Unfettered Letters

Let oil, auto companies do job

Your editorial “Offshore drilling is no panacea for U.S.” (6/19, Opinion) is nothing more but more of the same. It looks to me like a memo sent out from our do-nothing Congress.

We all know that it takes years to discover and develop our most reliable sources of energy. But had those avenues been open to us for these last five to 10 years, life would be much different in our energy-starved and food-starved world. All of your suggested solutions have been the facade that has kept this great country handcuffed for years.

Conservation is nothing new. Just wait until winter and tell some poor old widow to turn down her thermostat to 63. Fuel-efficient vehicles? Most new models are advertising at least one-third better mileage than five to six years ago.

More research and better use of ethanol? How original is that?

Star Editorial Board, if you will, just step out of the way and let the oil and automobile companies do their thing. They are not our enemies. They are some of the ones who have helped make this country the greatest in the world.

Robert E. Kleinschmidt
Excelsior Springs

Support U.S. auto industry

Jason Whitlock writes that Americans “may no longer make the best cars” (6/18, Sports, “A banner day; Trophy goes to toughest team”).

When jobs are being lost to foreign countries, countries that not long ago were trying to rule the world and killing our fathers and grandfathers in WWII, being insensitive to your fellow Americans and their families with claims that no longer hold merit is inexcusable. Foreign car cheerleaders like Mr. Whitlock can only be so lucky as to still have a job.

Thousands of Americans, with families to support, no longer have good-paying auto-manufacturing jobs because of the unpatriotic types in the media, like Whitlock, who fail to read the facts or support their countrymen and their country. Read the J.D. Power reports, Mr. Whitlock.

Ford Motor Company is close to shutting all of its American factories down. The ripple effect will be huge.

Let’s help build our country up, not down. Support America and Americans!

John Reilly
Blue Springs

U.S. love affair with big cars

American auto manufacturers have always told the driving public that they needed and wanted big and powerful vehicles. Economical vehicles have been produced over the years. But there was not as much profit in them, so they fell by the wayside.

The first endeavor at economy was by Ford Motor Co. in the early ’60s — The Ford Falcon and Mercury Comet. After they were sold the owners would take the four-cylinder engines out and put small V-8s in, trading economy for speed and power. GM also built the Pontiac Tempest, Olds F-85 and Buick Skylark, but they soon became larger and more powerful.

Now the auto industry is trying to catch up by producing more economical “gas sippers.” It has taken sky-high gas prices to do this.

I am against drilling for more oil, especially in the ANWAR. Somehow we must force the U.S. auto manufacturers to change their direction and build economy back into the marketplace.

Daniel A. Spray
Kansas City

Here’s proof that we live in a what-goes-around-comes-around world. I was on the highway the other day and saw a compact car with a bumper sticker that read “Hungry? Eat your SUV!”

Mark Hastert
Kansas City

Driving down the U.S. economy

As our economy goes down, here is some of the reason.

In the 5/31 Star at the top of the Business section is the blurb, “Ford has chosen to build its new Fiesta subcompact at a factory near Mexico City instead of the U.S., although it will be for sale here.”

At the bottom of the page, Ford executive Joe Hinrichs says Ford has too many plants.

Making cars is a good-paying job. So if the car is made in Mexico, let the Mexicans buy them. We can get along fine without this car.

Dorman Gawf
Kansas City

Energy crisis a job for world

Our politicians’ arrogance and lack of forethought is costing our auto industry, its workers and our economy dearly.

In 2003, Missouri Senator Kit Bond opposed higher fuel efficiency standards for cars and trucks, on the grounds that our U.S. auto manufacturers would suffer and be forced to lay off workers. In a previous fight against higher fuel efficiency standards, then-Sen. Trent Lott of Mississippi balked at the idea that Americans would have to drive small cars.

Both senators have repeatedly opposed ending subsidies to oil companies, because, as Sen. Bond said in 2005, oil companies faced “an impossible jungle” of regulations.

Oil companies and their congressional cronies are now arguing that taxpayer subsidies are necessary to research alternative fuels. Are we naïve enough to think that oil companies have an interest in researching alternative fuels, considering the mega profits they are currently reaping?

