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Guy Johnson
101 West Ohio Street
Suite 720
Indianapolis, Indiana 46204
phone : (317) 231-7000
fax : (317) 231-7005
Ban the automatic transmission!
The recent revelation that the federal government withheld stacks of material pointing out what should be obvious – that talking and texting on cellphones while driving is crazy dangerous – tells me that we need to look at radical changes in our autos.
Some believe that using cell phones while driving should be made illegal. Good luck with enforcing that. Others propose that cars should be made to disable phones. That's more technology and more cost.
To me, the danger persuades me that we should take advantage of government ownership of car companies for a number of good reasons. The new Obamacar should be close to what the average American drove 50 years ago.
If you want to use that car regularly, you had better understand how the choke works, how to change a tire and a fuse and how to listen to the fuel pump as it readies the carburetor reservoir for a start. The steel in the MG has been in use for 36 years. That's even better than recycling.
As for cellphone use, I see that the main advantage to going back to 1950s technology would be the elimination of the automatic transmission. There were plenty of reasons to do that already.
Learning to operate a manual transmission teaches you a lot about how a car works. Drivers will gravitate to smaller, lighter cars because starting a heavy vehicle from a dead stop on a hill is tricky. A stick shift discourages smoking and eating and, properly operated, can reduce fuel consumption. Mandating manual transmissions could encourage use of mass transit.
Give those texters a three on the tree to hold their attention and cellphone danger will be thing of the past, not the future.
Some believe that using cell phones while driving should be made illegal. Good luck with enforcing that. Others propose that cars should be made to disable phones. That's more technology and more cost.
To me, the danger persuades me that we should take advantage of government ownership of car companies for a number of good reasons. The new Obamacar should be close to what the average American drove 50 years ago.
- Our cars should be slow to accelerate, well-protected by sheet metal and free from ozone-creating gadgets such as air conditioning.
- A car should require your full attention to drive it.
- It should demand some understanding of how its systems work and how they can be repaired.
If you want to use that car regularly, you had better understand how the choke works, how to change a tire and a fuse and how to listen to the fuel pump as it readies the carburetor reservoir for a start. The steel in the MG has been in use for 36 years. That's even better than recycling.
As for cellphone use, I see that the main advantage to going back to 1950s technology would be the elimination of the automatic transmission. There were plenty of reasons to do that already.
Learning to operate a manual transmission teaches you a lot about how a car works. Drivers will gravitate to smaller, lighter cars because starting a heavy vehicle from a dead stop on a hill is tricky. A stick shift discourages smoking and eating and, properly operated, can reduce fuel consumption. Mandating manual transmissions could encourage use of mass transit.
Give those texters a three on the tree to hold their attention and cellphone danger will be thing of the past, not the future.
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