Autosanity|Just another WordPress weblog

Ok - relax, Autosanity.com isn’t turning into a political blog. Not even close - this site is for cars and things car-related.

But, I’m concerned at the direction our automotive freedoms would take if the Messiah (Barry Obama) & friends are elected to lead America.  If this happens, look to Europe for examples, guidance and a shoulder to cry on.

Thanks to the wisdom and insight of the Founding Fathers that gave us the U.S. Constitution , the Bill of Rights, and all of the other amendments that followed over the years, we Americans have had freedoms that no other people on earth have ever enjoyed. And, thanks to great leadership by example, and gallons of American blood over the years, more people around the world are not enslaved by their governments than ever before.

Now, let me get back to my concerns. The basic premise of the  leftists (re:Marxists)  running for office now (Barry Obama & friends) is to steal your freedoms of choice, and replace them with the heavy hand of government intrusion at every level of life. All for the benefit of your “security” and “safety.”

You ask, “What does any of this have to do with my car?” Plenty, as it turns out. You may not realize this, but you’ve been giving up your automotive freedoms - in return for “safety”, little by little, over the past 40 or so years. For example;

• Environmental Protection Agency. Sets arbitrary fuel efficiency and emissions standards for passenger cars since 1970 among other duties.

• Department of Transportation. Gave us the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. This agency has taken as a primary task to set safety standards for automobiles sold in the U.S. since 1970.

In return for some measure of safety, these two big governmental agencies (among many others), staffed by unelected bureaucrats, have been successful in stealing your right to choose. And, some unintended consequences of this heavy-handed big-government intrusion into citizen’s rights have been very costly over the years.

Thanks in no small part to American ingenuity, the damages have been limited to the shrinkage of the U.S. auto industry to the lowest level ever - under 60% of the total car market in the U.S., and the most expensive car prices in history. The list of negatives fills much more room that this small article can cover.

I believe that we should be able to choose cars that are unsafe, or cars that are not fuel efficient. Or choose to buy super-safe or super-efficient cars. I have faith in market-based solutions - not unelected bureaucrats controlling which cars I can buy - and which ones I can’t. History shows, time after time, that people make much better choices than government.

Which brings me back to this election. The radical Democrats have as their goal to steal away as much of your freedom in the name of safety and stability - in all areas of your life.

Do not give away any more of your precious freedoms in return for security, for as Benjamin Franklin said, “People willing to trade their freedom for temporary security deserve neither and will lose both.”

Vote for freedom this election - McCain-Palin, and all conservative Republicans in your locality.

Do you find yourself getting shivers of excitement down your spine as you pass a gas station selling regular unleaded at less than $3.20 per gallon?

I can say, with a straight face, that seeing gasoline at this price (or below) can make me forget that my investment portfolio is down 40% for the year. Really!

Never mind that about a year ago, any price higher than $2.70 a gallon would almost make me shudder to think about spending $30 to fill the tank. What a difference a year makes.

Just yesterday, I saw a Conoco station at $2.99 a gallon! I would’ve turned on a dime & dribbled a few dollars of that cheap stuff into my tank were it for the fact that I just filled up at the screaming-deal of a price of $3.21 per gallon the day before!

I’ll be driving on fumes with a stupid grin on my face in about a week looking for the $2.75 gas, and thanking the stars above that I was lucky enough to find it!

Happy motoring!

Many of us may have seen the advertisements vowing to show you how to  “Run Your Car on Water,” for a fee, of course.  We all know that water will not propel your car - as gas prices keep rising, this is one of the latest in internet money-scheming ideas.

I’ve written a couple of articles giving more detail to the supposed mechanics of the system and why I believe it to be a true scam (click here) (click here) so I won’t go into the gory details again. I’d like to use this editorial page to warn readers about this scam, and to point out, once again that any money spent on these kits (or information) will be wasted. I’ve been following another interesting blog on the subject - one of the very few who is willing to tell the truth - take a look here.

This is another public service announcement here at Autosanity.com. Thanks for listening.

Ok - just one more car-search story, only because I think the point is very important, short & sweet. ALWAYS be honest and candid when selling your car. If you’re not 110% brutally forthright in communication with your potential customers, you’ll damage the the developing seller/buyer relationship, creating distrust that can easily make a no-sale. And, don’t insult your potential buyer’s intelligence (give them SOME credit - they’re looking at your car, aren’t they?) by using disingenuous tactics to drum up interest in a decidedly ho-hum vehicle.

For example, I emailed a seller on Craigslist about a Ford Taurus sedan that looked like it would fit the bill. No phone number was included, so I asked for contact information - a phone number. The car was local and to see it, I would need to get in touch with the owner. And here was the reply:

“I’ve received several offers so far - I’ll be showing the vehicle tonight and tomorrow night to a couple potential buyers - pending the outcomes - I’d be happy to show you the car.  I’ll let you know ASAP

One more looking-for-a-car story and hopefully the last one (or one of the last) you’ll see for a while. The theme may be familiar, but the lesson here is worth illustrating. It was so obvious that I couldn’t pass up the opportunity. I really hope that my family can decide on a car here shortly. But until then, I’ve just got to tell another sad story of what NOT to do when trying to sell your car.

