Eric is an automotive columnist and author who has written for the Detroit News and Free Press, Investors Business Daily, The American Spectator, National Review, The Chicago Tribune and Wall Street Journal.
His books include “Road Hogs” (2011) and “Automotive Atrocities” (2004). He’d write another – if there was any money in it!
Toys includes a Carousel Red 1976 Pontiac Trans-Am with a street/strip 455 V-8 under the hood – as well as a restored 1976 Kawasaki Kz900 with a 1015 cc big bore kit, a restored ’75 Kaw S1 Triple, a mostly stock ’03 Kawasaki ZRX1200R and a beater ’00 Kawasaki KL250 Super Sherpa. He loves them all but rides the ’83 Honda Silverwing Interstate the most.
Previous wheels include: 1964 Corvair Monza coupe, ’73 VW Thing, ’69 VW Squareback and rusted-out ’78 Camaro with Gabriel hi-Jacker air shocks, peeling Keystone Classic mags and glasspack exhaust. I miss the Omacar!
Eric’s been full-time freelance since the late ’90s, lives in the boonies of rural Southwest Virginia with his wife and various animals, won’t have a cell phone or get near an airport until the TSA’s Submission Training goes away. He believes everyone ought to be able to drive whatever they want to drive – not what the government dictates they have to drive. Air bags should be optional – and freedom standard equipment.
If you’re interested in contacting him about a radio or TV interview, speaking engagement or freelance project, drop him an e-mail at EPeters952@yahoo.com
Sir:
Ref. your article regarding seat belts. Please don’t give those Greedy Socialist Bast__ds any more ideas on how to fund their Communist/Socialist programs.
I hear that!
Do you have a Post Office Box? If so, I will mail yhou a complimentary copy of AMERICA’S FORSAKEN PROMISE.
From the contents:
[1]
PAIN and POISON
by
Tinsley Grey Sammons (1936 –)
bastlaw@yahoo.com
So-called drug-related crime is in reality prohibition-related crime. Research and Critical Thinking quickly reveal the criminal nature of the Drug War itself. Absent prohibition and the prohibition inflated cost of doing illicit business, those now trafficking wouldn’t bother with trying to compete with your local drugstore for customer satisfaction.
It is in the best interest of the long-suffering, statute-plagued, American People to become aware of who the real criminals are in the so-called War on Drugs. De facto Drug Prohibition is the Alpha Precedent that continues to nullify Constitutional Restraint and pave the way for the State’s utter domination of the Individual.
How can an Individual possibly pursue Happiness when he is denied or simply cannot afford the cost involved in acquiring written permission to purchase the means to relieve his suffering? Even worse, how can he pursue Happiness when he is experiencing the consequences of having been systematically poisoned.
Capitalizing on state and media generated opiophobia to justify its unlawful interference in the lawful practice of medicine, unnecessary government inspired meddling in pain control is morally equivalent to inflicting the suffering. Interfering by threat or force with an innocent – and by inference, harmless -individual’s unalienable right to Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness is a fundamentally criminal act.
Read on to discover just how murderously low the statist parasites will go:
Attempting to limit the intake of a substance by introducing a known toxin is an unlawful presumption of judicial power. Worse, adding Tylenol, – a substance of well documented toxicity – for such an evil end is downright criminal. The issue should be addressed by lawsuits and an investigation by the Attorney General as well.
HYDROCODONE
The purpose of the non-controlled drugs in combination is often twofold: 1) To provide increased analgesia via drug synergy. 2) To limit the intake of hydrocodone by causing unpleasant and often unsafe side effects at higher-than-prescribed doses. –Wikipedia
[2]
ACETAMINOPHEN (TYLENOL). . . acute overdoses of paracetamol can cause potentially fatal liver damage and, in rare
individuals, a normal dose can do the same; the risk is heightened by alcohol consumption. Paracetamol toxicity is the foremost cause of acute liver failure in the Western world, and accounts for most drug overdoses in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand –Wikipedia
Why add Tylenol? Opioids are safe and effective analgesics that need no mixing with other substances to control pain. Contaminating an opioid with Tylenol is a potential violence committed against persons seeking relief from pain. It is in fact an assault on Individuals seeking relief from life-squelching pain. The Constitution’s equal protection of the laws clause demands that those responsible be brought to justice.
As the consequences of the Drug War accumulate – consequences that can include imprisonment and in some cases, collateral damage that includes the death of innocents – the War on Drugs surely has standing as an ongoing crime against humanity that merits a reaction based on the powerful Precedent set by the Nuremberg War Crimes Trials. (There was also a lesser known but perhaps more interesting Trial of the Judges* that immediately followed the War Crimes Trials.)
