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Learn to build your own car (if you care about safety)
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Last September I bought a 1970 Chevelle after spending the past five years waffling on the idea of whether or not buying a third vehicle would be a wise investment. On the one hand, classic cars generally retain their value; on the other, I hate clutter so allocating virtually all of my garage space to an unnecessary purchase wasn't exactly high on my list of priorities.
I've always wanted to learn more about car maintenance, but mostly I just love old muscle cars and have always wanted one. So when I found a good deal on a 350 small block Malibu -- the guy sold it for a couple thousand less than he probably could've because he was getting married and needed money -- I decided to jump at the opportunity. Did I "need" it, especially as the economy was tanking and my wife and I were focusing even more than usual on saving money? No, of course not. But sometimes when the state insists on making your life a living hell, those are the perfect times to live a little.
My car is by no means a trailer queen. It's a driver that is very solid but it's technically still a project car. It could use a couple new quarter panels and a real paint job, but for now I enjoy cruising around town in a car free of computers, plastic fenders, and airbags. And I just love the fact that this baby's got two steel bumpers when you can't even find them on SUVs anymore. Sheet metal and chrome -- what else do you need?
Indeed, aside from nostalgia and classic American beauty, one of the biggest reasons I purchased a nearly four-decade-old car was because federal regulations have increasingly forced auto manufacturers to turn out rickety, lightweight deathtraps in order to comply with tyrannical emissions standards. And if Herr Obama has his way, it's only going to get much worse: his plan is to require everyone to pay higher prices for crappier products.
The new rules would bring new cars and trucks sold in the United States to an average of 35.5 miles per gallon, about 10 mpg more than today's standards. Passenger cars will be required to get 39 mpg, light trucks 30 mpg.
That means cars and trucks on American roads will have to become smaller, lighter and more efficient.
To be sure, cars and trucks will become smaller, lighter, and more efficient. But more efficient at what is the real question. Traveling slower? Costing us valuable time and money? Killing motorists?
No central planner has the ability to weigh important tradeoffs specific to millions of individuals, much as I did when contemplating the purchase of my Chevelle. He can only issue dictatorial decrees that benefit himself and his cronies at the expense of everyone else. As I mentioned recently, commandeering the auto industry is the first step of Obama's totalitarian "green" agenda.
So what to do? Don't expect the auto industry to protest these regulations; they're too busy lining up at the federal trough for their welfare checks. Just as it's up to the individual -- not government -- to protect himself and his family from intruders and other criminals, it's up to us to keep ourselves safe on the roads when the state actively puts us in danger.
Therefore, one great way to reject the "Obamobile" is to learn to build your own car from materials of your choosing, or to at least purchase one like I did that was crafted prior to the installation of safety-destroying federal "standards." Perhaps the best thing of all about classic American cars is that replacement parts are readily available -- interior, exterior, engine, exhaust, body, suspension, you name it. So whether you buy a car that's already been restored or you pick up a frame for a couple thousand bucks from eBay and do it yourself, shops like YearOne and Goodmark have whatever you need to see your project through from beginning to end.
Of course, if enough people began participating in this type of legal civil disobedience, the state would undoubtedly swoop in and at least attempt to put an end to this as well. But at that point the ideological revolution would probably already be in full swing. Until then, however, if you love freedom, you may want to do everything you can to reject this president's asphalt fascism.
