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RANDOLPH, NH -- Stopping to gas up his campaign bus at a tiny service station along Route 2 here in New Hampshire, Mitt Romney got the chance to reminisce about a great love he doesn't much talk about: his cars.
Born in the suburbs of Detroit, and raised in the industry -- his father, George Romney, was the CEO of American Motors -- it should come as no surprise that Romney is something of a car buff.
Today, at this isolated gas and service station, the press corps got a glimpse of Romney's background as a car guy when the former Massachusetts governor saw a photo of a 1955 Nash Metropolitan taped to the wall behind the counter. The Metropolitan was a creation of Nash Motors, one half of the merger that created American Motors in 1954.
"Who had the Metropolitan? Do you still have the Metropolitan?" Romney asked the crowd gathered around him, before spotting the owner. "Do you want to sell it?"
Without missing a beat, the car's owner replied simply: "Ten thousand dollars."
Romney caught the joke on his infamous bet with Rick Perry, and he responded dryly, "That's way too expensive for my tastes."
Romney's eyes wandered over the other cars pictured on the wall. He noted other classics like a 1955 Ford and a Ford Fairlane 500. But his heart was set on the Metropolitan.
"Will it start, you think?" He asked the car's owner. "Back to your Metropolitan, are you really selling that? Are you thinking about it?"
Romney, who was quoted in the past saying he owns "a couple" of Cadillacs, revealed a little bit more of what he has parked in his garages in Belmont, MA and La Jolla, CA.
"I've got a 62 Rambler, American, convertible, that my son gave me for my birthday," Romney said to a patron at the gas station, before turning back to his new obsession. "But I'd love to get a Metropolitan."
And when his wife, Ann, got wind some years that Romney was scouring eBay for a late 60s model Mustang, she bought him an orange, convertible 2005 model instead.
"It has the look, but not the classic history," Romney said of the '05 Mustang, before declaring the car "a great gift."
And while the owner of the Metropolitan today might not be selling, Romney said he has his sights set on another classic car, some day down the line.
"Someday when I have the time to fuss with a car that's temperamental and needs repair all the time I might think about an old Mustang or a old Corvette," Romney said. "I would love to get an early 1950s vintage Corvette."
Christmas, after all, is just around the corner.
Leave a Comment:
Meet Mitt Romney,
carused car guy...There, that's better! lol
Complete with the big hair, brown & orange plaid jacket, green sans-a-belt pants & white patten leather loafers!
All he needs is a clown nose...
Crazy Mitt's Used Car Emporium.
Hmmm...I wonder where that bus is made...
I'm sure Mittens' wife is is going to ahve somethng to say about his reaction...It seems he doesn't like his "gift"...and to think the average "joe" gets socks and underwear...
Oh, Mittens...did you think you were going to skate on that "$10,000 bet"?
It seems he doesn't like his "gift"...and to think the average "joe" gets socks and underwear...
Bingo.
Pat Boston MA.
It seems he doesn't like his "gift"...and to think the average "joe" gets socks and underwear...
Bingo
Pat
Happy Holidays to you and the girls
Now this IS FUNNY -
Over @ The Huffington Post, they are having quite a bit of fun over Mitt's tax returns not being made public. One person said - maybe he's collecting unemployment checks and he doesn't want anyone to know -
And now there are rumblings about Mitt's birth certificate and another person said - and while you're at it, we want to see Bachmann's birth certificate as well - we don't believe she is from the planet earth.
My oh my people are so gd funny sometimes.
***************
Thank you Beverly. And of course I send the same to you. I'm a little ticked off this season. Not a soul at work this week had one nice thing to say about Christmas. They have good paying jobs, but all they did was whine all week about Christmas.
I told him - look at the children. Look how excited they all are. Christmas is for them. They didn't seem to care.
I'm telling you - grown ups forget quickly what it's like to be a child at this time of the year. Makes me so disgusted in humanity. They have $$ all year for their stupid cruises though.
I love the Christmas songs and I love all the beautiful lights. And my favorite Christmas decoration - the Christmas wreath. There is something so beautiful & old fashioned about them.
Hilarious Pat, now where I hang out we see more relevant and even more funny stuff:
Obama's two biggest accomplishments: Jack and Squat
Obamacare: bend over and cough
Recession is when your neighbor loses his job: Depression is when you lose your job: Recovery is when Obama loses his
A million people attended Obama's inauguration and only 14 of them missed work
I was anti-obama before it was cool!
I could go on but don't want to miss O'Reilly!
Ok one more: ABO 2012 more than ever
Nice Kelly! Since Pat started this nonsence, how about:
Memphis, those aren't funny.
