When Saaaaafety Isn’t First

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Here’s an interesting juxtaposition . . .

You may remember how furiously “concerned” the government was a few years back about the asserted danger presented by Volkswagen’s lineup of turbo diesel-powered cars, which the government claimed were causing great harm it never proved to be fact. But VW had “cheated” on government emissions certification tests; this hurt no one but greatly affronted the authority of the federal regulatory apparat.

The result was an inquisition worthy of Torquemada, encompassing the frog-marching, in chains, of senior VW managers to star chamber courts for persecution and the wholesale removal of TDI-powered Volkswagens from the market. These diesel-powered cars were not only innocent of having caused any harm to anyone, they had benefitted the hundreds of thousands of people who bought them, by cutting their fuel bills by a third or more (TDI-powered VWs averaged about 10-15 MPG higher than their gas-engined equivalents) without costing them a third or more to buy, as is the case with electric vehicles.

Which only last a third as long and travel a fourth as far.

You could buy a new diesel-powered VW Jetta or Golf back in 2015  for about $23k. Compare that with the cost of a new Nissan Leaf electric car, today. The latter costs almost $30k – and only goes about 150 miles. A diesel-powered Golf or Jetta could go more than 600 miles. It also wouldn’t need a new engine before it traveled 100,000 miles – as opposed to the Leaf, which will need a new battery pack that costs more than a new engine around that time.

Perhaps you can see why the government – which is now shoving electric cars down our throats – was so very “concerned” about those diesel-powered VWs. Most especially the one VW had in the works that was reportedly capable of traveling more than 100 miles on a gallon of diesel.

As contrasted with its indifference to the actual dangers and actual harm caused by what are styled “autonomous” electric cars, a styling as flouting of the facts as the styling about “fast” charging that takes at least five times as long as it takes to quickly refuel a gas-engined (or diesel) car.

The “autonomous” car ends your autonomy, as an individual. You no longer control the car or how it goes where it goes. You are taken for a ride, just as you were when you were too young to drive and mom and dad controlled the car. The difference being “mom and dad” are now the government-in-bed-with-corporations – and they want to keep you from ever driving the car.

Even if it kills you.

A whistleblower within Cruise – the “autonomous” car company and adjunct of General Motors that uses GM’s Bolt electric cars to take people for rides – has claimed that information about these “autonomous” cars crashing and actually hurting actual people (as opposed to VW’s cars that were never shown to have hurt even one actual person) has been suppressed. “At least one safety concern went unaddressed for months” and “employees generally do not believe we are ready to launch to the public but there is a fear of admitting this because of expectations from leadership and investors.”

Not to mention insouciance from government, which is manifestly less interested in the actual danger posed by “autonomous” electric cars such as the Bolt – as well as electric cars generally –  which have a known (and baked in, as it were) tendency to catch fire and have actually caught fire, numerous times – resulting in the actual deaths of actual people. Does anyone remember that oceangoing cargo ship laden with a bellyfull of brand-new electric cars that auto-immolated on the open ocean?

Look, a squirrel!

We hear endlessly that if it saves even one life – a hypothetical life – then whatever the cost, it’s worth it. For us, to be forced to pay it. But when it costs actual lives, it’s apparently not worth it to call a halt to it – when whatever it is that’s actually killing actual people is something the government is interested in furthering. Electric and “autonomous” cars provide two damning examples in support of this allegation.

As contrasted with what the government is interested in quashing, like VW’s lineup of affordable diesel-powered cars – which presented an existential threat to the electric car and the “autonomous” car. The availability of $23k diesel-powered cars that exceeded 50 MPG on the highway – and could travel 600 miles on the highway – that could be expected to travel hundreds of thousands of miles before needing anything approximating the cost of a new engine – would have made for a devastatingly bad comparison with electric cars.

VW’s particular sin was that italicized point above.

It was the only major automaker that sold a lineup of affordable diesel-powered cars. Had it not been for the inquisition, it is probable other automakers would have joined the fray, out of market necessity. Mazda – a price-rival of VW’s – was about to do just that. There were several new diesel-powered Mazda vehicles in the works. The inquisition put an end to that.

Put an end to affordable, extremely fuel-efficient cars – in favor of inefficient and expensive electric cars that have actually killed people, as by burning them to death. Or by “autonomously” driving them into immovable objects.

Saaaaaaaaaafety first comes second or third – whenever saaaaaaaaafety is at odds with the agenda of the government-corporate nexus.

