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I drove my 93 VX for 32 k miles with no radio, manual windows, and manual steering. It did have AC and a passengers mirror, but I usually did not use the AC unless it got above 92 degrees.
Car companies make 100% profit on options, or at least they used to make that much.
I hate option packages. I have yet to program my mirror to open my garage door. There are a lot of options on my Altima I will never use, but then I did not pay for them. They are also a huge factor in depreciation and very costly to repair.
On drivers licensing:
I think every new driver should have a gps in their car that allows the parents to monitor there driving and where they go, especially when you consider the parents are financially liable for the underage drivers mistakes.
I think a drivers test should be a heck of a lot harder than it is today, with probably a simulator to create emergency situations to test the response of the student. Maybe not as tough as Finland (the only country to pack back the WW2 debts) but a whole lot tougher than what is available today.
Pop learned to drive from his father who was one of 7 State Troopers in Virginia at the time, It took him two years. When he went into the military he was an ambulance driver before he went to pilots school.
His last accident was 1973 when he was t-boned by another driver who ran a red light.
His last ticket was 1955. He once told me I was the only person who he felt comfortable enough to fall asleep riding in a car I was driving.
One time I took him to Andrews AFB where he got on a courier flight to the Florida Keys. He was so nervous, the pilot let him come into the cockpit and actually fly the plane for a short distance, because he never trusted another pilot enough to feel comfortable.
I think new drivers should be carefully monitored until they have a couple of years experience. If they screw up they should have to spend a night in an emergency room and see the consequences of auto accidents.
My youngest brothers son got his license at 16, and his first car was a WS6 Firebird, a real road rocket. He is 23 now, and has never been cited for any traffic violation, with the exception of a charge of illegal fog lights on a Mini Cooper. In court he showed the judge that the lights were factory equipment and legal for the year the car was produced. With both of his parents sitting in court the case was thrown out. The other night he called his dad and asked him to come and get him because he had to many drinks at a bar. He knew his dad would take care of it without the need for any lecture.
He could have called me, or his grandparents, or his fathers other two brothers, and not a single one of us would have said anything but thanks for the opportunity to keep him safe.
regards
Mech
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