<VV> Nader and Minions

[ricebugg at comcast.net]

Smitty:  I do not disagree with what you and Chuck have said about Nader.  



But back when he did the book, he had no involvement in any of the Corvair lawsuits and he had not minions.  He was a mostly unknown middle aged lawyer, searching for a "cause to champion" while scratching and clawing to make a living.  If I remember correctly.  That was the point I was trying to make, which was lost, even by me, in the following postings.  I am sorry about my lack of focus on Nader's early history and the point of history I was trying to make. 


 

What he became is another story, which you and Chuck have articulated well.  His impact on automotive product safety and a whole bunch of other issues is on going.   Including tort law.  But he also has had a lot of help by people who were, and are, being taught what he was taught in law school.   

 


I do not disagree with you about personnel responsibility.  But the proof in my mind that most Americans pay about as much attention to their car's functions as their refrigerators is the fact all new cars have tire pressure sensors them.  The result of the Ford Bronco(?) and Firestone tire fiasco.  Like with many of the Corvair cases, owners failed to be responsible for their vehicles.  Said failure injured and killed some of them.  And most Amecians have not been taught car control in emergency situations.  Ever hear of someone wrecking because they didn't know what the ABS feels like when kicks in?  Took their foot off the brakes, they did.  We will continue to kill ourselves and each other until we learn to treat cars are loaded guns, not refrigerators.  OH!!! What!!!  How do we treat loaded guns.  Better than our cars, generally, but not a really good example...! 
 
Glad you made it back from you visit to you friend.  Bad winter.  Bad bad winter.  But winter does not respond like a dog...it says, let's do it some more!!!  Of course, I've never had a dog, so what do I know.  But my kids did.  Does that count?!  VBG!!!
 
Historically Yours,


                   James
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Smitty Says; James I know the auto industry was rather cavalier about an acceptable level of loss of human life in their products. Ford admitted that in the Pinto fuel tank fiasco. I do believe that those failures of safety should have been brought under scrutiny and dealt with. But when the man made a blanket attack on Corvairs in his first chapter, he was wrong. He attacked the overall safety of the car which was proven to be in error. Many words have been printed on both sides of the argument, but how many were Corvair wrecks where the driver was an unskilled young person that might not even have been able to handle any car at the limit he was expecting? How many were by middle aged people who couldn't be bothered with reading the glove box door or owners manual on tire pressures? How many took the kid at the filling stations word on correct tire pressure even though they had read the manual. How many enjoyed the sweet handling of Earlies at moderate speeds and then exceeded their own driving limits when they pushed too hard? Were those GMs fault? Subtract those from the over all incidents, and there would have been damn few left. Which, if Nadir were an honest man rather than a self aggrandizing lawyer, he would have done, to arrive at factual numbers. His minions should have been busting their butts to get out to the salvage yards to check tire pressures and driver experience levels and how many kids were packed in the car and whether booze was involved if they were after truth. Instead, he just claimed that every wrecked Corvair vindicated his stand.Let me lay a situation on you. It was supposed to sleet and snow today but I wanted to make a visit to an old friend in a "home" about 25 miles away. I sat and talked to him for about an hour, keeping an eye out the window for precipitation. When I stood up I realized that it had sleeted about an inch and I never seen it coming down. I told him I better get headed home before it got worse. I got out on the Interstate and into the darndest mess of nutty traffic I have seen in years. If I had piled up my Corvair on the way home, whose fault could it be? GMs. I hardly think so. When I was doing everything in my power to stay safe, you don't think I would want to accept any responsibility for a wreck do you. But ultimately it would be my fault. I chose to be out there. And that is the difference between me and the low lifes in the world that think everyone owes them a "Pass". That is the kind of thinking Nadir promoted with his tort law promotions. See You at the PW