Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
It's Night Size with Dan ray On going you Basy
Boston's news radio.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Glad to have you with us on Nightside. Yes, it's true.
Brad to Jay for a couple more nights as your
host on Nightside. And we're really thrilling that one of
your favorite guests on Craig Fitzgerald, who is the automotive
editor for DCI Marketing. Yeah, I got it correct, thanks
Matt without reading it. And we're going to cover a
couple of very interesting issues. It is my understanding that
(00:27):
as of January one, twenty twenty six, mandatory automotive automobile
inspections will not be necessary in New Hampshire.
Speaker 1 (00:38):
Correct, That is what I am hearing as well. And
so I ask you all, is that a good thing
or a bad thing? And I also ask you all.
Speaker 2 (00:49):
If that was the case for you, if it was
the case in Massachusetts, or if you live in New
Hampshire or a state without that inspection rule, do you
get your car inspected anyway? I Craig and I are
in slightly different pages on this. I myself probably wouldn't
unless I noticed the car was acting funny or making
(01:11):
funny noises. I fear I don't know why, but I've
grown up to fear the defective catalytic converter. Well, so
it hurts. It cousted super amounts of money, and it
was the death knell and bad news. And I know
I should make sure that my car is pitting out
(01:32):
the cleanest exhaust possible. But you know, it's like I
don't trust I actually don't trust a lot of businesses
to tell me the truth about my catalyic catalytic converter
or a lot of other stuff like my break pads
if they're not squealing. I mean, I suppose I could
look at them myself, but you know, I'm not one
(01:53):
of those folks like you knows all about cars. So
I at the mercy of folks that I don't necessarily trussed. Craig,
on the other hand, is gonna get and get inspections
just like would get inspections, just like be correct.
Speaker 1 (02:08):
So let me first of all, thanks for having me.
Speaker 3 (02:12):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (02:13):
Secondly, let's dispel your concern about the catalytic converter, because
that that particular fear comes from nineteen seventy eight, right, Well,
your catalytic converters were relatively new at the time. There's
platinum inside them, so they can't. They were extremely.
Speaker 2 (02:31):
Expensive at that time. Yes, at the time. Before we
go on, folks, feel free to join in here. I'm
only here a couple nights. If you'd like to chat
with me, I'd love to have you six one seven, two,
five four ten thirty six one seven, two ten thirty Okay.
Speaker 1 (02:47):
So your your catalytic converter in nineteen seventy eight was
prohibitedly expensive and there were none on the aftermark.
Speaker 2 (02:54):
And how much were they back then?
Speaker 1 (02:56):
You know, at the time, maybe you know, maybe let's
pull a number out of the air, five hundred dollars
right in nineteen seventy eight, that was a good percentage
of the money you spent on the car. Right So
now you know, many many years later, you a catalytic
Converse can still be relatively expensive if you buy, you know,
a Hyundai original part catalytic converter. But there are so
(03:20):
many on the aftermarket that you can buy a replacement
catalytic converter. It'll be it'll work fine, they'll be relatively inexpensive.
And this all kind of a lot of this came
about when when catalytic converters started to get stolen a lot.
The aftermarket really stepped up and they you know there
there are a range of different catalytic converts you can
(03:42):
buy for your car and not spend a ton of money.
So don't worry about that. Worry more about whether or
not your car is actually safe.
Speaker 2 (03:52):
Can't worry about this. Isn't there a conflict of interest
between the inspection station that is also the repair station.
I don't know.
Speaker 1 (04:02):
How New Hampshire worked. I don't know how New Hampshire
works in general, but but uh, in Massachusetts, if you
get a rejection sticker from a station, you do not
have to get the vehicle service there. So if they
say to you, hey, we plugged your car in, you
know it's it says your emissions are reading too high. Uh,
(04:25):
you can go to AutoZone, have them run an OBD
two check on your car, tell you exactly what the
faults are, which is why your check engine light would
have been on, which is a the check engine light
will will make you fail your your emissions inspension. And
if it's if it's something simple O two censor or
(04:47):
a bad you know, could be a gas cap, could
be a vacuum leak, somewhere. You can fix that anywhere,
reset the code, go back in and test, and you know,
and it doesn't cost you any additional to do that.