Solutions to our crisis lie not in subsidizing a multimillion dollar polluting industry, or disfiguring our lands drilling for carbons, but in joining other pioneering countries with considerable investments in efficient transportation and clean renewable energy sources, which will regenerate our sliding economy and world standing while preserving our planet.

John Preudhomme
Blue Springs

Hooray for Chevrolets

My 2001 Chevrolet Impala regularly averages 33 mpg. This mileage is computed by how many miles are traveled fill-up to fill-up. Separating city miles from highway miles results in a false average. Claims from auto manufacturers that their product will get 28 mpg fall on these deaf ears.

Since 1952, there have been nine Chevrolets in this family. While the current Impala may have been manufactured, for the most part, in Canada, the profit from the sale of that vehicle stayed with an American company. The profits from Japanese cars go home to Japan, even if the auto is constructed in the United States.

Only one foreign-made car, a Volkswagen, has made it to this garage. The cost of repairs on that Volkswagen far outstripped the cost of repairs for Chevrolets.

Autos carrying the name of American brands have much the same quality as those carrying foreign brands. The difference is American brands do something for the American economy that foreign brands do not. Why not support American-made?

Jack Gregory
Plattsburg, Mo.

Driving up electricity use

I opened The Star on Earth Day and saw the picture of a pickup truck with an electric cord attached (4/22, A-1, “Getting plugged into what Earth Day is all about”). It caused me a little bewilderment, because I looked for what was on the other end of that cord.

Lo and behold, there it was, that nasty, smoke-belching, carbon-causing power plant. Or, even worse, a death-dealing nuclear power plant. What a cycle we are in. Do not build more power plants but do drive up the usage of electricity.

Somewhere along the line, the need for power and the ability to produce that power are going to meet, and then when we start having brownouts everyone will ask why the power companies didn’t build more capacity. What a quandary.

It reminds me of the grocery bag situation. People hollered, “Don’t use paper bags. They take too many trees. Use plastic.” Now the same people are saying not to use plastic or paper bags.

David Napoli
Kansas City

How green is this hybrid?

In 1985 fuel economy standards for new cars were about 22 mpg. After 23 years of automotive technological “improvements,” “peak oil” (the point beyond which the worldwide supply of oil begins its inevitable decline) may be on our doorstep, and the price at the pump is over $3 per gallon and destined to go higher in the months ahead.

In The Star’s Automotive section (3/29) Chevy announced the launch its full-size hybrid SUV. You can buy this 5,600-pound behemoth as driven for a mere $51,785 and be assured of 21 mpg (city) and 22 mpg (highway).

And the industry whines that it needs more time to meet higher fuel economy standards. Its performance and vision continues to be astounding.

Jack Whitaker
Leawood

Happy with American car

I admit American car manufacturers were slow in their redesign to include some of the items “women drivers want” (3/30, Letters), especially the gas mileage. I wonder how long it has been since D.A. Duke has tried an American car and seen the improvements and thought about what the insistence on foreign cars has done to our economy? Do we consider the lost profits, the lost jobs and the Americans with no income?

I drive an American car that gets 20 to 22 mpg in town and 30 to 32 mpg on the highway. It is a full-size car with a V-6 engine and a very good and comfortable ride. And the money I paid stayed in the U.S.

Joe Kramps
Lee’s Summit

What women drivers want

As a female consumer, I think the American automobile manufacturers shot themselves in the foot long ago when they did not recognize that women were a large market share.

Decades ago the Japanese did their homework and asked women what they wanted in a vehicle. Honda and Toyota were among the first to provide cup holders, change holders and gas caps that unlocked from inside the car. We asked for good gas mileage, reliability and cars we felt comfortable driving. Honda and Toyota provided what research said we wanted.

American manufacturers could have done the same. Ignoring what the consumer wants can put you out of business.

D.A. Duke
Overland Park

Made in America?