THIS is funny. That Mormon sense of humor gets me every time-
Romney - the regular car guy
"Mitt Romney was sitting down with some unemployed workers the other day. Mitt is worth a quarter of a billion dollars, and he said, 'Hey, I'm unemployed too.' That is the famous Mormon sense of humor. A little tip Mitt, your people are only funny when the 'South Park' guys write your jokes. " —Bill Maher
Seldom, it's "nonsense" -
If you ask me Metropolitans are hideous.
[If you ask me Metropolitans are hideous.]
Yeah, but hideous in a cool kinda way...like an Edsel.
I'm living in the Detroit area, and I'm a "car guy". I work in the Science Labs and Proving Grounds Division of Chrysler Corporation at their World Headquarters in Auburn Hills; the second largest office complex on the planet. I am a proud Union-represented UAW employee, and I hold a Bachelor's from Wayne State and Boston University. We are not your grandfather's UAW, but the beer gut, fire barrel, bowling shirt image persists.
I got my start in the auto business in the building when Mitt's Dad worked, in the old Jeep/Truck Engineering facility on Plymouth Road between Schaefer and Greenfield.
My town started the American Middle Class when Ford workers struck for better wages and working conditions on an overpass that overlooks the I-94 freeway in Detroit. Google it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Overpass.
Ford sent the thugs in to beat the #@*^ out of the organizers, and the pictures of Walter Reuther, in the hospital, with his face stitched up like a baseball tells the story. Then as now the standard tactic trotted out by the Right Wingers of the day was to blame the start of the fray on Union "thugs". One of the thugs sent by Ford was a guy they got out of Jackson State Prison west of Detroit. The hired knuckle dragger later became a Union member and enjoyed a better living standard as a result.
Mitt Romney is not a "car guy". Mitt Romney is a member of the class and party that are actively trying to destroy and subjugate the Middle Class we built. Republicans cannot flourish without parasitically cannibalizing the Middle Class. It is what they do. It is what they need. These people need to live off of people who work for a living. Romney is one of these people. It doesn't always need to be called "Bain Capital".
Fight Romney. Resist Romney and his ilk. The lines are being drawn for another "Battle of the Overpass" in America, and I don't think this one will be bloodless either.
Join an Occupy movement in your area. Support them. Be with them. Fight with them.
The alternative is surrender, and that,...for Detroiters,....has never been an option.
Extinct,
I was a GM girl. Worked my way up from dealership, to the Cadillac Motor Car division, then GMAC. I am with you, Willard doesn't have a clue on how the autmotive industry works - and how it can supply jobs for all sectors, not just car manufacturing.
Go Detroit. Go Occupy.
GOP, phine...
What I find incredible is how those that rail against Unions use the term "union thug" in the wrong context...lol...they are actually talking about their own. Now THAT'S irony! Maybe they should try researching the history behind a "catch phrase" before plastering it all over internet comment pages.
It's a toss up as to if it's sad, or just amusing at this point.
Awesome Phine!! I knew I liked the cut of your jib.
Self made people like you will never be understood by the people in the "fortunate sperm" club like Romney and No Jo.
My Dad worked for Cadillac at the Clark Street plant as a Foreman. Retired after 38 years. I worked on the line at Cadillac from 1976 through 1980 or so. I installed steering wheels in Eldorados and Sedan DeVilles on afternoons. I earned money for college.
Phine / Mickey,
This from the Wikipedia article:
Henry Ford remained a vehement enemy of organized labor, and he began to build an increasingly muscular force of Ford officials charged with the job of maintaining discipline in the workplace.
The May 27th incident followed an attempt of the United Auto Workers Union to distribute leaflets to the workers leaving the plant and marked the first outbreak of violence in which 16 were injured including four leafleteers (Walter Reuther, Bob Kanter, J.J. Kennedy, and Frankensteen). Beating of Frankensteen occurred around 2:00 pm when Reuther and Frankensteen were asked by a Detroit News photographer, James E. (Scotty) Kilpatrick, to pose for a picture on the overpass, with the Ford sign in the background. The news photographers were the next target; many had their cameras, plates and holders broken, and others forced to flee beyond the city limits.
Kilpatrick was lucky. He hid the photographic plates under the back seat of his car, and surrendered useless plates he had on his front seat. The next day, news and photos of the brutal attack, the so-called ‘Battle of the Overpass’, made headlines in newspapers across the country. All of America was witness to the primitive tactics with which Henry Ford subdued organized laborers. This publicity didn’t end Ford’s opposition to organized labor, but it made his eventual acquiescence inevitable. On the journalistic end, Kilpatrick’s photographs inspired the Pulitzer committee to institute a prize for photography.
I am glad that Mittens has a hobby to pursue after the elections in November. He will need something to keep him busy. He will be able to spend all the time he likes under the hood of that Rambler.
From your lips to God's ears Wayne. He probably needs one of his butlers to tell him which end of the car the hood is on.