. . .

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36 COMMENTS

  1. Ice diesel vs EV fuel economy comparison:

    To go 100 miles the ice diesel burns 1.36 gallons of diesel in it’s super clean .000001% emission engine.

    To go 100 miles the EV burns 43 lb of coal…… 43 lb of dirty coal were burnt to generate the electricity in the power station producing huge emissions destroying the environment.

    Plus the added bonus of a lithium fire bomb battery in the car….lol

    Ice diesel:
    The 2014 Volkswagen Golf BlueMotion diesel, capable of a claimed 88.3 mpg imperial, or 73.5 mpg U.S. To travel 100 miles it uses 1.36 gallons of diesel

    EV
    What test drivers are actually getting driving in the real world driving EV’s is they are getting 2.4 miles of range for every kwh
    They are using 41.66 kwh to go 100 miles. (.4166 kwh per mile) = 83 mpg
    ATTENTION: 83 mpg is based on electricity just coming out of a wall plug,
    in reality 4.80 gallons of fuel or 43 lb of coal were burnt to generate the electricity in the power station = 20.8 mpg).
    So to go 100 miles the EV burns 43 lb of coal

    So to end up with 41.66 kwh of electricity which is equivalent to 1.20 gallons of gas to push the EV 100 miles down the road 4.80 gallons of fuel or 43 lb of coal were burnt to generate the electricity in the power station, remember net 25% efficiency. 100 miles using 4.80 gallons = 20.8 mpg,

    20.8 mpg….lol…..these EV’s use more fuel so pollute more then ice vehicles

    most new gas or diesel ice cars get better fuel economy, cost way less, use far fewer resources to manufacture, don’t have lithium fire bomb batteries, last three times as long as EV’s….

    NOTE:
    Thermal efficiency of power plants using coal, petroleum, natural gas or nuclear fuel and converting it to electricity are around 33% efficiency, natural gas is around 40%. Then there is average 6% loss in transmission, then there is a 5% loss in the charger, another 5% loss in the inverter, the electric motor is 90% efficient so another 10% loss before turning the electricity into mechanical power at the wheels.

    33% – 6% – 5% – 5% – 10% = 25% efficiency for EV’s. In very cold weather EV’s are 12% efficient

    Plus the cost of the battery, which is huge, you have to store the electricity in the very, very expensive battery, that is the killer for EV’s right there, the expensive, rapidly wearing out battery.
    the tesla $22,000 battery is used up, worn out in 100,000 miles.
    ATTENTION: this works out to $22.00 per 100 miles it is costing you for the battery.

  2. Numerous bevies of all kinds of UTV’s drove past my place today. I tried to look up the m.p.g.’s of a few brands, from what I gather, they only get about 20 m.p.g. on an easy good day.
    I always thought they got better gas mileage than that!

    I keep wondering what a VW diesel UTV would be like… if, you know, we lived in a free country, and all that.

    When I see these UTV’s it seems like it would not be hard to get ~150 m.p.g. out of them. Idk.

    They look cool, and the people driving them Sure Do look like they’re having fun,… or just came from a concentrated pool of fun. …Sorta what driving cars used to be, I suspect.

    Here’s the trailer vid for the film, ‘American Graffiti’:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZ9Gp6Qc8LQ

    I don’t know about you guys, but the town I grew up in back in the 1980’s was pretty danged close to the scenes from that film, only the cars were a bit newer. Amazingly, similar, I tell ya, like it was a time warp, or somethin’?
    …Didn’t know what we had.

    The UTV scene reminds me of that time.

    • Helot, funny you should mention UTVs; I was just thinking this morning after catching up on Eric’s articles that one of these might be handy to have as last-resort bare-bones personal transportation if IC is outlawed and blackouts ensue.
      My wife and I finally came up with enough excuses to get one, so I ordered a Kubota a few weeks ago. It should be here in about a month. Surprisingly affordable at around $10k (we looked at some that were up to $40k). I was attracted to Kubotas because some of their models use the latest versions of the 3-cylinder liquid-cooled diesel that I have in my big lawnmower. It’s a great little engine. But the diesels are among Kubota’s larger and heavier models, and would be overkill for us. So I ordered the smaller RTV-520. It’s 2-cylinder gas, and only 17 hp, but it’s narrow enough to go across a couple of bridges that I’ve built over the creek – and will save us about 5 grand.
      The Kubotas are more tractor-like than most other side-by-sides. They are hydrostatic drive instead of CVT, and top out around 24 mph, so not great for running around on the road. But I anticipate using it mostly for spraying and running around the farm with trimmers and chainsaws.
      Some days when I go for a walk on our county road, I see almost as many side-by-sides as I do cars. And as you mentioned, UTV gatherings have become kind of a neat social thing.

