Posts by BenWilson
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Nobody Important, yup, people talking about using more public transport after being abroad are not basing that on the New Zealand experience of public transport, something I opted out of just as fast as I could pass a written and oral test. Commuting for 3 hours per day to and from school gave me the shits, as did shithead busdrivers insisting on seeing my 'proof of being a schoolie', which a school uniform didn't seem to satisfy. Having them drive past without stopping, come early or late, standing shoulder to shoulder with a press of sweating commuters, walking for miles to the bus stop with a full bag of books, getting caught in the rain, being late for school and getting detention...all these were directly experienced at a young age as fuxored. The only nice thing about public transport to school was hanging out with mates for hours on end, and occasionally getting to sit next to a hot chick. But more often it was some fat wanker who wouldn't move over.
Re: my *cousin* (not nephew!), yeah he definitely wanted me to let it rip (and again I don't mean...). Most of the time the car trip was his idea, and totally frivolous. I notice since I sold my FULLY WORKED TURBO MR2 (note the lack of shame), he's asked me to take him out a lot less often....
Perhaps it's Playstation. But I was no different. I think it's youthful exuberance and the celebration of life. Part of the reason I like kids, and NZ for that matter. -
"Have you ever seen boy racers interviewed on TV? They really don't tend to come across well."
I seem to remember in the Old Days that Helen Clark didn't come across well either. TV reporting can definitely pick the worst in people, if they want to.
The problem is that their are no real spokespeople for boy racers. Just grabbing some kid with a fast car and putting them on the spot is hardly fair.
I've long thought there's a potential political party in standing up for car enthusiasts, from boy racers right through to 4WDing granddaddies. It could campaign on keeping the cost of cars and petrol down, improving the roads, and keeping the nanny-state out from under my bonnet. I bet it would be super popular. Way more than ACT, anyway. I reckon it would have Green levels of support, and would of course be diametrically opposed to them. Surprised no conservatives have thought of it, but they are famous for lacking ideas.
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Rogerd, the US has the 'Ozzie solution' I referred to earlier. You have to be insured, cars cost heaps, they mostly drive tanks and their roads are much bigger and better. I think the insurance idea is not a bad one. As for driving expensive tanks, not my bag at all.
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As for the kids perspective, I have one. I have a 16 year old cousin. He's getting his license as fast as he can because he actually is acquainted with public transport, unlike the bulk of oldies pontificating about it. Like most kids, he's already well acquainted with bicycles, skateboards, walking, buses, carpooling etc. And that's EXACTLY why he wants a driver's license. It's incredibly practical. Getting wet riding or waiting hours for a bus, or falling off your board, or walking for hours are things you get over fast.
That he can probably get a muscle car, even with his meagre income, is a peculiarity of NZ. That he wants to is partly my fault, since he got wood every time he got into any of my sportscars. For all the same reasons they gave me wood - it's a really nice feeling to drive something powerful with superb handling, and a throaty roar.
Perhaps he is too young for it. I sort of shudder to think what could have happened to me if I had 200hp under me at the age of 16, rather than a clapped out Vauxhall Victor. But I managed to have some nasty crashes even in shit cars. Even the old Victor could do 120 if you pushed it hard enough long enough. I shouldn't have but I did.
The way I see it, learning not to kill yourself is a part of growing up and you can do it so many more ways than driving a fast car that it's pointless to try to filter out that side of it. Hell, riding a pushbike isn't exactly safe. NZ's road fatalities are just a function of our geography, demographics and level of development.
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Kirsten, you old hippie! I bet you don't cycle around Waiheke much, at least not when it's raining?
Whilst I agree that Holland is one switched on place (went there a couple of years back), I really can't see any of their solutions apart from trains working here. I cycled everywhere in Amsterdam. Rediscovered muscles in my butt I forgot existed. But when I tried to do the same here, I quickly discovered why that particular form of transport doesn't work so well, at least in Auckland. For starters, everything is miles and miles away, over some pretty mean hills. Secondly, except in the heart of the city, when it starts to rain, which it does most days, especially on mega long cycling commutes, you get totally drenched. Most unpleasant. I'm currently completing a fairly intense "cycle survey" for the city council on my riding habits. They chose a bad week, it's been raining the whole time so my cycle diary is going to be empty.
