This is an opinion, but since it relates primarily to RWD cars and their owners,
I am posting it here (among friends?).

As we in the US celebrate the date of the declaration of independence a thought
comes to mind which should be near and dear to the RWD community. I haven't heard
much about this lately but I think it bears remembering.

Many efforts have been made and probably will increase to get the relics that we
hold dear OFF the road. I would recommend that whenever you hear of such an
effort, register your feelings on the matter as soon as you can before public
opinion is swayed to the view that the Government knows what we should drive.

My own view is that food should NOT be taken from anyone's mouth to make motor fuel.
Here in Oklahoma they are now posting on the pumps at gas stations that
"This fuel may contain up to 10% ethanol." In talking to a friend who is in the
fuel policy group at ConocoPhillips I learned that, at least in their stations in
this area, what we are getting is pure gasoline with no ethanol.
Apparently the mix is largely controlled by economics.

Many of you know that I live in what was the first oil patch in Oklahoma, and
that in fact there was oil production here BEFORE it was Oklahoma, 110 years ago.
The whole area was under oil production and much of it still is today.
Nonetheless you will have to look VERY hard to find lasting environmental damage
in this area relating to oil production. (Lead and zinc mining were and are a
very different matter.) A lake that I used to fish in (and sometimes swim in)
has had as much as several inches of crude oil on its surface dozens of times,
yet the wildlife in the area is much the same as it was when I was a kid 60 years
ago, with the exception that we now have armadillos. Fishing was rarely affected,
and never for any great length of time.

Many states have a "Get them off the road" policy that makes maintenance and retention
of older cars very difficult. Auto parts recycling centers (aka salvage yards or pick'n pulls)
are being forced out of business by shortsighted environmentalists,
who don't seem to realize that keeping a car going eliminates the environmental
damage of replacing it and getting rid of the residue, which is becoming less and
less easy to recycle, unlike the old "iron" cars.

So, as an oldtimer who loves the oldtimer Volvos, my view is, "Let's do what we
can to preserve what we have!"
--
George Downs, Bartlesville, Heart of the USA!