  3. ‘Put an end to affordable, extremely fuel-efficient cars’ — eric

    … and you’ll be hailed as a hero.

    Whereas, fight for the people as Manchin did, as you’ll be slimed as ‘a modern-day villain who drives a Maserati and lives on a yacht courtesy of the coal industry.’

    I’m envious … sign me up, King Coal.

    And stock that yacht with champagne, reefer and bimbos.

    • Manchin gets it, unfortunately Brandon hasn’t a clue. Instead of ass-kissing the despicable Saudis he should fast track the Keystone pipeline and tell MBS to stuff his oil.

  4. Just like officer safety breeds triggerhappy cops, autonomous cars are for -their- safety, not ours.

    The sweet irony is the autopiloted teslas seem to aim for our heros emergency vehicles. Lets hope the elitist scum burn in their electric hypercars when 2030 rolls around.

  5. It’s engineered redundancy- If the vax doesn’t get the good comrades fast enough…the driverless cars’ll take care of ’em…..and may get some of us, too. Pedo Joe and his handlers are smiling, thinking of this.

  6. My 5-speed 1982 Volkwagon Jetta which I drove in college in the 90’s always got 50+ mpg even when being flogged to death by moi. It generated around 50hp which was more than enough to motivate this awesome little 4-door car with a proper trunk. Crank windows, no abs, no electronics of any kind.

    I lost the car in a divorce. That little motor went 350,000+ miles until my ex forgot to check/add engine oil. Never needed a thing except engine mounts which it did consume every 100k….

    • David, I had a 5-speed ’83 Jetta turbodiesel, and before that a ’78 diesel Rabbit. If I ran it 55 on an un-hilly interstate, the Jetta would touch 60 mpg. I believe it generated around 67 hp. It was the best car I’ve ever owned. Oddly, the Rabbit is the only car that I have ever run out of fuel, and it happened more than once. One time in Tennessee it quit just as I pulled into the gas station, and I had to push it the last 100 feet to the pump. When you’re using so little, you get lulled into thinking you can go forever.

  7. More EV insanity

    Now people are installing homemade or unapproved, cheap, defective chargers in their homes, either on their own or using fly by night cheap unlicensed contractors, instead of using a professional…lol…

    It could cause lots of house fires (watch out for your green brainwashed neighbors)…lol….

    nobody told them they need a very expensive charger in their house and probably their house rewired…lol

    Lots of EV owners park on the street so they run extension cords over sidewalks…lol…

    from a news feed……..

    https://toronto.citynews.ca/2022/07/15/electric-vehicle-unsafe-chargers-installed-toronto/?fbclid=IwAR062sqF5yDDienfoOksx3vM9c59kKUN95RA-ivFGTl1j0OLvdsSzfRW5KY

    how about this?
    What happens when 2200 Ev’s (a new complex in planning stage will have 2200 parking spaces….imagine 2200 lithium fire bomb EV’s parked), are parked in underground parking at an apartment block or office tower and they catch fire?

    • You know I bet those things *might* burn hot enough to melt steel I-beams…

      New theory: 9/11 was caused by a battery electric vehicle prototype. The planes were added using CGI, as part of a massive coverup operation…

  8. Banning ice powered vehicles to be replaced with EV’s that use twice as much fuel (20.8 mpg), = insanity.

    This is what test driver’s of EV’s get in the real world….
    travelling 100 miles in an average EV uses 1.20 gallons equivalent of fuel = 41.66 kwh of electricity that is the net amount, but….at the power plant 4.80 gallons of fuel were burnt to get a net 1.20 gallon of fuel equivalent 41.66 kwh used by the EV.

    travelling 100 miles in an average EV uses 1.20 gallons equivalent of fuel = 41.66 kwh of electricity @ $0.40 per kwh = $16.66, back at the power plant 4.80 gallons were burnt to get the net 41.66 kwh of electricity. NOTE: 4.80 gallons were burnt to go 100 miles. = 20.8 mpg