So and you don't have to get it serviced at
that particular shop. So you know, they may come out
(05:08):
to you and say, well, geez, you need you know,
you need a catalytic converter, your tires, a bald, you
know this, that the other thing. But you know, you
you can collectively take care of those things. You have
I think thirty days to take care of those things
on your own if you want to.
Speaker 2 (05:26):
I think there ought to be a lot of that.
The person who inspects is not allowed to be the
person who repairs.
Speaker 1 (05:32):
So that's why, you know, honestly, that's why a repair
facility will have an inspection station, because they know that
most people are just gonna go, well, all right, just
go ahead and fix it right now. Here's a good example.
My son sixteen years old. We we've found him a
twenty ten SOB nine to three, three thousand dollars car,
(05:55):
nothing special. I brought it to get inspected, and I
went to a shop that I never go to. My
usual guy was busy, so I went to the shop
I never go to, and they ran it through the
inspection station or through the inspection process. The technician came
out and he said, hey, you get a plate light out.
And I immediately was like, here we go. You know,
(06:15):
like they're going to try to ring me up for
two hundred and fifty dollars for this thing. And he
was like, I can fix it for fifteen bucks. It
was like fifteen dollars. I mean the bulb is four.
Knock yourself out, fix it for fifteen bucks and I'm
out the door. So so, you know, I think there
are I think for everybody's fear, there are a ton
(06:37):
of ethical good shops. And if your shop is an
ethical if you don't feel comfortable, you need to find
somebody else.
Speaker 2 (06:44):
I'm gonna tell if they're ethical. If you're not, you
you know, I'm just me. I don't know.
Speaker 4 (06:48):
Yeah, go to it.
Speaker 1 (06:48):
I mean I'd get a second opinion. Like, so you
paid your thirty five dollars inspection fee. You do have
to go back to that one shop in order to
get reinspected. But you could bring it to somebody else
and say, hey, you know they told me this, what
what does this need? And they will help you fix
you know, whatever it needs, and then you can go
(07:09):
back there and get it reinspected.
Speaker 2 (07:10):
Cool.
Speaker 1 (07:11):
It's just not you know, you're not You're not compelled to.
Speaker 2 (07:14):
Be there one quick. This is a side thing. Parenting
borders on parenting. Why did you do the inspection? Why
didn't you have your son do it as part of
the Oh, so he's not a living experience. He is
currently on his learner's APERTMIT.
Speaker 1 (07:28):
So we bought the car ahead of time so he
could practice driving and then, uh, you know, once he
gets it, you know, once he gets his license, he'll
do all that himself.
Speaker 2 (07:38):
Okay, And how is he at practicing?
Speaker 1 (07:40):
He's really good. He's a really good driver. I'm you know,
and I'm not saying that because he's my kid. He
doesn't make me nervous at all. Uh, he's he's a
really kind of careful, attentive driver. And he's learned a
lot in his driver's head too. So he's doing great.
Speaker 2 (07:57):
Being that. You're a car guy, will you when you
make him learn to drive a standard?
Speaker 1 (08:02):
He said he would, He said he would drive a stick.
We decided together that a stick probably wasn't the best
thing for him. You know, for the first year, but
then you know, he may decide to do something like
that in the future.
Speaker 2 (08:18):
That's one of the rights of parenting is to sit
through the herky jerky yees.
Speaker 1 (08:23):
He's driven my sixty six CJ five, which has a
three speed manual transmission, which is not easy to drive,
by the way, and he's done great in it.
Speaker 2 (08:32):
So and he's course good and of course there's the
thrill of driving three on the tree.
