Making the valve a sealed unit would make it easier to repair, thus making it more easily repairable. Think, your modern diesel has broken down in the buttcrack of your country, the local spanner could probaly replace a module under the rocker cover (Or whatever it will be called, since there probably won't be rockers) rather than dissasemble a component that they have never seen before, let alone know how it works and change a faulty bushing or whatever was stopping it from functioning. Trust me, I'd hate to have to build a gearbox than just buy a complete one from a wreckers. Initially the engines would probably be more expensive so the companies would have to do it well or they couldn't justify the extra cost. However later on the engines would probably be cheaper to build and maintain (No cambelt, no oil seals behind wheels, no tensioners, no tappets to set, no gears to lubricate hey wow I could go on for ages). So maybe they could get lazy then. But then to loose their reputation because of been lazy? Can you say "a particular Ford with a badly positioned fuel tank?"? On a side note: I bet the Mustang is reliable if it were looked after correctly, the owners have had since 1966 to fix all the faults!
I hope you were been sarcastic but, if you were not: I hope you are not scared of opec or something. "N. America out of a recession" - the US is the economic envy of the world. Christ. And your fuel is probably the world's cheapest. Why? We (NZ) pay a few times what you pay for it in the US (about 45c/litre US for low octane, 53c US for high) and it's still very cheap compared to say europe. Oh sorry, this is off topic.. But americentrism does bug me a little.
This, for strange reasons, reminds me of a story I was reminded about in my politics lecture a few weeks ago.
We (New Zealand) had this Prime Minister called Robert Muldoon. A strange guy, but he had quite a spine at times. He was a bit before my time too, he was around in the late 70's early 80's.
Anyway. The Prime Minsiter's (PM's) office used to get a telephone call every few days from a man saying the SIS (Our version of the CIA but with the ability to screw with/monitor local and international affairs) was interferring with his brain from their satellites in space (NZ doesn't have any spy satellites.... Can't afford them, don't want 'em). Anyway, this man would usually talk to the PM's secretary and she'd say stuff like "No no.. We don't have any satellites.. The SIS isn't monitoring you.. Why would we mess with your brain waves? That would be bad.. etc etc etc".
But one day, while she was on the phone (These calls could last over 20 minutes) the PM shouts through the door that he needs to speak to her and she says "Just a minute, I'm on the phone". He asks who it is and she quickly explains who it is on the phone and what he wants. The PM asks her to put the loon through to him, and she does.
The loon never rang back.
Interested, the secratary asked later what he had done.
"It was simple, I listened to what he had to say. Then I suggested he get a bowler hat (Round thing) and line it with tin-foil and wear it on his head".
Apparently this story is in her book, which I have not read.
The rails arn't welded together, they need some flex and expansion/shrinking due to tempperature and earthquakes etc. Also Electric trains = Interference:-( However, a local telco does use train tracks.. They lay fibre next to it because it's a conveniently cleared, relativly direct, space extending between main centres... But that wasn't all that clever really.
WHAT DO YOU MEAN JOKE?!?! When the internet shuts down, I won't be able to check if that shudder I just felt was an earthquake or not (Since it appears we are having a swarm at the moment). Oh horror of horrors. Worst of all.. My.com won't work while the internet shuts down. I hope one of those crawling robots, whatever they are (Maybe it's one of those robot dogs with fangs) eliminates my mother in law's computer though.
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Making the valve a sealed unit would make it easier to repair, thus making it more easily repairable. Think, your modern diesel has broken down in the buttcrack of your country, the local spanner could probaly replace a module under the rocker cover (Or whatever it will be called, since there probably won't be rockers) rather than dissasemble a component that they have never seen before, let alone know how it works and change a faulty bushing or whatever was stopping it from functioning. Trust me, I'd hate to have to build a gearbox than just buy a complete one from a wreckers.
Initially the engines would probably be more expensive so the companies would have to do it well or they couldn't justify the extra cost. However later on the engines would probably be cheaper to build and maintain (No cambelt, no oil seals behind wheels, no tensioners, no tappets to set, no gears to lubricate hey wow I could go on for ages). So maybe they could get lazy then. But then to loose their reputation because of been lazy?
Can you say "a particular Ford with a badly positioned fuel tank?"?
On a side note: I bet the Mustang is reliable if it were looked after correctly, the owners have had since 1966 to fix all the faults!
I hope you were been sarcastic but, if you were not:
I hope you are not scared of opec or something. "N. America out of a recession" - the US is the economic envy of the world. Christ. And your fuel is probably the world's cheapest. Why? We (NZ) pay a few times what you pay for it in the US (about 45c/litre US for low octane, 53c US for high) and it's still very cheap compared to say europe.
Oh sorry, this is off topic.. But americentrism does bug me a little.
http://www.newsroom.co.nz/Story.asp?S=17556
We (New Zealand) had this Prime Minister called Robert Muldoon. A strange guy, but he had quite a spine at times. He was a bit before my time too, he was around in the late 70's early 80's.
Anyway. The Prime Minsiter's (PM's) office used to get a telephone call every few days from a man saying the SIS (Our version of the CIA but with the ability to screw with/monitor local and international affairs) was interferring with his brain from their satellites in space (NZ doesn't have any spy satellites.... Can't afford them, don't want 'em). Anyway, this man would usually talk to the PM's secretary and she'd say stuff like "No no.. We don't have any satellites.. The SIS isn't monitoring you.. Why would we mess with your brain waves? That would be bad.. etc etc etc".
But one day, while she was on the phone (These calls could last over 20 minutes) the PM shouts through the door that he needs to speak to her and she says "Just a minute, I'm on the phone". He asks who it is and she quickly explains who it is on the phone and what he wants. The PM asks her to put the loon through to him, and she does.
The loon never rang back.
Interested, the secratary asked later what he had done.
"It was simple, I listened to what he had to say. Then I suggested he get a bowler hat (Round thing) and line it with tin-foil and wear it on his head".
Apparently this story is in her book, which I have not read.
The rails arn't welded together, they need some flex and expansion/shrinking due to tempperature and earthquakes etc. Also Electric trains = Interference :-( However, a local telco does use train tracks.. They lay fibre next to it because it's a conveniently cleared, relativly direct, space extending between main centres... But that wasn't all that clever really.
WHAT DO YOU MEAN JOKE?!?! When the internet shuts down, I won't be able to check if that shudder I just felt was an earthquake or not (Since it appears we are having a swarm at the moment). Oh horror of horrors. Worst of all.. My .com won't work while the internet shuts down. I hope one of those crawling robots, whatever they are (Maybe it's one of those robot dogs with fangs) eliminates my mother in law's computer though.