Wii r car free 2

The Atlantic published an article titled "The Cheapest Generation" about Millenials' aversion to buying big-ticket items like cars and homes.  My very unscientific observations lead me to the same conclusions, namely that my generation is more inclined to invest in ourselves rather than things.

I really enjoyed the quote by John McFarland, General Motors' manager of global strategic marketing: "I don't believe that young buyers don't care about owning a car.  We just think nobody truly understands them yet."  I can't help but laugh when I think about how he came to that conclusion because our parents' generation generally owned cars and schelped us around in them.

The title of the article was disappointing and crass and I think the authors qualify as Millenials (based on their headshots).  I suspect the magazine used it to attract attention (and it worked on me) and to distract themselves from their impending generational eclipse.

Car-Free Again

Today I sat down and did the math on whether it was worth it to buy a car.  I looked into purchasing a Maruti Suzuki Alto 800 for roughly $5721 that gets roughly 21.5 kilometers/liter in urban conditions. I estimate that I will drive approximately 350 kilometers/month. Gas is approximately $1/liter. Based on those calculations, I estimate that I will spend $20/month on gas (or roughly $720 during my time in India).  I estimate that insurance is $750/year, or 2/3 of what I was paying in Haiti.  I estimate that I will spend $500 maintaining the car, but that is low compared to what I spent in Haiti (which is roughly 1/3 of what I spent in Haiti).  Therefore the total estimated cost before resale is $9191 or $7691 after resale for $1500 less what what I purchased it for.

By contrast, riding in taxis is $3.3 each way to work, which works out to $5227 over the next 33 months if I make 11 trips per week.  Throw in extra random trips here and there and maybe it rounds up to $7000.  But I can work in the car and not worry about maintenance, parking, or dangerous driving, or the variability of petrol prices, or resale.  Moreover, I can work in the car and practice Hindi.  If I buy a bike and a mask, I can reduce my dependency on taxis even more. 

Organic Hazards

When I was being driven home by a colleague after a dinner the minister counselor of the Public Affairs Section hosted, I saw a broken-down bus with a branch acting as its hazards!

Delhi Goes Green

This familiar site pleasantly reminded me of Haiti because drivers did the same thing when their cars broke down there.  I don't know if it was universal or I only saw broken-down cars without functioning flashers, but it was a practical mechanism for alerting drivers of the obstacle.

I wonder when I will see something like that in the States.

Daily Commute

I saw this on my way home today.  My imagination went wild.  How could this happen?

Car Trampolines Are Never a Good Idea