Presumptive Democratic Presidential Nominee VP Kamala Harris has chosen a running mate in Governor Tim Walz. I used to work in politics ,and think I pay attention, but if a month ago you’d have told me the Democratic VP candidate was going to be a Midwestern Lutheran angler/hunter former High School football coach I’d have probably laughed in your face. And that’s before I knew what he drove!
Let’s just get this out of the way right now: Vote for who you want. There are going to be plenty of websites and people in your life telling you whom to vote for — we will not be among them (unless Dan Gurney is resurrected and runs as an independent).
When President Biden, a known car guy, stepped down my best search revealed no similar car interest in VP Kamala Harris (although I did discover, via commenter V10omous, that former President Trump once owned a pretty sweet Lambo). Most career politicians, for whatever reason, are not usually car people. This ends up occasionally causing huge problems.
Is Minnesota Governor Tim Walz a car person? I think it’s safe to say he is.
Out of all potential Democratic VP nominees, Tim Walz undoubtedly has the very best car. That should count for something. https://t.co/yqbV0DjhYq pic.twitter.com/SI7ZHgkFnA
— lichen appreciator (@tjdfotographist) August 2, 2024
First, let’s go to what he drives: A baby blue 1979 International Harvester Scout II that he reportedly works on himself. From his local paper:
He owns and tinkers around on a vintage blue International Scout, a four-wheel-drive vehicle that International Harvester stopped producing in 1980. He has custom plates that read, “ONE MN,” his campaign slogan for his gubernatorial bid.
Also, he has a dog named Scout, presumably after his truck. There’s ample evidence on the web of him driving the Scout, so it’s not a garage queen (although, for state business, he seems to be ferried around in the usual mix of SUVs).
A Scout is obviously an amazing car choice. The Fort Wayne-built truck was manufactured by International Harvester during its foray into consumer vehicles and, being a 1979 model, it’s a Scout II. Walz gives off extreme Grandpa energy, and the Scout, while being a great truck, is definitely not hip in the way a Bronco is nor tough in the way of an old Blazer. I think it would sway more youngsters if he had a Pajero Evo, but we’ll probably have to wait for our first Millenial gearhead Veep nom for that.
Ok, he’s got a great truck that he seems to own simply because he likes it, but is he a wrench? Let’s look at the evidence.
He’s constantly reminding people to get their oil changed or take care of their cars:
But does Governor Walz change his own oil? You can totally be a car person and a gearhead without doing any of those things, but you’re not likely a wrench.
Here are some photos of him working on his car, but perhaps they’re staged?
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, who is picking up momentum as a possible VP pick, is the proud owner of a 1979 International Harvester Scout that was built in Fort Wayne. pic.twitter.com/vv8s0Gh9ZW
— Fort Wayne Politics (@FWPolitics) July 30, 2024
Actually, wait. There’s definitive proof in this Tweet:
A favorite from my Walz archive. pic.twitter.com/IXOzUnRne1
— Matt Wagenius (@mattwagenius) August 5, 2024
Governor Walz, in the middle of the election, took apart the headlight connector on a Ford Edge and explained how to fix it using some shrink-wrap connectors. Even that itself might not be enough proof, but it’s the way he called out the cost of doing it yourself (just $7.99 at NAPA!) and his light chastising of Ford for the quality of the harness that really makes it for me.
Again, having a cool car is not at all a reason to vote for someone. Neither is being able to work on your own car. However, if the Harris-Walz ticket is elected this might be the right time to push for a national Right-to-Repair law.
Clearly a political selection only to solicit support of the Lake Wobegone crowd.
If he slaps some duct tape on that Scout he might also pick up the coveted Red Green block.
The constituency that is some ratio of handsome / handy.
I’m definitely one of those things.
The above average?
Can we just circle back on the dog? Such a good boy.
I’m here for the Pup Cups
Nice, light read, so glad that Autopian -mostly- stays out of political and social issues and doesn’t gawker the place up.
