> In a message dated 97-07-12 19:12:34 EDT, you write:
>
> << Given that machines always do break down no
> > matter who builds them, it is not unreasonable that a vehicle would
> > break down after an interstellar flight and entering our atmosphere.
>
> Why? In general the more advanced our commercial vehicles get the more
> reliable they are, if properly maintained. >>
>
> (this is my cue.).
>
> To support your case you might consider my situation....I drive a 91
> Freightliner FLD 120....currently it has 1,058,402 on the odometer...
So you've gone a million miles at or around 55 mph. Ever broken a
fanbelt? A radiator hose? a valve or valve lifter? I know the U-joints
on the drive shafts of those babies tend to go...
Ever get stuck in the middle of nowhere with a breakdown?
>>
Er...welll.....yeah.. as a matter of fact I'm in the shop in Medford Oregon
right now with a bad water pump..Everything you mention I've had
fixed...sometimes several times...(But I don't average 55..I avoid Ohio like
plauge)
The point of my post was to illustrate that commercial vehicles DO rack up
some miles....not to intimate that they do it maint. free. (I wish!!! I
average $750 a month in maint.)
And I traverse the desert rather regularly...the Southwest is my stomping
grounds...Mojave at 125 degrees...even the rattle snakes are panting....but
my ole freight shaker just keeps on trucking (so far)
EvMick