This semi-regular column is written (in his own blood) by an automotive sage and noted malcontent, known as The Mechanic. Mercilessly beaten as a child with rolled-up back issues of old car magazines, our free-spoken hero developed a unique "for your own good" take on cars and the auto industry, along with an unfortunate habit of setting himself ablaze. Later, after a distinguished career as an automotive journalist and magazine editor, he cast off the reins of his musty oppressors, carved out his superego with a plastic spork and became The Mechanic.
Whatever happened to optimism? You know, that thing we Americans supposedly had in abundance? The stuff that got us through tough times, stiffened our resolve when faced with challenges, and fundamentally kept life pleasant?
Instead of a nation of positive thinkers, we've become a bunch of bellyaching whiners. Our new pastime is complaining.
"Oh, the economy is so terrible."
"Detroit is doomed, DOOMED, DOOMED!"
"Boo hoo, my house is no longer worth double what I paid for it five years ago."
Well, I've had enough of the whining.
The other day I ran into my neighbors Tim and Lisa at Costco. They're successful people (well, lawyers actually) with two kids in private school, a pair of year-old Audis and a 2,500-square-foot duplex in a great neighborhood. And yet they do nothing but complain. For 10 minutes I heard nothing but existential dread from both of them; meanwhile, they were shopping for a 52-inch hi-def flat-screen TV.
It was bizarre. How can you be a whiner while blowing three grand on a TV? For a moment there I thought neighbor Tim would commit hari-kari right in the aisle at Costco by slitting his wrists on the razor-sharp pleats in his khakis. And Lisa could have saved big bucks by buying his casket while she was there, too.
Me? I bought a slab of salmon the size of a surfboard. But that's beside the point. Or maybe it isn't.
Yeah, the car market has collapsed and even Toyota is hinting at layoffs, the financial services industry looks like it's been hacked apart with a machete and no one is building houses, but the national unemployment rate still hasn't even (at least officially) hit 7 percent yet. Want to know how bad things can get? In 1933, unemployment hit 25 percent.
Look, we aren't in the Great Depression. It's not even as bad right now as it was in 1982, the last time car sales were so awful. But I also understand that for all of us under 50, this is the scariest economy we've seen during our adult lives -- and the chances of sliding into real, calamitous depression aren't zero. Go ahead and shiver under your covers, feel the chill up your spine and let the dread flow through your veins, but don't crack. Man up and deal with uncertainty. Frankly, those of us determined to survive and thrive don't have time to deal with your insecurities and despair.
I don't know the future and neither does anyone else. Remember all the "experts" back in July predicting oil at $200 per barrel by December? Are they the same guys telling us bankruptcy is the only option for Chrysler and GM? Or are they the ones saying that the government needs to throw megatons of dollars at the two companies? Really, it's not worth trying to keep score.
Crying wasn't part of anyone's recovery plan back during the Great Depression and we shouldn't be bawling now. What are needed now are tough Americans, and I hope they're not all stuck in Iraq wearing desert camouflage. Tough not just in being able to stick it out and suck it up through hard times, but tough enough to retain their optimism and still enjoy life. Now is not the time to lose either our sense of humor or our faith that the Universe will play itself out as it should. I don't know how we'll pull through this, but I know damned well we can pull through this -- just as our parents, grandparents and great-grandparents did during their own hard times. And they did it without flat-screen TVs or farm-raised salmon filets that feed 30.
So happy New Year and here's a cheer for the more than 10 million Americans out there who will have faith enough to buy a new car this coming year. And here's to an economy that's supposedly in free fall, but still has people paying 20 grand over sticker for a new Corvette ZR1. For 2009 let's all resolve to remember that it's better to listen to the whine of a supercharger than the whine of cowards. -- The Mechanic, Inside Line Contributor
E-mail me at themechanic@edmunds.com.
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Hell yeah! Maybe we should shut off the TV for a month and get back to our old "spend more than you got ways" that made our country #1. The rest of the world seemed to work better with it like that, so even if it's not good all the time, it's better for everybody most of the time.