I treaded very lightly into the comments section, expecting the worst. But I’ve found your standard lighthearted, friendly Autopian commentariat. I’m simultaneously relieved and buoyed, but also kind of disappointed. Comments fireworks can be fun in a rubbernecking-kind of way.
If you’d like, I can type out a couple of vaguely lucid paragraphs with random words in ALL CAPS and too much/not enough punctuation.
I think he could be a very influential VP when it comes to vehicle regulation. As an enthusiast he likely wants people to be able to enjoy their classic cars for decades to come and could usher in some more push for alternative synthetic fuels to keep those vehicles on the road.
I bet he believes in registering Kei cars.
That just might be the straw…
“if a month ago you’d have told me the Democratic VP candidate was going to be a Midwestern Lutheran angler/hunter former High School football coach I’d have probably laughed in your face.”
Ha, at least presumably you wouldn’t have shot anyone in the face, unlike a certain VP in the past.
While Walz does seem to have some good qualities, given that he engages in hunting, I do tend to give the side-eye to people who kill animals for pleasure. It’s not like he’s poor and has to turn to sustenance hunting. However, as governor he did provide for free school lunches for all schoolchildren, so there’s at least that.
It’ll be interesting to see how it works out for a gearhead at such high levels. Obama and Biden were car guys (especially Biden, by far) & both have commented about being chagrined at not being able to just hop in cars and actually drive but they weren’t so much into wrenching on their cars. After all, plenty of people are car guys without being gearheads; I’d argue that there are far more car guys than gearheads.
I’m a vegetarian but I’d much rather eat a deer harvested by a local hunter than a cow slaughtered in a factory farm and processed by preteen immigrants working third shift. The first one just seems much more ethical to me.
Exactly. I knew a guy in college who hunted during deer season, and then ate venison all year long and rarely bought farmed meat. Not a bad way of doing it.
He hunts his own deer because he knows once he gets in office he’s going to take away your hamburgers…..and your gas stoves!!!!!! I don’t know, something I heard some yahoo shouting about on a “news” clip.
While I don’t care about VP picks I don’t get your point on hunting. Would it be better if he bough factory farmed beef?
Same dude. Hunters are a lot more ethical than ‘foodies’ and lazy people that just buy whatever factory farmed BS they can get the cheapest.
Also, deer hunting is a cultural thing up here in the northern midwest; all the farmers killed all the coyotes/wolves, so there is no checks/balances to the deer population. Hunting helps keep the population in check, and provides food to a lot of families from all walks of my life. My old neighbor didn’t have much money and a deer would feed his family for over a month.
Serious question: is wasting disease a thing in the Midwest? My kids are obsessed with CJD and prions for some reason.
Chrysler Jeep Dodge? Ask your doctor is Stellantis is right for you.
Just like the other CJD it is probably fatal eventually and makes you do weird things (like hoarding rusted heaps).. however DT might had stumbled on a cure?
I think the cure is leaving the Midwest.
From a steady diet of rust to a steady diet of cured carbon fiber..
OMG, the office is looking at me as I loudly laugh hahaha
prions don’t know borders.. also diease monitoring is so hit and miss especially when population is small.
I have seen too many rural and semi-rural good ol’ boys (here in California!) whose motto is “if it hops, it drops, and if it flies, it dies” – in other words, if it moves, blast away at it.
Not to mention deer are pests and are way overpopulated from lack of predators. Hunters are providing a public service. I say this as someone who has never hunted anything. (Well that’s not true, I hunt the perfect buzz)
“They’re overpopulated in this region and they’re decimating the grubworm population. You got a problem with that?”
Deer kill more people than sharks.
That would make an amazing horror film
Deer vs Sharks (like Alien vs Predator) or Deernado.
Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the woods
or Bambi’s revenge
Though I keep thinking Robot Chicken had done a skit along those lines.
10/10 – would watch
Deer kill more Paos than sharks.
I dont know the states on oeople killed from deer per year however…
“About 1.9 million deer, elk and moose are struck each year, causing more than $1 billion in insured losses and affecting about one in 127 drivers”
So deer (+elk and moose) hitting your car Can kill you or seriously mess up your car and costs a considerable amount every year
From: https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/insurance/car-insurance-deer-season
Deer most likely mess up your car.. Moose because of the extra mass, will mess both the car and you up pretty bad. The windshield and frame can’t hold that force.