John Reilly writes, “Want to keep people off the streets? Give them a job. Put your money where your mouth is. Sell that foreign vehicle…”

Maybe instead of just looking in garages, Reilly should look in closets and cabinets. In the small Missouri town where my grandparents lived, there used to be a shoe factory and a sleepwear factory. Ever try to buy anything made in America besides cars? It’s almost impossible. By the way, my Toyota Camry was made in Kentucky.

Linda Bettis
Olathe

Keep jobs in U.S.

Is this the same Lewis Diuguid who just a month ago was touting the merits of driving his foreign car (the ones where the revenue/profits go overseas and drive up the trade deficit) writing about how bad he feels about the homeless in Kansas City (3/5, Opinion)?

Maybe Diuguid and a lot of his fellow well-meaning, foreign car-driving “Americans” should stop and take a look in the mirror.

Want to keep people off the streets? Give them a job. Put your money where your mouth is. Sell that foreign vehicle that caused GM, Ford and Chrysler to close dozens of American factories and buy one made by an American manufacturer — one that pays taxes, pays good wages and benefits and keeps the revenues and profits working in America.

More to the point, start with a vehicle made right here in KC at GM’s Fairfax or Ford’s Claycomo assembly plants. Keep jobs in America and keep Americans off the street.

John Reilly
Blue Springs

American-made cars

I’m glad Jim Stoufer (2/7, As I See It) tries to build good American vehicles. But the fact remains that the American cars in our family visit the repair shop on a regular basis while the Toyota keeps going and going. And it has nothing to do with proper maintenance and care, as Jim tries to suggest.

My son’s ’92 Camry has only had a tune-up and a new radiator, while I try to fix my new Chevy HHR with parts that don’t fit, even though the car is barely a year old.

I keep buying American for all the reasons Jim says, but I wonder why when parts don’t fit and the repair folks and I are on a fist-name basis.

Paul Budd
Sugar Creek

KC builds hybrids, too

A letter writer encouraged Lewis Diuguid to purchase a Toyota Prius hybrid. Here is a better suggestion. Let’s encourage him to purchase a Kansas City-built hybrid. He has his choice of three: Chevy Malibu, Saturn Aura or a Ford Escape. This will help support the livelihood of many Kansas City Star readers who are local Ford and GM employees.

Needless to say, purchasing a Toyota, built here in the U.S. or overseas, does little to support the area auto workers. Many of these employees, including myself, subscribe to or purchase The Star daily. The loss of my job at the GM plant would surely force me to tighten my budget, with my subscription to The Star probably being one of the first cuts.

Mike Thomas
Lawson, Mo.

Appreciates auto reviews

Regarding Bonnie Richard’s letter about the Automotive section (1/13, “Fuel efficiency, please”): Thankfully we do have choices in what we drive and what we read. I was surprised that anyone would criticize Tom Strongman’s column, as he features all types of vehicles.

I can’t wait for the weekend to open directly to his informative, unbiased writing, and especially for his Sunday features with the classics and antiques that are so beautiful to behold.

I look forward to the sunny weekends to get my 40-year-old Vette out for a scenic tour, but you won’t see it on the freeway during rush hour. At 15 miles per gallon, I look to fill the tank half a dozen times a year.

Many of Strongman’s articles are about local enthusiasts who have a genuine passion for the preservation of our automotive history.

Someone missed the recent edition where the economy vehicle featured was rated at 31 mpg highway. Maybe India’s new Tata Nano, at $2,500 and 50 mpg, would suffice. That was also featured this past weekend in the section.

Thanks for choices and keep up the great work, Mr. Strongman.

Larry Cook
Kansas City

Warm-up not needed

To Diane Capps (1/11, Letters) who wrote on Jerry Witherspoon’s recent comments about warming up your car.

Diane, you said “ask any mechanic and he’ll tell you: You need to warm up your car engine in the winter.” Not so, according to “Car Talk” by Tom and Ray Magliozzi (1/12, Star’s Automotive section).

In their response to this same question, they stated that “basically anything made in the past 20 years — you’re not helping the car at all by warming it up for five or 10 minutes…But with modern cars, all you’re doing with a long warm-up is wasting gas, increasing pollution, raising the temperature of the planet.” And, “The proper procedure is to start the car, put it in drive and go. Go gently because you will be warming it up during your first few minutes of driving.”