*The movie Judgment at Nuremberg is a keeper and well worth studying. A then well-proportioned young William Shatner made a brief appearance in the film.
This op-ed has been published by OpEdNews.com. OpEdNews.com is a good source for material shunned by the so-called Mainstream Media.
Had some time today waiting on some emails and went back to your site. SO COOL! How do I get registered for your forum so I can reply? Saw the diesal motorcycle and fell out. Impressive!!! Get the Q&A up! LOL Sending some of my car nut friends your way! BTW very great ride in your 76 Trans Am. Smoothest 120+ mph ride I ever had was in a friend’s! It is a true high speed performance car. Keep up the good work!
It’s not everyday someone I know invents a new term. Glad to have been sitting shotgun for this one..
After reading about the dreaded OnStar, and considering the relationship this entity has with the Washington establishment, I will continue my boycott of Government Motors vehicles. I’m just glad that the last GM vehicle I owned will be my last; after all, how does one live down the memory of an ’84 Chevette?
I used to be a GM guy. I still love (and own) older GM stuff. But much as I admire new GM stuff like the Cadillac CTS-V, for instance, I really resent the way GM force-feeds its customers things like OnStar and also the way it milks taxpayers to fund boondoggles like the Volt and also to pay some of its execs Crassus-like riches for non-performance or even zero performance.
If I were going to buy a new car today, it would be either a Ford or a Nissan.
Eric,
Thank God for you! Keep doing what you do, please. Car guy and Libertarian? Jesus, what could be better; closer to who I am? I long one day to shake your hand.
Even though you ride that wrong-colored ZRX1200.
Hey now! ELR green is the only way to roll on a REX!
(And you should see my ’76 Kz900…!)
But, hold on. The S1 triple I’m restoring will be painted in the correct Halibut Blue.
Glorious!
Idea for an article:
Picked up a 2011 Hyundai Sonata 2.0T this past spring. Love it! (And I drive a Charger RT! The Hyundai is my wife’s car.)
I’ve brought the following up to Hyundai – both a couple dealerships and corporate – and no one seems to care.
Owner’s Manual calls for 5W-40 oil.
Vehicle oil cap stamped 5W-30 oil.
My dealership would have used 5W-20 had I not brought my own 5W-40 synthetic and another dealership where I inquired into their practices was under the impression that the service manual called for 10W-40 (not 5W-40) but in any case they use 5W-30 unless a customer (proactively) requests… er… the correct oil.
Interesting case study in corporate-dealership-customer disconnect.
That is interesting!
I wonder what the Hyundai response would be in the event of an oil-related warranty claim where the customer used the specified oil as described in the owner’s manual instead of what was stamped on the cap – etc.
Yeah, something got lost in translation!
In 2000, I bought the first Honda Insight (hybrid) sold in the state. It’s now up to about 75,000 miles and the gas milage is very nice (55 to 60 MPG around here; about 65 – 70 MPG on a trip over the continental divide and back). I’ve had to buy a new battery, once, so that $3000 cost is a negative on the milage, but not too bad.
We also have a Prius. Milage nothing like the Insight, but O.K. in comparison with conventional cars. However, it is too “space age” (when the starter battery goes, the Prius has to be towed). I think that I may sell the Prius and move back to Honda who has their new Insight available.
With $5/gal gasoline on the horizon, your comments on hybrids would be of interest.
(P.S. I also financially support Ron Paul’s candidacy, but think supporting liberty oriented senators will prove to be more important)
The original Insight is the only hybrid I ever recommended because it’s the only hybrid that actually saved you money. Yes, a Prius gets pretty good mileage. But not spectacular (like the old Insight). A Prius also costs almost $24k to start and (typically) sells for $26-$30k or so. Now, if you’re interested in saving money, the smarter thing to do is buy something like a Versa 1.6 for $9k (maybe $11k if you need AC) and put the $12-$15k you just saved toward gas.
Or, buy a used car. One can pick up a very nice condition three or four year old Corolla or equivalent for less than $8,000.
Again, my premise here is saving money, which is what people really mean (or should) when they are talking about saving gas.
Eric,
Do you travel to Manheim Auto Auction in Pennsylvania? I found a few of your articles from Mac Salvo’s website and your articles really resonate with me and I share a lot of similar interests. I’ve worked in wholesale auctions most of my life and now I can found working liquidation channels for Volkswagen Group of America based out of Manheim. If you ever get to the sale shoot an email to me and I’ll buy you a burger or two. Great to find like minded awake people with similar backgrounds and interests. Great writings; excellent work, take it easy.
Regards,
Eric S.