LOL
Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukah, happy kwanza, Merry Giant spaghetti god day.... whatever your favorite.........
Enjoy your time with family and friends, or even by yourself.
[Merry Giant spaghetti god day....]
HEY! That means ME!
Thanks, dirp, for including me!
;)
That's a guy with a quick wit in Randolph, NH "10,000." Perfect!
Romney likes old cars and Obama wants to develop new technologies, couldn't ask for a better contrast.
Amy,
You hit the hammer on the nail. Willard's got more lies than Carter has liver pills.
10,000 doesn't seem like much for a Metropolitan if it's in good shape. That's probably why he asked him if it would start.
What the potential buyer should have said was,
"the amount it cost to fly the first family's dog back from Hawaii for the PetSmart photo-op".
Now that would have been hilarious! And much more expensive
http://www.whitehousedossier.com/2011/12/22/bo-shipped-hawaii-obamas-photo-op/
And I just know Amy and Bev saw the latest articles on the actual costs of all the new technologies, and how totally awesome they are not.
It is kinda funny, in a sad way, that the libbies cheer the 'new technologies' yet never seem to do anything to actually support them.
Amy, Bev., I don't suppose either of you actually have gone out and purchased a Volt? And of course neither of you have solar panels, right?
So Amy, how much money have we, the American taxpayer lost on the new technologies?
So many articles on the LightSquared debacle these days. More venture socialism on our dime.
All good, right Amy? Sure it is. And Bev. - great comparision: Obama and Carter.
But then again I know that as someone who will be forced to rely on Social Security you are totally cool with the big cuts in FICA, right Amy?
That sure will make the program stronger.
But pity poor Amy - Maine now has more welfare recipients than taxpayers. truly and totally hosed is ME. Kinda like Ill., right Bev?
Doug,
Did you have these problems when the Bushes were flying all over with their family and pets, or do you just reserve your venom for democrats?
BTW, Merry Christmas!
Ah, Spankers. How you doing tonight? Think the Colts can win two in a row? Merry Christmas to you and Mrs. Spanky.
phine
I guess I missed when the Bush Family flew Barney back from Hawaii for a photo-op. Maybe you can direct me to the link.
Spanky.....as of this week the Volt produced by Obama Motors cost the taxpayer 250,000 apiece. The price of a Lamborghini. Or the price of 8 fully loaded Nissan Leafs. I know you already know this but I wanted to bring this to the attention of the collective.
Merry Christmas Phine! May God bless you and yours. Thank You!
Colts? I think they need to go for the draft pick.
Here's hoping for a Charger loss and exit to LA. I hear they will build them a shiny new stadium.
Like in SF. I loved how the announcers were decrying how old Candlestick is - built in 1960. My house was built in 1959. And unlike my house a stadium gets used seldom each year.
But it's cool, cause Cali has all this extra cash to give to sports teams, don't you know.
Thanks phinep. Me and Ms. Spanky are headed out to a wine tasting/pairing dinner tonight. I got her a case of her favorite Rombauer Chard. for Christmas.
A win, win if you ask me. :)
Guighenheim Malbec from Argentina. Best red ever!!! Works with a meal or with cheese (or just for sipping)
Doug,
I know whatever this president does, or doesn't do, you will find fault with, but, oh well, never mind. 'tis the season to try and be nice.
Heck, Spankster, with Snow in San Diego this week, have you learned how to Chop Wood to stay warm?
Oh, BTW, send some Snow to us here at SoggyBottom, because it was 70 degrees here yesterday.
Aint nuttin to that Global Warming stuff, but don't tell my Republican Wife they aint nuttin to it, because she kinda gets Upset with Non Believers.
Occupy SoggyBottom!
Seriously Rick, this lazy mofo hasn't ever worked up a sweat other then having to run a basket full of letters through the mail machine!
I don't have to "find" fault. It is there for all who have eyes to see. No assistance needed.
Doug,
If the president walked on water you would complain because he wasn't swimming. Let's just give this a break, okay. Bottom line, you don't like the president and liberals - no matter what.
It's Christmas, do you have any special plans this year?
[Here's hoping for a Charger loss and exit to LA. I hear they will build them a shiny new stadium.]
Ahhhh...don't fall for that "shiny new stadium" crap! Effing Bloomberg talked the state and the city into building not one, but two ball feilds: Yankee Stadium and Citi Field...and the taxpayers foot part of the bill.
One thing you have to give the old owners of the Redskins credit for. They paid for the new stadium the 'skins play in now.
And, in my opinion, the "talking heads" on the NFL network get on my nerves.
Doug Ponders
What the potential buyer should have said was,
"the amount it cost to fly the first family's dog back from Hawaii for the PetSmart photo-op".
Now that would have been hilarious! And much more expensive
Doug,
Have you thought about getting treatment for your Obama Derangement Syndrome (ODB)?