For me after being able to see a dear darting on to a highway at night with hid lights a few decades ago, I am a firm believer of getting the best possible lighting system possible in a car.
I lived in Rochester, NY for a year in the early 90s and I read about two separate car vs. deer fatalities. The deer came through the windshield in the first one. Then, a few months later, a car hit a deer with its left front corner. The impact jammed the fender into the left front tire, locking it up and causing the car to veer left into oncoming traffic.
The issue to me is not so much about the hunting but it’s side effects. Around here the natural predators (wolves, bears, wolverines, lynxs and even the bloody eagles) have been just about hunted to extinction and the wildstock are being culled only by humans. The natural balance has been completely screwed by the desire to kill animals.
While they share the “thrill of the hunt”, there is a difference between hunting to control the deer population and feed your family and the trophy hunters that kill a magnificent lion for an Instagram moment. Some people do not make a distinction.
If you consider the conditions of factory farming and the resources required to keep it going, there’s a real argument to be made that responsible hunting is much more ethical than store-bought meat.
I mean, RFK(j) just admitted to picking up a roadkill bear cub with the intention of eating it but then decided to dump it in Central Park instead. I kinda think that deserves a bit more side-eye than keeping the deer population down…
“I mean, RFK(j) just admitted to picking up a roadkill bear cub with the intention of eating it but then decided to dump it in Central Park instead. I kinda think that deserves a bit more side-eye than keeping the deer population down…”
The quality drop off from dad to son is staggering. Signature campaign moment for RFK: Breaking the news of MLK’s assassination to group of Black Americans and coming up with an impromptu speech calling for Americans to follow his example of peacefully bringing equality to the nation.
Signature RFK Jr. campaign moment: A worm ate part of my brain and died there. Also did I ever tell you about that time I wanted to eat roadkill but instead dumped it in Central Park because I had a plane to catch?
Drugs are Bad, Mkaaay…
Eating roadkill will likely put worms in your brain. Mystery solved.
He even said in the interview that handling a roadkill bear cub is maybe what gave him the brain worm.
He sounds like he’s been freebasing mad cow brain for a few decades
That guy ain’t right.
I can’t say for sure, but I haven’t seen much evidence that Walz is a trophy hunter, which is where you find most of the folks who aren’t good stewards (while it’s possible to trophy hunt responsibly by also using the meat and being careful about the populations, you find a lot more problems in that group). Ethical and responsible hunting is possible and certainly not bad in itself.
I can’t say for sure, but this guy seems alright. From what I’ve been seeing, he mostly hunts pheasant, which I think is a pretty sustainable practice.
If he’s like the Minnesotan hunters I know, they’re just happy to get ANYTHING. If it comes with points, it’s a plus, but not a necessity by any means.
He might as well drive his own car, it’s not as if Secret Service protection is worth much.
It’s hilarious and fantastic how much you have gotten destroyed for your unnecessary and irrelevant anit-hunting comment on this automotive website.
Hunting for food should not be put at the same level of any sort of despicable “sport” hunting, a vile activity that should end everywhere in my opinion. Hunting for food is a vital activity in many places in order to control large populations of certain wild animals (we have a very excessive number of wild boar in my neck of the woods that really fuck up the ecosystem if they aren’t contained by hunting, as they have no predators; also, they’re delicious). It could play an important role in reducing exports of meat if it was more widespread, with lots of environmental benefits, as well as health – wild meat will almost always be healthier than commercial meat from farm animals. Obviously, this applies only to populations that need control; I don’t condone hunting endangered species for food.
Funny, I feel much the same way about driving. Driving for transportation is fine with me. Going around in circles on a track, or off roading for shits and giggles; a waste of resources, environmentally destructive and unnecessarily polluting the atmosphere.
We can take that further. Driving because it’s the only option is fine with me. Driving when it’s just more convenient than the alternatives or just a habit is just a waste of resources. Same with meat.
