The Cost (and Rewards) of Building an RWB
For all the haters out there saying RWB is played out or how common the
cars are, take a look at that number — $28,000 — it’s no joke. A fair
estimate, having been a part of three RWB builds, would be close to
$40,000 once you add suspension, wheels and tires. That's $40,000 on top
of your air-cooled Porsche, which are becoming increasingly more
difficult to find; so all you keyboard warriors, take note: if you want
to built one of those "played out RWBs," have your piggy bank ready.
(DrivingLine.com)
Thursday, January 5, 2017
I Agree With This Opinion
What Scares Me The Most About Donald Trump Making 'Deals' With Automakers
Globalization, both in concept and in practice, has its upsides as well as its downsides. It has been touted by Trump to be the source of many of the country’s economic ills. A company selling things in Mexico or another country where the cost of labor is cheaper is likely do so because they sell a less expensive product with slimmer margins.
However, the reality is that these cheaper goods—whether it be cars or laundry detergent at Wal-Mart—sometimes come at the cost of American jobs that have been priced out of relevance in their respective industries because of global competition. We simply can’t have both high-paying jobs for unskilled and entry-level skilled labor, and cheap cost of goods as the product of that labor. (Also, Trump and others forget the role automation, robots and other technologies have had in changing the face of manufacturing.)
Nevertheless, placing tariffs on said companies that choose to outsource their labor necessarily does more harm than good.
The only possible outcome of arbitrary tariffs would be to increase
the cost of goods and decrease competition in the market. With these
Mexican-built, small cars essentially becoming more expensive and less
common in the marketplace, it hits those who rely on them the most, and
those are almost always people who can’t afford much else.
(Jalopnik.com)
Globalization, both in concept and in practice, has its upsides as well as its downsides. It has been touted by Trump to be the source of many of the country’s economic ills. A company selling things in Mexico or another country where the cost of labor is cheaper is likely do so because they sell a less expensive product with slimmer margins.
However, the reality is that these cheaper goods—whether it be cars or laundry detergent at Wal-Mart—sometimes come at the cost of American jobs that have been priced out of relevance in their respective industries because of global competition. We simply can’t have both high-paying jobs for unskilled and entry-level skilled labor, and cheap cost of goods as the product of that labor. (Also, Trump and others forget the role automation, robots and other technologies have had in changing the face of manufacturing.)
Nevertheless, placing tariffs on said companies that choose to outsource their labor necessarily does more harm than good.
(Jalopnik.com)
She's An American Hero
The Person Behind All Of Those Snarky Wendy’s Tweets And Burns Has Been Revealed And She’s Awesome
Turns out that it isn’t a bot dropping all that sass on social media, but a woman named Amy Brown.
(Her initials are A.R.B. She isn’t shilling for Arby’s. I think.)
According to Mashable, Brown has been the social media manager for Wendy’s since 2012. She got the job, according to Wendy’s VP of Advertising, Brandon Rhoten, “after trolling her on Twitter.” Figures, right?
(BroBible.com)
Turns out that it isn’t a bot dropping all that sass on social media, but a woman named Amy Brown.
(Her initials are A.R.B. She isn’t shilling for Arby’s. I think.)
According to Mashable, Brown has been the social media manager for Wendy’s since 2012. She got the job, according to Wendy’s VP of Advertising, Brandon Rhoten, “after trolling her on Twitter.” Figures, right?
(BroBible.com)
It's Really Not Worth It
How Much Uber Drivers Actually Make Per Hour
Uber data suggests that drivers overall in three major U.S. markets — Denver, Detroit, and Houston — earned less than $13.25 an hour after expenses in late 2015, according to calculations based on more than a million trips.
Perhaps more impactful than how Uber calculates actual earnings is how it advertises potential earnings. Uber uses a wide variety of channels — text message, radio, Craigslist, banner ads, TV ads, and even direct mail — to encourage people looking to earn money to drive for Uber.
But those potential earnings are advertised in “total fares,” with no mention of commission or expenses, which some drivers feel is misleading. For example, in Denver, Craigslist ads from the time when the data was pulled said drivers can earn up to $688 a week in fares; in Houston, ads from September said $660 in fares. (These estimates exclude Uber’s commission.)
None of these advertisements mention driver expenses. The same goes for the alerts Uber sends to drivers — sometimes five times a day or more — telling them that other drivers on the road were making $20 or $30 an hour in gross fares. Uber said this is because “there are significant differences in the cost of gas, new tires, an oil change or insurance depending on the city and the driver’s individual circumstances/choices.”
But many of the drivers and some of the former Uber employees interviewed for this article told BuzzFeed News the company could do a better job educating drivers about the difference between net and gross earnings.
“That’s not net. That’s just gross. And that’s if you get lucky. That’s the best, best, best-case scenario,” said Houston driver John Cerasuolo. “It might as well say partners are earning $1 million an hour.”
(BuzzFeed.com)
Uber data suggests that drivers overall in three major U.S. markets — Denver, Detroit, and Houston — earned less than $13.25 an hour after expenses in late 2015, according to calculations based on more than a million trips.
Perhaps more impactful than how Uber calculates actual earnings is how it advertises potential earnings. Uber uses a wide variety of channels — text message, radio, Craigslist, banner ads, TV ads, and even direct mail — to encourage people looking to earn money to drive for Uber.
But those potential earnings are advertised in “total fares,” with no mention of commission or expenses, which some drivers feel is misleading. For example, in Denver, Craigslist ads from the time when the data was pulled said drivers can earn up to $688 a week in fares; in Houston, ads from September said $660 in fares. (These estimates exclude Uber’s commission.)
None of these advertisements mention driver expenses. The same goes for the alerts Uber sends to drivers — sometimes five times a day or more — telling them that other drivers on the road were making $20 or $30 an hour in gross fares. Uber said this is because “there are significant differences in the cost of gas, new tires, an oil change or insurance depending on the city and the driver’s individual circumstances/choices.”
But many of the drivers and some of the former Uber employees interviewed for this article told BuzzFeed News the company could do a better job educating drivers about the difference between net and gross earnings.
“That’s not net. That’s just gross. And that’s if you get lucky. That’s the best, best, best-case scenario,” said Houston driver John Cerasuolo. “It might as well say partners are earning $1 million an hour.”
(BuzzFeed.com)
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