Best Car I Ever Owned

The best car I ever owned was a 1985 Olds Toranado. I bought the car second hand from small dealer in town. I heard the car run and checked the transmission and brakes. Everything, surprisingly worked. Every option performed as designed. Aside from a torn headliner the interior was perfect. $100.00 at the local trim shop and I had a car that looked and drove like a dream.

The odometer indicated 92,000 miles in 1996. My handsome offer of $1500.00 dollars was accepted and I was off to the DMV to acquire tags for my new chariot.

When I viewed the title the last mileage entry was at 146,000 miles. This means my low mileage bargain was about to turn 200,000 miles or double what I assumed. The news was comforted in the fact I had paid very little for the car. The Olds was my second car.

My first vehicle was a 1 ton Ford 4x4 that got an amazing 9 miles to a gallon of gas. That's 9 miles city, highway, uphill, downhill and tailwind. It rode like a roller skate and parked like the Queen Mary. It was a great truck if you were pulling heavy loads or Trans Atlantic Crossings. The Ford was the dream of every OPEC Oil Minister. The Olds would get much better mileage at 16 city and 22 highway.

After I drove the Olds around a bit I noticed two flaws in the car. It leaked oil in the valve covers and had a slow leak in the gas tank. Both leaked 24/7 whereas the truck only cost money when I drove.


My attempt to lower my driving costs were diminished in the waste of oil and gas. Without repairs the car was a total waste of money. Surprisingly, both were inexpensive to repair. New gaskets on the valve covers and a plug in the gas tank and all was well.

After I spent an additional $200.00 dollars to the purchase price and an optional updated radio/stereo I had a first class automobile with power everything and cold AC. Over the next five years I spent money on only tires brakes and batteries. I put another 60,000 miles on the car and drove it across country every year on vacations.

Not only was I driving a American made product, I was saving on insurance, gas and not sending my hard earned money to Detroit every month and avoiding support of a parasitic blood sucking banker in compound interest.

My choice to purchase a newer Cadillac in 2001 proved to be a huge mistake. The events of September 11, 2001 would throw the Country into recession along with the profound incompetency of one George W Bush.

The problem with making payments to a Banker and outrageous insurance premiums could have been overcome in time. Eventually, the Caddy would be paid off, interest retired and insurance diminished.

This is the biggest problem in our economy. In past years you could depend upon the economy to function effectively until your debts were paid. You had to exercises care and encouraged not to over borrow. Avoiding credit card debts and extravagant spending usually was enough to keep a guy out of bankruptcy. Long term debts such as housing mortgages were always offset in higher property values and inflated increases in wages. Locked in on a fixed mortgage was a smart investment for the average guy provided you stayed within the safe 25% of annual income.

I remember the advise of my father when I married " never finance a car for 36 months, pay it off in 24 months or don't buy the car". If you couldn't pay the car off in 24 payments you couldn't afford the car. This advice has come full circle today. Today's economy cannot be sustained for more than 24 months. We no longer see downturns in the economy as in the past. Our recent economy results in collapse not downturns. Auto loans of 72 months are common and recommended for only the truly clairvoyant. In additional cost of insurance and taxes has skyrocketed to the point the soft costs now overwhelm the hard costs.

In addition you now have the city demanding all cars be registered and tags. The State demanding all registered cars have insurance. Even if you don't drive the car, they can still bleed you for $1500.00 per year in extortion.

The cost of owning your home or auto is no longer in the cost of building the home or steel in the car. These costs are now overwhelmed in taxes, interest charges and insurance. All three not surprisingly under the control of their government. You now have the tail wagging the dog and the cart before the horse in an upside down economy that will never perform.

With these practices in place it's understandable the rewards for making money in America no longer are reaped by those doing the work. All the money is being raped in the soft costs of banking, insurance and government bureaucracy. All government, not just Federal but State, County and City as well. They all operate in the same circles of piracy and influence.
Instead of making things in Detroit we now make things up in Washington,DC. Turning the wheels of commerce on a cottage industry in the imagination of New York or Washington,DC.

I once had the unfortunate experience of trying build a County Library on State owned lands inside the City limits with Federal Money. In a scenario once believed only capable in the minds of Rod Serling or Stephen King, we now found ourselves in a cosmic collision of all forms of government within Milky Way Cosmos.

A cataclysmic collide of taxes, permits, utilities, fees and selfish displays individuals power. Each level of government squared off in threatening battle of supremacy of obtaining more funds for their budgets. The city demanded permits and fees or no water or electricity for the Library. The State refused and the Fed was all about protocols for the return of your money. Case and point, I was approached by a man with a gold badge indicating he represented the County Environmental Agency and I was removing trees without a County Permit. I advised Barney, I had a State Permit as I was on State owned lands. He advised if I didn't stop, he would call the Sheriff and have me arrested. I told Barney, I was going home and would not return until the President, Governor, Mayor and Sheriff had come to terms and the problem was now his. I finally received a call at home encouraging me to return to work. I learned when I returned that we had obtained a Permit for tree removal from the State, County and City. We the taxpayer paid three times for nothing!!!!

Not that they were performing for the public good, they were simply attempting to enrich their budgets and capture more power. Attorney's and the full force of each level of bureaucrat was used to bleed the taxpayers of even more money.

Sadly, I can attest they all won in an truce of just take the money and let the citizens pickup the tab for their greed. The government spends money. Money is Power. Power corrupts. The way to stay in Power is to spend more money. The way to spend more money is to create bigger government. The way to bigger government is more money and more corruption. This is where we are now. The system is so upside down we can't control the addiction.

You were waiting for me to get here from my Olds weren't you? You may notice I said their government and not our government. The reason for the distinction is that large corporate Titans run the government from the money they access. Once you control the money you control the power by default.

We get to vote sure, that's an unfortunate obstacle in an Oligopoly system. We only choose from candidates selected by the Pharaoh's of Wall Street. Doesn't matter who you vote for, your vote will be trumped by Corporate donations once they're in office. The candidates are vetted rubber stamped and approved ready for voting by the Corporate Titans of Corruption.

Simply apply the analogy of my 85 Olds as the best car I ever owned. We can all agree the United States of America is the greatest country on Earth. Our Union is our strongest asset. Our government though, is another matter.

Think of the Government, Taxes, Banking, and Insurance as the hole in the gas tank and leaky valve covers. These costs are all liabilities to our GDP. The more you drive the faster you waste money. We the People need to focus on fixing the holes in the tank and new gaskets for our heads.

The money supply needs to be cut off from Taxes Banking/Wall Street and Insurance. A person would have to be truly stupid not to see, as most people suffer and poverty rates increase, Government Banking and Insurance are realizing huge profits and bonuses. The Stock Markets soars and Banksters post record profits. Even the bagman in the theft AIG is rewarding the pirates with bonuses. All accomplished in obscene unemployment and poverty.

People will not buy homes if the PITI, principal, interest, taxes and insurance are to high. People will not buy a car if they can't buy gas or afford insurance. The fear of the Banker taking your property in foreclosure is masked in the profit motives of the fees collected along the way. If foreclosure and repossession resulted in a loss for the Banksters the practice of writing bad loans would cease. Providing TARP money to the Bankster for repossession is lunacy to the taxpayer. Why would you encourage the Banks to foreclose on your property? Just like the great depression the people will never embrace a system of abuse. In 1934 laws were created to stop the very same abuses in Banking today. Those laws now, repealed signaled open season on corporate piracy.
Don't expect things to improve either because, as long as your money is being sent to a leaky gas tank or leaking valve covers the money will never come to you in reward. It's gone