HERE'S AN IDEA! LET'S LIMIT FREEDOM! (Boortz)

Nealz Nuze ^ | 5/26/06 | Neal Boortz

[rattrap]

What polls told them people would love $4 gas? People went up in arms and started readying pitchforks and torches when it hit $3

At least this particular brand of Nannystater is more stupid than dangerous.

[SmoothTalker]

Market forces will take care of the SUV fad. Already you see fewer people buying the big ones and a boom of small cars that really drive well. The longer gas prices stay high, the more this trend will continue. And I won't miss the SUV. For the average driver they were pretty stupid. High prices, bad fuel economy, sloppy handling, and acceleration and braking that is worse than a car. There were some who needed the hauling and off road abilities but for 90% of owners these were little more than fashion statements and were a waste of money.

[383rr]

What's this remind you of?
"they want to ban advertising of gas-guzzling SUVs on television [pdf]."

I'm gonna pull the 440 six-pak out of my Roadrunner, and put it in my Durango!
That 318 don't suck near enough gas to piss off all the whiners!
EEEEEEEEEHHHHHHAWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!!

[o_zarkman44]

I love my 2006 F-250. It get the same mileage as the 97 I traded, which is not that great, But like an suv, they have certain jobs to do. When you need the space there is no substitute.
When Cadillac and Hummer and Mercedes started selling their brand of SUV they appeal to the upscale who never seem to care about mileage anyhow. They want comfort and versatility. And they pay for the amenity already. So what?

Market force pressure on SUV's is ok. Government interferance in those market forces is not ok. People should decide when economic forces have reached their limit. Government should not impose artificial economic sanctions on citizens when they cannot lead with similar examples of restraint.

[Pete98]

Yup...of course the liberal answer is that "this is too important to be left to market forces," or some such babble.

[CertainInalienableRights]

I wish the FS station wagon would make a comeback.

Rode like a car, could haul 7-9 people if need be, or could haul 4x8 sheets of plywood and drywall, or tow a reasonable load. Heck, my Dad once filled our sandbox by taking the third row seat out, lining the well with plastic, and filling it with sand.

Those things got better mileage than their contemporary SUVs (Suburbans) too.


I think there's a certain irony here. Station wagons, once popular for families, were killed off as a result of the same people who are now whining about SUVs.

Many SUV's are bigger, heavier, less stable, and get worse fuel economy than the station wagons they replaced. Talk about the law of unintended consequences.

[JamesP81]

And I won't miss the SUV.

Neither will I. I dislike driving SUVs or pickups due to their lightweight rear ends and tendency to skid on wet roads. They are not safe, and if I had a family, they would not ride in one.

The truth is that the safest cars are the compact and mid-size performance vehicles (I am particularly fond of the new generation of V6 powered Nissan Altimas, especially the manual transmission versions. I'll probably be buying one within the next 12 months).

[Dead Corpse]

I've been thinking of picking up another 1969-70 Olds Delta 88 with a 455. It was my High School "hot rod". Purchased originally for $395 with tax and title, I then dumped the better part of $5k into the engine, tranny, and rear suspension. It was cutting 1/4's at around 12 seconds and better than 125MPH. Thing was awe inspiring off the line and my 60' times were nothing shy of dazzling. Doubly so by todays rice-burner standards.

Thing got about 7-8 MPG when you were being nice to the gas peddle. Swapped out the stock 25 gallon tank for a 22 gallon fuel cell when I did the rear tub work on it. Should have just ADDED the second tank as a spare...

[Fiji Hill]

I used to like to listen to Boortz, but as far as I know, he has been off the air in the Los Angeles area for about five years.

[SmoothTalker]

"Market force pressure on SUV's is ok. Government interferance in those market forces is not ok. People should decide when economic forces have reached their limit."

Agreed 100%. And people are starting to conclude that it doesn't make much sense to have a heavy duty vehicle that doesn't drive as well in the suburbs and on the morning commute.

[383rr]

I like your thinkin'
Buddy of mine has a '70 Cutlass with the 455.
Those Olds motors make more torque than a tugboat.

[o_zarkman44]

I once had a 72 Delta 88 with a 455 rocket. Passed everything but a gas station! But the ride was unbeatable, even at high speeds.

These lightweight fuel efficient "shakers" on the road now feel every bump and crush up like a milk carton when wrecked. Bags and belts do little good if the cage is weak. But now we are criminals if we don't wear the belts.

Ths is a matter of personal responsiblilty once again. not government's percieved responsibility to people.

[CJ Wolf]

Sorry James, Altimas are gay.

[FReepaholic]

...I used to like to listen to Boortz, but as far as I know, he has been off the air in the Los Angeles area for about five years. ...

Here's a list of webcasts of the Boortz show:

http://freedomkeys.com/boortzcast.htm

[Ol' Dan Tucker]

In the America of 2006 you don't have to look far to find someone who will tell you of all of the problems we can solve by just limiting freedom with more government controls and regulations.

Glad to see that Boortz is finally getting on board with Bush's plan for America.

"There ought to be limits to freedom"
--George W. Bush, March 1999

[calex59]

Market forces will take care of the SUV fad. Already you see fewer people buying the big ones and a boom of small cars that really drive well. The longer gas prices stay high, the more this trend will continue. And I won't miss the SUV. For the average driver they were pretty stupid. High prices, bad fuel economy, sloppy handling, and acceleration and braking that is worse than a car. There were some who needed the hauling and off road abilities but for 90% of owners these were little more than fashion statements and were a waste of money.

BUT, it is their money to waste and how do you know if they needed an SUV or not? People like you are as bad as any liberal nanny stater.

[Dead Corpse]

Exactly. Even if you swiss-cheese the frame on a 60's-70's era Delta, racing trick to save weight, you'll still probably have more steel in the frame alone than in most modern vehicles.

Holds up a lot better in a crash than plastic and aluminum.

A steel framed vehicle, with todays engineering ala NASCAR crash cages, would make a commuter car nearly indestructible by todays standards.

[SmoothTalker]

"
These lightweight fuel efficient "shakers" on the road now feel every bump and crush up like a milk carton when wrecked. Bags and belts do little good if the cage is weak. But now we are criminals if we don't wear the belts.
"

Just about any new car sold would be quieter and smoother than a 72 Olds at speed and every single new one would be safer.

[Dead Corpse]

If I remember correctly, the 69-70 455 2bbl made 372 BHP and around 475ft/lbs of torque. Upgrade that with ported heads, custom headers, bigger valves, new bumpstick, 120GPH electric fuel pump, Carter Thermoquad, Mallory Comp 9000, H-beam con rods radiused and peened, Clev 77 rings and KB pistons, Offy dual plane intake, 4-row radiator with supplemental tranny cooler, TH-400 reworked with a B&M trans pack, Dana rear shoe-horned with 3:91 Richmond gears. Ubiquitous Mickey-T's and a Comp Engineering ladder bar setup rounded things out. Did all the wrench work myself and I never did run it on a dyno.

Body was shot and spray canned a flat black. I did nothing with the cracked vinyl interior.

Ugly... but very... very... fast.

God I want another one...

[o_zarkman44]

Quieter may be right. Smoother....not. I guess the solid frame of the 72 may not crush and absorb as much crash energy. But the 72 could drive away from 50% more accidents. Fenders bolted on and not welded.

Of course we could apply the current shock and spring technology, where the 72 was limited to the tech of the time. So there is a mixed bag. Some improvements, some not so much better. I find a lot more freedom in a speedometer that goes over 120 mph, even if the capacity is not used. Bad choice? Perhaps? My choice? Definitely.