Yeah, me too. I think I first started reading and posting here in '97 or so. I mostly come back when I'm in the market for a new car so a long time might go by for me between sporadic bursts of posting. (1998 was when I bought my Jeep Grand Cherokee, bought after reading up on it and other comparable vehicles here.)
When they changed the software I couldn't get in under my old name (had forgotten the password and switched e-mail addresses) so I signed up again as Bianca R. That's how I've been posting for many many years now. Mostly whenever I'm ready to shop for something new.
Thanks Fezo for that. I knew about the software issue in 2000 and that Isell was here before that-that`s why I said -before 2000 as I was not sure about the exact year.. But boy from 1997 onwards -that`s 13 long years..
And hats off to all you folks for sticking here so long !!! :P
I grew up in a town that had a large Italian community so I can relate to your story which you did a good job of telling.
I was one of the few kids in elementry school whose last name didn't end in a vowel. These were my friends and most of their parents were from the old country.
I know how Italians react to things and, yes they taught me the bad words.
Some of them made theri own wine which is called a politically incorrect name.
When a batch of wine went bad it wasn't a good thing and the bad language would flow both in Italian and in broken English.
Sadly, most of the first generation are now gone and most of their kids have moved away.
If you dated an Italian girl, you better behave yourself! I was always afraid to.
My Uncle kept that car for what seemed like a decade.
Guess he didn't want to risk buying another car. I don't recall being drunk, not since being over 20 years old, but even if I was, I would never, ever, ever, buy a car without my wife knowing that I was buying a car or what kind of car I was buying.
However, that is of course a different generation, when those things happened all the time. Guess, women got the right to vote, then the right to help choose a car.
My wife came up with the idea we should get similar makes and models so they are interchangeable, we will know how the wipers, lights, radio buttons etc work on each others cars. That was actually good input, it actually works out quite well.
GG, that was a great story, and told in your classic great storytelling way.
Maybe putting a note on their windshield would help, "I am looking for a beater to use as a 2nd car. Will give you $500 cash for your car. Call ---------------."
I know a guy who is incredibly obsessive-compulsive about his older BMW; he never takes up multiple spaces, but he does park it as far away as possible from other cars. At a local BMW Club chapter meeting someone slipped a note under the wiper of the guy's car that read, "I'm so sorry I ran into your car. I can't afford to have it fixed but I just wanted to tell you bad I feel about it." The victim found the note and the rest of the club members let him examine his car for nearly an hour before they let him in on the gag...
Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport-2020 C43-1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica
Wife's: 2021 Sahara 4xe
Son's: 2018 330i xDrive
Yeah but give me a couple of years. Retirement will give me a reason to get up in the afternoon!
I have a standing argument with a friend who is a sunrise nut. My theory is God likes those of us that are allergic to morning. That's why he gave us sunsets.
2015 Mazda 6 Grand Touring, 2014 Mazda 3 Sport Hatchback, 1999 Mazda Miata 2004 Toyota Camry LE, 1999.
Sounds like something that happened to my aunt many years ago. My sister and my mom rented a cabin for a week in southern Wisconsin with my aunt. I went up there the first weekend they were there just for a day (it was maybe 4 hours away) to spend some time.
Now my uncle also decided to stop by as the lake was maybe just over an hour away from where him and my aunt lives. Now my uncle was pretty much a professional in much the same way as Fred Sanford was a professional so my aunt and uncle had to live a more fugal live.
However my uncle shows up in a brand new pickup truck that he went out and bought after my aunt left for the lake. Now you want to hear yelling you should have heard my aunt who hadn't had a new car in 10 years.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
However my uncle shows up in a brand new pickup truck that he went out and bought after my aunt left for the lake. Now you want to hear yelling
Isell, didn't you say that you couldn't understand why a man had to bring his wife in with him before he buys a car? Wake up for your first answer since being officially retired.
Craig....I'm getting a mental picture of a guy like you, probably of fair skin and hair, since you're family tree stems from the Northern climes, mixed in with a bunch of dark skinned, dark hair, loud Italians. You must have felt like you were on a different planet.