It would truly be a sport if the animals were armed with rifles as well – kind of level out the playing field.
Open season on the boars, though. They are out of control and tear up everything, are non-native, and multiply like crazy.
Eh. I’ve been a target shooter for decades but never had the urge to hunt. Mostly because I don’t want to deal with a dead animal and don’t like the taste of wild game.
But, we have feral pigs and an over population of deer where I live. Also there are rabbits everywhere you look. As long as it isn’t poaching, and the hunter is doing his best for a clean kill, I have no issue with hunting.
Politically I’m a left leaning centrist on most issues.
I have a friend in Minnesota that regularly hunts. He is quite wealthy and does not “need” to, but I also know he eats all his kill nose to tail. We regularly tease him for the carbon footprint of his chest freezer.
Great to see a VP candidate who’s an actual populist, as opposed to whatever Captain Guyliner is.
It’s not a phase…
Capt Guyliner, a reference to “Once Upon a Time?” Capt Hook!
The ultimate couch potato
He’s my governor. It’s worth mentioning he helped get us those sweet all black license plates you see in those images. A year ago they weren’t an option and now they’re on like 35% of all cars I see. Including one of mine.
Black Li … cense Plates Matter
Those license plates are exactly the sort of probably irrelevant but very important ways that I will use to assess his good judgement.
So another Regular Dude who has a lot of the same life experiences quite a few people have had and has been apparently fairly competent at them is running to help lead the country. I fail to see any negatives.
Competence is way underrated: it doesn’t get the headlines. It just gets shit done
He seems normal. WTF?
The presidential Candidate he’s attached to.
I trust the former prosecutor and Regular Dude to uphold and defend the Constitution far more than a convicted felon who’s said they want to be a dictator and their fake hillbilly sidekick.
Former Prosecutor who willingly withheld evidence that would exonerate an innocent man on death row until the courts force her to release said evidence, who also held convicts past the duration of their sentences for slave labor for the state of California, and put over 1500 people in jail for pot.
Since then what has she done for the country in her role as VP?
If that’s the kind of prosecutor you want running the nation, I’d argue you’re an authoritarian.
But who knows, maybe I’m in the wrong for opposing the Government trying to kill innocent citizens, slave labor, and the imprisonment of citizens for victimless ‘crimes’.
If you think either ticket is the best or the worst this country has to offer, you’re deluded.
One of the candidates will bow to the will of the people and one wont. I’m fairly certain which one is which.
One of the candidates is the establishment one who will do whatever their doners and unelected bureaucrats tell them to. The other is anti-establishment and will rarely if ever admit they made a mistake, and has been surprisingly gullible in their time as president to the point that they were easily manipulated by unelected bureaucrats.
They’re not as different as you think.
It’s not the bureaucrats that you should be worried about. It’s the foreign agents and heads of enemy states.
You want people to believe you’re so concerned about the moral character of a DA who did drug prosecutions wrong?
While the other choice is two individuals from the party with the legacy of starting that drive for drug prosecutions and have voiced support for doing it again, but for women and queers seeking medical care they’ve worked themselves into paroxysm about being sinful or unnatural.
I’m here to talk about cars, not entertain partisan hacks, like the ones that took over the last site. Perhaps consider if you want to repeat the same mistakes here.
My comments have been fairly politically neutral, check out the rest of the comment’s section. Of the the political comments they’re mostly one sided.
I agree we shouldn’t become like the last site. Do you think the best way to prevent that is having one political take being the main one on said site, while positive articles written about politicians from that same side are the only political articles made?
On the other side of those commenters who remain a massive portion of them are banished to the greys. We’re not so much better that the same can’t happen here.
Personally I’d avoid the politics discussion entirely except when it is related to law. For example: Kei Car Bans in various states.
This is extremely close to a fluff piece for a particular VP pick. Now if I see him properly wrenching I’ll eat my words. But so many photos and videos of politicians are staged one shouldn’t assume they’re candid images by default.