I guess i am lucky. I can say with all honesty, that my life has not changed at all from a year ago. I still buy the same things, i still live in the same house, go to the same places etc. Sometimes, all this talk about a bad economy seems like just talk. Many of us have a lot to be thankful for.
Then again, tell that to the people that got ripped of by Madoff or got laid off from their jobs, or people who lost their savings on wall street.
Mechanic, this article is as bland as a toyota prius.
The economy obviously hasn't hit the mechanic very hard...
not that i care about the livelyhood of people whom have overextended themselves in the name of vanity, but they're definitely not indulging on surfboards of salmon nor big screen tv's nor paying $20k over for a gas guzzling supercar.
instead, what i see are foreclosed homes, homes for sale, expensive cars for sale, a sudden increase in movie rentals, and a sudden increase in demand for cheap junk food i usually indulge in. to sell off homes and cars in this economic climate can only be a sign of desperation, as the values have tanked...
i go out to places where people usually toss around money like its water and all of a sudden, it is deserted. my lifestyle has not changed in a negative way... if anything, its gotten better. i travel more now since everything is so cheap, but i live a simple life. i rarely ever spend money i do not have.
the people complaining are just greedy... they all have plenty of money and because they wanted more, they are now hurting... they may not be broke, but once you are used to a certain lifestyle, it isn't easy to go back.
To be honest, if GM do go bankrupt, that makes ZR1 an even better bargain. So sooner or later, all people will remember this as the best and the fastest car American ever made.
"And here's to an economy that's supposedly in free fall, but still has people paying 20 grand over sticker for a new Corvette ZR1. For 2009 let's all resolve to remember that it's better to listen to the whine of a supercharger than the whine of cowards."
The economy isn't in free fall, but it still is in bad shape, however, what The Mechanic highlights with people paying 20k over sticker for a new ZR1 is two different things. First, the economy does have some life, and I, for one, believe that things will be leveling out sooner rather than later.
For the second thing, you'll have to remove your rose-colored glass (exactly the opposite of what Mr. Mechanic wants you to do). The reason there are still people paying absurd prices is simple. Its not the cliche "Rich got richer" B.S. but its close. The margin that makes of the middle class is shrinking, instead of the Have's, the Have-some's, and the Have-not's, we mostly have the Have's and the Have-not's. The Rich are poorer, and the poor are the same, but instead of being able to buy that new car, I'm left scrounging for a cheap used one (not that I have any problem with that, I don't buy new).
The fact is, if you can be content with what you have and aspire to just that one dream-anything, be it car, house, or boat, but not all, you'll be fine. Its the "keep up with the jones's" attitude that got us here by replacing the American Dream. Remember the American Dream (at least in its very first usage in the Great Depression era) was something like this: "the dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement. It is a difficult dream for the European upper classes to interpret adequately, and too many of us ourselves have grown weary and mistrustful of it. It is not a dream of motor cars and high wages merely, but a dream of social order in which each man and each woman shall be able to attain to the fullest stature of which they are innately capable, and be recognized by others for what they are, regardless of the fortuitous circumstances of birth or position."
So aspire to that ZR1 or M3 or Ferrari, but live within your means and be content once you've achieved your dreams. That would make a much better new years resolution for America.
Like the mechanic, I too luckily still have work for now, had a great Christmas, and can still pay a mortgage, but it is true that other parts of the country are feeling these times more than most, and I hope my turn is not around the corner. I completely agree though regarding the attitude that floats around the media regarding the current slump. Yes, lots of people are losing their jobs and Madoff is a scumbag, but now what? Are we just going to keep our heads down and ask how did this happen? We need to shed a tear and then get back at it and structure our investments/lives so that we won't let something like this happen again. Good article
"Remember all the "experts" back in July predicting oil at $200 per barrel by December? Are they the same guys telling us bankruptcy is the only option for Chrysler and GM?"
That's a big part of the problem. They're the same people that said the housing market would always rise. They're the ones that inflated the stock market, using money that wasn't there. They're the ones we followed on the wave up and we're following them on the way down.