Nothing would have pleased my parents more than for me to hook up with a "nice Italian girl". Matter of fact, during my high school and college years, they did their damnedest to hook me up with a bunch of them. Nothing wrong with them. Just seemed as if I was more taken with the blond, blue eyed species. Nice women....actually they were all quite beautiful, as they all had that "Mediterranean look". Can't explain it, but I always seemed to gravitate towards the blond, blue-eyed variety. Plus, I knew how domineering Italian women could be (I grew up with it). That was never something I wanted.
snake.....while there was never any doubt in my own family that my Father more or less "ruled the roost". During his later years, he became much less frugal. He bought really nice cars. But, he always made certain he bought my Mother a car that was just as nice, if she wanted it. As a family, we never took vacations, per se. Only one I can remember as a kid was going to Toronto (drove, of course) to attend a relative's wedding. Another was a Catholic religious retreat my Father pitched to us as a vacation 4-5 hours away from where we lived (not even close).
After all of us kids were out of the house, my Parents traveled quite a bit....mainly, back to Italy.
If my Mother wanted something, my Father would buy it for her. There wasn't much in the way of discussion. Plus, our family was probably more "Americanized" than any of the other Italian families I grew up with. My Father always insisted that we weren't "Italian-Americans", but just "Americans". He was very proud of his new found home here in the U.S.
"Father always insisted that we weren't 'Italian-Americans', but just 'Americans'".
If your father's attitude prevailed today, America would be more united and stronger. Also, your father earned the right to be here. That is a lesson that needs to be learned today. I'm glad that your father came here. He gave us GG.
Isell, Congrats on your retirement. I am a long way away from doing that, but can only imagine how nice that will be when the time comes. Now if my 401k ever recovers.
GG,
Great story. I am Italian too, and my Grandfather was the first of his family to be born in America (the youngest of 7 brothers/sisters). I can relate to your story, as I was told similar stories from my Grandfather and Uncles/Aunts. It was very difficult for those entering this country at that time.
Your story reminded me of a similar one I heard as a kid (perhaps an urban myth, but certainly plausible).
The story goes: a person who is parking their car smashes into the back or front end of a car parked nearby. It's a busy lot or street so there are many witnesses in the area. So as not to arouse suspicion, the offender gets out of their car and proceeds to write a note, presumably containing their name, phone # and insurance information which they affix under the windshield wiper allaying the concerns of interested bystanders. Later, the smashed car owner returns finding the note, which states, I've just run into your car and have no intention of contacting my insurance company or paying out-of-pocket cash for your damages. Have a great day.
Of course, that was in an era where you might expect someone to be decent enough to make amends. I get the campus police reports for my school. The majority of infractions involve parking fender benders. I would say 50% or more are hit-and-runs. :sick:
I used to share a studio space with a colleague at a small college in WI. He was roughly 25 years my senior and was born and raised in WI. He was Norwegian through-and-through, but loved to poke fun at his heritage. He's dead now, but a few of his observations stay with me:
Sometime after WWII, his mother tried to expand his father's food palate by using some "Italian" herbs. Nope, dad just wanted salt and pepper and none of that other fancy stuff.
I asked my colleague to describe Norwegian food. He thought about it for a few seconds and said "white food on white plates" (Lutefisk and Lefse?).
He came from Stoughton, WI , which had and has a substantial Norwegian community.
Have you ever seen a movie called Sweetland. It's about a Norwegian farmer and his mail order bride? It takes place right after WWI.
I'll bet your father learned English quickly too and I know they didn't cater to him by printing goverment forms etc in Italian.
My grandfather came from Italy in 1911 to work in the copper mines in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Those mines have long since been mined-out, but tourists can visit and see how those miners worked. For a sparsely settled area, this was a real melting pot of Italians, Finns, Serbs, Croats, Welsh, and others.
Safety information posted on the large bulletin boards, which you can still see today on the tours, was in at least 8 different languages.
My grandmother attended Mass at the local Catholic church. Services were in Latin and/or Italian.
The local grocers had fliers in Italian and Finnish, at minimum, and I think in other languages too. There were several different ethnic newspapers available from the early 1900's until at least the 1930's, maybe longer.
It is nothing new for civic and governmental organizations to use languages other than English to reach the local community.
Just had a question in the financing new vehicles discussion that seemed super-obvious, but it'd be great if a few of you could hop over and make sure I didn't mis-read, or mis-state!