When actions such as transporting kilos of weed with the intention to sell it are illegal, those who do it are knowingly breaking the law, whether your average toker agrees with it or not. They risk going to jail and sometimes actually do. What the hell is there to complain about with that?
Doofus alert
I just read Politico’s “55 Things” article on him and have come to the conclusion that he’s a really exceptional Regular Dude.
I’m sorry, did this article claim that somehow a Blazer is tougher than a Scout? What a bizarre and clearly incorrect take on an International!
Dude no. Up here in Canada, any International SUV that saw regular driving was reduced to a pile of iron oxide 20, 30 years ago.
Conversely, there are plenty of original Blazers and Jimmys still out in the wild. I just searched my local Marketplace and found a half dozen in various states of unrestored condition, that all move under their own power. The Scouts are all rotten with trees growing through them.
Of course GM probably sold 10x more 2-door square bodies than IH sold Scouts, but that doesn’t change the fact that it’s simply impossible to find a functional, original Scout that wasn’t some sort of garage queen, or an expensive frame-off restoration.
If “doesn’t rust” = “tough” then Corvettes are tougher than Blazers.
I mean yeah… Can you really call a vehicle tough if it no longer exists?
lol you think squarebody blazers are more resistant to rust than, well, anything?
I live in the desert in Idaho. Car do not rust here, cars do not rot here. Except squarebodys. Squarebodys don’t need salt, water, humidity, or oxygen to rust. They just do it on their own.
Oh, I’m not saying square bodies don’t rust.
They’re primitive, flimsy tin cans like any 70s vehicle, however they can still somehow be found running in the rust belt with 250,000k on the odo, and some salvageable holes in the floor and rocker panels.
I have no particular love for the vehicles, other than to say that they are still around, and the aforementioned Scouts most assuredly are not.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen an international SUV with more than 70,000k.
They were both prone to rust.
My theory is IH passenger vehicles reached an all time low preservation rate among its owners right after IH phased out that lineup. Indoor storage, regular maintenance or people throwing a bunch of money into their orphaned low-value Scouts was not a given back then. This was something the Bronco and Blazer never dealt with as their marketshare and fanbase was much bigger in addition to their brands and aftermarket being around to sell you everything you might need.
It wasn’t until the late 90s – early 2000s when more people started digging into Scouts, Travelalls and the rest of IH classic vehicles but by then the vast majority had succumbed to rust and neglect.
Hmm. International gas engines were engineered originally for dump trucks and school buses, and built to last for 200-300K of heavy abuse. I think you probably looked at the odometer and mistook 70K for 170K. Any truck of that vintage rusted; IH only made half a million Scout II’s over 10 years. How many square bodies did GM make?
Former school teacher and football coach, He works on his own car and he is a fantastic governor.
Command Sergeant Major in artillery, too. I bet he drove some Big trucks with BIGGER guns.
Wait, so this guy has been both at the pointy end and sitting in the governor’s chair? Interesting…
Are rare combination since, what, Bush Sr?
Waltz seems like kind of a Howard Cunningham sort of guy.
Minus the DeSoto.
That’s right, he prefers a Minnesoto.
If nothing else it sounds like VP Walz could save us a fortune in costs on keeping up the presidential motorcade.
Buying parts off Amazon will certainly save a ton of upkeep expenses… s/
I wonder if you can eBay parts for the Beast?
If not, Walz will be happy to check Napa for you.
He will have to get rid of it when the Green New Deal takes full effect
Could you show me on the text for the New Green Deal where it says a 1970s Scout isn’t allowed to be driven? Is that text in the room with us?
not specific to scouts, but: “calls for a “complete phase-out of fossil fuels, fracked [natural] gas and nuclear power,” with a transition to “100 percent clean energy” by 2030. It calls for replacing “non-essential individual means of transport with high-quality and modern mass transit.”
by 2030? lmao. That’s never going to happen.
Right? However the point is for it to happen. Anyone familiar with the last 50-60 years of automotive history knows that Detroit only does the bare minimum. How it started: Japan is bringing in smaller inexpensive cars. Detroit: Here’s the Pinto.. How it’s going: Kia, Hyundia, Volvo, Lucid, VW; here s bunch of EVs in different forms and prices Detroit……. umm Mach e?