Everyone (especially "they") needs to chill a little. They needed to chill on the way up, but that's too late. They need to chill on the way down. Instead, we live in a (world wide) society that over reacts.
"That's a big part of the problem. They're the same people that said the housing market would always rise. They're the ones that inflated the stock market, using money that wasn't there. They're the ones we followed on the wave up and we're following them on the way down."
Exactly right. Notice how the prevailing wisdom pushed by the media is usually wrong? They were behind the idea of the tech boom that would never end. They were behind the idea that war in Iraq was necessary. They were behind the idea that the housing boom would last forever and everyone was a winner. They jumped behind the idea of quickly handing over $700b to financial firms to prevent a supposedly immiment collpase of the economy. Then they were behind the idea that GM and Chrysler should either dissolve or go bankrupt because Toyota would simply pick up the slack. when will people learn? when I saw how hard the media came out against the bailout I knew it was the right move.
The media also thought this guy who predicted this downturn and talked about how we need to produce more (like cars) and borrow less was crazy:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2I0QN-FYkpw
Love that gas-guzzling greeting card! Smacks ya right in the face!
Consumer optimism is a self-fulfilling prophecy, and one of the ways we can fix the economy. It's practically our patriotic duty as still-employed Americans to go out there and keep spending. Maybe not as much, but don't crank down completely on your wallets. Money spent by those of us who are so-far-untouched by the economic woes goes a long way towards helping us all recover.
Also, while I'm on the soapbox, please vote with your dollars. If you have a favorite little corner store that's always there for you when you need it, it's your duty to now be there for them. Even though their prices might be higher than Ralphs, if you'd like to have them around for a while, shop there on a regular basis. The same goes for all businesses that you care about. For example, I'm a big fan of thinkgeek.com and would like them to stay around, so I did 80% of my Christmas shopping there this year.
/end soapbox
Talk about sensationalism- the Mechanic uses two lawyers to exemplify why everyone should not whine about the economy- not every family is made up by heads of households who earn the income of legal professionals.
There are many people who are truly hurt by the housing meltdown. I know several people in a Riverside, CA neighborhood who purchased homes just before the values started to plummet. Luckily for me, I moved out before the values dropped. Some of my neighbors who moved in just before I moved out have seen their home values drop by 50% or more in some cases, and now they owe double what the house is worth. But this situation is not quite as dire as the forced eviction of rentee's because the landlord did not or could not pay the mortgage.
Sure, you can find rich and upper middle class people who are still buying Corvettes and plasma TV's that are unscathed by the mess. But they are in the minority. If you're looking around in a Costco, you're not likely to find anyone who has been wounded by this mess. I suggest try looking around Florida, or the many surrounding areas of LA and Orange County who have had homes with artificially inflated values due to their proximity to overpriced centers of commerce and work. The upper crust don't just disappear when financial crisis hits, they're just the last people to feel it because they're doing better than most.
The likelihood is brands like Ferrari, Aston Martin, and Bently will still make their sales numbers this year because the majority of their clientèle are already in positions such that losing tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars would not change their lives- the rest of the population, however, cannot tolerate that kind of loss.
Frank908 writes: "Love that gas-guzzling greeting card!"
It's not a Tundra.
Hey roguelegend,
I think the mechanic was just trying to point out that these two lawyers were complaining and being negative yet they were probably the last people on earth with a reason to...
Who gave this guy a job? My jaw is on the floor at how mind-blowingly stupid THE MECHANIC is. "I'll spend some article space screaming at the top of my lungs for everyone to dump their current car and go out and buy a new American made one RIGHT NOW! I'll tell them they're unpatriotic if they don't, and that they will be the reason for America's ultimate collapse. I'll do it again later just to be certain. Then, right before the New Year, I'll complete a 180 and tell everyone to stop whining, we'll be fine, no need to worry." I just don't get it. I am officially done reading your article. You have made it clear that you are an absolute moron...or the boss' kid. Either way...
