take the abuse of the 25-year term it works (particularly since they already keep a maintenance team) - though i think with more modern EV options they should be looking at a shorter-term 10-15 years

[lesmore49]

Is that the Oshkosh of McComb County, Detroit, just near Tank Ave?

Know the company is American and in the states, Not sure of exact address.

[lesmore49]

It's a peculiar business model, for any business to run a vehicle fleet for 25 years. The more normal course of action (read the route that will make you waste the least amount of your shareholders money) would be to buy vehicles to use for three years tops with all regular scheduled maintenance thrown into the deal. After three years, trade in at a pre-agreed fleet trade rate and buy new. Of course, you'd not want RHD vehicles sold for use on the roads there, so shipping them to us or any of the other RHD markets would make the most sense. But, then I guess they're not trying to make a profit!

I dunno enough about the costs of the cost plan, the post office (both USA and Canada, which seemed to be the same re; the Grumman vans) or the cost plan you're talking about. But it is food for thought.

My father had a similar cost plan for buying personal vehicles as you are suggesting, and it worked out well for him. We did a lot of RV trailering when I was a kid and dad would buy a new car, about every three years. It would always be a new old stock model, that he would buy at the beginning of the next year new car introductions, which back then was usually late September/ October of any given year in the '50's and '60's.

That way, he would always be one model year behind, but it would be a new car, and the cars he would buy, would be at a reduced price as the dealers wanted to clear the new old stock out, to make room for the new cars.

His rationale was that he needed a reliable vehicle (usually a station wagon) to pull the trailer(s) throughout Canada and the states. We put a lot of miles on the cars during our trips and saw a lot of North America. I have appreciated dad's efforts to show us North America, and my wife and I did so, with our kids. I also love traveling by car, no doubt as a result.

Anyways, back to the original subject.

His costs that way were minimal, we had no repair costs of major components (engine/transmission, etc.), just regular maintenance (which he went by the book), got a very reliable vehicle that could handle more severe service than the average driver, and still maintained reasonable resale value. Through the '60's his payment costs for the cars were about $ 100 @ month. which he wanted to keep at this cost per month. The only additional costs were gas, oil changes and a set (2) of winter tires for the rear drive axle wheels, due to living in a wintry climate.

He wanted to fix his car expenses to close as he could and this system worked very well and yet , still have a reliable vehicle. Sort of what your suggesting.

In an earlier post you wrote about the odd looks of the new Oshkosh mail van. I agree with you . Your response to the look, made me wonder, why was the new mail van designed to look the odd way it does...what was the reasoning behind this design ?

I came across this article from Road & Track magazine which offers some explanation.

Why the New USPS Mail Truck Looks So Strange

[lesmore49]

Aluminum “rusts” Les.

This was caused by corrosion, and poor maintenance and inspection practices allowed it to get so bad that the skin separated in flight.

I guess there is no perfect solution, except for rigorous maintenance , inspection and replacement as needed.

[lesmore49]

Our post office actually turns a profit for the government last I looked. fueled largely by Amazon lately
the 25 year fleet thing may well be less expensive to operate as well, mechanics are going to be on staff and paid either way so having them maintain the fleet is primarily a parts cost the labour is there either way . from expeience on my cars it is, in fact, cheaper long term to keep the car on the road than replace it every 3-4 years, yearly I spend maybe 2500-3000 on maintenance, I cannot buy a car for that if I keep my mini (which included 4 years free service) for say 15 years I will have spent approximately 3900 Canadian a year to own and still have say 3500 in residual value at minimum, the maintenance includes tires brakes clutch etc etc . If I lease and walk away at end of 4 years that same car costs 4400 on a lease (which will increase over the years as car values increase to replace but for argument's sake if it stays the same it costs 11 grand more to lease for the same 15 years ...and that is with me paying shop rates etc. so definitely if the vehicle is built to take the abuse of the 25-year term it works (particularly since they already keep a maintenance team) - though i think with more modern EV options they should be looking at a shorter-term 10-15 years

Interesting thing I've noticed over the years, is that a good number of mechanics I've known, drive ancient vehicles, do all the work themselves. One I know drives a mid '90's Chev Lumina van that has an unbelievable amount of miles on it, but just keeps chugging along. Their vehicles always seem to start (due to preventative maintenance) , run reasonably well and I bet their annual costs for vehicle ownership are low.

[tim60]

Know the company is American and in the states, Not sure of exact address.

I thought it was at the address I described. There is a large shed on the other side of Tank Ave which used to have a line in Abrams tanks. The other side of the main road there is a Maccas where they saved on the Golden Arches by making it the golden arch. When I went to that Maccas I saw a Terrex with a small turret driving down the main road. The mall had some pretty sleazy looking liquor stores, I think specialising in liquor for getting drunk, not for connoisseurs.

BTW there were a couple of gents in spotty suits with their heads sticking out of the hatches on the Terrex. They were driving towards the rough part of Detroit.

I was told that block marked the safe side of the boundary with the no-go part of Detroit.