Detroit was pulled kicking and screaming into the 20th century, and happily backslid whenever they could.
The “New Deal” was was a big government push (admittedly socialist) to get America moving after the Great Depression, it was very successful. I think the spirit if the Green New Deal is to try and put that same kind of energy into improving the state of pollution. We can’t consider it black and white, but Jesus wept, as a 60 year old guy I would have thought the Metric system was going to be adopted by now, never mind living in space.
haha I’m way younger than you and haven’t hade hope for the future since the DNC rigged the primaries in 2016
Phasing out means that new ICE vehicle production will be reduced. That’s not a call to take existing personal vehicles from citizens.
you are correct
Well considering the number of cars on leases that are decades long, and under the water. ICE personal vehicles will be with us for a longgggg while.
See the public are smrt and they anticipated this already.
Did they learn nothing from Germany? Apparently not.
Meanwhile China is going balls out on nuclear including transoceanic shipping. I predict that as the deadlines approach and electricity becomes sketchier thanks to dwindling fossil fuel generation and ever increasing demand the US will meekly start buying Chinese, Korean, maybe even Indian nuclear tech just as we’ve been buying Chinese solar and wind tech after the US lost those races too.
Unfortunately it will be too little, too late and the country will face electricity rates that make today’s PG&E rates look cheap, e.g. base rates of $0.60/kWh which when put into an EV works out to a gas equivalent of about $8/gallon. Because our civilization is founded on and remains critically dependent on cheap, reliable energy those prices will permeate everything else that makes life worth living.
At that point the can will be kicked down the road and just like Germany* fossil fuel use will resume to meet the predictable realities of myopic overambitious good intentions.
*Yes I see the nuclear ban is for new plants, not existing ones as in Germany but we use a LOT more energy than they do and solar/wind/etc renewables ain’t going to cut it alone. We’re going to need a lot more new nuclear too. Those plants take time to plan and build so banning new ones outright is a terrible mistake.
For the price of a nuclear power station you can build an awful lot of solar / wind and battery storage.
We can learn a lot from Hinkley Point C in the UK, with massive cost increases and time delays
Started in 2017 at a cost of 31 Billion GBP now estimated to finish around 2030 for 46 Billion GBP a 50% price increase.
The UK has brought forward the closing of coal power plant to Oct 2024 as renewables takes the lead now.
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/end-to-coal-power-brought-forward-to-october-2024
https://greenly.earth/en-gb/blog/ecology-news/energy-sources-in-the-uk-everything-you-need-to-know
We have places at are windy and places that are sunny and places that are both, combine that with battery storage, we’ll be fine..
We don’t have time to plan and build nuclear, but we don’t need it either.
Somehow you copied the text but never read it. It won’t be impossible to drive a Scout in a decade or so, but it’ll be more of a luxury item rather than everyday item. Just like horses are now.
“Complete phase-out of fossil fuels.”
Not sure what you think complete means. I interpreted it to mean that there will be a complete lack of gasoline with which to drive any Scouts.
Maybe if said Scout is converted to ethanol or some other non-fossil hydrocarbon liquid fuel? You’re right in that nobody said that you won’t be allowed to drive gas cars. They just said that you won’t be able to buy that one liquid you need to drive your gas car…….. Meaning you won’t be allowed to drive your gas car.
And that’s ignoring the fact that a 1970s Scout is most certainly non-essential personal means of transport, which is specifically mentioned as something that will be outlawed.
The legislation has the ability to be modified as there are still many years until its enacted and in the worst case scenario, EV conversions become a thing. If anything classic cars would become more drivable as EVs
Well, yes, if they changed the law, the law would be different. The point was that, in the current wording of the Green New Deal, International Scouts are slated to be outlawed. LOGGATO did in fact “show me on the text for the New Green Deal where it says a 1970s Scout isn’t allowed to be driven” just like you asked him to.