Oh, and 'brn' I had an F-150. Slow as hell and had the same awful gas mileage as the Tundra. I think the Americans deserve one or the other, if not both (mpg or power). It did have a freakin sweet interior though.
People paying $20K over sticker for a completely frivolous discretionary item like a $117K car only tells me the rich have gotten rich in this country while the middle to lower class have gotten poorer. Certainly plenty of the rich have taken hits to their portfolios, but big deal, now they're only worth $20 million instead of $30 million. That's still plenty of money to buy luxury toys like $120K super cars.
You may live by the motto "don't worry, be happy" but I'm very worried. This is the worst economy since the great depression and we're not at the bottom yet. Nor are the economies of Asia and Europe. The bailouts as many predicted have done absolutely nothing to help, they've only put us further into debt. Just like the auto loans are going to do. Just prolonging the inevitable.
2009 is going to be an even more difficult year than 2008. Much more difficult. It really irks me how so many people dismiss the possibility of another great depression. I would not be surprised if everyone else is surprised when we enter into a global depression in 09. So toast away and celebrate New Year's, but when you wake up the next day and your hangover subsides, reality will be there to remind you there is a very rough road ahead.
Hey dgs4,
That there are people paying $20K over list for a ZR1 isn't surprising. If the car had come out two years ago they'd be paying $50K over.
Why resent the rich anyhow? Would them going broke make you better off? Or do you think that if the government took all the money and divided it amongst equally we'd all be better off? Come on.
Read The Mechanic's piece again. He even says that a great depression is a possibility. His argument isn't about whether or not it's going to happen, it's about our attitude toward the future. If you can make a solid case that whining will improve our economic situation, please present it. I look forward to being on the whining front lines right there alongside you.
Otherwise, buckle down and figure out how to get through whatever it is that's coming towards us. Good, bad or just plain disastrous.
Hey roguelegend,
Are there people hurting right now? Yeah. But to claim they're in the majority is just stupid. 93% of us are still employed. We may be hurting in our home valuations and IRAs, but we still have roofs over our heads and can afford the occasional dinner at Red Lobster.
Yeah, things are worse than they were one or two years ago, but for the most part it hasn't gotten that bad for most people. At least not yet.
Could it get worse? Sure. And does it suck to be owning overpriced Riverside real estate. Yeah. But come on, it's still not worth crying about. Just get busy doing something -- anything -- to make things better.
BORING... NOBODY CARES ABOUT YOUR OPINION on the economy Mechanic and what you buy at costco, this is a car site, talk about cars and car tech thats why i come to this site to read reviews about cars.
To the guy who lived in Riverside, Ca. I live there now, bought my house near the top of the market and fortunately or unfortunately I'm stuck there...not really stuck but I'm there until the market goes back up. I've lost no money since I bought it since I won't sell it or just walk away since it was never really my money anyway. Giving up is the easier thing to do.
Also there is all this talk of "this is the worst" I think I heard or read a statistic the other day that 1993 was far worse. I've done pretty well this year and my company has too, even with a reduction in ad dollars that come in. If I save $500 or even 2,000 in the grand scheme of things it doesn't matter.
The only think I thought about in this economy is that I probably want to own my cars instead of leasing. So when my lease is up I my choose a simple Jeep that has less things to go wrong than my current 335 with twin turbo, DI and so many things that when the break I can't fix and costs too much.
:)
Happy New Year. Negative energy is a cancer in the work place and society.
I might be one to contribute with buying American next year. My crappy 08' Honda Accord V6 is burning oil like a Kuwait oil well on fire. I'll also add that for someone like me who doesn't like credit card debt, having $3k on the Amex is also my contribution to the economy. If everybody contributes a little, we can turn this recession around.
I wish you all a prosperous Happy New Year!
There's optimistic... then there's realistic.
First, 1487, the youtube of Peter Schiff you posted does not make sense with the rest of your post. Peter Schiff is highly pessimistic on the near future of America, even more so after all the bailouts. Google Peter Schiff's position on the auto bailouts. I have thousands of dollars invested in EuroPacific (Schiff's company) and they have made me thousands of dollars. Believe me, Schiff is NOT optimistic about America. Read his book, "Crash Proof" and you will see what I mean. Excellent read, BTW. Should be mandatory homework for the Business Elite.