Bev,
You notice that all of our friends on the right have lost their Christmas spirit? Or did they have any to start with?
phinephancy-4252115
Bev,
You notice that all of our friends on the right have lost their Christmas spirit? Or did they have any to start with?
They are all a bunch of phonies.
phine,
that's cause no one has promised them any presents yet!
Bev. in Chitown,
I'll buy that for a dollar!
Those on the left are hoping that we on the right get nothing but coal for Christmas. Then when it gets real cold outside the left will try to find a way to take that coal from us to heat their homes. If they don't get it, they will segregate us by labeling us part of the 1%, start calling us names and then blame us for hording all the good stuff. I can hear it now... "coal horder"... "greedy right"... "uncompassionate"
After the left finds a way to take our coal, then they will blame us for all the pollution it creates in the air as the left burns it. They will say the coal is dirty and harming the environment...
Even though we receive coal at the wishes of the left, the left will turn it around and find many ways to blame the right for that which the left wanted all along.
Happy Holidays... Oh frig that... Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas, Brian. No coal for you. How about a nice candy cane? :)
So, two days before Christmas. I, and 49% of my fellow taxpayers, just shelled put a bundle of cash to traumatized a dog by flying him TO Hawaii, BACK from Hawaii- and TO Hwaii, again. This president could not get any more contemptuous of the taxpayers- and his sycophants could not get any more sniveling.
So, as we borrow and spend to keep Obama in the style to which he is accustomed, let's all try to have a Merry Christmas with the little he leaves us.
Merry Christmas Spanky, and bob. Doug Ponders, and Reb. Mixed Bag- wherever you are. JS1, and Joe in Albany. Brianb, and Bill in Va. To all my friends with actively functioning brains- apologies to those I have not named- I wish you all the best of the season.
phinephancy - I knew it! You want to feed me sucrose, sugar and make me get fat! (just kidding) Thank you for your sweet offering. I have a candy cane hanging from the mirror in my truck. Gotta keep with the spirit of the season! (smile)
Merry Christmas back to you No Jo...
I've noticed that as I'm shopping, more and more people are being defiant against the PC police. I've heard more Merry Christmas's this year than in the past few! I guess retailers are getting the message that being politically correct isn't always the way to go.
Wow, no jo: you never fail to disappoint. All that anger and bitterness, and expressing it during a season of joy. But, we are glad that you followed the Lib's mantra of expressing good wishes to someone. It is reassuring to know that you can follow directions from those who are kind and compassionate.
As for me? A very merry Christmas, right or left. All the joys of the season to you and your families, especially to poor no jo.
WHOA!
Nice to see the nut job from NJ woke up this morning with a head full of HATE!
Wait...
What else is new, 2 two before Christmas and the venom flows freely from her fangs!
Merry Christmas anyway to you Donna!
Still no Christmas greeting to me from nojo. That's okay. I still wish her the best of holidays. Christmas is a time when you put politics aside and try to wish for the best for all man (and woman) kind.
Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays to all.
I was thinking the exact same thing!
Guess you really can teach an old dog new 'trick's! lol
So the new tactic of the right is to cry, and whine and bleat and play oppressed "victim" in a massive pity party?
Our noble "job creators", united in their suffering, are indignant over the resistance they are now encountering as the working class chafes under their yoke?
Ohhhhhhhh the agony of our noble "job creators". Perhaps we should sacrifice more of our wages, our Unions, our homes, our health, our prosperity, our benefits, our medical coverage,......even our children so that we may burn these offerings of sacrifice and worship at the feet of our noble "job creators".
Perhaps then, our great and noble "job creator" aristocracy will shower their favor upon we, the unwashed masses and bestow low-paying jobs with no benefits upon us so that we can earn the privilege of making money for them.
Oh how I yearn for that day.
SFeisty
Read her posts (nojo) farther down. You can feel the Christmas spirit and the love she has for all humanity in them - NOT!
phinephancy, Feisty and newday -
I don't want to ruin the plot; but I am pretty sure three spirits will be visiting the scrooge come tomorrow evening.
A very Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays and a Good Festivus to ALL! Oh, and Happy Kwanza and Chanukah, too! To ALL!
and a wonderful new year, as well.
@Clara,
I hope it is the old version of the Dickens' classic. Much scarier than the new ones.
Best of all holidays to you. And a FABULOUS New Year to all!
In the spirit of the season, I give the Obama idolaters this
http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/story/2011-12-22/voters-political-parties/52171688/1
So, now, go check out the polls, and see how he does with independent voters. Then, see who is tied with Obama, despite the GOP not having actually held even one vote, (or caucus), for a nominee. Then, ask yourselves, what happens when the party gets behind said nominee? (here's a hint- look to your own party in 2008- sans the misogyny).