MODERATOR /ADMINISTRATOR Find me at kirstie_h@edmunds.com - or send a private message by clicking on my name. 2015 Kia Soul, 2021 Subaru Forester (kirstie_h), 2024 GMC Sierra 1500 (mr. kirstie_h) Review your vehicle
Craig....my parents did speak Italian when they didn't want us kids to know what they were saying. me, my sisters picked up bits an pieces......enough to converse with other relatives. But, not fluent as both my parents were.
That all stopped when a nun from our school told my parents that speaking two languages at home hinders development of kids at school. Looking back, that nun couldn't have been more wrong. Being versed in more than one language is a benefit, not a detriment.
However. English is our country's language. Learn it. Read it. Speak it. Write it. That's just a basic in becoming part of our society. Any bi-lingual, tri-lingual, etc ability is just icing on the cake.
Kind of a stretch, but I see car dealerships who advertise that they speak languages that are different than English. That's all well and good. But, when it comes down to signing loan applications, making sense of a complex transaction like buying/trading a car, the buyer is at a distinct disadvantage by not speaking, reading, writing English.
Back in college I was dating a woman who was Estonian. Her parents fled during WWII. Her mom had died the year before we met but her dad was around.
The two of them used to get in arguments when I was around and they'd flip into Estonian which might as well have been Martian for all I knew. I'm sure he still thought in Estonian though he could navigate his way in English.
I imagine my grandmother might well have still thought in Italian.
2015 Mazda 6 Grand Touring, 2014 Mazda 3 Sport Hatchback, 1999 Mazda Miata 2004 Toyota Camry LE, 1999.
Except I'm involved more in internet marketing and site inventory updating than selling so I don't have many stories to share lately.
Furthermore, I tend to skim this discussion as I end up being busy and sometimes they'll be 1 hour of posts here for which I don't have the time lately. At home I don't go online much because I like to spend my time with my 7 month old son.
Plus most of you posters who contribute here are retired/close to retired with cushy nest eggs I'm in my early 30s and want to retire early so I need to focus more on making money than on surfing the net and that's another reason I haven't been contributing much lately.
Madmanmoo is selling Porsches I think but he just had a baby a month or two before me so maybe he's busy with his family too.
The Mazda dealership story. The Sales Manager should have been canned too because he's the one that has a final say in the deal. It's actually the Sales Manager that builds the deal and the price and gets the Salesperson to present it. Any fat deals that happen the owner gets to know about them too right away, so I'm sure the owner who fired the two employees knew about this deal and didn't stop it or reverse it before getting caught.
And I agree with others about this lady. If she's so heavily medicated then she shouldn't be driving, let alone making major purchase decisions. And why did it take her 4 months to realize something was amiss?
Also I was right in saying that the $66k price quoted does include interest charges that would be paid over the term of the loan. That's normal and should even be an issue. So the only issues should be that they sold her a demo without disclosing it, and that they overcharged her for mop-n-glo.
Isell - I skimmed the Odyssey prices paid forums (due to a Answers/Questions inquiry about the "Hogan" method of car buying) and found that posting, and totally agree with you that it's customers like that who make you not want to be in the business. The guy's method is to email for best price and once that's done, email for another round of quotes asking if they can beat an artifically low quote (lower than the lowest received). I mean the method gets the job done, but it's grinders like that who just end up wasting salespeople's time asking for a "best price" and then using it to get a better than best price. For a dealer, there is absolutely no incentive to give out a best price if a second request comes around asking for yet another quote. Not to mention wasting a salesperson's time on a test dirve and not giving them the first chance to make a deal. Good thing that people like this account for a very small percentage of buyers/time wasters. Best price requests like this that are not genuine (I can tell by how they're written and worded) end up in the garbage right away.
at a point in the past, Cherokee was the most commonly spoken language. the demographic of the united states is changing, as it always has. Europeans are becoming a smaller percentage of the population.
