Author: Eric Peters

One of the many problems with electric cars is that places to “refuel” them are neither convenient nor common. You can plug in at home, but that’s slow (it takes hours to resurrect a wilted battery this way) and it means you are at home. Not somewhere else. A car is supposed to take you to other places – not be umbilically tied to an outlet in your garage. There are “fast” chargers (the rent-seeking King of Crony Capitalism, Elon Musk, calls them “Superchargers”) that can partially juice up a battery in just six or seven times the time it … Continue reading →

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Well, at least they aren’t sending us to camps… yet. That’s probably next. One thing does follow another, like dominos. The logic of it being as inexorable, ultimately, as gravitational pull. So I ought not to be surprised that GM has pulled its panties tight and told me I will no longer be granted access to GM press vehicles because of the article (this one) I wrote a few weeks back about GM’s retiring Vice President of Diversity, the right reverend Dr. Eric Peterson, LLD, DDS. Well, GM hasn’t said it’s because of that. Sort of like not mentioning the … Continue reading →

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Automotive good ideas gone bad range far and wide – whether it’s a classic  fail like the exploding Pintos of the early ’70s – or a late-model train wreck like the Pontiac Aztek. Here are ten automotive atrocities that will be remembered for as long as the warranty claims (and class-action lawsuits) linger: * The entire American Motors Corp. (AMC) lineup – From dreadful dreadnoughts like the malformed Matador to demented detritus like the Gremlin and Pacer, no other automaker ever managed to build such a seemingly endless conga line of bizarre, poorly conceived (and often, poorly built) cars within such a short … Continue reading →

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Downsizing is no longer the answer, apparently. Of engines, that is. You may have noticed. Even big vehicles come – increasingly – with startlingly small engines. Two-point-oh liter fours, for example, have become the go-to engine in mid-sized cars like the BMW 4, the Cadillac ATS and Mercedes C. These cars used to come standard with sixes in the 3-liter-ish range. Several new cars (Ford Fiesta, Mini Cooper) come with three cylinder engines of less than 2 liters’ displacement. All have turbos to increase displacement (on demand) in order to maintain the power/performance levels car buyers want while also delivering … Continue reading →

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Downsizing is no longer the answer, apparently. Of engines, that is. You may have noticed. Even big vehicles come – increasingly – with startlingly small engines. Two-point-oh liter fours, for example, have become the go-to engine in mid-sized cars like the BMW 4, the Cadillac ATS and Mercedes C. These cars used to come standard with sixes in the 3-liter-ish range. Several new cars (Ford Fiesta, Mini Cooper) come with three cylinder engines of less than 2 liters’ displacement. All have turbos to increase displacement (on demand) in order to maintain the power/performance levels car buyers want while also delivering … Continue reading →

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In the video below, a guy is stopped for a “license check” – that is, a random and probable cause-free interrogation and inspection – which by definition is unreasonable and so ought to be unlawful but isn’t anymore because of a despicable Supreme Court ruling that effectively rescinded the Fourth Amendment’s protections. The armed government worker conducting the random interrogation and search then proceeds to violate laws still in force. The man stopped asks whether he is being detained, whether he is under arrest. The armed government worked answers no to each but when the man asks whether his is free to … Continue reading →

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Gold may not have the high rate of return that the casino called Wall Street offers … to insiders. But it is one way to store value – and that accounts for its popularity among people who may not get rich quick but manage to avoid becoming poor. Used cars are another great way to transmute depreciating paper money into a durable asset that – like gold – is portable and fungible (i.e., easily converted into other things of value). The government has inadvertently created a bull market for them, too. First, it decreased supply via the infamous “Cash For Clunkers” program … Continue reading →

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Since they can’t sell people on electric cars, the next best thing is to outlaw internal combustion-engined cars. In order to force people into electric cars. The German Bundesrat (their version of our Congress) just passed a bipartisan agreement toward that end. The legislative details have yet to be worked out, but the idea is to impose a comprehensive ban on the use of cars powered by internal combustion on not just German roads but all European Union roads as well. By 2030 – just 14 years from now. This is supposed to curb “climate warming emissions,” in particular carbon dioxide, says … Continue reading →

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Why can’t you just buy a new car? I mean, without the middleman. Without having to go through a dealer? You can buy almost anything else directly – including very big ticket items like a house. It’s not illegal, in any event, to buy most things this way. Buyer and seller. Just the two of you. But with new cars, it’s different. There are three of you. The manufacturer of the car, the dealership (a franchise of the manufacturer) and then you. It is actually illegal in most states to buy a car directly from the company that made it. Laws … Continue reading →

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Elon Musk’s SpaceX rocket recently had trouble getting off the ground – well, in one piece – and it’s an awfully long way to Mars. There’s also an awful lot of money involved. Taxpayer money. Hundreds of millions of dollars in government contracts. Which Musk hopes to wrangle for his Space Pinto – er, SpaceX rocket. It’s the ballistic version of his Tesla electric car. Both seem to have issues with catching on fire. And burning through cash. Houston, we have a problem.  Maybe that’s why SpaceX is shopping conspiracy theories that “someone” (hinted-at rival for government payload payola United Launch Alliance) … Continue reading →

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Diesels are coming back. Just not VW’s diesels. The German automaker, if not kaput, has tapped out of that market to focus – mea culpa! – on electric cars (which will render the company kaput, if they’re serious). Which means there are currently no affordable diesel-powered new cars available on the market, as VW was the only automaker selling them. Now it looks like GM will be selling them. Except maybe not. The affordable part, I mean. Why are the most advertised Gold and Silver coins NOT the best way to invest? There are at least two on deck – a … Continue reading →

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There are men’s – and women’s – clothes. Different cut, different colors, different emphasis. No one sane complains that either derogates the other. If anything, the opposite. Women’s clothes make women look better; men’s also. It’s kind of the point. They are tailored to fit their different bodies and different preferences. Because the sexes are not the same. Either physically or – generally – in terms of their respective preferences. Products are routinely designed and marketed to appeal to one or the other, which makes sense if the object is to… er… sell them things. Most men won’t be interested … Continue reading →

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The best expenses are those you can skip. Here are several ways to save money you don’t have to spend on your car: *”Premium” gasoline – I italicize the word for a reason. It’s a marketing trick. “Premium” implies better. But Premium gas is defined by something else – its octane rating. Octane is a measure of a fuel’s burn rate or – put another way – its susceptibility to ignition (combustion) as a consequence of pressure and heat (rather than spark).  High octane gas is more resistant to ignition from pressure and heat; this is important in a high-compression/high-performance engine. You … Continue reading →

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It’s that time of year – almost. You will likely be reading – and hearing – about how to make the best of it when the flakes begin to fall. I won’t recycle the boilerplate recommendations about all-wheel-drive (not really that much of an advantage) or suggest you buy a set of snow tires (I’m assuming you’ve thought of that). I’m figuring you might like some useful tips. Things you may not have read – or heard about – before. Here goes: * Make sure your AC is in good working order – It might not sound silly – it’s cold … Continue reading →

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What are speed limits, exactly? I know … a number on a sign. Exactly.  But why pay any attention to them? I mean, assuming there isn’t a cop around? They’re not much use as far as advisories about the maximum safe velocity for a given road. If they were, then everyone (just about) wouldn’t be driving at least that fast. Probably, they’d be driving slower. If speed limits meant anything substantive, that is. Like the redline on a tachometer, for example. That is a real limit. Most people do not run their engines at or even near redline for more … Continue reading →

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