I was wrong about...

Brett_Murphy (Agent of Chaos) said:

I thought if I worked hard, I'd get loyalty from my employers and they would value me.

I've been wrong about so many automotive things, it doesn't bear reflection. Much of that was misinformation passed down as truth from elders in the scene.

I was wrong about mental health issues being a weakness. That was also a cultural hand me down from the elders.




 

I too thought that hard work, sacrifice ,and willingness  to go the extra mile to be successful.  That success would be job security.  
    Success after success  awards Top salesman of the year, commendations, offers of promotions,  bonuses, etc. Then department management would be changed and the first to be replaced was me.  
     My whole career  was like that.  It would take me 7-10 years to be hired, work my way to the top, have management change and out I go. 
      All except the last go around which the recession of 2008 killed my career.Thank you very much Economy:-( 

 Actually that complaint gives the wrong impression.   I've been very successful through my life.  Achieved the things I sought. Enjoyed the fruits  of my efforts. 
In hindsight I wouldn't change a thing.  

I thought I could rebuild an engine myself with no oversight and have it run first crank of the key.

That one led me down a real dark journey.  Glad I got past it.

In reply to Mr_Asa :

On my first it wouldn't run because I put the distributor in 180degrees out. 

When that was pointed out to me it ran, but without oil pressure. Yes, I left the oil pump driveshaft out.

With that fixed it ran really well for about 35 miles before throwing the rod I probably didn't torque correctly. 

#learning

I was wrong about being a Toyota-only guy.

I was wrong about being a Japanese-cars only guy. European stuff can be awesome!

I was wrong about it being better to spend years/decades learning/mastering/refining one chassis/platform and shunning all others. I'm not saying that approach is wrong, but it I'm not sure it is obviously better.

I was wrong about starting with the cheap cars and making them awesome/all-conquering over years/decades with an endless build as I slowly saved/built/fabricated one part at a time. It turns out the project that 15-years-ago me thought would have been awesome 15 years ago might not still be relevant with today's me, today's world, and today's goalposts!  Sometimes it is worth selling something you own now, or responsibly borrowing as a bridge to buy what you really want today, rather than deciding you can save the cash today and build it over the course of the next several decades for less.

I was wrong about motorcycles only being for the young and foolhardy; in fact, they become really amazing as one gets more mature and a bit more wise.

I was wrong about life lasting a long, long time, with a nearly endless future ahead of us.

I was wrong about EVs; in fact, they are awesome!

If I knew I was going to live this long,

I'd have taken better care of myself.

I saw an EV in the 1990's at DeAnza College set FTD!

After pondering this question I don't even know where to start with the things I've been wrong about but the below nails it for me in the big picture 

This from ae86andkp61 (Forum Supporter) :

I was wrong about life lasting a long, long time, with a nearly endless future ahead of us.

In reply to Datsun310Guy :

Welcome.  60 is the new 40.  Or so I’ve been telling myself. 

In reply to 11GTCS :

It stops working as you approach your mid 70's. Back in my 60's I  worked one of those actuarial tables and my projected life was 84.  
  I did a couple others and all the answers were similar.   Since  the pandemic average age of a male dying has been reduced  to 69. 
 I keep telling myself I'll outlive projections. I feel plenty healthy and vigorous. So hopefully I will. But I've already outlived my father by 25 years and  I'm coming up to where my Grandfather  passed. So I may be wrong.  

Karacticus said:

My grandfather's line was always that he was wrong that one time he thought he made a mistake. 

Sounds like my wife, haha

I never thought I'd like the taste of coffee. 

"I'll keep this car forever".  Well, my forever was 22 years.

"I can afford to go road racing."  That ended after about 3 years.

"XXX was the worst president of my lifetime."  Each new one since Reagan seems to prove me wrong.

"I'll never use a Smartphone or things called apps".  Do I even have to explain?

"I'm healthy because I'm not overweight."  Here, enjoy your  AFIB.

"I'll never drive an automatic."  3 out of 4 in the current fleet are slushboxes. And I'm cool with that.

"Working at a big insurance company is a safe career."  Been downsized twice.

Toyman! said:

In reply to AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) :

I was probably 16 at the time. You know how those 16 yo beliefs are. 

 

Yeah.... 16 year old me said he would never buy a car with fuel injection, or made after 1973 (big bumpers suck!), or a small block engine.

My FIRST car, a couple months before I turned 18, was a big block '72.  My second car, shortly after turning 19, was a four wheel drive Subaru wagon. For my 20th birthday I bought an '80 RX-7...  It has been downhill ever since

For fun cars, I owned all Fords and all Mustangs for a long time and then a few Miata's.   It turns out there are lots of fun cars and even wrong wheel drive (front wheel drive) can be a lot of fun.  

I was also wrong about the past three years.  I knew it would be bad and stupid, but I never envisioned all of the ways it would be awful and stupid.  Watching society be destroyed for a whole lot of nothing is awful.  Watching people that should be working together fight anyone that doesn't agree with their propaganda is the worst.  

About people being generally good and trying to do the right thing.

Turns out the majority of people just are attempting to get away with whatever they can 

Antihero said:

About people being generally good and trying to do the right thing.

 

Turns out the majority of people just are attempting to get away with whatever they can 

Man that is rough if true.  It might be.  I can't discount it completely.  I prefer to think it's mostly a small group of people that screw things up for everyone though.  

AnthonyGS (Forum Supporter) said:

Antihero said:

About people being generally good and trying to do the right thing.

 

Turns out the majority of people just are attempting to get away with whatever they can 

Man that is rough if true.  It might be.  I can't discount it completely.  I prefer to think it's mostly a small group of people that screw things up for everyone though.  

I wish it wasn't true but recently many things have pointed to it being true