@āRod Knoxā
As for Rand Paul . . .
Some months back, he publicly stated there was a link between immunizations and autism
For personal reasons which I wonāt get into, I find that statement deeply offensive
He is an MD and should know better. Besides, it was proven 100% that the people that originally established that link a few years back fudged their data, because they wanted a certain outcome. They even admitted to falsifying the data. Never let the truth get in the way of a good story, I guess
To keep it car related . . . I couldnāt care less what any of the candidates drives.
Are liberals expected to drive a Tesla, because it ādoesnāt polluteā . . . never mind any pollution that is generated during construction, design, delivering the cars to the showroom, etc. . . . ?!
And are conservatives expected to drive a made in USA Silverado . . . ?!
Iām pretty liberal, but even Iāll admit that guys like Al Gore are a big disappointment. Worse than a disappointment, actually. Heās literally a sellout
Iāll go so far as to say that Al Gore has no relevancy and credibility at this point. Just like Ralph Nader.
Just to be fair to the other side, I also think people like Sarah Palin have no relevancy and credibility at this point. But for completely different reasons.
āI couldnāt care less what any of the candidates drives.ā
Not to butt in but I donāt care what they drive either but I do care that they at least DRIVE. Something wrong with someone that doesnāt drive at all in this country and doesnāt even bother them. Man, when I was away from my car for a few months, the first thing I wanted to do is get out and hit the road.
How on earth did this turn into a discussion of politicians? My personal opinion is that they all serve the people or groups that give them the funds to get (re)elected and not the constituents they are elected to represent.
All right, howās this for making politics car-related? You know how the NASCAR drivers have their cars and their jumpsuits emblazoned with all the logos of their corporate sponsors? Make all the elected officials wear patches on their suits with the names and/or logos of their top 5 or top 10 donors. That way, whenever you see one of these empty-headed suits on television, youāll be able to tell at a glance whose interests they are really representing.
āSomething wrong with someone that doesnāt drive at all in this country . . .ā
Youāre being quite judgmental, in my opinion
I like driving just fine, but I wonāt hold it against anybody if they donāt drive and show no interest in driving
I might point out that there are lots of people living in this country, that have never had a driverās license, and arenāt interested in getting one. Normal people with jobs, spouses and children.
I donāt like it when somebody is condemned or judged negatively for not fitting the mold, so to speak
Hypothetically, If somebody doesnāt fit the mold, but is a good person, is law-abiding, gets along with everybody, etc., why should we judge them? :neutral:
Whoops, sorry. I think Iām one of those who characterized the requests to stay on topic as āreprimandsā. I just didnāt take the time to find a gentler word. At my job, a āreprimandā is actually a āgoodā thing, comparatively speaking. It means your boss just verbally fussed with you as opposed to putting paperwork in your employeeassociate file, at a company that is always trying to push its long-time employees valued associates out the door.
I guess I get frustrated because oftentimes I read a thread that is just getting interesting and I want to put my 2 pearls of wisdom in, but I have to decide exactly what Iād like to say or even if its worth saying, and, not being retired, I have to go off to work and by the time I get back here there are already 30 more comments along with a āreminderā to stay on topic, so I miss out on participating in the discussion. . . just as well I guess. Like everybody hereās sitting on the edge of their seats waiting to hear what āEd Frugalā (i.e. some random guy on the internet) has to say. (Sarcasm Intended).
It is fun to read and post here, though I do a lot more reading than posting. You kind of get to feel like you actually know these regulars after awhile. I always think if I ever hit the PowerBall Iād like to arrange for everybody to be invited to an all-expense paid trip to a big cookout / picnic. Itād be like a big reunion full of people whoāve never actually met each other. WTF?
Dont know about that SF,seems like a couple of regulars in particular arent near as prolific as they used to be(plus a few others that are pretty rare now)If somebody has the time or inclination perhaps they could give us some numbers.A few newer ones have stepped up,when the sponsers flee,then the topics may broaden(has anybody besides the few who are pictured donated cars?)
Something wrong with someone that doesn't drive at all in this country and doesn't even bother them
I have at least 10 relatives who live in NYC whoāve never had a drivers license (only one is under 30). NYCā¦thereās no need to drive.
I wonder what kind of car Michael Savage drives. He might have downsized as a result of dismissing the concerns of the families of autistic children. They would seem to be a very solid constituency for a candidate who throws them a few crumbs as he drove by in his soccer mom SUV.
