Off Topic Archives - EPautos - Libertarian Car Talk

Reader Question: The Rental Car Nanny?

Off Topic eric - January 18, 2020

Here's the latest reader question, along with my reply! Mark asks: Yesterday I drove a rented Elantra from Charlotte up to Harrisonburg, Va. It's a five hour ride. After about three and...

Reader Question: Asian Ads?

Off Topic eric - January 15, 2020

Here's the latest reader question, along with my reply! Ed asks: Hi Eric, love your site and if I ever have enough after paying taxes on things I “own” and trying to...

Reader Question: John Deer and the Right to Repair?

Off Topic eric - January 15, 2020

Here's the latest reader question, along with my reply! Harold asks: I managed a JD Dealership for 13 years until JD forced us out of business. You are correct about new JD...

Reader Rant: Thanks!

Off Topic eric - January 15, 2020

Here's the latest reader rant, along with my reply! Zane writes: Just writing to say thanks. I've been sharing your links and articles on forums when you see people say "Eletric carz...

Reader Question: Which Soobie Engine?

Off Topic eric - January 14, 2020

Here's the latest reader question, along with my reply! Matthew asks: I have a question for you about the Subaru Outback since you reviewed a 2020 recently. I'm looking at used 2017...

2020 Mercedes GLC 300 Walk-Around

Off Topic eric - January 13, 2020

Here's a quick look at the Mercedes GLC "coupe" - which isn't - but (as it turns out) has almost as much room (for your head) as the more squared-off GLC...

Reader Question: Maintaining the Old Stuff?

Off Topic eric - January 13, 2020

Here's the latest reader question, along with my reply! Mark asks: I just caught your column about John Deere and "unrepairability - but am wondering about repairing the older stuff you mention....

Reader Question: The Electric Hummer?

Off Topic eric - January 13, 2020

Here's the latest reader question, along with my reply! Zane asks: I'm sure you've heard the news by now about the electric Hummer. Once again GM has dropped the ball. In this...

Reader Question: The Future of Diesel?

Off Topic eric - January 12, 2020

Here's the latest reader question, along with my reply! Charlie asks: I impulsively bought a Ford F-150 diesel on a year end close out without much research - including DEF issues and...

Reader Question: The Volt and Octane?

Off Topic eric - January 11, 2020

Here's the latest reader question, along with my reply! Jeremy asks: As you know, I picked up a used Volt over the holidays. It calls for premium fuel. I've read conflicting reports...

