I’ve written previously about the add-on cost of government-mandated “safety” equipment such as multiple air bags and (most recently) stability control, tire pressure monitors and (soon) back-up cameras and (very possibly) in-car Breathalyzers, too. It’s hard to pin down the exact per vehicle cost of these things – chiefly because they’re not listed as...
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In Medieval times, supposedly, there was a punishment called “death by a thousand cuts,” designed to make the process as long and as painful as possible. In modern times, the state does what amounts to the same thing to our finances – and thus, to our financial security – via a tower of taxes...
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Gas is at $4 per gallon already - and it’s just barely spring. By summer it could easily be $5 (or even more) and that reality is is behind a reboot in the popularity of small, high-mileage cars. In the past, though, most small, high-mileage cars sucked – even if they didn’t suck much...
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Car salesmen are dirtbags – right? They’re not well thought of, at any rate. But the truth is they’re just salesmen and working the system – which is what it is. And it’s the system that’s cheesy, far more so than the people at the very bottom of the pyramid – the salesmen. These...
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Christmas is only hours away now. Maybe Santa will leave one or two of the following things under the tree… * Lower gas prices - Unleaded regular is creeping back up to $3 per gallon and in many areas of the country is already higher than that. Given the flood of Fed funny money,...
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A few weeks back, before the weather turned to schiesse, took my old Pontiac – a 1976 Trans-Am – to a local old car show. The old disco machine is pretty reliable – even though it is approaching 40 years old. But it is pushing 40 years old and stuff does go wrong with...
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Burnouts - It is still possible to light up the tires, but there’s more involved than just stomping on the gas pedal. First, you usually have to turn off the traction control – which exists to prevent you from doing burnouts. As soon as the tires begin to slip, the electronic brain instantly pumps...
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A few years ago I decided to get a concealed-carry permit so that (among other things) I can keep a loaded handgun with me in my car. Part of the application process included a state-mandated gun safety course – and a talk by a Va. state trooper about legal and other issues related to...
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As we watch the slow-motion train wreck that is the dying U.S. automotive industry, it’s easy to blame the economic situation for the debacle. And it’s certainly a contributing factor. Or more precisely, an accelerating factor. It has made matters worse – and faster. But there has been little discussion of the overcapacity issue...
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The sudden demise of the Catalina convertible in 1972 left Pontiac with just one capital ship convertible in its inventory – the mighty (but short-lived) GrandVille. It was basically a two-door version of the GrandVille sedan, which was now Pontiac’s top-of-the-line full-size car, taking over for Bonneville. It had the same wheelbase (126 inches)...
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