Until we can cram 16 million NZers into somewhere the size of Canterbury, the beautiful public transport options of most of Europe aren't going to happen. There aren't the volumes, so the buses and trains are infrequent and thus extremely inconvenient. The distances most people go to catch up with their lives are much greater so the bus rides will also be much longer.
Carpooling is righteous, for sure. Especially on Waiheke, where everyone who commutes goes to the exact same location. Not so practical for people who don't work together anywhere else, though. And no use at all for anything but commuting.
Cars are choice. Sorry to give an annoying kiwi perspective on it, but motoring is much loved for a reason. It's really fun and really convenient. Unfortunately some people die, but we are working on that.
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Marcus, that is true. Also there is a culture of buying cars on tick that does encourage people to own more than they can afford. But they value it all the more, since a wrecked or impounded car on tick is even worse than no car at all.
I think your patriotism comment is so on the money. And the flipside of it here too, for some reason NZers also consider it patriotic to own a Holden, so having an actual fast car seems to offend the sensibilities of old farts. It's like dancing with the local hottie in a small town - asking for a beating. But everyone who's not a total bogan or past their use-by will never look back after their first taste of a decent turbo.
There are definitely just as many kids that want a fast car, or think they do indeed have a fast car, in Ozzie, per capita, as here. But what they actually have is a Holden that they are driving too fast. But on the flipside, everyone else is also driving a tank, so crashes are less fatal, and the roads are better, so the chances are less.
V8 "Supercars". Yeah right. Couldn't we have an actual fast car race like the Formula One? One that might actually attract tourism? One where they don't have to legislate Japanese cars out of the race to avoid the thrashing they got from Godzilla?
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Craig, no we have not seen the privatisation yet. It may come. Kiwisaver may have even made it more likely. Some time in the future when there's heaps of money saved, and the problem of poor old folks is less, I'd think. But not now. So it's not really ironic.
I'm more interested in the economic effects. It's potentially quite a big change to the way NZers use their money, and that has to have effects. Will they be inflationary? Or growth inhibiting? Or the opposite of both fears? I find both scenarios plausible, so I guess we'll have to wait and see. But either way, I'm personally going to save, since that's one thing all money managers are unanimous about - saving for retirement is a sensible plan for some of your money.
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It shows the age of these anti-boy-racers that they still think engine capacity is the only factor in power. Never heard of a turbo? Big bore exhausts? DOHC? VTEC? NOS? It's not just for kids to inhale u know..
I love those quotes:
"this is a society not braying for blood"
I guess that's because we're not donkeys.
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"who's going to grab hold of this broad issue and try and bring this village of four million people back online again?"
I didn't know we ever had 4 million online. I like the imagery of grabbing hold of a broad issue, though. I see some councillor manfully struggling with a pilates ball.
The Sawyer stuff is the best though, he really needs to get his village back online so he can log into Kiwiblog.
As for the boy racer problem, the ozzies have an interesting solution. Firstly, cars are ridiculously expensive thanks to protection of Holden and Ford plants. So any kid who actually can afford a fast car has more to lose from dinging it. Secondly, insurance is compulsory over there, and the car can be confiscated if you don't have it. The insurance companies pretty much charge any boy racer a massive premium. A powerful car is an instant premium tripler. Any aftermarket mods up the premiums too. So basically kids are priced out of fast cars. -
"I do hope we're going to see a few less columns huffing and puffing about what a pack of lying, psychotic douche bags bloggers are."
I think that's because a huge amount of their inspiration and material is coming from bloggers. Just a feeling, no evidence for that.
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Personally I already save by paying off mortgage. But Kiwisaver sounds like such a sweet deal I'll quite probably switch at least some of my surpluses into that.
My wife works in managed funds, and apparently the entire business has the biggest stonk-on right now about it. If anything will take us in the direction Ozzie has been going for 10 years, this is it.
But it's even better than Ozzie because there it's totally compulsory. Some people really are better off having more of their money now, and under the Cullen scheme it's their choice. It's carrot rather than stick.
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