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Latest Stuff

Anonymous: Extra charge for off road recovery (charging) of course 😉
Eightsouthman: R&T was one of my oldest subscriptions. Started with Hot Rod, the Sports Car Graphics, R&T, C&D, and Autoweek...
Shotgun Chuck: Road & Track, of all the danged magazines, recently did some BS article on how the glaciers in that exact place were...
Eightsouthman: DLS, was this meant for someone specific?
Eightsouthman: I had to look up Winchell’s. Don’t have em in Texas….or if we do, they’re in commie paradises like...
Douglas L Self: What sickens me is how many of OUR tax dollars go to subsidize that thug state.
Eightsouthman: DLS, I worked with a guy about my dad’s age. He had lived through the battle of the Ardennes. He said “We...
Douglas L Self: Then don’t outlaw guns, ban WINCHELLS, if you’re so damned worried about “officer safety”!
Douglas L Self: About the worst thing that could happen in Gilbert is an argument at an LDS meetinghouse over who forgot to bring the...
Douglas L Self: Ah, but the Greenies that want to “thave the planet” will have a cow over your “smoky” OLD...
Douglas L Self: Calipornia is utterly INFESTED with those “Toy-Yoda” Pri-ii…effin’ virtue-signaling twits, not...
Douglas L Self: Either Bloomerberg or Sanders would be a “cluster-FOOL” disaster as POTUS. And of what TRIBE are either?...
Douglas L Self: A “twuck” is a GUY thing, PJ. I agree that they’re costly to buy and expensive to feed. But when you...
Eightsouthman: swamp, come on now. He knows what to do……call his boyfriend.
Eightsouthman: Anon, you just gave me an idea for a bidness. Hauling generator to dead cars. Watched a vid last night of half a dozen...
TechieDude: I’m old enough to remember Chevy Corvairs and Ford Pintos and all the pressure put on Ford and Chevy for far, far less...
Eightsouthman: That’s a godawful sound. I’d be “piping” something to Mary.
Eightsouthman: Nunz, just what I was gonna say. Yep, no glaciers by 2020, proof man=bad, lecterk cars=good.
PJ: I had a pickup once, a Dodge with the recent V6 engine, very nice – for a pickup. But in the Pacific NW, a van makes more...
Douglas L Self: This is TROUBLING in ways I can’t even describe. This man visited the VA state capital grounds, LAWFULLY, to do...
ozymandias: I had just the one founding father. He was born 1938. The rest of those paps smeared through the pages of “history” books had...
Nunzio: Yeah, Chuck. They recently removed the signs in Glacier National Park in MT. that said that the glaciers would be melted by...
Nunzio: Anon, Or, to put it another way: Every subsequent administration just keeps increasing the size of government, and the tyranny....
Shotgun Chuck: Naw. They’ll just set a new date and conveniently forget about the old one, just as they always have. A leftist...
Mark in BC: May they all be infected with weeping pustules from their STDs
Nunzio: )))”The installation of gun grabbing judges is unnoticed and unreported by “conservative” press. Instead, the focus is...
Nunzio: I swear, Eric, these guys must be paid trolls, ’cause like ya say, who’d have the time- and if they had the time, why...
eric: Amen, Swamp! “Conservatives” are a weird tribe; I know – I was once a member! But I got to thinking… if the...
swamprat: The militarization of police does start in the rural areas because they welcome it for some reason. Remember, law enforcement...
eric: Amen, Auric! If we can’t get rid of taxes entirely, at least limit the power to tax to those who must pay the taxes. In...
eric: Thanks, Nunz! The “LH” Clover/troll is maniacal. He just wont quit! Even though he has to know by now that none of his...
Auric: Ain’t it the truth! That’s why our founding fathers limited the vote to white, male landowners. Although that horse...
Nunzio: Ya know what’s interesting too?: Henry Ford realized the value and economy of scale of MASS-production; -not just...
Robert A Gallek: Glad you weren’t there to share your enthusiasm! We had a considerable Penna. contingent on the streets....
Nunzio: Eric, you, and/or Turdpress must be doing a good job of intercepting the troll, ’cause I’ve yet to see one post...
Nunzio: That is true, Anon- but the FEDERAL funding and MILITARIZING of local police- even in rural areas and the smallest towns, started...
FarmerChet: Nothing will happen to Tesla, regardless of any ‘investigation’. Its sad, but it is how things work. There is a...
Chris: IMO, the big Autos got in bed with gov(s) to massively increase regs and standards because it limited competition coming from the...
Anonymous: The reason we don’t signal for a turn in Montana is because it’s nobody’s damn business where we are going....
eric: Hi Doug, An interesting thing… we’re only nine years away from The End of the World – 2030, the date by which...
eric: Hi Swamp, Yup! Naturally, our most persistent Clover – “LH”- has finger-banged several new replies defending AGWs...
Eightsouthman: One of the most dangerous maneuvers is coming to a stop in the lane you’re going to turn from. I’ve been...
Muggles: While there are lots of dumb things drivers do that annoy me, one thing I’m now focused on is being more patient. Like...
swamprat: I’m proud to be an American where at least I know I’m freeeeee.
Eightsouthman: eric, I couldn’t tell you how many times I’ve run a stop sign in a big rig with the DOT right behind me...
swamprat: Yes. 100% correct. They should also take a whack at the saaaaaafety and iiinsurance cult. Mobil Corporation actually did...
swamprat: Paul Craig Roberts is 100% right on that idea. Tariffs are not really a tax on the consumer anymore than the income tax. The...
Doug: If the Auto Industry had any balls, it would invest a fraction of the money they are putting into electric vehicles into a campaign...
Eightsouthman: The orange man isn’t perfect is an understatement. He’s hanging on to red flag laws. He’s not about to...
richb: And we thought the electric Ford Mustang Electric SUV was stupid……… 230; This is even worse in a lot of ways....
eric: Eight! Thanks for some great memories! The land of the dead!
ozymandias: halolha…that scene in Point Break…Utah’s drowning himself, & Tyler shoulda’ let him, but that woulda’ been a...
Eightsouthman: eric, this would possibly only be improved with the Great Cornholio himself. http://www.greaseman.org/so...