2024 Ford F-150 STX, 2023 Ford Explorer ST, 91 Mustang GT vert
Hmmm....there are many, many times when I wish that many of the so-called "English-speaking Americans" could actually write and speak better English than they do.
houdini....I do a fair amount of international business. Whenever I travel to a different country, I always hire a translator, even though my contacts usually speak English (in varying degrees). I speak, read and write "passable" Italian, depending on dialect (that's probably being too generous on my part). Unfortunately, that's the language I use least while traveling to Europe for business. I speak passable Spanish. Can't really read nor write it though.
The rest (particularly Portuguese in Brazil), give me fits, as does French (mainly used in Montreal). Spanish and Portuguese are the two I wish I was better at. Matter of fact, I'm thinking of pulling out some greenbacks to spend on those "Rosetta Stone" courses. I believe it would help in my business dealings since I do business in Mexico and Brazil.
Therein lies the key. If you're in the U.S., and you expect to be successful, the very first thing you should do if you've arrived here from a different country is to learn the language. If you refuse (and I know quite a few Italians who have been here for decades and refuse to learn English), you'll get the menial jobs, making the least amount of money. You have no reason to [non-permissible content removed] if that's the case. Same is true for those who were born here, but can not, will not, refuse to, learn how to speak, read and write proper English.
The single biggest advantage one person can give themselves is the ability to clearly communicate, articulate, express whatever message they're trying to convey.
Yeah, you had better do a lot of checking. My facts say that 82% claim English as their dominant language, 10% claim Spanish. So you can get used to it.
PS- grandtotal, I see that you have removed your post claiming that Spanish was the main language in the U.S. Wise choice.
Amen! I've been teaching English on this thread for nearly three years. :P Some posters have improved, but some have been slow learners. The most common error has been the use of "you're" for "your". One of my favorite posters still confuses "advice" and "advise". Greenpea was my star student. He actually kept a notebook and would correct his errors. Still, you have to love them all. They are good boys with big hearts, Compared to other sites, these guys do very well. They have even corrected me at times.
I no longer do many corrections. I promised one of my favorite posters that I would ease up on the "grammar stuff". After all, the posters come here to relax, share information, and have a bit of fun. My corrections were done in good humor. The guys were really tolerant about it. I just want them to write well so that other posters understand the messages. As I said, they do a good job. Even Explorer will use his capital letters at times.
Also I was right in saying that the $66k price quoted does include interest charges that would be paid over the term of the loan. That's normal and should even be an issue. So the only issues should be that they sold her a demo without disclosing it, and that they overcharged her for mop-n-glo.
What? The media manipulating a story to make it more sensational that it really is? I'm shocked! :P
Call me what you will but I think if someone decided to come to the U.S. that they should learn to speak English. But, I guess why should they bother when we make it so easy for them not to?
I'm probably better qualified than most people on this board to talk about this since I was born in Mexico and came here for college. My thoughts? I agree! If you come here, learn English.
I just got a sample ballot (California) and it's in both English and Spanish. That is wrong. There is now an English proficiency requirement to become a US Citizen, but it's a joke. I don't remember what sentence I had to read, but the one I had to write was along the lines of "The red car is nice."
My philosophy is that coming to this country is akin to coming to somebody's house. There are rules in that house. If you don't like it, that's fine ... the door is right that way.
Oh, and to bring it back on topic, something really pissed me off recently. I heard an ad for an Insurance company in a Spanish radio station. Its big pitch was that they could insure you even if you didn't have a license! :sick:
I really appreciate your perspective. We are in total agreement. Seems like just plain old common sense to me. I grew up in San Pedro by the way.
I'm in Sacramento. I can't even imagine how bad it is in Southern California.
At my college graduation, I met my friend's parents. They came from Cuba a long time ago (my friend was born in the US). His Mom didn't speak English, even after living in the US for 20+ years. :sick:
Yeah, I was going to give that Hogan guy both barrels but I thought better of it.
I wish you had. Since the introduction of "Hogan's Method" has come out, sales of the "Jipst Method" has been plummeting.
Maybe it's just my area, but I just don't see anyone getting great price quotes solely by using e-mail. Also, all the testimonials on the "Hogan Method" smelled a bit fishy... or maybe I'm just jealous.
I really didn't care for all the hypocrisy... saying how bad dealerships are for lieing, then advocating lieing to get the best price. Bad form. :sick:
Every year, I take a trip back to my hometown. I meet up with a half dozen or so friends from high school. One go/s back to Kindergarden. We drive around the old haunts and lament the changes. Changes that were bound to happen.
