Author: Eric Peters

Do state-mandated “safety” inspections ensure a “safe” car? On the day of the inspection, sure. The tires are ok, the brakes check out. Fine. But what about next week? And six months down the road? Aye, there’s the rub. Literally. Things like tires and brakes – and windshield wipers and suspension components – wear out over time because of friction; i.e. because they rub up against something and as a result of that, they wear down. It’s a gradual process and a differential process; different  parts wear at different rates. Brake pads might last 50,000 miles or more. Or half as long. It depends … Continue reading →

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It is increasingly tempting to just go for it. Scratch that. It is increasingly reasonable to just go for it. Traffic stops are not what they once were. The fines have become disproportionate, abusive – hundreds of dollars for crimes-agains-no-one such as “speeding” and not having various government stickers, all of them up to date. Many people cannot afford to pay these fines – not to mention the additional fines they face in the form of higher car insurance premiums, which they’re forced to pay as much as any court-ordered fine. These premiums are already so high – even before they go higher, based on the … Continue reading →

The post Chancing It appeared first on LewRockwell.

Car journalist were – once upon a time – car guys. They were not Safety Nags, indistinguishable from Ralph Nader or Joan Claybrook. Today, they are indistinguishable. Might as well be Ralph. Or Joan. Keith Crain, for example. He is the editor of Automotive News – which isn’t really. It would be more accurate to style it, Automotive Hate – because Crain doesn’t much like cars or driving them. He likes saaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaafety. And wants more of it to be mandated. Automated emergency braking, for instance. This is technology which uses radar or other proximity sensors to detect another car or object within the orbit of a vehicle; … Continue reading →

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There must be a rube in the House. A recent Republican who does not understand how the game is played – much less why it is being played the way it is played. He and perhaps some of his fellows not-yet-initiated publicly wondered why the federal government is underwriting the sale of luxury-performance cars that happen to be electric. It is a curious thing. They suggested rescinding the $7,500 tax inducement which the government has been using to “help” electric car manufacturers like Tesla, which sell electric cars that start around $40,000 and which emphasize not economy but performance and style and technology. Some might look … Continue reading →

The post No More Electric Gravy? appeared first on LewRockwell.

Lee Iaccoca gets blame – or credit – for the 1981-1989 Dodge Aires and Plymouth Reliant K-cars, but unlike the minivan, this one’s really not his fault. He simply took the ball and ran with it. Though Iaccoca touted the virtue of K-cars aggressively once on board as Chrysler’s newly installed chairman (after having been fired by Henry Ford II), the K-car had been in development since the late 1970s. Management realized that battling the surge of high-quality Japanese imports with vinyl-roofed Volarés and Cordobas decked out in “rich, Corinthian” leather probably wasn’t cutting the mustard. These weren’t bad cars, … Continue reading →

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Lee Iaccoca gets blame – or credit – for the 1981-1989 Dodge Aires and Plymouth Reliant K-cars, but unlike the minivan, this one’s really not his fault. He simply took the ball and ran with it. Though Iaccoca touted the virtue of K-cars aggressively once on board as Chrysler’s newly installed chairman (after having been fired by Henry Ford II), the K-car had been in development since the late 1970s. Management realized that battling the surge of high-quality Japanese imports with vinyl-roofed Volarés and Cordobas decked out in “rich, Corinthian” leather probably wasn’t cutting the mustard. These weren’t bad cars, … Continue reading →

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Here’s a video taken of another “hero” law enforcer who makes up “the law” on the spot! A guy is filming the publicly visible exterior of a police station from a public sidewalk – which is (for the moment) abundantly legal – when he is approached by two confrontational “heroes” who – of course – demand his ID, Soviet-style. Not because the man is committing a crime – but because he is challenging the authority of the “heroes.” It is time, therefore, for a Dominance Display. The fact that this sort of thing is has become routine in the United States says a lot about … Continue reading →

The post Cop Says ‘Suspicion Is a Misdemeanor’ appeared first on LewRockwell.