So, Diane, stop warming up your car, save money and help the planet.

Frank Mayfield
Overland Park

Starting cars in winter

Diane E. Capps (1/11, Letters) could not be any more wrong. First, letter writer Jerry Witherspoon is an excellent mechanic. Second, it is harmful and destructive to warm your car for a long period of time, especially in the winter. Whoever told her to do this is probably looking for repair business. It is best to start your car and wait for oil pressure to build up and proceed slowly for a few blocks to let the engine warm. Letting it idle excessively will build up acids and sludge in the crankcase, which is very harmful to the engine.

Phil Richey
Blue Springs

Diuguid column

Hurry up and buy that Toyota Prius, Lewis. Diuguid (1/9, Opinion, “Tough challenges ahead for U.S. automakers”).http://www.kansascity.com/602/story/436329.html I just bought one and it is an engineering marvel. It gets great mileage by storing energy from the braking system and by shutting down during idle.

With my old car, hearing the engine cut out at a red light was bad news. Now it means I’m keeping another dollar from OPEC’s greedy clutches. And when I brake for a jaywalking squirrel, I’m saving a life and saving the environment.

My Prius has a backup camera, GPS, Bluetooth, a six CD changer and a spot for my iPod. I’m in geek heaven.

While others are struggling to get their first generation of hybrids out the door, Toyota is using third-generation technology in the 2008 Prius. Detroit should be very worried.

Steve Simon
Leawood

It comes as no surprise that Lewis Diuguid’s wish for 2008 is new, massive dependency on the U.S. government, as opposed to a wish for increased attention to personal responsibility. In his Jan. 2 column (“Hopes of a new year with injustices righted”) he advocates free health care, free pre-kindergarten education and free college education. He also wishes for some magical government program that will allow people to “ditch their debt and become savers.”

Let’s hope we elect a president who espouses the virtues of personal responsibility and a few simple rules everyone can follow to prosperity:

1. Stay in school, study hard and graduate.
2. Don’t become pregnant unless you and your spouse can afford to raise a child without requiring free health care and free day-care.
3. Don’t spend money you don’t have. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is (like subprime mortgages).
4. Don’t blame others for your misfortune. Look in the mirror and take charge of your life.
5. Seek successful role models who started with nothing. (There are many.)

Following these principles would ensure that everyone has a reasonable chance of success and prosperity without becoming dependent on government handouts.

Gary Pederson
Kansas City

Fuel efficiency, please

I wish to complain about the fact that in The Star’s Automotive section, Tom Strongman often features an auto that is extremely inefficient. One recent feature had a miles per gallon rating of 13 city, 18 highway. Don’t you think it would be wise for him to feature autos that get top mileage in these days we are living in?

Bonnie Richard
Leawood

Hybrids all around

After reading the article, “More overtime eyed at Claycomo plant” (11/28, Business), I once again have to ask a question and pose a challenge.

Starting today, why isn’t every single federal government passenger fleet vehicle that needs to be replaced, replaced with a hybrid?

This would be such a logical step toward saving tax dollars, reducing our dependency on oil and, last but not least, setting a good example for the American people. Imagine that.

The challenge: Answer this question without using the words “big oil,” “politics,” “foreign interests,” etc. You get the idea.

I would welcome a common-sense answer to this question.

Proud and satisfied Prius owner,

Marthe Tamblyn
Leawood

Wrong about airbags

I was disappointed to see The Star ignored warnings by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s experts that the underlying premise of its airbag story was fundamentally flawed (10/21, A-1, “Fatal failures”).

We agree that NHTSA maintains one of the most comprehensive fatality databases in the world. Every year, we use nationwide, police-reported data to chronicle more than 40,000 crash-related highway fatalities. By our estimates, airbags saved nearly 3,000 lives last year alone, and since 1988 they have saved an estimated 22,500 lives.

