Mexican Mechanic

I don't know why Mexicans think this joke is funnier than Canadians and Americans, maybe its funnier in Spanish - but here goes.

As you know the German automakers are moving factories into Mexico. The Mexican branch sent over a mechanic to the Germany Mercedes plant for some technical training, etc.

While he was there the German engineers were discussing a problem with the new electric hybrid cars. The problem was that in Europe, and many parts of Mexico, the roads are very narrow and are shared with pedestrians. The electric cars were so quiet that people couldn't get out of the way - there were many injuries. So the engineers proposed an electronic device which hummed to various sound effect in relation to the speed of the car. Well the office people were worried about the cost - the cost would be $500 U.S. per vehicle they said. The Mexican mechanic says "I can fix that for under $1 US." "Not possible" replied the engineers. So the mechanic pops off one the hubcaps, throws in a handful of old bolts, puts the hubcap back on -"Problem solved!".

That sounds like something Tom and Ray Magliozzi would suggest. Not really a joke but still pretty clever---and based on a prank that's as old as cars with hubcaps.

George