Demio for an Aqua

Trade-in time…

Mitsuko: The Aqua is even more economical than the Demio.
Mariko: Economical is good, but I absolutely need a 360° reversing camera and parking sensors all around.
Mitsuko: The Aqua has both, sensors front and rear and a panoramic reversing camera.
Mariko: I read an article saying Aquas are popular with car thieves. Insurance is higher?
Mitsuko: Some models, yes. But this one has a factory immobiliser. That usually lowers insurance premiums.
Mariko: Still… I park on the street. I worry.
Mitsuko: Understandable. A steering wheel lock adds a strong deterrent. Thieves avoid anything that slows them down.
Mariko: Hmm. Could I trade in my Demio?
Mitsuko: You could. But honestly, you’d get more selling it privately on TradeMe.
Mariko: Is driving a hybrid Aqua very different from my Demio?
Mitsuko: Yes, a bit. Mainly three things: the EV mode starting off, the quieter engine start, and the regenerative braking feel.
Mariko: I suppose I should read the manual properly.
__________
Voice-over
The manual is nearly 500 pages. Slows down getting started.

Mad Max Paddock Garage

Inheriting a car…

Fred: It was the old man’s. He was 99 and still driving until a month before he died.
Max: Well, some panels are a bit squew-whiff, but I’ve seen worse. At least it’s all still attached.
Fred: I’m not fussy. Just want the panels pulled straight, hammer out the worst of the crumples, and splash on some paint.
Max: Fair enough. If I sort out that structural ding on the undersill it should pass a warrant. You want factory paint or close enough that it looks the same in dim lighting?
Fred: Second option.
Max: Ha! All right. I’ll blend it as best I can.
Fred: Uh huh. How long do you reckon this’ll take?
Max: Maybe three days. There’s that Hilux ahead of you.
Fred: OK. And the damage to my wallet?
Max: Call it $550 for the panel beating and another $150 for paint and finishing. Eight all up. Cash.
Fred: Righto. That’s cheaper than counselling to deal with losing the car entirely.
_________
Voice-over
Paddock mechanics generate stories of rural sheds, field workshops, and DIY mechanical wizardry in folklore, books, and oral history downunder. A few days after I picked it up, I gave it a service and have been using for the past five years. Who needs a new one when it’ll be dinged up in the supermarket parking lot?

Handle Design

Engineer meets with designer:
Bill: A lever is easier to operate, especially for older people with arthritis or kids who might struggle with a round knob.
Steve: I get that, but a round door handle just looks better. It fits the design of this door and the house. A lever handle might be practical, but it would throw off the whole aesthetic.
Bill: Design is important, but so is functionality. Imagine someone coming home with groceries. A lever handle lets them push it down with an elbow or even a hip. A round knob? They’d have to set everything down just to open the door. Wasn’t always so.
Steve: Hmm. Car doors have changed a lot, too. Remember the Ford Model A door handles? A Tesla door handle is recessed.
Bill: Yeah, Ever watched someone try to figure out how to open a Tesla door for the first time? Or in an emergency?

_________
Voice-over
Form follows function, ensuring usability without compromising design.

Factors at an Accident

Two friends run into each other out walking… 
Janine: I didn’t see the actual accident.
Winifred: The car hit the bollards lining the road, flipped in the air several times, and just missed the palm trees. It finally came to rest here, a hundred meters away.
Janine: I arrived just as the ambulances arrived. That one looks seriously hurt.
Winifred: So reckless.
Janine: I wouldn’t be surprised if speed and drugs were involved. 
Winifred: Not at all unlikely in this area. Fourth such accident in this street this year. All the usual victims.
Janine: Usual?
Winifred: Ones whose age, race, tattoos and gender media are not allowed to report.
Janine: They need guidance, maybe from tribal elders or community leaders.
Winifred: Better road safety education, yes, but accidents will still occur.
__________
Voice-over
A fine line between letting the young learn from their mistakes and giving them guidance. In a walking society, you pick yourself up when you fall. A car society is different.