Unfortunately, our database can’t be used to determine if or when an airbag should activate in a particular crash. The activations are triggered by the sensing of rapid deceleration, not by the vehicle’s speed at the time of the crash. That information is not typically collected by law enforcement on crash reports and thus cannot be captured in our database. It is impossible to draw the kinds of conclusions The Star did in its recent story.

Last year more than 1.1 million airbags in this country deployed to save lives and prevent debilitating injuries. This agency takes very seriously our mandate to investigate defects and initiate recalls when there are serious safety and compliance concerns, and we continue to carefully monitor safety devices like airbags.

Nicole R. Nason
Administrator, National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration
Washington, D.C.

Editor’s note: To see the story and The Star’s methodology, go to www.KansasCity.com.

Quality vehicles

Congratulations to Ford Motor Co. and all of its workers for the fabulous quality reports issued recently on Ford cars and trucks (10/17, Business, “U.S. lags Asian brands; But the Consumer Reports survey shows Toyota’s scores are falling”).

I am very proud to be a Ford dealer and to be associated with an American company that is working very hard with its customers, employees and dealers to produce a quality product.

I only hope the press will report this great information with the same enthusiasm as it has negative news. I know it is said that “bad news sells,” but I think that “good news creates pride” in each other and our country. We have a lot to be proud of.

Phil Smith
Executive vice president, general manager
Dick Smith Ford
Kansas City

Auto industry

The 30-year history of the U.S. auto industry on fuel economy is atrocious. Fleet mileage has actually gone down. Cars hyped by the industry are large, big-engine muscle car, dead models walking. The Rocky Mountain Institute and the Union of Concerned Scientists have pushed for fuel-saving technology for years.

The only choice the industry gives the consumer is among models that generate the most profit, promoted by advertising to convince you that what they have to sell is what you need.

The industry also has a history of using scare tactics. If they lose money and jobs, it will be because of their own short-sightedness.

Jack Whitaker
Leawood

Don’t blame the user

Ted Weber (7/25, Letters, “User error?”) suggests the fault lies with the owner of the domestic car.

The old argument about “domestic” vs. “import” (it used to be “American” vs. “foreign”) has cropped up at an interesting time for me.

I check my oil every time I get gasoline. I get my oil changed regularly. I do not defer maintenance.

These things have worked well for my 1989 Honda Accord with 170,000 miles on it, which still takes the 90-mile round-trip commute daily in fine shape. I have about $1,000 in this car, and it will sell for more than that.

It didn’t seem to work so well with my 1997 Ford F-150, which needs a new engine at 60,000 miles. The cost: $3,500 for a rebuilt engine installed. I had $5,700 in this car. Its resale value in good running order was less than my Honda.

Don’t tell me it’s user error.

Chris Johnston
Ottawa, Kan.

User error?

Perhaps Al Mason (7/21, Letters, “Reliable, durable vehicles”) isn’t providing proper maintenance for his General Motors products. He says that he has purchased six of them and that none has made it to 85,000 miles.

I drive a 1988 Chevrolet pickup truck with more than 140,000 miles on it and would not hesitate to drive it anywhere. It does not use much oil, and all it requires is gasoline and normal maintenance.

Ted Weber
Richmond, Mo.

Reliable, durable vehicles

I just read another letter (7/17) about the American automotive industry telling us why we should buy vehicles with American nameplates. There is only “Buy it because we made it” — no mention of product quality, dependability or customer satisfaction.

Not one of my last six General Motors (I still have two) cars made 85,000 miles. All were or will be traded because of the cost of upkeep. If you call the GM customer service 800 number to complain, it’s answered in India or Venezuela. The foreign nameplates have a better reliability, durability and customer service reputation.

What I (and others) want is a dependable and durable vehicle at a reasonable price. I’m tired of putting my money where their mouth is. So until the American nameplates get a reliable reputation or can guarantee a dependable product, I’ll pass.

Al Mason
Overland Park

Ford's parking lot

A recent letter suggested that the media should look at Ford and see what is parked there. I would welcome this. We are very proud of our work force and what they drive. Some of the temp workers may drive imports, but almost every full-time worker drives a Ford, with a few Chevys and Chryslers mixed in.

