Ahhh, progress. Didn't he have it on his phone?

I need a replacement car but I refuse to get one with those idiotic side windows that taper to nothing. They slash visibility and have to be causing accidents. I just had fads -- really do.

Those mongoloid slit-eye windows aren't a fad. They're a result of federally mandated side impact "safety" requirements. Today's cars are are much safer in crashes than the cars of yesteryear. But unfortunately, since you can't see out of them, you're far more likely to be involved in a crash in the first place. Eric Peters, the libertarian car guy, has been covering this issue for years. www.ericpetersautos.com/2...ers-of-saaaaaaaaaaaafety/

Get a CPO crew-cab pickup.

Somebody actually agrees with me about this -- and says so? I believe in miracles! Hate to see Nissans fingered in that article -- they've been so consistent heretofore.

Eric Peters Autos -- why does that sound so familiar. Automobiles, Motorcycles and Libertarian Politics -- well well! He exposes bad cops -- good. And the David Knight show is linked in his politics page

www.cathinfo.com/general-...on/death-of-ernst-zundel/

......excellent if it's the Alex Jones guy. This good-looking page reminds me of puter printers -- am sick to DEATH or arguing with them about when to change a cartridge!!!

Nobody will ever convince me that cars need computers. People just cannot let well enuff alone. Time for that sob story again -- the time the puter under the hood of my beloved Dodge Aries simply quit while sitting in a parking lot 45 min. from home about 25 years ago, grrrrr.

Those mongoloid slit-eye windows aren't a fad. They're a result of federally mandated side impact "safety" requirements. Today's cars are are much safer in crashes than the cars of yesteryear. But unfortunately, since you can't see out of them, you're far more likely to be involved in a crash in the first place. Eric Peters, the libertarian car guy, has been covering this issue for years. www.ericpetersautos.com/2...ers-of-saaaaaaaaaaaafety/

I was riding in a van a couple of weeks ago. The driver hydroplaned and went off the road on low side of elevated curve.

When the state trooper got there he said, "At least you didn't knock down any signs."

I said, "Well, I guess we don't have to hear that line, "You in a heap of trouble. You damaged state property."

He gave me and the driver a ride about a quarter mile up the road where we met a friend to drive us back home. I thanked him for the ride. ;)

Trucks are a different story, natch. I've simply got to have a trunk and full back seat.

? Damaged state property ?

On the whole, modern car engines run much better -- more efficient, more power, cleaner -- than older cars' engines. Older engines used carburetors, mechanical distributors, and contact points. The spark timing was controlled mechanically, usually by a combination of a centrifugal mechanism in the distributor and a vacuum cylinder connected to it. Older engines needed to be tuned more frequently, and this involved setting the distributor angle to make the spark fire at the right time, and setting the contact points to a certain gap or measuring the duty cycle, or dwell. The contact points wore out and had to be replaced periodically. Because the engine didn't burn as clean, the spark plugs had to be replaced (or at least cleaned) every 10-40,000 miles.

Modern engines use computer controlled fuel injection instead of a carburetor. The computer controls not only the fuel, but also the spark. No contact points. The rub is that the computer needs several sensors to know how to do its job: crankshaft position sensor, oxygen sensor(s) in the exhaust, throttle position sensor, and various pressure and temperature sensors.

It's not unusual for a modern engine to go 100,000 miles with no service at all except oil changes. But alas, it's also not unusual for a modern car to be plagued with recurrent failures of one or more sensors and/or the the computer itself.

Me, I've been fortunate. Had to replace a computer (Engine Control Unit, or ECU) on only one vehicle in my lifetime. A 1999 Dodge Durango that I rue the day I bought and bless the day I sold.

A computer under the hood controlling only the engine is good. But CARS DON'T NEED COMPUTERS WITH A DASHBOARD DISPLAY! That's one thing I will eschew as long as I'm breathing. Modern cars with such can also spy on you and track you.

? Damaged state property ?

All signs are government property.

If you knock one down your insurance will have to pay to get it put back in place. ;)

But CARS DON'T NEED COMPUTERS WITH A DASHBOARD DISPLAY! That's one thing I will eschew as long as I'm breathing. Modern cars with such can also spy on you and track you.

And Lord knows there is more than enough spying going on already. ;)