[eddie1960]

Interesting thing I've noticed over the years, is that a good number of mechanics I've known, drive ancient vehicles, do all the work themselves. One I know drives a mid '90's Chev Lumina van that has an unbelievable amount of miles on it, but just keeps chugging along. Their vehicles always seem to start (due to preventative maintenance) , run reasonably well and I bet their annual costs for vehicle ownership are low.

When I worked for Eatons one of the other managers was driving a 1975 300d Mercedes I saw him at the sears he landed at just before they closed the location in 2008... it had over 1 million miles on it at that point ... and was still chugging along. it was his pride and joy he bought it used the first car he bought when he arrived from India in 83 ... it saw more of north America than I did literally by many miles .... I would not be surprised to find out he still had it running last time I saw it it looked like it came off the showroom floor ... preventative maintenance works wonders

---------- Post added 25th Feb 2021 at 14:44 ----------

Interesting thing I've noticed over the years, is that a good number of mechanics I've known, drive ancient vehicles, do all the work themselves. One I know drives a mid '90's Chev Lumina van that has an unbelievable amount of miles on it, but just keeps chugging along. Their vehicles always seem to start (due to preventative maintenance) , run reasonably well and I bet their annual costs for vehicle ownership are low.

My mechanic drives an 85 or so Mercedes, his shop specializes in European cars ( first time i took in my previous car he had a 62 e type coupe on the hoist he was restoring for a client and a 63 rag top etype just pulling out of the shop. meanwhile on another hoist there was a 2012 bmw 6 series
great mechanic very fair and teaches at a local school to boot

[tim60]

I noticed many airlines keep their planes for their whole life (they fly them into the ground?). This is particularly airlines like the US ones and other western countries. In contrast some keep them about 10 years and get rid of then in the second hand market. One like that is Singapore Airlines. Their planes are young so there are much less surprise failures when the passengers are there and and they are more likely to fly on time. And the cabins are consistently fitted with modern features like in flight entertainment and the galleys support more interesting food like ice cream, not just nearly dried back out pasta.

They use the young fleet to advertise for passengers.

[tim60]

When I worked for Eatons one of the other managers was driving a 1975 300d Mercedes I saw him at the sears he landed at just before they closed the location in 2008... it had over 1 million miles on it at that point ... and was still chugging along. it was his pride and joy he bought it used the first car he bought when he arrived from India in 83 ... it saw more of north America than I did literally by many miles .... I would not be surprised to find out he still had it running last time I saw it it looked like it came off the showroom floor ... preventative maintenance works wonders

---------- Post added 25th Feb 2021 at 14:44 ----------



My mechanic drives an 85 or so Mercedes, his shop specializes in European cars ( first time i took in my previous car he had a 62 e type coupe on the hoist he was restoring for a client and a 63 rag top etype just pulling out of the shop. meanwhile on another hoist there was a 2012 bmw 6 series
great mechanic very fair and teaches at a local school to boot

It was announced last week there will be a new e type Jaguar. JLR is going to make only electric cars in UK in a few years.

[Racer X 69]

My mechanic works at The Big Shed, building tankers and freighters.

He never charges too much, only fixes stuff that needs fixed, never upsells things I don’t need, and everything thing he fixes is done right.

I never need an appointment, and the waiting room is awesome.

[eddie1960]

It was announced last week there will be a new e type Jaguar. JLR is going to make only electric cars in UK in a few years.

is this the Jaguar restored series 1 deal they are selling for 250000 pounds or so

[lesmore49]

I thought it was at the address I described. There is a large shed on the other side of Tank Ave which used to have a line in Abrams tanks. The other side of the main road there is a Maccas where they saved on the Golden Arches by making it the golden arch. When I went to that Maccas I saw a Terrex with a small turret driving down the main road. The mall had some pretty sleazy looking liquor stores, I think specialising in liquor for getting drunk, not for connoisseurs.

BTW there were a couple of gents in spotty suits with their heads sticking out of the hatches on the Terrex. They were driving towards the rough part of Detroit.

I was told that block marked the safe side of the boundary with the no-go part of Detroit.

There are a couple of Oshkosh companies. One makes clothes for kids. My grandson has some B'Gosh Oshkosh clothes. Good stuff, wears well, which is important for the likes of him, as he can be in constant motion sometimes.


Then there is the Oshkosh company that makes heavy duty severe service vehicles, like snow plows, military stuff, etc. I checked and this company is based in Oshkosh , Wisconsin, although they may have other branches in other parts of the USA, maybe world. I don't know.


Got this pix of a large Oshkosh 4WD highway plow , off the internet. It reminds me when I was at a food/gas station in North Dakota about 20 years ago, and sitting at the far end of the lot was an older North Dakota Highway plow, which was made by Oshkosh. Big, powerful, with only 4 big, heavily lugged snow tires, 4WD, high ground clearance, big snortin' diesel, huge plow. They need this kind of heavy duty snow plow in North Dakota, as I know from being in the occasional ND snowstorm over the years.

BTW, you being a Brit, I do recall going on a driving tour (Ford Escort 1300cc was my rental car) throughout the UK in the '70's, and when I was in the northern highlands, they could see an older big Oshkosh snowplow, similar to the pix, in what appeared to be a government vehicle compound. I believe they have big snow up in the Scottish highlands too.

1960's oshkosh snow plow trucks - Bing