No, not the Corvair, but rather Barack Hussein Obama, who admits to taking a 1970s era Ford Granada to well above 80mph--and then complains that it didn't handle well at that speed.
Memo to Barack; the speed limit was 55mph at the time, and most roads were built for a speed of 55-70mph. Yes, when you exceed the design speed of both your vehicle and the road you're driving it on, you will have some problems. Your mileage will also go down. However, the blame is to be assigned not to Ford, but rather to the nut behind the wheel.
Obama, a big advocate of government intervention in auto markets, also ought to consider why the Granada was built so lightly; Ford was trying to meet CAFE fuel efficiency standards. Maybe he could take a hint and figure out that Congress ought to leave the engineering to the SAE.
Yes, I'm dreaming here, but I've got to have hope.
Podcast #1047: The Roman Caesars’ Guide to Ruling
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The Roman caesars were the rulers of the Roman Empire, beginning in 27 BC
with Julius Caesar’s heir Augustus, from whom subsequent caesars took their
nam...
11 hours ago
4 comments:
Nitpick: That's Granada, named for Moorish Spain, not a British Caribbean island.
Otherwise, too true, too true.
Although, he does apparently understand that CAFE had something to do with it, because he says "They wanted to keep the cars big." It's just that in his world, wanting a big car when the government doesn't want you to is an illegitimate desire that should simply be sacrificed. Tall people and medium sized families with teenagers in the back seat can just go pound sand.
Good points, and thanks for the spell check. One would think that a tall man like Obama would clue into the toll that CAFE took on his driving pleasure, and act accordingly.
Ironically, CAFE made family cars less efficient, too--no minivan yet made equals the mileage of the V8 powered 1996 Buick Roadmaster, king of family cars.
Why's that? The catalytic converter?
It created two classes; trucks (sit higher/on frame) and cars (sit lower/unibody). You could build a tall vehicle that held 7 to 9 people without paying a gas guzzler tax (say a "Suburban"), but not a car.
Hence family vehicles went to the latter category, leading to a higher profile/less stable/worse mileage vehicle.
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