Doc Stevens

Tondeleo: Doc INSISTED that I post this blog right away. He was fuming, and called my mobile phone and told me to record his words and get them posted. It is about the Us Governments "Cash for Clunkers" programme, where they will allow you $4500 for your petrol guzzler, if you trade it in on a new car that uses less petrol. Then, the government has the dealership destroy the engine in the car that was traded in. That is what set Doc off.

Doc: Tondy - I am madder 'n' a one eyed cop in a constipation camp! Them desk jockeys up in the government is allowin' people $4500 for their old cars and pickups if they want to trade 'em in for somethin' what uses less gas.

OK. That's good for folks what gots good jobs, good credit and can afford full insurance, which I cain't. So it aint helpin the poor. No, it's helpin' the car companies what cain't seem to sell cars without Uncle Sam's help. Uncle Sam done give 'em all about a billion dollars each last spring so they wouldn't go out of business. But guess what? They took that money and then once they got it, they filed bankruptcy anyway! Within a couple of months! Where'd they put all that money? Them rich dudes took it.

Now here is what gets me. If you want to get $4500 for your old car or pickup, it's got to be on the road, tagged and insured and it's got to run good. Heck, me an' my friends is ALWAYS tryin' to keep our cars on the road, tagged and insured. That right there, aint easy for a poor man.

But here they take these cars and trucks what is RUNNIN! and is tagged and gots good tires, good exhaust on 'em, nicer than anything I have ever owned, and then guess what they do with them?

THEY RUIN 'EM TONDY! THEY KILL 'EM! THE GOVERNMENT MAKES THEM KILL THE MOTORS IN THEM!

Butch's boy Ronnie told me that. OK, a Suburban was traded in. A 92 Suburban. Newer than anyone 'round here is drivin.' It had good paint on it and he said it ran good. He wanted to buy it. But guess what? This made me cry, Tondy. They took it around back, to the garage an' they made the mechanic drain all the oil out of it, and then pour in water and sand into the crankcase! Water and SAND! And that mechanic had to run that motor and rev it up til it locked up! A perfectly good 350!

He said they has done that for EVERY car what has come in, more than 80,000 of 'em! Someone ought to go to jail for that one! A whole bunch of someone's ought to go to jail.

Here poor folks without good jobs or credit is, tryin' their best to keep something on the road, and Uncle Sam is makin' the car dealers kill perfectly good cars. That is a sin against God.

Tondeleo: Well, Doc, it keeps the dealers from turning around and selling these cars back to the public...

Doc: But POOR people needs cars! We need parts for the cars we got! How about recyclin'? They makes a big deal outta recyclin up there in DC. Here is all they need to do. When the dealer gets that car traded in as a clunker, he can write the word JUNK across the title and turn that in to the MVA. Then nobody can tag that car again. It is just salvage from then on. But at least we could get parts and could recycle them. I am broken hearted, Tondy and had to get you to put this on that innerweb so the people in cyrilspace can read it and stop this mess. Good night.

Tondeleo: Good night, Doc.

Tondeleo: This is from a conversation a few weeks ago with Doc concerning the US Government bailout of the big three U.S. Automakers. He had come up to the hotel where I was staying and he and Marilyn spent the evening watching cable TV (which they do not have in Nanjemoy) and flipping channels on the remote. Doc tuned in to a CNN story about the proposed US Government bailout of the American auto industry. He was fussing and grumbling, so I knew he was thinking and I got out my recording stick and hit "record" while he gave his analysis of the situation.

Doc: Well, Tondy, this don't sound like America to me. It sounds like Russia or Europe or somewhere else un American. In America, the idea is that if a man makes something and goes to sell it, he will either do good with it or go out of business.

If he don't do good, he OUGHT to go out of business, and if people's workin' for him, they ought to go find someone else to work for what turns out a better product. Or they could come up with their own product what is better. That's how it is supposed to work and that is why in the used-to-be, American products was pretty much the best in the world. American companies did their darndest to make the best things they could and then sell them at the best price.

Building good products and selling them at the lowest price they could was the American way. That's why a lot of cars that used to be made aint out there anymore.

They USED to be all kinds of American car companies, Tondy. I can think of Studebaker, what went out of business in the 60's, Tucker closed up in the 50's, like Willys, Crosley, Nash, Packard, La Salle, Kaiser-Frazer, Hudson, Packard and some more I caint remember the names of. Even American Motors what made Ramblers, AMX's and Jeeps went out of business and Chrysler bought Jeeps and they still aint making a good product, in my opinion, cause I do body and fender work and Jeeps is rust buckets after 10 years. Worse than any other I can think of.

But, aint no one from the Big Three went crying to the government to bail out any of them other companies! They was GLAD they closed up and figured if you caint compete, then go out of business! All them folks what worked for them companies had to go find other jobs, and some of them had to move, or move in with relatives. But GM, Ford and Chrysler din't care a hoot about that! It was just more money for them and they laughed all the way to the bank.

I say what's good for the goose is good for the gander. Them Japs can build cars what Americans want to buy, and they last good and keep their value, like American cars use to do. If Honda, Nissan and Toyota can build cars and trucks, and some of them are built here in the USA - then their aint no reason why the American companies caint do it. It aint that they caint, Tondy. It's that they won't. They has gotten fat and lazy and greedy.

Tondeleo: So, Doc, are you saying that the US Government should take over these companies and run them, or that ....

Doc: NO! Heck NO! That Federal government couldn't even run the Post Office! If they caint run a Post Office, how they gonna run three giant car companies? They'll screw it up like they done with everything else they touch. Remember they bought that AMtrak back there in the 80's or 90's and it aint never made a dime, they just keep using taxpayers money to prop it up. So I'm against them bailing out the car companies. Give that money to people what work for them - give it to the working people as they need it to help get situated. Make sure the retired folks don't lose their pensions. That's one idea and it would save money.

A better one would be toe have them taken over by and run by the people what run Honda, Toyota and Nissan. They been able to give American people good cars and trucks and keep the prices right and keep the quality up. I say let the Jap Big Three run the American Big Three and give us some better Chevy, Fords and Chryslers. I bet they could turn it around in 10 years, Tondy. Heck, even Daimler couldn't make Chrysler do good. That's why they dumped it. So, work a deal with the Japs. Make some good cars and make some money. And people would get to keep their jobs. Not the fat cats. Just the working people. Japanese eat cats.