We drove down to Cabrillo Beach and we walked down the breakwater. The smells and sounds were the same and childhood memories came flooding back.
It was a nice weekend day and we were the ONLY people there who were speaking to each other in English. Times have changed.
" You can go back to the same PLACE but you can't go back to the same TIME"
On a car note, the parking lot was loaded with 1948-1954 Chevies!
"Call me what you will but I think if someone decided to come to the U.S. that they should learn to speak English."
Isell--
Agreed, but let's not go as far as the state senator (or was it representative) of that grand state to my south, Texas. When debate for a vote on bilingual education was announced he proudly got up and proclaimed, "If English was good enough for Jesus, it should be good enough for the rest of us." What better proof do we need that a little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing!
The single biggest advantage one person can give themselves is the ability to clearly communicate, articulate, express whatever message they're trying to convey.
OK I can take a hint. I guess it’s time for me to leave this forum. Just remember, no more buying tales from this guy.
jmonroe
'15 Genesis V8 with Ultimate Package and '18 Legacy Limited 6 cyl
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When they changed the software I couldn't get in under my old name (had forgotten the password and switched e-mail addresses) so I signed up again as Bianca R. That's how I've been posting for many many years now. Mostly whenever I'm ready to shop for something new.
And hats off to all you folks for sticking here so long !!! :P
I was one of the few kids in elementry school whose last name didn't end in a vowel. These were my friends and most of their parents were from the old country.
I know how Italians react to things and, yes they taught me the bad words.
Some of them made theri own wine which is called a politically incorrect name.
When a batch of wine went bad it wasn't a good thing and the bad language would flow both in Italian and in broken English.
Sadly, most of the first generation are now gone and most of their kids have moved away.
If you dated an Italian girl, you better behave yourself! I was always afraid to.
Speaking as a good Italian girl - yup!
My dad had passed on by the time I was a teenager, but the values still held. I was expected to date boys who knew how to behave like gentlemen.
Not that I always did, mind you, but the expectation was there.
Guess he didn't want to risk buying another car. I don't recall being drunk, not since being over 20 years old, but even if I was, I would never, ever, ever, buy a car without my wife knowing that I was buying a car or what kind of car I was buying.
However, that is of course a different generation, when those things happened all the time. Guess, women got the right to vote, then the right to help choose a car.
My wife came up with the idea we should get similar makes and models so they are interchangeable, we will know how the wipers, lights, radio buttons etc work on each others cars. That was actually good input, it actually works out quite well.
GG, that was a great story, and told in your classic great storytelling way.
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
I know a guy who is incredibly obsessive-compulsive about his older BMW; he never takes up multiple spaces, but he does park it as far away as possible from other cars. At a local BMW Club chapter meeting someone slipped a note under the wiper of the guy's car that read, "I'm so sorry I ran into your car. I can't afford to have it fixed but I just wanted to tell you bad I feel about it." The victim found the note and the rest of the club members let him examine his car for nearly an hour before they let him in on the gag...
Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport-2020 C43-1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica
Wife's: 2021 Sahara 4xe
Son's: 2018 330i xDrive
This is very true in my case. Thanks again.
I have a standing argument with a friend who is a sunrise nut. My theory is God likes those of us that are allergic to morning. That's why he gave us sunsets.
Obviously you have never off-roaded a Rover - it really is a Jeep rescue vehicle.
Land Rovers may be quirky and they may be troublesome and expensive to fix but they can go places and do things a Jeep couldn't touch!
Not even close.
You obviously missed all those beautiful sunrises that I've seen through my years as a morning person. :grin
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Now my uncle also decided to stop by as the lake was maybe just over an hour away from where him and my aunt lives. Now my uncle was pretty much a professional in much the same way as Fred Sanford was a professional so my aunt and uncle had to live a more fugal live.
However my uncle shows up in a brand new pickup truck that he went out and bought after my aunt left for the lake. Now you want to hear yelling you should have heard my aunt who hadn't had a new car in 10 years.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
They always think of themselves don’t they?
jmonroe
'15 Genesis V8 with Ultimate Package and '18 Legacy Limited 6 cyl
Isell, didn't you say that you couldn't understand why a man had to bring his wife in with him before he buys a car? Wake up for your first answer since being officially retired.
