| | |  Editorials | Opinions | August 2009 
I’ll Keep My Clunker
 Alan Burkhart - PVNN
August 12, 2009
| | This accident happened in Jefferson Parish (New Orleans) Louisiana. Think about this while you are saving the planet by driving that small car. | |
One of President Obama’s great ideas for our country is that we should trade in our “clunkers” for modern fuel efficient cars. “Clunker” in this case is defined as anything that doesn’t get fuel mileage comparable to that of a bicycle, or perhaps an ox-drawn cart.
My first concern with what I drive is safety, followed by comfort, the "fun factor," and finally... fuel mileage. A vehicle must deliver on all the former before the latter becomes a consideration. Sorry folks, but that’s just how it is.
Regarding safety versus fuel economy, I have from day one wondered why anyone in his or her right mind would drive one of the tiny sub-compacts. While I’m sure environuts like President Obama love these things, they’re little more than a go-karts with air conditioning.
Consider the so-called "Smart" car: I’ve passed them with my truck running down the interstate and watched them in the right mirror when they bobble to the right from the wind of my passing. And mind you, that’s with me driving the speed limit. I rarely get over 65 or 70 mph. The little car just doesn’t have enough mass to be stable on the road.
At the Smart website, the Smart is described as follows:
Discover a car that has been perfectly designed for your everyday life. A car that offers maximum comfort, agility, safety, ecology and driving fun. A pioneering vehicle concept that is one of the best with its low CO2 emission figures.
Safety? Gee, really? How the hell can you be safe driving a pregnant roller skate? And I’ve never seen one traveling over about 60 or so. Are they really that slow? This is not a safe car. It’s not even a speed bump.
The sole legitimate criteria for the safety of any vehicle is how well it protects its occupants. There is no other criteria. And in terms of protection in an accident, regardless of who’s at fault, the more solid the vehicle, the safer you are. The left is of course fully aware of the safety factor. But they’re more concerned with a pile of agenda-driven, bogus environmental propaganda than the safety of the driving public. Their actions in this regard make it obvious.
The facts behind an Internet rumor...
Today my good friend Nita emailed me a picture of a Ford Escape that got crunched between a couple of dump trucks in Louisiana. This is the image purported as being a Smart car on various blogs. I first checked at Snopes to see if it was really a car or just a garbage can, but Snopes was still investigating the rumor. Being the epitome of accuracy and run-on sentences, I tracked down the truth by calling the Jefferson Parish, LA Sheriff’s Office and speaking to an officer who was present at the scene of the accident.
Incredibly, the lady driving the Escape... escaped. The officer (I don’t have permission to use his name) informed me that the impact was offset to the passenger side. The driver’s side (not visible in the photo) wasn’t as badly damaged. According to the officer, she has since been released from the hospital. But still folks, LOOK AT THE IMAGE. The vehicle was utterly annihilated. How much pain did she suffer from her injuries? Far more I would imagine, than had she been driving an Expedition or a Suburban. I’m glad she survived. Were I her, I’d definitely sue the jackass driving the red Mack. But consider for just a moment: What if the rumor had been true, and she was driving a Smart? Think she’d be alive today?
I drive a totally pristine 1983 Chrysler New Yorker. Uses no oil between changes. Still gets decent gas mileage. But by Obama’s standards, it’s a clunker. You know what? I’ll keep my clunker with its reliable old 318 cubic inch V8. I like the plush, roomy interior. I like the smooth ride. I like the thoroughly bad-assed Chrysler factory stereo. I like the fact that I scarcely feel the bumps on the county road where I live. And, I like the fact that I am protected by a veritable fortress of good old-fashioned American iron. If you want to drive a sardine can on wheels for the sake of saving three or four bucks at the gas pump, go ahead. But for your own safety please don’t get off the go-kart track.
See ya’ll on the road.
Alan Burkhart is a cross-country trucker and occasional writer from Mississippi. You can find all of his work at: AlanBurkhart.blogspot.com. |
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