    There is an additional cost for the EV owner: the tesla $22,000 battery is used up, worn out in 100,000 miles. this works out to $22.00 per 100 miles it is costing you for the battery. Total cost: $16.66 plus $22.00 = $38.66

    EV owner uses 4.80 gallons to go 100 miles, that is 20.8 mpg, lots of ice cars get better fuel economy.

    travelling 100 miles in a 50 mpg diesel uses 2 gallons of fuel @ $4.00 per gallon = $8.00 and it has a huge range……

    Should be still selling these:
    the all-new 2014 Volkswagen Golf BlueMotion diesel, capable of a claimed 88.3 mpg imperial, or 73.5 mpg U.S.

    should be driving these cars:

    Model HP Avg. cons l/100km mpg U.S.

    Fiat 500 1.3 JTD Multijet 16V Pop DPF 75 4.2 56
    VW Golf 1.6 TDI BlueMotion DPF 105 4.1 57
    Skoda Fabia 1.4 TDI GreenLine DPF 80 4.1 57
    Opel Corsa 1.3 CDTI ecoFlex CO2 Pack DPF 75 4.1 57
    Audi A3 1.6 TDI Attraction DPF 105 4.1 57
    Toyota iQ 1.4 D-4D DPF 90 4.0 59
    Renault Twingo 1.5 dCi Rip Curl 84 4.0 59
    Volvo S40 / V50 1.6D DRIVe Start/Stop DPF 109 3.9 60
    Volvo C30 1.6D DRIVe Start/Stop DPF 109 3.9 60
    Toyota Prius 1.8 Hybrid 136 3.9 60
    Mini One D DPF 90 3.9 60
    VW Polo 1.6 TDI BlueMotion 90 3.7 64
    Seat Ibiza 1.4 TDI Ecomotive DPF 80 3.7 64
    Ford Fiesta 1.6 TDCi ECOnetic DPF 90 3.7 64
    smart fortwo coupé 0.8 cdi pure softip DPF 54 3.4 69

    VW made a lightweight diesel hybrid that got almost 300 mpg, that was a better solution then EV’s, that get 20.8 mpg…lol….

    Volkswagen XL1 Diesel-Hybrid 300 mpg highway…

    https://www.hotcars.com/remembering-the-1liter-supercar/

  9. Eric,

    Another glaring example of gov’t hypocrisy is how the Ford Pinto was treated vs. electric cars’ propensity for catching fire-without impact, in some cases. I’m old enough to remember the Pinto, and it was front page news; you couldn’t get away from that story! OTOH, when it comes to EVs catching fire, oftentimes without being hit, all you hear is crickets…

    There has to be a way of making Li-Ion batteries so they won’t catch fire. Power tools have been using them for many years. Our devices use them largely without incident. There was the Samsung Galaxy 7 that had tendency to catch fire, so it was forbidden on airliners, but that’s rare. Most of our devices and tools use Li-Ion batteries without incident. I’d like to know why that is…

    • Marky,
      There are safer battery chemistries available that can’t go up like a roman candle. The real scandal is the fact that that douche elon and his handlers chose Li-ion batteries because their energy density. Tesla sacrificed saaaaaafety bigly to squeeze more miles out of his overpriced turds and make them seem viable. Granted, the model 3 and the Chyneeze automakers are finally using LFP batteries which are less energy dense but are far superior when it comes to safety and longevity. Li-ion should have never been allowed on our roads packed together by the thousands. It’s insanity. Where the f*ck is Ralph Nader now that we have cars that are actually unsafe at any speed, including 0?

      • GG,

        I’d rather have a little less range and be safe! I like EVs, but I’ve held off on getting one because they go up like a torch. I not only have an attached garage; it’s integral with the house and located beneath my living room.

    • Mark,
      Not to mention the utter destruction of Isuzu by Consumer Reports, staging total fiction roll over risk tests. And NBC news planting bombs in pickups with in cab fuel tanks to make them blow up on TV.

      • JK,

        I remember the scandal over what NBC Dateline did. I don’t an Isuzu dustup. I remember the one where CR panned the Suzuki Samurai, the mini 4×4, because it would turn over during hard steering. I don’t remember them doing anything with Isuzu though. I’m not saying that CR didn’t do anything with or to Isuzu; I simply don’t remember it. Isuzu just seemed to fade away.

  10. The government is shoving electric vehicles down our throats just as they are shoving vaccines down our throats that don’t work and have huge risk.