Like cars politics is all about image. And like marketing cars politicians must over state their horse power and reliability in order to gain market share. Americans donāt want the car they can sensibly afford. They want a slam dunk that impresses their neighbors and relatives and intimidates all those road hogs that they must deal with. BTW, does Trump drive a Hummer?
Nobody drives in New York City anymore. Thereās too much trafficā¦
Iād be seriously shocked if Trump drives himself. Iād bet he has a private driver and an armored limo of some sort. Same with the former 1st lady, anybody who is a sitting governor, and possibly some sitting senators as well. Anyone who is that high profile / in a high political position, nowadays, just the security concerns alone would seem to preclude any of these people driving their own vehicles.
I saw on television a few years ago, I think it was āModern Marvelsā, there are companies that take cars like Mercedes-Bens and Cadillacs and armour them up especially for various political leaders, strongmen, and uber-wealthy individuals all around the world.
My brother donated a car, through cartalk
The car was literally an eyesore. Burnt up paint, lots of dents and scratches, it had a vibration so bad the whole car shook. Might have been the balancer . . .
Anyways, he didnāt want to insult anybody he knew by offering the car for free. And weād looked around determined even if we managed to sell it to some sucker, it would fetch $1000 tops. Probably more like $750
Ugly as it was, it was pretty reliable. It never left anybody stranded. During all the years, it never needed an alternator or starter. It also never needed an alignment, unlike some other cars.
But nobody misses it. Ugly aside, it was slow, underpowered, and didnāt get very good fuel economy. Actually quite insulting, considering its small engine.
Yes @āEd Frugalā I recall a story someone here linked about a company that customized Mercedes Benz vans to make them into bullet proof man caves for the Wall St crowd. But in the south and especially in Mississippi every politician must own a pickup truck and a well worn older model is preferable. Four wheel drive would be a plus in some areas. Our statesmen may need a driver for their old pickups if they have manual transmissions though.
@āRod Knoxā
Iāll go off topic . . .
That term āman caveā is getting to be quite annoying 
I know a guy that is reading several books, on how to reclaim his manhood . . . :grimace:
Heās house hunting right now, and whatever house he ends up buying, he wants to turn the garage into his āman caveā 
@db4690 āYouāre being quite judgmental, in my opinionā
Hee hee. Isnāt this like the no comment comment? Funny. Iām judging how judgmental you are being. Yeah its called being opinionated. I admit it.
Come on now. This is Car Talk, not farm talk, or rural health talk, or city living talk. We like, own, drive and repair cars. We are concerned about cars. Its important to me that people we elect also have some interest in cars such as EPA, roads, taxes, etc. Someone who doesnāt drive to me is suspect for having any interest in the vast transportation and car issues in this country. Look around at all the cars (not taxis and buses) and it would be a big missing piece in my view. Remember when Blush was asked about the price of milk and had no idea what it was or how to operate a bar code scanner in the grocery store? It said a lot about how insulated these folk are from the daily activities of a lot of us. Thatās all.
But gee whiz, all I was doing was letting a few folks know that an important former Car Talk person got killed in a car accident.
It seems there is now a franchise called MAN CAVE @db4690. I have seen vans painted with that logo along with several hi-fi and video company logos. There must be quite a demand and with zero interest financing why should anyone wait? The Super Bowl will soon be here.
@db4690 Darn, you already donated it, huh? I was prepared to offer you $700. Sounds like my kinda car. (Anytime someone complains to me about what my car looks like, I tell them to buy me another one, and I will drive that one instead. No takers yet tho. . )
This next part is off-topic, but funny I think. Every time I hear the term āmancaveā I think about a Penn & Teller show I saw where they were exposing multi-level marketing companies. One was I guess the male equivalent of a tupperware party. Youād invite a bunch of guys over to your āmancaveā to watch a ballgame and then try to sell them German sausages and various grilling equipment and accessories. Their sales literature was full of āstuffā about how much money you could make, but I remember Pennās voiceover ā. . . by the time you get to level 9, youāve got every man, woman, and child on the face of the earth, PLUS 27 billion aliens - - - all trying to sell each other BRATWURST!ā
If you want a car, come and get mine. Oil has been changed, full tank of gas. I want it out of my garage.