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
Nothing would have pleased my parents more than for me to hook up with a "nice Italian girl". Matter of fact, during my high school and college years, they did their damnedest to hook me up with a bunch of them. Nothing wrong with them. Just seemed as if I was more taken with the blond, blue eyed species. Nice women....actually they were all quite beautiful, as they all had that "Mediterranean look". Can't explain it, but I always seemed to gravitate towards the blond, blue-eyed variety. Plus, I knew how domineering Italian women could be (I grew up with it). That was never something I wanted.
snake.....while there was never any doubt in my own family that my Father more or less "ruled the roost". During his later years, he became much less frugal. He bought really nice cars. But, he always made certain he bought my Mother a car that was just as nice, if she wanted it. As a family, we never took vacations, per se. Only one I can remember as a kid was going to Toronto (drove, of course) to attend a relative's wedding. Another was a Catholic religious retreat my Father pitched to us as a vacation 4-5 hours away from where we lived (not even close).
After all of us kids were out of the house, my Parents traveled quite a bit....mainly, back to Italy.
If my Mother wanted something, my Father would buy it for her. There wasn't much in the way of discussion. Plus, our family was probably more "Americanized" than any of the other Italian families I grew up with. My Father always insisted that we weren't "Italian-Americans", but just "Americans". He was very proud of his new found home here in the U.S.
Trying to claim that you’ve got a little American Indian in ya too. Talk about being messed up. :confuse:
He was very proud of his new found home here in the U.S.
Sounds like my grandparents; both sides.
jmonroe
'15 Genesis V8 with Ultimate Package and '18 Legacy Limited 6 cyl
If your father's attitude prevailed today, America would be more united and stronger. Also, your father earned the right to be here. That is a lesson that needs to be learned today. I'm glad that your father came here. He gave us GG.
Richard
My father came here from Norway when he was 16. He had 300.00 in his pocket.
He became a naturalized citizen and learned English. He never lost his traditions but he became part of the "melting pot" that made America strong.
Not like what is happening today.
Jmonroe, yes my Genesis is the V6 Cabernet. Those pictures hurt to look at. However, look at this post from another forum... downright painful.
My Genesis hit my Z06
Isell,
Congrats on your retirement. I am a long way away from doing that, but can only imagine how nice that will be when the time comes. Now if my 401k ever recovers.
GG,
Great story. I am Italian too, and my Grandfather was the first of his family to be born in America (the youngest of 7 brothers/sisters). I can relate to your story, as I was told similar stories from my Grandfather and Uncles/Aunts. It was very difficult for those entering this country at that time.
2025 Ram 1500 Laramie 4x4 / 2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic
I read that thread. OUCH !!!
I’m glad I’m not paying his insurance rates.
jmonroe
'15 Genesis V8 with Ultimate Package and '18 Legacy Limited 6 cyl
Your story reminded me of a similar one I heard as a kid (perhaps an urban myth, but certainly plausible).
The story goes: a person who is parking their car smashes into the back or front end of a car parked nearby. It's a busy lot or street so there are many witnesses in the area. So as not to arouse suspicion, the offender gets out of their car and proceeds to write a note, presumably containing their name, phone # and insurance information which they affix under the windshield wiper allaying the concerns of interested bystanders. Later, the smashed car owner returns finding the note, which states, I've just run into your car and have no intention of contacting my insurance company or paying out-of-pocket cash for your damages. Have a great day.
Of course, that was in an era where you might expect someone to be decent enough to make amends. I get the campus police reports for my school. The majority of infractions involve parking fender benders. I would say 50% or more are hit-and-runs. :sick:
Gogiboy
I used to share a studio space with a colleague at a small college in WI. He was roughly 25 years my senior and was born and raised in WI. He was Norwegian through-and-through, but loved to poke fun at his heritage. He's dead now, but a few of his observations stay with me:
Sometime after WWII, his mother tried to expand his father's food palate by using some "Italian" herbs. Nope, dad just wanted salt and pepper and none of that other fancy stuff.
