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by throwaway0a5e 1603 days ago
It's really easy to spin a naive fanboy (of a particular brand, technology or otherwise) narrative like this and when you aim your tropes ("ze backwards yankees") right at audience's bias you're sure to get a bunch of virtue points in response.

The fact of the matter is that there's very, very, few secrets in the automotive and heavy equipment industries. If someone is or isn't doing something it's because they've run the numbers and they don't think it pencils out for what they build and who they sell to.
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reaperducer 1603 days ago
It's really easy to spin a naive fanboy narrative like this and when you aim your tropes right at audience's bias you're sure to get a bunch of virtue points in response.

That's one of the big problems with internet blogs. They do a bunch of Googling and speculation and that's it. Laughably, they sometimes they even call themselves "journalists."

How hard would it have been to go to a truck stop and sit at the counter and ask some truckers? They know all about trucks. And after being along all day, truckers love to talk.

If you're afraid of people, get a $10 CB radio from Goodwill and talk to them on the radio.

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renewiltord 1603 days ago
Yeah, but those people are perhaps the worst to get insight on the industry from. For instance, most truck drivers in the US haven't driven a Scania truck (and flipped for the EU). They can't give you comparative information, so everyone's natural tendency to defend their choice will give you a bunch of rationalizations that you can falsely assume to be reasons.

It's the same as how you could ask people why SF doesn't have gigabit fiber Internet for $60 when Bucharest does for $30, and people on the Internet will make up all sorts of reasons. However, SF does have gigabit fiber Internet. Explaining is easy. Truth-seeking is hard.

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