I have a German made car (actually my particular car was made in Finland) that I keep garaged and only drive occasionally. The other day a message informed me of a sensor failure. Not important I thought. I'll just buzz on down to my friendly dealer's "service adviser" and drop off the car for a quick repair. I could grab one of their free cappuccinos at the same time. In mid afternoon my service adviser, "tony", called me up to say that the repair was going to be a bit more than anticipated. It seems rodents had devoured a part of the wiring harness through which electrons pass between the engine and the computer that controls virtually everything. I had to ask Tony to repeat because I wasn't prepared to hear the word "rodent." So I didn't grasp the gravity of the situation until he repeated "RODENT" and tacked on the estimated repair charge, ~$4K. That would not include the extra $400 charge to have the harness fabrication in Deutschland expedited. He graciously gave me the option of otherwise waiting approximately a month for its delivery. Now in fairness, and I do want to be fair, the engine in my car is not were you would normally find an engine, and consequently my "technician" -- there are no mechanics at my dealer, just "technicians" trained by elves in Stuttgart-- would have to be young and limber because he was going to have to take the engine out to replace the wiring harness, and then, I presume, but it back in.
My adviser, besides offering to work with my insurance company, also allowed as how this sort of thing is surprisingly common, and it seems my particular car, in a very environmentally friendly manner, is assembled using a soy product, a.k.a. Rat bait, as a wiring insulator, and then the whole package is served up with a dressing of peanut oil as a lubricant to aid in assembly. My insurance company, when I called them, allowed that wiring harnesses are a common epicurean delight for rodentia, but seemed a bit nonplussed when I slipped the estimated repair cost into the conversation.
Later, after half a bottle of Saint Francis, old vine Zinfandel, I decided to research the matter on the net. I discovered that Rat Bait has been used as wire insulation by VW, Porsche, and Audi since roughly early 2000s and that Honda and Toyota also joined the environmental movement at some point. (Now I ask you, if you're a Rat, how lucky can you be!) I also learned that thousands of these meals are being served to mice, rats, chipmunks and squirrels every year and that the manufacturers of these dinner parties are perfectly happy with the arrangement. Only Honda, it seems, has altered the menu by offering a capsaicin impregnated outer warp as a palliative measure after serving up a second helping of your car's wiring. My Googling also turned up many a sad tale of repeat dinners being served up by the same car. Apparently the replacement wiring harnesses are just as delicious as the originals.
It seems some testy dinner hosts are cooking up a class action suit, which at its heart is going to ask these tree hugging, car makers why they insist on serving such expensive fare. This could amount to billions of dollars, but in whose pockets? If you are thinking of buying a new car, particularly the brands I mentioned, may I suggest you inquire whether dinner is about to be served. Also it might be well to avoid taking an equity position in any of these companies, until they stop using edible wiring. The repercussions could approach those seen by Takata who brought us shrapnel producing air bags.
My adviser, besides offering to work with my insurance company, also allowed as how this sort of thing is surprisingly common, and it seems my particular car, in a very environmentally friendly manner, is assembled using a soy product, a.k.a. Rat bait, as a wiring insulator, and then the whole package is served up with a dressing of peanut oil as a lubricant to aid in assembly. My insurance company, when I called them, allowed that wiring harnesses are a common epicurean delight for rodentia, but seemed a bit nonplussed when I slipped the estimated repair cost into the conversation.
Later, after half a bottle of Saint Francis, old vine Zinfandel, I decided to research the matter on the net. I discovered that Rat Bait has been used as wire insulation by VW, Porsche, and Audi since roughly early 2000s and that Honda and Toyota also joined the environmental movement at some point. (Now I ask you, if you're a Rat, how lucky can you be!) I also learned that thousands of these meals are being served to mice, rats, chipmunks and squirrels every year and that the manufacturers of these dinner parties are perfectly happy with the arrangement. Only Honda, it seems, has altered the menu by offering a capsaicin impregnated outer warp as a palliative measure after serving up a second helping of your car's wiring. My Googling also turned up many a sad tale of repeat dinners being served up by the same car. Apparently the replacement wiring harnesses are just as delicious as the originals.
It seems some testy dinner hosts are cooking up a class action suit, which at its heart is going to ask these tree hugging, car makers why they insist on serving such expensive fare. This could amount to billions of dollars, but in whose pockets? If you are thinking of buying a new car, particularly the brands I mentioned, may I suggest you inquire whether dinner is about to be served. Also it might be well to avoid taking an equity position in any of these companies, until they stop using edible wiring. The repercussions could approach those seen by Takata who brought us shrapnel producing air bags.
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Sooo...
