Wait a Minute--Isn't "Kennedyesque Moron" Redundant?

Mark Rikard sent the following letter

Dear Click & Clack,

While I am a regular listener to your show and have great respect for your knowledge and wit, I must disagree with your tirade today (September 26) about the BMW Z-3 and other fast cars.

Have you guys become total socialistic Kennedyesque morons? I couldn't believe my ears when you went on and on about government involvement in restricting horsepower and acceleration. Why not just produce one bland car (like the Saturn) with no speed, personality or distinctiveness and force the public not only to be safe and secure but to be bored out of their minds! (The last person who did this was named Hitler.)

You guys are really sounding like Big Brother! Protect the masses from themselves?! You idiots! This country was built on the independence of one's choices, whether it be religion, politics or cars! A person should have a right to buy whatever car they want as long as it does not infringe upon the safety of others. Do you think Bobbie Allison or Mario Andretti would have become the drivers they are if they had been driving a Saturn-like car when they were teenagers?

It is, of course, inevitable that teenagers are going to drive too fast. But it has been that way since the advent of the automobile and it will be that way in the future. I feel sure that even before cars were readily available to the public, teenagers were racing their parents horses, mules or buggies. But that is part of being a teenager!

If you want to make everyone totally safe, have everyone work at home and grow their own food and sew their own clothes so they won't have to drive on the roads at all! Maybe we can install video cams in all the houses so that your government regulators can watch over us and ensure our safety in everyday household chores. Boy, wouldn't it be wonderful to be so safe and sound?

Get real, guys! Come back to America!

Sincerely,

Mark Rikard

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