I asked my colleague to describe Norwegian food. He thought about it for a few seconds and said "white food on white plates" (Lutefisk and Lefse?).
He came from Stoughton, WI , which had and has a substantial Norwegian community.
Have you ever seen a movie called Sweetland. It's about a Norwegian farmer and his mail order bride? It takes place right after WWI.
Gogiboy
My grandfather came from Italy in 1911 to work in the copper mines in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Those mines have long since been mined-out, but tourists can visit and see how those miners worked. For a sparsely settled area, this was a real melting pot of Italians, Finns, Serbs, Croats, Welsh, and others.
Safety information posted on the large bulletin boards, which you can still see today on the tours, was in at least 8 different languages.
My grandmother attended Mass at the local Catholic church. Services were in Latin and/or Italian.
The local grocers had fliers in Italian and Finnish, at minimum, and I think in other languages too. There were several different ethnic newspapers available from the early 1900's until at least the 1930's, maybe longer.
It is nothing new for civic and governmental organizations to use languages other than English to reach the local community.
Uh oh. Lutefisk reference. Can Sven and Olie jokes be far behind?
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That all stopped when a nun from our school told my parents that speaking two languages at home hinders development of kids at school. Looking back, that nun couldn't have been more wrong. Being versed in more than one language is a benefit, not a detriment.
However. English is our country's language. Learn it. Read it. Speak it. Write it. That's just a basic in becoming part of our society. Any bi-lingual, tri-lingual, etc ability is just icing on the cake.
Kind of a stretch, but I see car dealerships who advertise that they speak languages that are different than English. That's all well and good. But, when it comes down to signing loan applications, making sense of a complex transaction like buying/trading a car, the buyer is at a distinct disadvantage by not speaking, reading, writing English.
The two of them used to get in arguments when I was around and they'd flip into Estonian which might as well have been Martian for all I knew. I'm sure he still thought in Estonian though he could navigate his way in English.
I imagine my grandmother might well have still thought in Italian.
Furthermore, I tend to skim this discussion as I end up being busy and sometimes they'll be 1 hour of posts here for which I don't have the time lately. At home I don't go online much because I like to spend my time with my 7 month old son.
Plus most of you posters who contribute here are retired/close to retired with cushy nest eggs
Madmanmoo is selling Porsches I think but he just had a baby a month or two before me so maybe he's busy with his family too.
The Mazda dealership story. The Sales Manager should have been canned too because he's the one that has a final say in the deal. It's actually the Sales Manager that builds the deal and the price and gets the Salesperson to present it. Any fat deals that happen the owner gets to know about them too right away, so I'm sure the owner who fired the two employees knew about this deal and didn't stop it or reverse it before getting caught.
And I agree with others about this lady. If she's so heavily medicated then she shouldn't be driving, let alone making major purchase decisions. And why did it take her 4 months to realize something was amiss?
Also I was right in saying that the $66k price quoted does include interest charges that would be paid over the term of the loan. That's normal and should even be an issue. So the only issues should be that they sold her a demo without disclosing it, and that they overcharged her for mop-n-glo.
Isell - I skimmed the Odyssey prices paid forums (due to a Answers/Questions inquiry about the "Hogan" method of car buying) and found that posting, and totally agree with you that it's customers like that who make you not want to be in the business. The guy's method is to email for best price and once that's done, email for another round of quotes asking if they can beat an artifically low quote (lower than the lowest received). I mean the method gets the job done, but it's grinders like that who just end up wasting salespeople's time asking for a "best price" and then using it to get a better than best price. For a dealer, there is absolutely no incentive to give out a best price if a second request comes around asking for yet another quote. Not to mention wasting a salesperson's time on a test dirve and not giving them the first chance to make a deal. Good thing that people like this account for a very small percentage of buyers/time wasters. Best price requests like this that are not genuine (I can tell by how they're written and worded) end up in the garbage right away.
2016 Audi A7 3.0T S Line, 2021 Subaru WRX
When the California Driver's License Examiners are required to speak Spanish, SOMETHING is wrong!
Like I said, if I ever miss the business, I'll just skim those forums and I'll be O.K.
Good luck to you..keep on pushing!
the demographic of the united states is changing, as it always has.
Europeans are becoming a smaller percentage of the population.