Get prepared for President Romney- who will, actually, fix this mess.
I hear therapy is good for those who suffer from ODS.
It's incurable & thankfully when President Obama is re-elected in November - terminal! ;o)
Thanks but NO thanks Donna!
See, I'm taking a break from polls about an election that is almost a year away...
Instead, I am going to celebrate the joy & magic of the holidays, while you can continue to 'stew' in your crock pot full of venom!
Between FAUX News and the right-wing attacks on this year's beautiful White House Christmas card and No Joe's rant about the First Family's dog, Bo--which despite Jersey Shores' delusion, has not yet left for Hawaii with our President--it is hard to choose which of the comments are the most petty, ridiculous, and just plain stupid of the bunch. My request to Santa this year is that No Joe and those like her be visited by the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future because she and they have a great deal in common with Scrooge. Despite that Santa request, a joyous holiday to all, including the Scrooges.
Well, Well, Well, I see the Pole Dancing Hacker from Jersey must be needing $$ this morning as she is already up Pole Dancing!
Here's a Quarter for you Donna, call someone who Cares!
Occupy SoggyBottom!
My, my, my, the snipes that flow so freely like hemlock laced eggnog. While our illustrious first family will be vacationing in Hawaii, how many Americans are unemployed this Christmas season? How many jobs has Obama and the democrats created this year from their fiscal policies? Oh, I see, that's not their concern. While the leaders of this country sit behind their warm fireplaces sipping on their holiday drinks, the unemployed in this country struggle to make the payments on their electric bills, heating bills and find it hard to enjoy the Christmas dinner because they worry about meeting their obligations. In many households Christmas will be extremely meager because we have a government leadership that is more concerned about winning one job while disregarding the 8.9% of families struggling to find employment.
Oh, what the hell, if Obama is happy, the whole country is happy, eh? <-- a true liberal perspective.
And for you brianb: Tell me true: Must ALL retail workers be required to return a greeting of merry Christmas if their beliefs don't coincide with yours?
Or do they still have the freedoms of speech and association that the Constitution allows?
Eyes on your own paper. 50 words or less. 100% of your grade for the semester.
GO!
Thanks Nojo, and Merry Christmas to you too.
Merry Christmas to all. Not sure why some think that there is any lack of Christmas spirit on one 'side' but that's just silly. Arguing and yelling at each other is fun and all, but Christmas is non-partisan. To think otherwise is just ridiculous.
Brianb - it was a astounding to hear all the dems, and Obama decry increases in taxes yesterday.
Those will be some great fodder for future ads/arguments against their later calls to increase taxes.
Rick - no snow here. Up in the mountains, but not in San Diego. And I'm a wood chopping pro. Of course I rent big old wood splitters. It's kinda fun.
Hey all god see left, right and everywhere in between, we all committed to having a NICE day and we are running out of time. Christmas eve is tommorrow, could we at least start today by being nice and leaving the pilitical divisions behind. I know it will be tough, but for all our sakes, those who came before and those who are coming in the future, lets prove that we are one voice of happiness and friendship in a world of hate....
Merry Christmas to all
Tommorow is a day for the parents to rest be festive and enjoy the spirit of the holidays, Sunday (Christmas day) is a day for to revel with our children.
Hey NoJo - Obama/Biden 2012
We had a Rambler when I was growing up. The muffler kept falling off of it. Then it would blow a lot of smoke and make a lot of noise and would have to pay to get it fixed. Sounds familar but I just can't put my finger on what (or who) that car reminds me of?
Romney has two body exits and he needs a muffler in both.
True. And he definitely blows a lot of smoke!
AMC cars were unreliable piles of crap. To think the son of the guy who brought us the Gremlin wants to sit in th White House!
Al, don't forget that wonderful Pacer. What stylistic lines!
Ours was a 4 door Rambler. You had to keep the back doors locked because everytime you went around a corner, and the doors were unlocked, they would fly open. Ahh, memories. My dad taught me my first curse words in that car (much to my mother's dismay).
How about it phinep - you support all these wonderful new technologies?
Got a Volt or Solar?
Shoot - do you even drive a domestic auto?
The Pacer, was that the fish bowl Chuck? That has to be the 2nd uglist car ever built. The ugliest goes to those pink 1959 Rambler station wagons. I guess Willard's dad sold those turkeys too!
Yes, Spanky, I do drive domestic. I have NEVER owned anything but domestic. And I keep my cars a long time (I make sure the maintenance is done on schedule). I currently drive an HHR. Gets 34 mph hwy, 26 city. I absolutely love my Henrietta. (I also name my cars).
I also worked in the automotive industry before early retirement. For a domestic manufacturer.
