[michaelochurch]

A quote I once heard from a very bright hedge-fund guy: "My gardener drives a Mercedes SUV. There is no one I can't learn something from."

That actually sounds crass and a bit stupid. Any idiot can buy an SUV on credit, and SUVs just show that one has shitty, suburban taste in vehicles.

I agree with the sentiment of, "Don't assume someone's an idiot because he does physical labor". But it shouldn't take a fucking ugly hunk of metal to make someone learn that. If you actually go out and talk to people who aren't like you, you learn that there are some extremely intelligent people in blue-collar labor by, I don't know, high school at the absolute latest.

[JackFr]

Thanks for reading my comment in the most argumentative way possible! Yes, pedantically pointing out that owning (or leasing) a car beyond ones means is both possible and foolish, while claiming to agree with the main point but then belittling it anyway by declaring it obvious -- that's why I keep coming back to HN.

What I learned from you today, is that I'm the real asshole, because I keep coming back and reading this crap.

[sliverstorm]

SUVs just show that one has shitty, suburban taste in vehicles.

You make an impressive number of assumptions! SUV's have plenty of use outside of suburbia, and perhaps a gardener (who likely drives a truck for work) might want his personal vehicle to have space for transporting the odd lawn-mower or towing ability to move his work trailer, should his work truck be in the shop or what have you. You know, things that a gardener might feasibly do, that a Tesla Roadster cannot.

[beachstartup]

> Any idiot can buy an SUV on credit

i take the point that you hate cars, but this isn't actually true.

[michaelochurch]

I don't hate cars. I hate when people buy unnecessarily large, unsafe, and environmentally irresponsible cars as a status symbol.

[beachstartup]

guessing you've never had to drive around with a bunch of gardening equipment, or potted plants, or bags of soil, or take a crew of 5 out to lunch.

[talmand]

My step-dad didn't graduate high school. He was a mechanic since he was around fifteen and when it came to things mechanical in nature he was one of the smartest guys I've ever met.