THE CAR COACH REPORTS: WEEK IN REVIEW
BIG BROTHER’S BLACK BOX EDITION
George Orwell was a bit early with his predictions in 1984 but he was right on the mark just a few decades later. Our government is taking away our liberties one step at a time and will likely know just about everything we do in no time at all, if it already doesn’t.
Case in point: http://www.autoblog.com/page/7/ It appears Congress is ready to pass a mandatory law requiring all vehicles manufactured in 2015 and later to carry the proverbial black box. The black boxes will record all sorts of information such as speed, deployment of airbags, throttle position, and much more.
While the black box idea could certainly make it clear who is at fault in a crash and help insurance companies, it ultimately is a method for government to snoop into our daily lives should it chose to do so.
Imagine this: You’re on a road trip and get pulled over for speeding. The cop checks your black box and determines that not only were you speeding when he caught you, but that you’ve been speeding for hours throughout several states. He then informs the highway patrol in the other states and you end up with several tickets.
Sound farfetched? I bet no one would have thought 20 years ago that there would be red light cameras everywhere and mandatory stability control, backup cameras and ridiculous CAFE regulations either, but they’re coming! In fact, while this doesn’t have to do with cars or driving, entire cities are outlawing walking while distracted: http://www.freep.com/article/20120516/NEWS09/120516014/texting-and-walking-fines
So how much government do we want in our lives? How much do we want to be told what we can and cannot do by a wasteful, corrupt bureaucracy that is extremely out of touch with the average American?
How much do we want Uncle Sam to be a passenger in our cars?!
What are your thoughts?
Post your comments at http://laurenfix.blogspot.com/
My Final Thought
This has to be one of the dumbest questions ever posed: http://www.salon.com/2012/05/14/is_it_ethical_to_drive_stick/
Come on, aren’t there bigger issues we need to address before worrying about the very small percentage of drivers who have a manual transmissions and whether or not their MPGs stack up against automatics?
While the automatic transmission certainly has made great strides over the years, it will never be as engaging as a stick shift. Besides, when driven properly, many stick shifts actually save on gas mileage!
I’m not knocking David Sirota here—he’s a very good writer and his stories are usually quite engaging. But the manuals are already dying off. Today’s generation of children will likely rarely even see a car with a stick shift.
I’m with Car and Driver on this one: Save the Manuals!
Share your thoughts at: http://laurenfix.blogspot.com/
See you next week! Love Your Car! --Lauren Fix
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