Old house, old car, old body

Objects vs humans…

Erik: In some ways, we humans are just objects, like houses or cars.

Olga: It’s a bit extreme.

Erik: Well houses get old, develop problems. Electrical appliances conk put, leaks appear, floors rot. After a series of these it becomes too expensive to fix them.

Olga: Yes, like cars. The electricals go, the suspension goes, the transmission. Scrap it.

Erik: So our bodies follow a similar pattern. The digestion slows and needs intervention, organs fail, cancer appears. 

Erik: Individuals sometimes call time themselves.

Olga: So you're saying scrap someone with too many health issues?

_________

Voice-over

A doctor might gently say to a patient, “Well, we aren’t getting any younger, are we.” Maybe soon an AI app will make the judgement on whether it’s worth intervening. But then, when multiple health issues co-occur, maybe we should remember someone like Henry Kissinger, who at 100 years old, who has difficulty walking, can still deliver sense on how China and the US need to responsibly deal with each other. A life of worth.

These are these and those are those

These are these...

Categorization emerges in a three-year old…
Robert: Have you noticed when he’s playing with toy cars, he organizes them into groups of cars, trucks and buses? 
Laura: Yes. He says, "Leaz are leaz and loze are loze."
Robert: His categorization system. A cognitive skill.
Laura: Trying to make sense of the world in his own way. That’s our little organizer.
Robert: He's starting to notice the differences between cars, trucks, and buses.
Laura: Seems our job is to encourage his curiosity and help him learn and grow. Our responsibility as parents.
_________
Voice-over
Some kids succeed in life without any parents or even much in the way of parental management. But mostly nudging by parents is a plus.

The Jaguar and the Gypsy Caravan

The travelling days…

Neville: Ah, Nancy, remember those days when we lived from place to place in the gypsy caravan of ours? Those were the times.

Nancy: And stopping at our friends' places for bathroom facilities – that's something I'll never forget.

Neville: Quite the visits, weren't they? Remember how our friends reacted when we pulled up in our caravan?

Nancy: Oh, how could I forget! It varied from house to house, didn't it?

Neville: There was old Bill and Sarah. They always grinned when they saw us pull up outside. Bill would say, "Here comes trouble! Towing a poor gypsy caravan behind a luxury car," and Sarah would shake her head, but she'd invite us in for tea anyway.

Nancy: Real troopers, those two, always so welcoming. Then there was Sally and Michael. I remember how Sally would tease us, "Back again, you wanderers?" But they'd set up the spare bedroom for us with fresh towels.

Neville: Ah, and the Woodwards, they were a hoot. George would come out with a beer for me and say, "Neville, you're still towing that thing around, eh? You could have bought a mansion with what you spent maintaining that Jaguar!" But he'd spend hours chatting about cars and life.

Nancy: Not everyone was thrilled to see us, though. Remember Roger and Emily?

Neville: Oh, yes, I do. Emily was a bit less than welcoming, and I think it had to do with Roger not having a job at the time. They were struggling with house payments and had a new baby to take care of.

Nancy: Emily had that tired look in her eyes, and I could sense their financial strain. Roger seemed embarrassed about their situation.

Neville: It was a tough time for them, and I understand why they weren't as hospitable. We tried to be considerate, playing the guitar at nights, but we could see they had enough on their plate.

_________

Voice-over

Guests can outlive their welcome but as hosts, an effort has to be made for the treasured guests. 

Brake light switch repair

Over the back fence…

Michael: Did you find the stoplight fault?

Fred: It was the switch. They can go bad and then you have to replace the unit.

Michael: Did it take long?

Fred: Access to it is under the dashboard. You have to be an eel to squirm under there with tools and a flashlight. The nut needs a good hit with a hammer to loosen. All up, takes the best part of an hour. Probably only saved a hundred bucks.

_________

Voice-over

The switch, costing only a few dollars, is curiously “on” when the spring inside pushes it out. The limits of DIY are restricted by one’s flexibility. If you’re in danger of suffering a twisted neck or a slipped disk lying on the vehicle floor under the steering wheel, it’s time to hand the work over to a younger mechanic.