Al,
In my youth, I had a 1974 AMC Gremlin that I dropped a 304 into...I would weld the cracks periodically that would show up over time in the body alongside the rear window from the torque. Needless to say I ended up cracking the frame. But it was a little rocket!
Mickey,
Wow, a 304 would have totally lit up the Pacer I owned in the early '80s!
And there in lies the rub.
We have produced some turgid POS's - like the Gremlin, and yet AMC was able to sell hundreds of thousands of them without any tax subsidies.
And yet the Volt, which actually costs hundreds of thousands can sell only 10K in a year.
And let's face it - I would way rather drive a Gremlin right now than a volt. In fact, a Gremlin would be the height of cool, even without a giant v-8 being dropped in [although that would be awesome]. Cause see a 30 year old Gremlin is capable of running, even today.
A 30 year old Volt will not in 2041. To make a Volt run for 30 years would require 3 additional battery packs at $10k each.
So you pay $40k to buy it, then dump another $30k cause the batteries die after 8 years.
That is flat out insane, and is why Amy and Bev are just 'misguided' or don't understand that the new technologies are not ready for prime time.
Mickey - my next trick is to learn how to weld. Someday.
I had a 72 Nova that every boy I knew lusted after.
And Spanky, maybe the Volt isn't perfect, but getting off gasoline for something better IS the way of the future. Whether you like it or not. Better the US figures it out first before someone else does!
Although electric cars help the environment by being zero emission, they hurt the environment in other ways through the process of making the batteries. Also, getting rid of the batteries when they go bad is problematic. But much progress is being made in solar. Panels are much higher quality and cheaper than they used to be. I've cobbled together a nice little system lately for not much $.
There are so many fuel sources out there today we could convert to. However, big oil has a mighty long arm and lots of bucks to influence the hallowed halls of Congress.
[Mickey - my next trick is to learn how to weld. Someday.]
Trial and error...make that trial and LOTS of errors...almost burned down the garage on more than one occasion. Just make sure your insurance is paid up.
Ahh, who am I kidding...of course your insurance is paid up.
[I had a 72 Nova that every boy I knew lusted after.]
I STILL lust after one of those...
[Wow, a 304 would have totally lit up the Pacer I owned in the early '80s!]
Mark, the Pacer was like a fishbowl on wheels.
Mickey,
It was a 2 door with blue metallic paint. It was GREAT. And boy, could it fly!
phine,
You sure it was the car or that well apportioned young female behind the wheel?
The next generation of cars & trucks will either be electric or compressed air. Both are within the current capabilities of technology, just let the innovators do their thing without all the regulations. We can handle the oil issue with LNG (liquid natural gas, which will burn in current cars and much cleaner) until such time as the other two become viable for mass production.
The problem with electric cars is that they are inefficient. Gasoline is the most efficient and cleanest at this time. Electricity takes a source to produce. The laws of physics includes a net loss on producing energy from one source to another. If we use gasoline to produce electricity, there is a net loss from the original gasoline energy value to the electricity energy value.
Solar energy takes huge panels that nobody wants in their back yard... try putting windmills offshore in New England... what do you get? Megacomplaints, threatened lawsuits and politicians saying they don't want to look at them while sitting in their million dollar yachts.
Come on liberals... teach us the answers... or stick with the blame game on the oil companies.
Spanky, it's a waste of time trying to instruct the uneducable.
Solar panels are cheap only because of taxpayer subsidies. I've yet to see a car with one on top, though.
Where on earth do you people think the electricity to recharge the batteries in those little electric cars comes from?
Here in New Jersey, we have a bunch of morons protesting new electric transmission lines- they claim we should not erect them, because we should focus on wind power. They don't seem to get the connection between electricity being genrated- and that same electricity being delivered to their laptops and televisions.
No wonder they still support Obama- thinking is not a strong suit.
In the words of Dickens- I'll retire to Bedlam.
For heaven's sake, nojo, don't you ever get tired of the hate? All kidding aside, this much rage and hate for those you disagree with is not a good thing.
And FYI, we need to look to the future for alternate forms - all kinds - of ways to power our society. Other countries are doing it now, and are successful. Do you want the US to be a third world nation? We are where we are through imagination and innovation. We need to harness that again and move forward. Accepting the status quo will let slide down as a leader in the world.
No alternative technologies?
So what is the answer from the right wing?
Run on gas till the oil runs out and the lights turn off?
Onetwo word answer; HELL NO!It's the only thing that keeps her going...
I guess the oil companies made a good buy when they invested in the GOP.
Hey, extinct
Does anyone want to tell the nutjob that the OIL industries 'run' on subsidies, too? Nah,...let's don't spoil the only good time she plans to have today. Inane posts on topics she knows little about. It IS her hallmark.
No, that point is probably lost on them Clara! Besides, what do those subsidies amount to,.....a paltry few hundred million? Nowadays oil companies tuck that kind of pocket change away without even noticing it.