EV conversions exist, but they have their issues, namely cost and massive deviation from its original state, which is not desirable or economically practical for a majority of classics. The fact is, the Green New Deal proposes to effectively ban classic cars if they are in their classic condition.
You also seem to have forgotten that an EV-swapped Scout is still “non-essential personal means of transport” and is still slated to be outlawed under the current wording.
“EV conversions exist, but they have their issues, namely cost and massive deviation from its original state, which is not desirable or economically practical for a majority of classics.”
You clearly missed the cool cars in “Gattica”
So in other words what you’re saying is you can still drive a Scout for enjoyment? I remember many people complained and still complain when hey introduced smog checks in California and everyone said it would also kill classic cars. Yet in 2024 California has one of the largest classic car communities in the world. Yeah keep clutching your non-existent pearls.
Oh and also its not a ban considering the green new deal hasn’t exactly been enacted. This is the closest thing that exist in the current world. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/20/climate/biden-clean-car-rule-key-facts.html
“The rule does not mandate sales of electric vehicles, and consumers can still buy and drive gas-powered cars. Rather, it requires car makers to meet tough new average emissions limits across their entire product lines; it’s up to manufacturers to decide how to meet those limits.
Under the Clean Air Act, the Environmental Protection Agency can limit the pollution generated by the total number of cars each year. E.P.A. officials said that, as long as automakers comply with the emissions rules, they can sell a mix of gasoline-burning cars, hybrids, E.V.s or other types of vehicles, such as cars powered by hydrogen.
The rule does not apply to sales of used vehicles.”
“Oh and also its not a ban considering the green new deal hasn’t exactly been enacted. This is the closest thing that exist in the current world.”
You seem to have completely forgotten what we are talking about. This entire conversation started with LOGGATO’s comment:
“He will have to get rid of it when the Green New Deal takes full effect.”
This conversation is not and never was about things that exist in the current world. This conversation has only ever been about what would happen if and when the Green New Deal, in its current wording, becomes law.
IF the Green New Deal, in its current wording, becomes law, it will be illegal to drive 1970s International Scouts. Full stop. The text makes this extremely clear. You claimed otherwise, and you were wrong.
I am not clutching any pearls. I agree with you that the Green New Deal is not currently law, and is unlikely to ever become law in a way which prohibits driving classic Scouts. But that’s not what we’re talking about. You claimed that the Green New Deal does not propose to ban classic Scouts, and that is objectively false. I am disagreeing with your misinformation, and I am not trying to say anything else on the topic.
https://www.sussexchamberofcommerce.co.uk/resource/how-might-the-2030-petrol-ban-impact-the-classic-car-market-1444.html
I don’t think in any arc of human history that we will somehow come up with a robust enough mass transit that we can forego non-essential personal means of transport. It will always be “10 years out” like the flying car. That Scout will still be trucking long after we are gone.
Synthetic gas from processes like Fischer-Tropsch aren’t fossil fuels. They probably won’t be cheap (maybe 2-5x increase?) and may be a pain to get, but they’ll exist.
*Non-Essential* individual means of transportation is carrying a lot of weight here. Nobody is relying on a 70s international for critical transportation in 2024.
Classic cars = Non essential.
Can’t wait cause it sounds great
The part you copy-pasted talks about fossil fuels, not internal combustion engines. What we have lacked is a legislative push to force the free market to come up with an alternative to fossil fuels. This is the push.
Well there’s also biofuels and biogas. Latter one is especially good as methane is much worse for the environment than co2. So one can have the V8 cake and eat it too, while been super green.
Right after they take all the guns too lol
Guns don’t kill people, bullets kill people. Don’t take the guns, ban the production and sale of ammunition. What’s already in circulation will go up in value, so people will be more careful using it. There’s nothing in the Second Amendment that says you can’t ban ammunition. 😉
Hunh? EV swap it. Keep the truck and have a sweet coffee table with the old engine.
EV swapping would make it even better offroad and onroad too. Instant torque!
FUD
Green New Deal vs. Old Green (sorta) Scout. Which will win?