It seems pretty simple that the mayor should support the biggest industry in the area and its workers, as well as support businesses that pay millions of tax dollars. Isn't it common sense to spend tax dollars on a product that benefits our area jobs? It's like paying yourself interest. It's a good idea.

Jim Stoufer
President, UAW Local 249
Pleasant Valley

To save gasoline

Passing laws demanding that automakers increase vehicle mileage standards is not only expensive and years away, but it has no effect on the millions of cars already on the road. A more effective and immediate increase in fuel efficiency for all cars could be implemented faster and cheaper by making traffic lights more efficient and installing more roundabouts.

It is common for large numbers of cars to idle at red lights while the intersection goes unused. Studies show that for every minute of idling time eliminated for each of the 243 million cars in the United States, 4 million gallons of gas would be saved.

Traffic engineers need to install systems that maximize usage of an intersection rather than current timer-based systems oblivious to actual traffic conditions. Secondary intersection traffic lights could be set to flashing during the night and on weekends. Replacing traffic lights with roundabouts would greatly decrease idling cars and move traffic more efficiently.

I call on all traffic engineers to take the lead in improving mileage standards.

Larry Seitter
Olathe

Funkhouser’s car

Regarding concerns about what Mayor Mark Funkhouser drives: Why don’t the news media check the parking lot at Ford and see what is parked there? If Jesus came to Kansas City and became mayor, Republicans and Democrats would find fault with him. God help him if he drove a Toyota.

Larry Brown
Prairie Village

Funkhouser’s ride

So Mayor Mark Funkhouser has changed his mind about the free Honda hybrid (6/20, A-1). I didn’t really understand the fuss, so long as he didn’t provide the dealership any inappropriate favoritism. It was an economical and environmentally responsible choice.

As far as it being a foreign car, everyone who owns a so-called American-made car needs to check under the hood. The line between foreign and domestic is much more vague than it used to be. American cars have foreign-made parts. Foreign cars have American-made parts, and are sometimes assembled in the United States. The Ford plant in Claycomo assembles Mazdas, for Pete’s sake.

That being said, keeping our money local is still the best way to go.

Nancy Cozadd
Excelsior Springs

Regarding Mayor Mark Funkhouser and his automobile situation, the mayor should have remembered the old adage my mother used to remind me of when I was a child: Nothing in life is free.

The mayor could have shown us he is a man of the people and an environmentalist by riding the bus to work and appointments. Imagine this scene with Weird Al Yankovic in the background singing “Another One Rides the Bus.”

After all, in a city that needs to work for regular folks its leaders should mingle with the regular folks so that they can learn more about the needs of the community.

I’m sure that there are many “regular folks” in Kansas City who wish they had Mayor Funkhouser’s transportation problems.

John A. Mayfield
Independence

Defining ‘foreign car’

If people are going to criticize the mayor for accepting the free use of a car, that’s one thing, but they need to do a little research before they complain about it being an “imported” car (6/20, Local, “Mayor reverses course on cars; Funkhouser will not accept the free use of hybrid from dealer, he decides after criticism”).

If you check Honda’s Web site, you’ll find 80 percent of Honda cars and light trucks sold in the United States were built here in factories employing nearly 27,000 American workers in 10 different plants.

Complain about a free car if you like, but quit whining about it being an “import.” It isn’t.

Raoul Stitt
Kansas City

What is a foreign car? My Toyota and Honda were assembled in the United States, providing jobs to U.S. workers. My last Chrysler was assembled in Canada, depriving U.S. workers of jobs. The auto plants buy parts from all over the world, thus putting our citizens out of work. Their factories are filled with robots that are made by Japanese and Germans. What hypocrisy! Follow the lead of the big three: Rely on capitalism and buy the best car/robot/part that you can get for the money.

Dan Conyers
Kansas City, Kan.

Mayor's car

U.S. automakers

The cost of a new car to Mark Funkhouser: zero.

The free publicity for Honda: priceless.

The negative connotation for our two area assembly plants: immeasurable.