I think by far the biggest oil subsidy came in the form of the Iraq / Afghanistan Wars. The last price tag I heard for that amounted to about $4.3 trillion over ten years. Now they want all of the Federal lands to drill on because they haven't got enough.
And further, many of those leases remain unexplored, undrilled and untapped.
http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2011/03/two-thirds_of_oil_and_gas_leas.html
Like I say you can give these republicans all the corporate welfare, and subsidies, and tax breaks, and loopholes, and grants you want, but in the end these people will just end up pocketing the money and jetting off to Aruba without so much as a "thanks Suckah".
People like Spanky and No Jo have this entitlement attitude that the government owes them a living.
It is in the repiglican DNA.
two no's, a joe, a bo, and an nj...
Where is Romney's shiny new bus made?
Think Progress: After selling roughly 11.8 million cars and trucks last year, U.S. vehicle sales to businesses and consumers are expected to hit nearly 12.8 million in 2011…That’s up from 10.6 million at the height of the Great Recession in 2009. Through November, new-vehicle sales had logged six straight months of year-over-year gains. That should continue in December, when 1.2 million vehicles are likely to be sold.
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Mitt has his cars. He didn't seem to mind seeing thousands of auto workers in the unemployment line though. Now that he's finished talking about his cars, perhaps he can talk about all his records that are GONE from when he was the guvna. What is he hiding?
And he has the audacity so say Newt can't take the heat? LoL.
And after Mitt is done talking about not standing by the auto workers, he can then perhaps talk about his off shore accounts.
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Think Progress: Romney Founded Business That Utilized Offshore Tax Havens Costing Taxpayers Billions In Lost Revenue
While Romney often cites closing corporate tax loopholes in Massachusetts to balance the state’s budget as among his biggest successes, he simultaneously owes some of his personal wealth to the fact that the company he helped start took advantage of offshore tax havens to shield investors from having to pay American taxes. (Romney was the wealthiest of all presidential candidates in 2008, boasting a personal fortune of nearly $250 million and spending $45 million of his own money during the 2008 primary.) As the Los Angeles Times reported in 2007:
Offshore tax havens are legal and often result in financial windfalls for businesses, CEOs, and investors. But they’re harmful for American taxpayers. The U.S. Public Interest Research Group estimates that the U.S. government loses $100 billion a year in tax revenue due to these tax havens. Because American businesses and taxpayers have to make up the lost revenue, the costs trickle down, costing individual taxpayers an estimated $500 annually.
Pat,
When we were in Grand Caymen in May, we were talking to a local bragging about the fact they have no taxes because of the "kick backs" they get from banking. And the so-called banks were nothing more than a guy with a laptop!
phinephancy, his off shore accounts should be a bigger story.
There's an article over @ The Huffington Post about the fact that Romney won't release his tax returns. And one commentor said - hey, he's an unemployed out of work guy. What's he got to hide? Too funny.
Haven't you noticed all the out of work guys who get cars as presents?
C'mon Mitt - show us your tax returns! Maybe we can all pitch in a few coins to help you out while you're looking for a job. And buying cars.
btw Mitt, we the people keep our money here. We invest in America.
Mitt just exploits America.
Willard is pretty firm on keeping those tax returns under wraps. Wonder what he has to hide? Seems like he likes to hide a lot of things - how about those computers when he was governor? Hmmmm.
x
The most harmful "thing" to the American taxpayer is the Obama administration- all 49% of us.
We fix that in a year or so.
You know, girl, this is your third bitter post. I used to feel anger towards you. Now I only feel pity.
And there's no jo...days before Christmas, berating her fellow Americans who happen to be living at or below the poverty level...
Why do you hate your country so much?
Congrats, you've reached a new level of the barrel...
...the bottom...
Mickey,
Were that it WERE the bottom. When we think she can't get any lower,...someone seems to hand her shovel and she plumbs new depths. Oh well,
The rest of us will maintain our amusement at her frantic 'Reach Arounds for Relevancy'. Merry Christmas to you, Mickey! Hope you have a great holiday!
[The rest of us will maintain our amusement at her frantic 'Reach Arounds for Relevancy'.]
She is getting quite entertaining...scraping the bottom of the barrel. I believe striving for adequacy is the term. She must really be lonely.
Maybe nojo will volunteer on Christmas at her local soup kitchen, or homeless shelter dishing out meals...open her eyes a little.
Clara, I will have a wonderful Christmas this year, and may your observance of choice be filled with many memories and good cheer!
I'd prefer it if Mitt went back to being a moderate governor of a New England state. He should stick with his strengths - Massachusetts, his family, and his car collection.
Mitt just has to waffle over everything, doesn't he? 'Stang or 'Vette, Romney, pick a freaking side.
