The American Spectator

Mary| 2.23.09 @ 8:29PM

The first new car I bought was a Ford. I did drive it for 10 years, but the frame broke.

I took my first car loan out in '79. My banker gave me $1,600 for a 1966 Chevelle SS. It was white with a powder blue interior; a California car. It was beautiful!

My father still had a fit: it had 100,000 miles on it. And even though it passed everything but a gas pump, 10 years later I sold it for a nice chunk of change. My father grew to love the car.

The first car I fell in love with was a late 50s Thunderbird with a retractable hard-top. 3 speed on the floor, IIRC. Peach with a peach leather interior, with a pool cue resting atop the shift arm.

That thing was a work of art!

As I watched the Fiscal Summit today, I was reminded of the 80s, and the time that I worked as a secretary for an international Corp. I was blessed with good bosses, and one of them insisted I join him in Total Quality Management, Leadership Through Quality training. I still have the binders. William Edwards Deming was our guru.

The training never seemed to really do much good. And I figured the reason for that was because real, informed leadership was lacking. And there was no real understanding -across the board, anyway- that Quality, first of all, had to be a top-down effort. When I began working for the Corp, they held 85% of the market share. I think they're now at 30-35%.

The days when the US naturally produced that breathtaking Thunderbird are probably gone forever. More's the pity.

jay| 2.24.09 @ 8:53AM

America's best car days, and days of all other kinds as well, are certainly behind us. My first car was a 1949 Ford two door coupe, heavily customized and modified. It could be completely disassembled and reassembled with a screwdriver and a wrench.

Then came Viet Nam and my 396 CI, 425 hp Camero. DUDE! Would not go areound a corner, but flight was always miliseconds away under full throttle on a straight road.

Now Congress tells us what we can buy, what we can say and soon what we can do and where we can go. If you want to have a muscle car, better get one now. Soon, as will be the case with firearms, they will be felonious to own.

But if you buy one now..... One day in the not too distant future, in the dark of night you, all alone, will sneak into your blackout - curtained garage and crank that bad boy up. You will feel the steel muscles bunch and stretch. You will listen to the thunder and you will smile.

Thomas| 2.24.09 @ 11:17AM

People miss the point of the VMT. In the short term, it is a means to generate additional revenue from motorists. In the long haul, its adoption would offset tax revenue losses due to increased mileage requirements. People drive a certain amount, based on employment issues [commute, sales, delivery, etc], irregardless of the price of fuel. As fuel mileage increases, the amount of fuel sold declines and so does tax revenue. The VMT would counter this and base tax revenues directly upon the number of miles traveled rather than upon fuel consumption. In fact, a VMT that replaced a per gallon fuel tax would actually encourage people to buy larger, less fuel efficient vehicles.

Its all about putting the public's money into government hands.

Martin Owens| 2.24.09 @ 11:25AM

Oh, ye of little faith!

The end of the American car, just like the end of oil and the end of America itself, has been frequently foretold. In vain!

When the boom times come again, the booming engines will be there to serve them. Wait and see.