We looked at a super nice Mercury Sable this weekend. Now, I understand that a Sable (twin to a Ford Taurus) might not be considered a really desirable set of wheels, but it fits our needs and a  nice example can be obtained rather cheaply. Judging from prior experience, they seem to be screwed together fairly well and we should get lots of quality usage over the years. The gas mileage is good for a larger car, the trunk is positively cavernous, and in this age of three-ton yee-haw monster trucks roaming the highways, some extra heft (your car) can be a good thing. Plus, since it isn’t a highly sought after Japanese brand, a shopper can be a little more relaxed when seeking this Detroit iron.

This Sable, owned by the proverbial little old lady, was immaculate - a real creampuff. Good color, the right options and obviously very well cared for. When my wife and I arrived at the address to see the car, it was sandwiched in the driveway between a couple of other cars. My first thought was that it was going to be a pain to get the car out for a test-drive. We met the owner and her son-in-law and proceeded to participate in some polite chit-chat - yes, she was the original owner, all service performed strictly to Ford’s direction, no accidents, yada, yada. Popped the trunk, all four doors, looked at the engine twice and listened to it run. Yawn, - nice, but when are we going to get to the meat and potatoes here - how does it run on the road? I could see we were going nowhere quick when the son-in-law started talking about his roof repair over the weekend, so I mentioned something about taking it for a test-drive. “We canceled the insurance on it, so you could take it up and down the cul-de-sac, if you want to,” stated the son-in-law. “But that’s it.” The cul-de-sac was a couple hundred feet long, at best. I couldn’t believe my ears - “That wouldn’t tell me much - we need to get it up to 60mph, make sure the trans shifts, etc. I blurted out.” I don’t think I got a direct answer. The owner said “I’d really like to sell it,” as I think she realized the mistake. Her son-in-law was completely clueless as he kept jabbering about something I quickly forgot. The fact of the matter: Nobody is going to fork over the cash without a thorough test drive. We then politely bid goodbye and drove home.

This is a very simple proposition - if you’re selling a car, make it VERY available and accessable for examination, test-drive and all. Keeping insurance on the car for an extra month or two is pretty cheap compared to a no-sale. Even the over-priced, rough Mercedes station wagon was parked outside, on the street, ready for take-off. We didn’t even have to ask for the keys - the owner shoved the keys in my face and said “take it for a drive.” What the people with the Sable didn’t know, if we COULD have taken it for a drive, if all was satisfactory, we were ready to talk dollars right there. We may be back towards the end of the month - that’s when the license plates expire.

As many of my readers know, I have a teenage driver in the family now. Mary has an after-school job and my wife (and myself, mostly) think that it would be a good idea to have a third car available to her, mostly for the  convenience. Something cheap, older and mid-size, as I’m not part of the pay-anything-for-a-small-car-crowd quite yet. And, surprisingly, some of the mid-size cars we’ve been looking at get pretty good gas mileage (up to 25 highway) and top out at around $3000. So, we’ve been looking, mostly on craigslist for something that would fit the need. Here’s what we’ve seen so far;

• 1984 Mercedes Diesel Wagon. This was my find - I’ve always dreamed of sitting behind the big steering wheel and watching that three-pointed star lead the way. Admittedly, this one was always a longshot just because of the advanced age and built-in quirky-ness of an older car.  Not really interested in the biodiesel stuff, I thought it would be cool to have a turbo-diesel, and if it came in a wagon - even better! It turned out that this one was pretty rough (needed most interior electrics repaired), wouldn’t shut off when the key was turned off, had no records and the owner was asking a premium for the car. Definitely a non-contender when we discovered the a/c didn’t work. Me: This is Colorado, we don’t need air conditioning here! Still, it did drive like a dream, plenty of power (surprise) and it’s built like a tank. It’s still for sale, and if the price comes down, I could be persuaded. I’ll keep you informed.
• Various small sedans and wagons. I’ve already written about the Ford Focus Wagon - ’nuff said. I’ve been pretty unimpressed with over-priced, bottom-feeder Saturns, Geo Metros and super high-mileage Japanese cars (those with 200k+ on the odometer) that are in our price range. My theory on the state of the small car market today - like most any “rush” of the last few years, stock market (2001), housing (2006), this fad will peter out too. Either gas prices will retreat a little, when the US decides to drill for some oil, or folks will just get used to the higher prices for gas and go on with life. Either way, I figure, that in the long run, these super-premium prices for small cars can’t go on forever. What comes up, must go down. And, most important, the financials behind a purchase must make economic sense - panic buying never works out over time.
• Plain-Jane mid-sized sedans or wagons. We’ve been pretty happy with our Ford products (Taurus Wagon, 123,000 miles, Windstar Van, 130,000 miles) so we’ve neen looking for something similar - With about 100k miles - or less. The wagon is getting 20 mpg in town, reliability has been good (knock on wood), and the supply of replacements is looking good. Note: 20 mpg may not sound fantastic, but a smaller car with an automatic transmission that gets 25 mpg in town is selling for a big premium - in the $2k range. You can still buy a lot of gas for $2k. I think that if we find a creampuff in this category that’s priced right, we may have a new set of wheels before long.

Of course, any car we buy will be all CASH - never a payment. And it’s got to be a really good deal. They’re out there - if you’re not desperate and are willing to look around a bit. Stay tuned.