Thank you Denver, Cincinnati, Indianapolis and Omaha for supporting our American companies (6/14, Local, “Three Fords, one Chrysler, and a freebie”).

W. Ruckman
Kansas City

It’s a loaner

Argh! Kansas City doesn’t have anything better to do than whine about Mark Funkhouser’s usage of this car? Maybe I’m missing something here, but based on a recent article in The Star, it doesn’t even look like the mayor will even own the car.

In other words, he’s not being given a car; he’s driving a car while he is mayor. There are a lot worse things he could be doing.

Jason Parr
Overland Park

Funkhouser’s car

How many government officials drive foreign vehicles? How many American auto workers live in and pay taxes to Kansas City? To drive foreign vehicles helps eliminate local jobs that support this government and community.
Why take food off the table of the families who work at the assembly plants and the families who receive benefits indirectly from these jobs? Are we selling out America to foreign companies?
Maybe Kansas City could offer more incentives to have automakers locate their factories here in Kansas City. This would benefit all, not just one individual town.
Maybe Ford or GM could give the mayor a free car to drive, advertising “Made in America by American-Owned Companies and American Workers.”
Bill Ramsey
UAW-Ford retiree
Les’s Summit

Funkhouser's car

Why foreign again?
We are extremely fortunate to have two viable domestic auto plants in the greater Kansas City area. Ford and General Motors, along with the support of the UAW, are providing excellent wages and benefits for the local work force.
You would think the mayor of the largest municipality in the area would drive something other than a foreign brand (6/13, A-1, “Mayor’s car has ethics mileage; Problem in accepting the free Honda is the idea he is trading on his office, some experts say).
John M. Owens
Polo, Mo.

Ethics question
“The new mayor is not mentally challenged. Somebody offers you a brand new car, you take it.”
These are the inspiring words of our new mayor, Mark Funkhouser. Hey, Mark. What do you do if someone offers you $25,000 cash? You take it?
What happened to the good old boy who was so comfortable with his 10-year-old Toyota? According to Steve Penn in his column (5/28) you said, “It’s just getting broke in good. I’m comfortable with it.” You must have really loved that old Toyota. When they offered you the brand new Honda, approximately how many seconds did it take you to forget all about your dear old, faithful Toyota?
“The new mayor is not mentally challenged.” I beg to differ and would further suggest that he is seriously ethically challenged as well.
Bill Burlingame
Kansas City

Like other politicians
Why is it that hypocrisy is a characteristic that makes up the DNA of most politicians? Funkhouser (spelled “Doublespeak”) is no exception.
He can’t keep his fingers out of the cookie jar any better than most of the other political glory boys we periodically fall victim to. Honda did an excellent job of smoking him out. He can be bought, just like certain of the rest of the office-seeking breed.
Judi Ulmer
Lenexa

From Toyota to Honda?

How nice for Mayor Funkhouser. Going from an old Toyota to a new Honda (6/9, Local, “Funkhouser trades up”). Yet another slap in the face to the two struggling American auto plants in the Kansas City area.
Mike Thomas
Lawson, Mo.

U.S. vs. foreign automakers

Tuesday’s Star (5/1, Letters) carried comments by Sandie Morris and Chris Dolt lamenting the fact that Kansas City Mayor Mark Funkhouser drives a Toyota when the Kansas City area is home to two U.S. automobile manufacturers. Their argument is that he should support local businesses and not tarnish the city’s image.

This is neither patriotism nor common sense. It is knee-jerk nationalism.

As an United Auto Workers member, Mr. Dolt, did you or your union attempt to sway the big-car/big-fuel consumption policies of your companies? Continuing to produce such automobiles has led to this situation. Temporarily propping up incompetence doesn’t help.

If Americans had stopped buying those gasoline guzzlers at a much earlier date, we might have forced design changes and prevented those massive layoffs. It’s too little too late now.

Bob Woodward
Marshall, Mo.

I wonder how the “buy American” whiners would feel if Mayor Funkhouser drove a BMW, Saab or Volkswagen? I’m guessing they probably wouldn’t be as vocal. The fact is that Japanese cars perform better and last longer than American cars, typically.