    I have an answer for the January 6th panel out to get the Donald…have the justice department indict him for murdering his ex-wife (indirectly). She no doubt being a New Yorker was vaccinated and boosted and likely died of a heart failure caused by the vaccine. Go after him for that.

  11. Bureaucracies run on the concept of “Remember that time?”

    “Remember that time farmers ‘overproduced’ and prices collapsed? That’s why the Department of Agriculture needs to meddle in the futures markets.”

    “Remember that time that The Great Depression happened? That’s why the banking system needs heavy regulation.”

    “Remember that time someone died because of a patent medicine? That’s why the medical industry needs constant micromangement.”

    Eventually after a few generations of bureaucratic rule, the businesses being ruled forget the time before regulation. In fact they begin to fear deregulation because it becomes an unknown.

    As for autonomous vehicles, I don’t think they’ll ever be 100% reliable in the existing infrastructure. Roads weren’t made for them, roads were made for human drivers. Just like railroads weren’t made for personal transporation, I think there will be a network of roads for small delivery vehicles (think the size of a big Yetti cooler). Might be installed over sidewalks, providing a conduit for electricity and telecom, shade/weather protection, and continous lighting. Or perhaps a variant of a gondola. And the road could power the vehicles, solving the battery problem. But it won’t be for people, except for the occational Jackass-style thrill seeker.

  12. Wow Eric, I never thought that the VW emissions flap could have been a “false flag” attack on fuel efficient diesels to promote electric cars but it makes perfect sense!

    Everyone cheats, on their taxes, lying to authorities, and meeting government regulations. The biggest cheaters are the big auto mfg who lobby for import tariffs on their competition. GM lobbies so Toyotas cost more, so GM can sell theirs at the price the want.

    In Japan beef costs a fortune, their are floating restaraunts serving steaks to beat the tariff. Australia has millions of cows for export – but like USA the Japanese government protects local farmers at the cost to everyone else.

    The efficiency of diesel vs gas stems from how the fuel is burned. A diesel engine is more thermally efficient and diesel fuel has more BTU’s per gallon, but a diesel engine weighs more.

    A diesel engine fuel injector must push fuel in at thousands of psi on the compression stroke, a gas engine delivers fuel on the intake stroke, at very low pressure.

    Here is an interesting article why gas engines pollute more than diesels:

    https://rentar.com/gasoline-versus-diesel-engines-fuel-efficiency-comparison/

    “If a gas-powered vehicle gets 30 miles to the gallon, a comparable diesel-powered vehicle will get anywhere from 37.5 to 40.5 miles per gallon. At worse, a diesel engine travels 40 miles for every 30 miles a gasoline travels on the same volume of fuel. At best, for every 65 miles a gasoline engine travels, a diesel engine will travel 100 miles on the same volume of fuel.

    As such, a comparison of the sum of emissions a gallon of diesel produces per gallon vs the number of emissions from a gallon of gas is irrelevant.

    The reason being, even though diesel engines produces 13% more carbon dioxide per gallon than comparable gasoline engines, that fact has very little to do with the reality of how much either engine generates during practical use. While — according to the European Automobile Manufacturers Association — “1kg of diesel burnt under ideal conditions will produce 2.65kg of CO2. 1kg of petrol burnt under ideal conditions will produce 2.3kg of CO2,” a volume scale comparison offers very little usable information.

    Per mile, therefore, a gasoline engine produces between 12% and 22% more carbon dioxide than a comparable diesel engine. In other words, the fuel efficiency of a diesel engine determines realities of diesel vs gasoline emissions to a far greater degree than a per-volume comparison. ”

    —————

    Of course, CO2 is really not a pollutant. CO2 is plant food. Without CO2 all life on earth would die.That is why CO2 is a life gas, and rising CO2 is greening the planet, plants grow faster with increased CO2. More plants = more animals who breathe the O2 plants emit.

    • Jack, the “pollutant” of diesel engines is nitrogen oxides because diesel doesn’t burn as hot as gasoline. NOx has been found to cause respiratory issues in Californians, so it has to be banned worldwide. Doesn’t matter that gasoline engines produce NOx too, especially in cold weather, diesels were singled out as the great mechanical satan.

      Note that DEF converts NOx into something less evil, but at a cost of efficiency, bringing diesels closer to parity with gasoline engines, which don’t have the complicated DEF injection systems.

