Author: Eric Peters

Trucks continue to get bigger – what buyers seem to want – while their engines get smaller, which is effectively a function of what the government demands, as the downsizing of engines is one of the ways for the car companies to reduce the fuel consumption of the vehicles so equipped. Which they have to do – not because buyers of trucks (or even most cars) are demanding fuel economy uber alles but because the government refuses to accept that lots of buyers care about other things uber alles. So the government mandates the fuel economy they’re not particularly interested in, in order to force buyers to be … Continue reading →

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Air conditioning has become standard equipment because there’s no longer an alternative way to cool off the passenger cabin. Cars used to come standard with under-dash vents you could open up to get airflow – and, of course, wing vent windows. This made a car without AC livable and even comfortable as well as less expensive, since you could go without the cost of the then-optional AC and the higher cost of feeding the car, since AC is a power accessory that results in more fuel being used as well as a heavier car, which will also burn more fuel. As Inspector … Continue reading →

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Air conditioning has become standard equipment because there’s no longer an alternative way to cool off the passenger cabin. Cars used to come standard with under-dash vents you could open up to get airflow – and, of course, wing vent windows. This made a car without AC livable and even comfortable as well as less expensive, since you could go without the cost of the then-optional AC and the higher cost of feeding the car, since AC is a power accessory that results in more fuel being used as well as a heavier car, which will also burn more fuel. As Inspector … Continue reading →

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The death of the perpetually tardy Model 3 may ultimately have less to do with it being an overpriced electric car than with something even more lethal to its chances . . . It’s a too-small sedan. Electric or not, they aren’t selling. Even the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord – both of them just redesigned – are experiencing sales dips. If these formerly perennial hot-sellers are in trouble, it’s a clue that something is seriously awry with this kind of car rather than any particular car. Others are spiraling toward the ground at freefall speed, like a plane with both wings shot … Continue reading →

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Electric cars are a great deal  . . . when you get someone else to pay for them. This appears to be the only way to convince anyone to buy one. BMW recently offered a $54-per-month lease deal on the i3, its $44,450 (to start) electric car. BMW is literally paying people to take one off their hands – and for those who do, it’s one hell of a bargain. BMW is not the only company selling electric cars this way. They are all being sold this way. Every single one of them is a money-loser . . .  for those making … Continue reading →

The post How To ‘Sell’ an Electric Car appeared first on LewRockwell.

Raising the gas tax – overtly – is politcal TNT. Chiefly because it’s a tax everyone feels, every day – and it’s an extremely disproportionate tax already. About 50 cents per gallon – which amounts to a roughly 20 percent tax added to the cost of every gallon of fuel. The government makes (takes) more money off each gallon than the Evil Oil Companies earn from the sale of each gallon. Yes, really. The gas tax is also extremely regressive, in the language of the politically correct. It hits those least able to afford the cost the hardest. So how to raise … Continue reading →

The post The Hidden Gas Tax Cometh appeared first on LewRockwell.

Another Tesla has crashed – and burned. And, killed. Two Florida teens lost their lives on May 9 when the Model S they were traveling in erupted into flames after striking a concrete barrier. As in previous incidents – at least three others – a large portion of the car was quickly and almost completely consumed before the fire was put out. Since Teslas are electric cars and don’t burn gas, this one wasn’t burned to a cinder by gasoline. It was the lithium-ion battery pack that caught fire. This happens when the physical structure of the battery pack is compromised and the … Continue reading →

The post All Fired Up…Again appeared first on LewRockwell.

Five years or so from now, there may be no more cop cars. Vehicles used by cops, certainly. But not cars. These are being retired – in the Bladerunner taking-care-of-the-Replicants sense. Ford just announced they won’t be making the Taurus – which is the basis for the Taurus cop car – for much longer. So there goes that one. The other one is the Dodge Charger, extremely popular with law-enforcers because of its rear-drive layout and powerful Hemi V8 engine. But – savor the irony – the government’s fuel economy fatwas have made it very hard for any car company to continue mass-producing such a … Continue reading →

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Buying a new car is always a bad decision – financially. It doesn’t matter which brand or make or model. You will always lose money. It’s just a question of how much. All new cars bleed value like the Titanic took on water after it hit the iceberg. Even the least-“leaky” ones, from brands with high resale value – Toyotas and Hondas, for instance. Both make great cars – reliable, well-built, etc. But that’s not the issue. Depreciation is. Even the cars which depreciate less horribly than others – those Toyotas and Hondas – still lose about 20 percent of their value during the first … Continue reading →

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The company which first successfully mass-marketed cars will soon no longer be selling any. Well, not many. Other than the Mustang and maybe a version of the Focus, the only “cars” Ford will be selling in the future will be jacked-up cars (crossover SUVs) and a few real SUVs – the ones based on trucks, like the F-150-based Expedition and Lincoln Navigator. But bye-bye Taurus (again; this isn’t the first time the Taurus has been cut from the roster) as well as the rest of Ford’s non-crossover/non-SUV lineup. The reason for the giving up on cars has to do with the giving … Continue reading →

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Oil changes are still pretty simple. But easy is another thing. If you haven’t done one in awhile – to a new car – you might be surprised by how much more complicated the process has become. First, it’s gotten harder to get underneath new cars. Or rather, to get them up in the air, so you can get at things. Driving them up on ramps – as was common back in the day – is often not possible today because the front end of many new cars will push the ramps forward as you try to drive up and on. Or they get … Continue reading →

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High-octane fuel isn’t for every engine. Some engines need it – but others do not. Millions of other engines. Feeding those engines high-octane fuel is a money-waster. High-octane “premium” fuel (which isn’t necessarily of higher quality, just higher octane; more about this in a moment) generally costs about 30-50 cents or more per gallon. If your car’s engine doesn’t require it, you’re spending several dollars more for every tankful – which can amount to several hundred dollars annually – and several thousand dollars over the 10-15 year lifespan of a new car. It’s also a power and mileage waster in cars that don’t need it. … Continue reading →

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It’s been reported that Joerg Kerner, Porsche’s chief of powertrain development, has been SWATTED by armed (German) government workers for suspected “cheating” on the government’s emissions tests. Porsche, of course, is part of the Audi/VW conglomerate and offered TDI diesel engines in the Cayenne SUV. These, too, have been implicated in the “cheating.” Kerner is being held in a cage, sans bail – having been deemed a “flight risk,” according to reports. Three other “suspects” are also being investigated. Earlier this week German prosecutors searched around 10 premises in Bavaria and Baden-Wuerttemberg as well. You’d think someone had been harmed. As … Continue reading →

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Back in high school chemistry, you may have heard the teacher refer to water as the universal solvent. Exactly so. It dissolved a mile of rock at the Grand Canyon, for instance. And it will eventually dissolve your car, too. Your old car, especially. This bears some defining, though. A fifteen-year-old car is an old car – but it’s not an old car for purposes of this discussion. No car built during the past 30 years or so is really an old car, nor will ever be one. Not in the sense that matters. Which is the build quality/body integrity and rust-protected sense. Cars built since about … Continue reading →

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You probably haven’t heard of Paul Elio – probably because his car company hasn’t been the recipient of your tax dollars, nor the prostrate fawning-over of an adulatory press . . . unlike another car company headed by someone with name recognition on par with Coke and Jesus. Paul’s car is simple and inexpensive – projected base price of $7,450. It is extremely fuel-efficient (80-plus MPG) and so makes economic and practical sense – two more reasons why you probably haven’t heard about it. Which is probably why you’ll never get to drive it. The Elio doesn’t meet the criteria which that other company’s cars … Continue reading →

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