Seems like a good dude for sure. And the magats will still howl at what a POS RADICAL LIBERAL he is.
Not gonna lie, I was hoping for the Astronaut simply because I’m a space nerd but the car nerd in me is perfectly happy with a car guy.
It may be more important overall to keep Kelly in the Senate and Shapiro in the PA Governor’s seat. I’m sure this was all part of the calculus.
Yes. A good point.
I think they would be closer races than the MN Governor’s seat.
This, while I liked Kelly as a top pick, as an Arizonan I want him to stay put.
Gotta learn to play the long game. Same here in PA.
I also wouldn’t be surprised if Hobbs, Kelly and Harris spoke about the whole thing.
Walz will be much more effective than all others in helping the democratic compaign connect with regular people. He is charismatic in a very down-to-earth way and is very effective in delivering his message. He pretty much made the whole “weird” thing stick I think, and it’s proven to be a hilariously effective way to disarm and confuse republicans, who now see themselves strategising against this and doing media rounds insisting they’re not weird. You know, like people who aren’t weird normally do. Choosing him seems to have been a really good move for democrats.
I honestly thought he was a lot older. He’s only 4 years older than me!
It’s really gonna hit when entire slate are all younger than me. Eyeliner boy doesn’t count.
Holy shit am I old.
Harris and Walz are almost exactly the same age!! Just six months apart. One could say Walz’s been rode hard and put away wet.
I forgot about the public school teacher part. Explains why he has to survive on bush meat.
Kamala Harris: So, I’ve almost made my choice – one more question. Do you have International experience?
Tim Walz: Absolutely.
Kamala Harris: You’ve got the job sir!
Excellent
Dammit, you made me laugh and now everyone in the office knows I’m not working! Unless I can convince them that this BASH script I’m supposed to be working on is exceptionally funny for some reason…
I bet your kids involuntarily rolled their eyes when you hit “Post Comment”. We’ll played.
Checking with my kids right now to see if they just rolled their eyes and don’t know why.
Chef’s kiss my friend
Most… likes… ever. Congratulations!!!!
COTD
TIL the Autopian comment system can support a third digit on the smiley face button.
I almost stopped reading the comments, but thought “I’m almost through them, just plow on.” Thank goodness I did. This is a gem! Well done!!
ba-dum-tishhhhh
He said to use heat shrink? He said to use heat shrink!!!
I was gonna vote for him anyway…
You mean corrosion accelerator? Now if he would have said be sure to use adhesive lined heat shrink for applications outside of the cabin, then yeah that might sway me.
As a Minnesotan, dude is just rad.
OMG, is he replacing the air filter which is easily located on top of the engine with exactly one wingnut to unscrew and screw?? Wow!!
Eh. Not Trump, so passes my inspection.
I’m 100% in favor of him removing wingnuts.
*golf clap*
If that ain’t their campaign slogan it ougtha be.
I’d pay real money to see Trump change an air filter.
I’d pay to see him find one.
I bet he’s seen his Secret Service guys change enough cabin air filters in his vehicles that he could probably find that one.
Secret Service: Hello, Arlington Cadillac? Yeah, we need to order some cabin air filters. It’s custom, but uses the ones from the ‘Sclade.
Parts Guy at Arlington Cadillac: How many do you need?
Secret Service: How many you got?
the going rate is ten mill
Biden replaced a wing nut in 2020, so I guess it’s a thing now.
Cars and dogs, the perfect combo !
While I like to see these things from and about Walz, it does make me a bit sad that, if elected, he won’t be able to drive himself around. I’d hate to see such a nicely restored/maintained ride fall into disuse.
Maybe he’ll have a garage to wrench in, at least?
And hopefully one with no classified documents in it.
That’s what the bathroom is for.
At least he could still wash it.
https://www.theonion.com/shirtless-biden-washes-trans-am-in-white-house-driveway-1819570732
That tweet about getting your oil changed and filing your taxes is PEAK DAD.
(❁´◡`❁)
Big Dad Energy.
Well that’s the first positive thing I’ve heard about any of the candidates so at least it’s not all bad.