rich: “The car ahead of you puts on his car’s turn signal. After awhile, he begins to mosey over to the right.” How lucky if...
Nunzio: I know it Jason; In another post, I mentioned *a certain people* even enforcing property taxes upon their own after the...
Anonymous: Uhhh, the police in America have been MASSIVELY funded and MILITARIZED WAAAAAY before Trump ever had eyes on the presidency....
Nunzio: PS: Re: Germans supporting Hitler: Whether communism had won, or not, the Germans still got tyranny and genocide. The only ones...
Nunzio: The way Orange Man has MASSIVELY increased funding and militarization for “local law enforcement”, it is clear that...
X: The Panopticon State is here. The National Security State is here. The militarized Police State is here. The Bill of Rights no longer...
where all the white charging stations at: https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=CAYvJ3Ot0dw This is the song Mary pipes into the cafeteria...
Anonymous: Cities of any size are just hell these days.
Anonymous: Turning your wheels left while waiting to make a left turn will get you bumped out into oncoming traffic if someone hits you...
Anonymous: I suppose it will be fine driving through all that snow to get to the health food store in Hollywood 😉
Nunzio: And for what?! All that weight, and the energy that it takes to propel it….and look at the freakin’ thing!- It...
SPQR70AD: that rally was a waste of time and the gun laws will pass. just a bunch of fat graybeards that all they care about is stock...
MikRo: Oh my! You’ve clearly not been out to “super conservative” Utah lately! Driving around Salt Lake County (and...
Lonewolf72: If subsidies were ended we would all be able to pay more for what we WANTED, instead of having money stolen from us to pay...
Jason Flinders: Nunz, property taxes are not a modern (that is, within the last few centuries) European development or the result of the...
Allen: Good morning Eric, At 52 I still despise going slow. About 27 years ago, I was way more impatient. There was one time I was...
The Bobster: The drivers I can’t stand are the ones that brake before approaching an uphill grade. Hey, why not gain a little speed...
The Bobster: You must be from Pa., where the a-holes think signaling is an option, not a requirement.
AlexP712: What drives me bugshit is if I am looking for a gap in cars to cross a median, you find a gap, get going to time yourself to...
eric: Hi Anon, Of course – but practical considerations are as irrelevant as economic ones. It’s all about the virtue...
Hank Ford: I’ve been ticketed in Colorado for a red light infraction, doing what you describe, being out in the intersection...
Anonymous: That’s what I was referring to …
Anonymous: Good luck getting that Hummer recharged out in the canyon land country of eastern Utah. It can be tough enough carrying enough...
Anonymous: Musselshell County
revjen45: I LOVE my ’03 F-250 Triton V-10. It gets a reliable 11-12 mpg – Street or hwy, uphill or down, cruises @ 80 mph...
swamprat: Getting rid of Ms. Barra will depend on stock prices and earnings just like in the past. Unless something is holding her there....
swamprat: Eric – I’m not sure about that, but we can hope. The Orange Man isn’t perfect. He has some progressive...
z: There’s a reason they’re known as Government Motors Now, again, how can we get rid of Mary Barra and her gang of virtue...
SPQR70AD: I believe the reason people signal a turn drag it out at 10 mph make you come to a stop before they turn is because there is an...
Larry: Having lived in south Florida now for several years, I’ve gleaned two things of what the average Florida driver believes...
Tom: What? Are you driving in the Yukon or someplace where there are 2 or 3 other drivers? I am usually seeing the exact opposite. Maybe...
eric: Hi Nasir! When I’m not driving a new car, I’m driving my old truck. It has no power and handles like the 18-year-old...
eric: Hi Aljer, Ditto! So many fun (if blue) things from the past… remember the Greaseman? I practically pissed myself when he did...
eric: Amen, Griff… I was there, too… and I know what you mean. Sadly.
HablaCarnage: People signaling? Wow wouldn’t that be nice! When people signal around me now it is a sure sign they are from out of...
Griff: Cars used to mean something, freedom. Pontiac GTOs with 4 barrel carburetors on a 389 cubic inch V8, Ford Mustangs with 289 cubic...
Ron Johnson: I have to admit that I like to stomp on the gas when I’m on the on-ramp with the Jetta. Listening to that little 4...
AljerHyss: Ahhhhhh….the humor of Larry Flynt! I miss that old, dilapidated bastard.
Nasir: Some time back I was on a lovely bendy, windy, country road (posted at 60) – but people driving 30…. Cant drive 55...
eric: Hi JK, I’ve got little (if any) confidence in AGWs who, after all, already enforce countless tyrannical laws… because...
eric: Hi Ross! I sometimes drive slow also; but like my other aberrances, I do do my best to avoid visiting them upon the innocent 😉 And...
ActionBill U.P.: ” I also tell the AGW – first thing out of my mouth – that I have a CHP and that I am (or am not) armed and…” That alone...
Tionico: make sure you wear a full face mask and remove or cover the number plates. They might identify the car, but wihout eyes on YOU...
Tionico: Situational awareness wil solve most such issues easily. WHen NO ONE ELSE is around to be bothered by it I wilkl lift up off the...
Tionico: that kind of “virtue” does not FIT anywhere….. heh heh heh
Ross: Gotta chuckle. I practice a few of those tactics Eric derides, but not dumb ones such as stopping in the middle of the road to make...
libertyx: Most of the driving annoyances disappear after about 8 pm here in retirement land (Florida). The only remaining problem is...

Off Topic

Video Rant: 2020 Lincoln Aviator

Reader Question: Suburban Advice?

Reader Question: What Are They Trying to Do?

Reader Question: TSBs?

Reader Question: The Rental Car Nanny?

Reader Question: Asian Ads?

Reader Question: John Deer and the Right to Repair?

Reader Rant: Thanks!

Reader Question: Which Soobie Engine?

2020 Mercedes GLC 300 Walk-Around

Reader Question: Maintaining the Old Stuff?

Reader Question: The Electric Hummer?

Reader Question: The Future of Diesel?

Reader Question: The Volt and Octane?

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