      • Hi RK

        The diesel ice vehicle is cleaner/better then a gas ice vehicle or an EV.

        Ice diesel vs EV fuel economy comparison:

        To go 100 miles the ice diesel burns 1.36 gallons of diesel in it’s super clean .000001% emission engine.

        To go 100 miles the EV burns 43 lb of coal…… 43 lb of dirty coal were burnt to generate the electricity in the power station producing huge emissions destroying the environment.
        Plus the added bonus of a lithium fire bomb battery in the car….lol

        Ice diesel:
        The 2014 Volkswagen Golf BlueMotion diesel, capable of a claimed 88.3 mpg imperial, or 73.5 mpg U.S. To travel 100 miles it uses 1.36 gallons of diesel

        EV
        What test drivers are actually getting driving in the real world driving EV’s is they are getting 2.4 miles of range for every kwh
        They are using 41.66 kwh to go 100 miles. (.4166 kwh per mile) = 83 mpg
        ATTENTION: 83 mpg is based on electricity just coming out of a wall plug,

        in reality 4.80 gallons of fuel or 43 lb of coal were burnt to generate the electricity in the power station = 20.8 mpg).

        So to go 100 miles the EV burns 43 lb of coal

  13. The slogan on the car door “join the driverless revolution” is representative of the “brainless” mentality of today’s marketing, and perhaps the target consumer as well. We already have more than enough non-drivers out there, are non-cognizant automobiles really the solution?
    We can still hold a reckless driver accountable for injury or death to others. I have yet to see a program, or the programmer (the actual operator) of driverless technology being held accountable for any of these things. It’s also very unlikely that we ever will.

    • GTC Every time I start my Cherokee the navigation system flashes a EULA screen with an “agree” button at the bottom. The EULA indemnifies Jeep from anything that might be incorrect in the map program. I imagine the same sort of thing will happen with autonomous vehicles.

  14. The US Constitution + Bill of Rights was a somewhat robust (though ultimately flawed) effort to rein in the powers which accrue to government. But too much focus was (and is) placed on the political participants.
    Bureaucrats are the true enemy of the people because they are the ones who decide which policies to implement and how to implement them. Without them, politicians are powerless.

    • Stop the politicians – term limits – two years only for all of them, and no running for office again until sitting out a term. Constitutional agencies & bureaucrats only.

  15. Meanwhile, the power grid can’t even keep up with air conditioning. Because the grid has swallowed the “carbon free” power mantra. in Texas, power suppliers are asking EV owners NOT to charge them during certain evening hours. You know, when you might be trying to overnight charge your EV so you could use it tomorrow?

  16. VW diesels destroyed for doing exactly what public education does. Teaching to the test. What VW did was create a diesel that would pass the test, but would not “pass” it in the real world. In other words, VW was penalized for being smarter than the bureaucrats. Which ain’t that hard, unless you get caught.
    Bureaucrats hate people. Especially people that are far smarter than they are, which doesn’t take much. But they do hate them all. People are a nuisance that might expect them to actually do their job.

  17. ‘$23k diesel-powered cars that exceeded 50 MPG on the highway … would have made for a devastatingly bad comparison with electric cars.’ — eric

    Therefore the offending diesels had to be administratively disappeared, along with the invidious comparison.

    As NATO and Eurasia split into hostile blocs, a number of countries — not only giants such as India and China, but also mid-sized nations such as Brazil, South Africa and Iran — have the industrial capability to make cheap diesels for the people.

    It’s just a question of exercising the sovereign autonomy to do so. Soon the Eurasian and BRICs blocs can tell US/NATOstan to take a long hike down the highway to hell, as they are doing right now by defiantly buying embargoed Russian oil.

    They could license moribund TDI Volkswagen models for a song — or reverse engineer them — to make ‘diesels for the people’ as the global economy turns strange. After all, transport tech took a leap, by necessity, during the difficult 1930s, as both cars and airplanes first exhibited their modern forms.

    Like Horatio at the bridge, Manchin’s last stand has been a signal defeat for the warmists — and a knife in the heart of darkest Commiefornia.

    Strange days have found us
    Strange days have tracked us down
    They’re going to destroy
    Our casual joys
    We shall go on playing or find a new town

    — The Doors, Strange Days

  18. Eric,
    Excellent article.

    Instead of the cry for “saaaaaaaaaaafeteeeeee” we are deafened by the sounds of crickets.

    This article is a keeper. (One of many)

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