Romney who is eager to wage a war against Iran While Ron Paul is at the top of the polls in Iowa showing the heartland of America is sick of policing the world at the cost of our young men and woman dying and trillions of dollars of debt,
A vote for Romney is a vote is a vote to continue Obama's policy's 1) more war in Afghanistan. 2) More Bank and corporations bailouts. 3) More mandatory universal health care. 4) pro war and police the world.
Come on lets get back to what our founders said in the constitution 1) only go to war with congress approval. 2) Transfer the right to coin monies to congress and abolish the private Federal reserve. 3) Mandatory health care is not in the constitution. 4) President Washington and Jefferson warned us to avoid and beware of foreign entanglements.
So a Vote for Ron Paul is a vote to uphold the constitution. A vote against Ron Paul is not honoring our fore father's Washington and Jefferson's warnings. PLEASE Do your own research vote for the constitution. All public servants and military take an oath to uphold the constitution. lets start by reading it.
Ron Paul is on the wrong side of the most important constitutional liberty issue of the day; he, like his allies in the "social conservative" movement, opposes separation of church and state.
He is leading in Iowa not because Iowans are suddenly becoming libertarians, but because he is campaigning there as one of them: an extreme, religious conservative who will do everything in his power to impose his religious beliefs on others through the instrument of government.
He is no champion of liberty or the constitution.
Well Nathan,
Nothing but love brother, nothing but love.
I neeeever thought I would ever see someone post out against liberty. Man the Dr is all about religious freedom, freedom for everyone everywhere. This makes me sad to see that the intelligence capabilities of some americans have sunk so low...
Any way, you SIR, have a very merry christmas (or whatever you choose to celebrate) and I hope a happy New Year!
Far out, Romney a car guy! Maybe someday he will stop by my tiny little shop and help me build and engine or setup a rear end. Maybe he will spend some time and get greasy with me. Oh wait, he has no idea who I am representative of and has no desire to know. Just a lowly retiree, living on beans and rice, suing one project to pay for another project, (no compensation for my labor), for over 50 years. No better skin cream or hair conditioner than good old garage tailings-do yourself a favor Mittie-forego hair dye, teeth whitener-I have no teeth-fancy clothes and diamond rings, and skin tightening-forego all of that for some grease and busted knuckles. Stop by my tiny little shop for some real grunt fun. (Oh yeah, I am a former real grunt, USMC 11/64-11/68-0311. I spoke french too, but mainly to older folks in Viet Nam, 65-66. Way better patriotic credentials that a molly-coddled trip to France.)
Romney will do for America what the Pacer did for AMC!!
More than two decades ago, Mitt Romney’s business venture came to town with a bounty of highly anticipated manufacturing jobs. The new plant, just past the gas station off Interstate 85, needed skilled workers to churn out thousands of photo albums.
Four years later, the Holson Burns Group Inc. — the company controlled by Romney’s Bain Capital LLC — closed the factory and laid off about 150 workers. Some jobs were sent north, where months later many of those were also eliminated. Other operations went overseas.
But Bain walked away with millions in profits.
Although Holson Burnes’ sales nearly doubled from 1987 to 1991 — to more than $110 million— it posted consecutive operating losses!
Where did all that money go?
South Carolina officials lured the company to Gaffney with more than $5 million in industrial bonds and $200,000 in utility upgrades.
Then Romney declared bankruptcy and stiffed a supplier for $1.9 million in IOU payments.
If elected that is how Romney would run this country.
Also, see Utah if you want a fore taste of what Romney in office would be like.
Utah Governor Herbert pulled the winning contract bid out from under the winning contractor for the Core I-15 project, an Obama stimulus funded project, and gave it to one of his favored contractors, then gave a $13 M consolation prize to the contractor he just jilted... for nothing.
The Utah DABC (Dept of Alcoholic Beverage Control), the state entity that is the owner of all the liquor stores in Utah was caught giving preferential contracts to suppliers that were related to the chairman of the DABC.
Then there's the matter of UTA (Utah Transit Authority) and their greatly inflated salaries and real estate deals with foreknowledge of expansion to capitalize on certain development plans.
Utah's AG could never prosecute a polygamist and instead let Texas take care of Warren Jeffs. Now many women and children are being pushed out into the streets for the holidays because Jeffs is excommunicating them. A call has gone out to foster homes for these people.
If you liked the partial privatization of Medicare, known as the Medicare Prescription Drug Plan (Part-D) by Bush appointee, HHS Chair and long time former Governor of Utah, Michael Leavitt., then you'll love phase two of the same plan.
I could give you example after example of the nepotism, favoritism and outright fraud practiced by these people but you can find out for yourself. These people claim to share the values of the evangelicals. That is true if evangelicals embrace fraud, extortion, embezzlement and hypocrisy.