The buy-American attitude is really a Catch-22 when you think about it. American cars tend to have poorer gasoline mileage than their Japanese counterparts, which means we have to buy more gasoline and in turn support foreign oil.

Toyota is now outselling General Motors, meaning it builds a better product. Many Americans, not just the mayor, drive foreign cars. If someone is offended by the car he drives, they will probably be offended by anything.

And I assume buy-American proponents have nothing but American-made electronics in their homes.

J.C. Foster
Overland Park

The electric car

With regard to complaints about Mark Funkhouser driving a Toyota: If Ford and GM were interested in selling cars that buyers want, they could have continued with their emission-free electric cars. The documentary “Who Killed the Electric Car?” (available at Johnson County Library) shows several drivers saying they hated giving the cars up at the end of the lease, but the automakers refused to sell them or extend the leases.

The cars were shredded.

Letter writers Sandie Morris and Chris Dolt, UAW member, cite American automakers fighting for their lives and criticize the new mayor as not having “a lick of common sense” for driving a 10-year-old Toyota.

What was the sense in taking a product that customers wanted and loved off the market?

Lyndall Caldwell
Prairie Village

Car dealer by school?

Hats off to Leawood for even considering the idea of allowing outside interests to build an auto dealership directly across from an elementary school in our fair city (3/31, Local, “Leawood car dealership meets resistance”).

It’s so gratifying to see my tax dollars hard at work, entertaining plans that would significantly increase traffic in an already congested school zone, putting children at risk. Students at the nearby elementary school located on Mission Road would also enjoy considerable traffic from test drivers, people dropping off cars for repair, delivery trucks, etc. Hey, dodging vehicles is an important life skill, and it’s never too early to learn!

Child safety and common sense are meaningless when there are rich developers and slick lawyers who need to make money off our backs. This auto dealership is the perfect opportunity for Leawood to demonstrate its true core values to the metro area.

Jennifer Juhl Jarrell
Leawood

Fuel economy standards

From the president’s State of the Union speech: “At the same time, we need to reform and modernize fuel economy standards for cars the way we did for light trucks — and conserve up to eight and a half billion more gallons of gasoline by 2017.”

The fuel economy standards for cars (27.5 mpg in 2007) are much stricter than those for light trucks (22.2 mpg in 2007).

Raising the fuel economy standard for SUVs and other light trucks by just one mile per gallon per year over the next five years — to 27.2 mpg by model year 2012 — could save one million barrels of oil per day by 2020, according to Roland Hwang, vehicles policy Director for the Natural Resources Defense Council. That’s twice as much oil as we buy from Iraq, and three-quarters of our daily imports from Saudi Arabia.

Paul T. Hirth
Olathe

U.S. vs. foreign autos

For 30 years after I first got my driver’s license, I was convinced I would own only American-built cars. Then after 10 years of my wife complaining about the cars I was buying her, I finally bought a Honda Accord nine years ago.

When I purchased the Honda, I compared it to all comparable American-built cars. Most of the comparable American cars would have cost more than the Honda. Today that Honda is worth from $3,000 to $5,000 more than the comparable American cars.

For the first time, I drive a car with 190,000 miles and look forward to many more trouble-free miles.

I never have owned an American car that provided this kind of value.

Jerry Jackson
Liberty

Support U.S. automakers

S. Dickey questions the quality of U.S.-built automobiles (1/10, Letters). Surely if so many others can find happiness with U.S.-built vehicles, Dickey could find something built here in the states (preferably by GM, Ford or Chrysler) to drive with satisfaction.

The bumper sticker from the past that said “Hungry? Eat Your Import.” comes to mind. If I only knew what S. Dickey did for a living here in Kansas City (unless she happens to work for a foreign car dealership), I could show her and other import buyers how they are slowly contributing to their own financial undoing.

Ms. Dickey, if you don’t support GM or Ford in Kansas City, how are the thousands of employees — not only from GM and Ford, but their suppliers and dealerships — going to support whatever it is that you do for a living?

Mike Thomas
Lawson, Mo.