End of an economic life

Repair or sell for parts?

Russell: It still runs fine.

Rodney: Looks good too.

Russell: But it’ll cost several thousand to make repairs to pass the fitness test.

Rodney: And for the same money you could get a newer one in good nick?

Russell: Exactly. It costs more to fix than it’s worth.

Rodney: It’s reached the end of its economic life, then.

Russell: Pity. I was rather attached to it.

Rodney: Sentiment. It’s just a machine. It’s not sentient.

________

Voice-over

An economic life, or useful life is at its end when repair is more expensive than replacement. For a machine, that is.

Phasing in a Reduced Carbon Footprint

Tesla Cybertruck

Balancing economics with going green…
Joe: Why do you want an electric vehicle?
Leon: To reduce global warming, to clean up the environment.
Joe: Very laudable. We all would. What’s stopping you?
Leon: I have an investment in a couple of vehicles which still run fine and whose value hasn’t been written off.
Joe: So you’re trying to phase yourself out of fossil fuels and into more environmentally friendly transport?
Leon: While watching the costs, yes. Technology is improving and prices are falling…So the plan is to have sold all my fossil fuel vehicles by the end of 2022 and be all electric by 2023.
Joe: Sounds like a downsized model of government policy.
__________
Voice-over
There is also the question of where the electricity comes from. If the electricity is generated from hydropower, that’s renewable. Good. Or solar panels on the roof. Also good.

Rattly ball joint

At the surgery…

.

Osteopath: How are things?

.

Patient: Everything’s falling to bits. My hip joint is giving me pain, and my car has rattly ball joints too.

.

Osteopath: Hmm, could be inflammation.

.

Patient: Do I need a hip replacement?

.

Osteopath: Unlikely. And something to be avoided. I had one patient who had a titanium hip joint. But the ball kept popping out its socket. Six times this happened each time he fell.

.

Patient: Injured?

.

Osteopath: The final fall was fatal.

__________

Voice-over

An aging car can be a metaphor for an aging person. Performance decreases, joints get rattly, more maintenance is required. Vehicles need regular inspections. If the repairs are costly, the vehicle may be scrapped. And if a person fails an inspection?

...

Stirling Moss passes

Who do you think you are?

.

Juan: Ah, Mike Hawthorn and Stirling Moss. Our heroes in the 1950s. Never saw them but read their books.

.

Jean-Étienne: And yet our careers never followed theirs. You became a professor, I became a doctor.

.

Juan: Did anything transfer from their lives to yours?

.

Jean-Étienne: Not really. I saw too many traffic accident victims in ER I guess. So I chose safety over risk.

.

Juan: And I was cast as a commentator. I realized I could never perform something so stressful at what they called ten-tenths.

_________

Voice-over

The danger, the glory. Akin to gladiators racing chariots in Rome. Entering our 20s, our dreams shrank from hero-size to life-size. Regrets at not living life in the fast lane? Hmm. Becoming a racing driver, one’s life could have been over at 29 like Hawthorn and dozens of others, or one could have lasted until 90, like Moss. There’s no telling.

...

Champion Year: Mike Hawthorn

Recalling childhood dreams…

.

Juan: Remember this book by Mike Hawthorn? You gave it to me to read when we were in primary school.

.

Jean-Étienne: He was our hero of the late 50s. Back then, we wanted to be Formula 1 racing drivers.

.

Juan: Tragic though. He won the world championship in 1958. Wrote his book, Champion Year, handed it in to the publishers, and died in a road crash three weeks later in January 1959. Aged 29.

.

Jean-Étienne: An odd thing was that he’d had a kidney removed and the other one was on the blink and doctors only gave him a few months to live.

_________

Voice-over

Motor racing was different then. Somehow more sporting, less commercial. Racing cars looked more beautiful than today. But more dangerous, too. Every year race car drivers died in crashes. Poorly designed race tracks, no seatbelts, fires. Mike Hawthorn’s best friend, race driver Peter Collins, had died months before during the 1958 German Grand Prix.

...