To elaborate on your rant, I was a road rep for many years driving about 50,000 miles annually and came to appreciate the condition of my tires.  By extension, I also noticed tires on other vehicles and if I noticed something amiss would not hesitate to leave a note or tell the person if I noticed a nail or screw in the tire (more common than you'd think) or prolonged wear from improper inflation.

You'd be astonished at the percentage whose response was, essentially, "Whatever."

Stephen

--- On Thu, 8/14/08, Ed Lloyd <elloyd10@COMCAST.NET> wrote:

> From: Ed Lloyd <elloyd10@COMCAST.NET>
> Subject: Are Today's Young People Mechanical Nitwits?
> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> Date: Thursday, August 14, 2008, 11:24 AM
> I too have been living the Vanagon Experience during my 20+
> years of driving my 87 Westy, and before that a 76 Westy.
>
> My daughter just bought a sporty little 20004 Mazda 3, and
> I looked into the Driver's Manual, and did a double take
> on this:
>
> "Front Turn Signal Lights - Due to the complexity and
> difficulty of the procedure, the bulbs should be replaced by
> an Authorized Mazda Dealer."
>
> Same for the Fog lights, and side marker lights.  They do
> show pictures and procedures, which amount to unscrewing the
> plastic housings and gently twisting and pulling out the
> bulbs.  Installation is the reverse.
>
> Low beam Xenon bulb may be more of a problem.  "You
> cannot replace the low beam bulbs by yourself.  Must be
> replaced at an Authorized Dealer."  OK, there may be
> some high voltage and disposal risk here.
>
> Oil change, and perhaps Air Filter, and that is the
> complete list of what an owner can do by themselves!
> Everything else is Dealer.
>
> I also noted that the Windshield washer reservoir has a
> light on the dash board to tell you when the washer fluid is
> low.  I have never found this to be a problem in my Vanagon.
>  When it starts to dribble out, then you just add more!
>
> this is a sporty car for young people, not a big
> "Luxury" car for pampered fat cats.  Her friends
> all seem to know how to work the CD player and electronic
> gadgets installed, but seem clueless about the mechanicals.
>
> End of Rant by crusty old guy.