2013 LX 570 2016 LS 460
The rest (particularly Portuguese in Brazil), give me fits, as does French (mainly used in Montreal). Spanish and Portuguese are the two I wish I was better at. Matter of fact, I'm thinking of pulling out some greenbacks to spend on those "Rosetta Stone" courses. I believe it would help in my business dealings since I do business in Mexico and Brazil.
Therein lies the key. If you're in the U.S., and you expect to be successful, the very first thing you should do if you've arrived here from a different country is to learn the language. If you refuse (and I know quite a few Italians who have been here for decades and refuse to learn English), you'll get the menial jobs, making the least amount of money. You have no reason to [non-permissible content removed] if that's the case. Same is true for those who were born here, but can not, will not, refuse to, learn how to speak, read and write proper English.
The single biggest advantage one person can give themselves is the ability to clearly communicate, articulate, express whatever message they're trying to convey.
2013 LX 570 2016 LS 460
PS- grandtotal, I see that you have removed your post claiming that Spanish was the main language in the U.S. Wise choice.
2013 LX 570 2016 LS 460
Call me what you will but I think if someone decided to come to the U.S. that they should learn to speak English.
But, I guess why should they bother when we make it so easy for them not to?
I no longer do many corrections. I promised one of my favorite posters that I would ease up on the "grammar stuff". After all, the posters come here to relax, share information, and have a bit of fun. My corrections were done in good humor. The guys were really tolerant about it. I just want them to write well so that other posters understand the messages. As I said, they do a good job. Even Explorer will use his capital letters at times.
Richard
What? The media manipulating a story to make it more sensational that it really is? I'm shocked! :P
But, I guess why should they bother when we make it so easy for them not to?
I'm probably better qualified than most people on this board to talk about this since I was born in Mexico and came here for college. My thoughts? I agree! If you come here, learn English.
I just got a sample ballot (California) and it's in both English and Spanish. That is wrong. There is now an English proficiency requirement to become a US Citizen, but it's a joke. I don't remember what sentence I had to read, but the one I had to write was along the lines of "The red car is nice."
My philosophy is that coming to this country is akin to coming to somebody's house. There are rules in that house. If you don't like it, that's fine ... the door is right that way.
Oh, and to bring it back on topic, something really pissed me off recently. I heard an ad for an Insurance company in a Spanish radio station. Its big pitch was that they could insure you even if you didn't have a license! :sick:
Seems like just plain old common sense to me.
I grew up in San Pedro by the way.
Seems like just plain old common sense to me.
I grew up in San Pedro by the way.
I'm in Sacramento. I can't even imagine how bad it is in Southern California.
At my college graduation, I met my friend's parents. They came from Cuba a long time ago (my friend was born in the US). His Mom didn't speak English, even after living in the US for 20+ years. :sick:
I wish you had. Since the introduction of "Hogan's Method" has come out, sales of the "Jipst Method" has been plummeting.
Maybe it's just my area, but I just don't see anyone getting great price quotes solely by using e-mail. Also, all the testimonials on the "Hogan Method" smelled a bit fishy... or maybe I'm just jealous.
I really didn't care for all the hypocrisy... saying how bad dealerships are for lieing, then advocating lieing to get the best price. Bad form. :sick:
We drove down to Cabrillo Beach and we walked down the breakwater. The smells and sounds were the same and childhood memories came flooding back.
It was a nice weekend day and we were the ONLY people there who were speaking to each other in English. Times have changed.
" You can go back to the same PLACE but you can't go back to the same TIME"
On a car note, the parking lot was loaded with 1948-1954 Chevies!
Isell--
Agreed, but let's not go as far as the state senator (or was it representative) of that grand state to my south, Texas. When debate for a vote on bilingual education was announced he proudly got up and proclaimed, "If English was good enough for Jesus, it should be good enough for the rest of us." What better proof do we need that a little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing!
Gogiboy
OK I can take a hint. I guess it’s time for me to leave this forum. Just remember, no more buying tales from this guy.
jmonroe
'15 Genesis V8 with Ultimate Package and '18 Legacy Limited 6 cyl
Lairs? :confuse:
Isn't the quote "Buyers are liars but salesmen are professionals!" :P