Second, liquidity is not the issue today, it's solvency. The Derivatives Market is over 1 Quadrillion Dollars and expanding. That's one thousand trillion or one million billion. These are basically bets made by hedge funds, banks and companies on just about anything, from debt to currency rates to insurance contracts. The players are leveraged 20 to 50 to 1. Once one counter party fails to perform, the entire house of cards tumbles and everyone up and down the food chain becomes insolvent. GMAC's problem is its several trillion dollar exposure to derivatives, not bad loans to unworthy auto or mortgage customers.
The GDP of the world is estimated at 50-80 Trillion Dollars. With twenty times that amount outstanding in derivative contracts, there is no way to write off/mark to market/eliminate derivative players' exposure. These derivatives are off balance sheet activities, but they are very real. That's why Warren Buffet called them neutron bombs which would destroy the world's economy. JP Morgan Chase has over 80 Trillion Dollars of derivative exposure, as much or more than the GDP of the entire world. CITI has about 50 Trillion.
Am I optimistic about America's future? Long term, yes. I believe if we purge the excesses and mal-investment that has taken place, maybe in ten or fifteen years we can dig ourselves out of this mess. Many things need to happen, including unworthy, insolvent companies reorganizing in bankruptcy (GM for example). Short term, we are in for very tough times and we deserve it. You do not become wealthy as an individual or a nation by spending more than you make on things you don't really need. Nations become wealthy by making, mining or growing things other nations need, living within their means and saving excess monies for new investments which increase the productivity of the nation, thus increasing the "pie" for everyone. Capitalism isn't broken, it's been supplanted in America by crony economic fascism (see auto bailouts, for example).
I don't have all the answers, but I am confident if we spend less, individually and nationally, balance our budgets, make tough choices, allow companies to go bankrupt and let this recession play out (we need it and we deserve it) we will be better off in the long run. Will America and Americans have the stomach for the medicine we need to survive and prosper? I hope so. My kids and future grandchildren are depending on it.
"I don't have all the answers, but I am confident if we spend less, individually and nationally, balance our budgets, make tough choices, allow companies to go bankrupt and let this recession play out (we need it and we deserve it) we will be better off in the long run. Will America and Americans have the stomach for the medicine we need to survive and prosper? I hope so. My kids and future grandchildren are depending on it."
Very well said! It all boils down to using common sense.
"Negative energy is a cancer in the work place and society."
Its also extremely contagious.
Mechanic,
I have been reading your articles since you have debuted on Insideline. You write as if you know more about the world than anyone else in it. Most of your articles are overly critical and "edgy", as you try, and succeed, in getting more and more people to read your articles. But, just as everyone is getting the impression that you are just an extremely unpleasant and bitter human, you write this article. Suddenly, you are a deep, insightful old man. Now, you speak like a profit, with your lofty diction and unnecessary metaphors. I can see through you. You aren't fake like some other journalists, you are far worse. You actually believe that you are the smartest man in the world. But then, you throw in short critiques of yourself to make us think that you are aware of your extremely false and opinionated facade. I know you don't believe these statements. All you have succeeded in doing with all of your fancy devices is gaining hundreds of readers who just want to comment about how wrong you are about your opinions of General Motors. Misery loves company, and congratulations, you have found it. However, I am not going to be part of your misery. Have fun with your new, bitter friends! You just lost a reader. Bye.
Once again I agree.
Everyone does nothing but complain about what bad shape everything is in. Boo Hoo! Life itself in this country is anything but bad. No one is exactly "suffering" and we're far from a Real depression. The people who whine about how bad off they are gotta chill out. I'm sick of the people in this country who refuse to take care of themselves and immediately turn to the government for a handout because they "can't" help themselves. Live within your means, which in this country, are anything but meager compared to the rest of the world. And if you want more, work your ass off and get more! Don't sign up for foodstamps because you want more than you have! DO WORK PEOPLE!