There’s a new reason for buying an old car. It’s not nostalgia, it’s not a love for classic lines – though those still come along for the ride. It’s a desire to drive something without all the stuff new cars come with. To be free of the hassle, expense and Big Brotherism of new cars – which for many of us has passed an Event Horizon of tolerableness. Enough. There’s got to be some kind of way out of here. And, there is. Old cars – the really ancient ones, those built before the early-1980s – do not have computers or fuel injection or … Continue reading →

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I’ve been accused of being unfair to Tesla, that I am infected by personal animosity toward Musk (true; I loathe rent seekers) and a general dislike of electric cars (not true; I merely dislike the way subsidies have distorted the market for them). Buy Gold at Discounted Prices Well, here’s some owner testimony for you. This guy bought a new Model S – an $80,000 car. He was champing at the bit to get the keys. He most definitely did not have any ax to grind. Listen to what he has to say about his car: This does not bode well for Elon … Continue reading →

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The ’60s Twilight Zone TV series specialized in the thought experiment – the what if? And the what the hell, too. It’s becoming like this on the road – and in our cars. Bizarre and contradictory exhortations; injunctions to not do this – while that (as bad or even worse) is treated with inexplicable leniency. Let’s take a trip into the Zone – and have a look at some of these things: Speed limits – A better example of the abuse of language would be hard to find. Because speed limits are nothing of the sort. They are, in fact, the minimum speed for any given road. To … Continue reading →

The post Automotive Anomalies appeared first on LewRockwell.

New York City is probably the least car-friendly place in the United States. Its streets are perpetually gridlocked and garage fees cost more than rent in other parts of the country. Most people who live in the city don’t even own cars and regard them as an occasionally necessary nuisance. Mostly, they hail a cab. Or they walk or take the subway. So it makes perfect sense for a major car company to relocate the headquarters of its luxury division there. Right? Well, yes – in a way. The new way. GM’s way. Which is not to sell you a car. Nor for you to own one. … Continue reading →

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In just seven years’ time – unless Trump does something before his four years are up – the average fuel efficiency of the average car will have to almost double. From 35.5 MPG (now) to 54.5 MPG by 2025. So reads the fuel economy fatwa issued by Trump’s predecessor. No matter how much it costs, no matter what it takes. To put this in perspective, as of 2018, there is only one car available that is capable of meeting the 2025 “goal” – as these forced-on-us things are styled: It is the Toyota Prius Prime plug-in hybrid. Nothing else comes close. Well, except electric … Continue reading →

The post Obama’s Auto Time Bomb appeared first on LewRockwell.

Ralph Nader made his name “exposing” the design defects (as he styled them) of the Chevy Corvair. Leaving aside the fact that what he styled a “defect” was really more a difference – the Corvair was rear-engined and nose-light and so handled differently than the overwhelmingly front-engined and ass-light American cars that drivers of the time were used to, especially when tire pressure recommendations were not adhered to – the relevant thing is that he was cheered – deified – for “exposing” a supposed problem with the car. Ditto all the other “consumer advocates” who followed in his slimy wake. Well, where are they now … Continue reading →

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Most people don’t know that the term, politically correct, has its origins in Stalin’s Soviet Union. Back then, it meant more than just excommunication from the Party. It often meant excommunication from this veil of tears – a la Trotsky, via an icepick to the head. Well, it may come to that here as well. It is certainly headed that way. Of all things – and of all places – the car business has become hag-ridden by politically correct orthodoxies and while the penalty for running afoul of these is not yet NKVD thugs bashing in your skull, it is serious enough. About year ago, I wrote … Continue reading →

The post The Auto Industry Goes Left appeared first on LewRockwell.

Well, no – it’s not what you thought. This column isn’t about Caitlyn (nee Bruce) Jenner. It is about your car’s transmission. About pros – and cons. And about how to make it last as long as the rest of the car – whether you go automatic or manual. Which is more important than it used to be because of the stupefying cost to rebuild – or more often, replace – a late-model car’s transmission. In some worst-case scenarios, it can cost as much as the car is worth. Or close enough to what the car is worth to make … Continue reading →

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