Speaker 1 (08:37):
Oh and by the way, he can't take his license
test on anything but an automatic. The state of Massachusetts
will not let you take your license test with a stick. Why.
I don't know. Like that to me seems like it
would be the greater challenge.
Speaker 2 (08:51):
Hey, Massachusetts, why is that? And if anybody who works
for Massachusetts knows, let me know. Right after this break,
we're gonna go to Richard and and love to hear
from you. Would you like the new Hampshire law, Uh, well,
the new New Hampshire abolishment of the law that requires
inspections to go away just like it has in New Hampshire.
(09:15):
Here in Massachusetts, I guess I kind of would. I
don't feel that guilty about you.
Speaker 1 (09:21):
Maybe tell you why. I'll tell you why you should
you should appreciate what.
Speaker 2 (09:25):
We have, Why why I should feel guilty? Yes, okay,
And we'll talk to Richard and all that after this
on wb Z.
Speaker 5 (09:33):
Night Side with Dan Ray on WBZ Boston's news Radio.
Speaker 2 (09:38):
That's right back at it on nights Side Bradley, jayfer Dan,
and we're asking you would you like to see Massachusetts
dump its requirement for automotive inspections like the Great Granted
State by the way. A little later we'll we'll get
into a couple of laws that we're surprised still exists
in the Great Grantited State so called, but not really
(09:59):
live free or die state. We got a Richard and
Peabody first and talk with him, and you're on with
Quik Fitzgerald. How do you do Richard good?
Speaker 5 (10:09):
Good, good, thank you, Richard good.
Speaker 3 (10:13):
Thank you. I was up to my son's shop up
in New Hampshire yesterday and he was doing an inspection
on the car. And they up in New Hampshire. You
have to take a front wheel off, a back wheel off,
check for the brakes. All this is going to go away.
Speaker 6 (10:30):
Yep.
Speaker 3 (10:30):
You don't know if your breaks are working. You can
have ball tires right, you can have a suspension that's
ready to fall apart rushed from one end of the.
Speaker 7 (10:40):
Car to the other way. I think it's ridiculous, So
you're right.
Speaker 1 (10:43):
And and New Hampshire has typically been stricter with its
safety inspections in Massachusetts is oddly enough, Like I remember,
I remember going into a shop years ago, I was
getting tires or something, and a guy got failed for
because his aftermarket fog lights weren't working. You know, they
(11:06):
weren't even part of the car to begin with. Massachusetts
would never failure for that. Nobody in Massachusetts would ever
failure for that. But New Hampshire has been traditionally stricter
with with inspections than than Massachusetts. And I think you're right.
I think you know, there is a minimum standard that
your car should meet if you're gonna get a license
(11:27):
plate in Massachusetts. Like it's just you know, for thirty
five bucks. The way I look at it is for
thirty five bucks, you get somebody to look over your
car once a year, and you get some peace of
mind that it's relatively safe. I go out in the
parking lot here. We've talked about this before. Half of
the tire, half of the cars out there. The tires
are like baloney skins. You know that you could see
(11:49):
a reflection in the tread. I hate, you know, right,
and and I think and and honestly, I think people
don't know how their car works. Right. So to Richard point,
who knows how your ball joints work? I guess I do.
I can kind of, you know.
Speaker 2 (12:09):
Can't you tell me they're not working right anymore? Something
feels weird?
Speaker 1 (12:12):
Yeah, you see a lot of people driving down the
road and their steering wheel is shaken like crazy because
like their car's falling apart.
Speaker 2 (12:20):
Perhaps the error in my thinking is that, unlike me,
most people would ignore that weirdness and their car would
go into a ditch. As soon as I feel something off,
I would take it in and say, what is this?
Speaker 1 (12:35):
So this is how I've driven old garbage for forty
years and have only failed an inspection twice because I
pay relatively close attention to how the car drives. Richard,
what do you drive?
Speaker 6 (12:50):
I drive a twenty fourteen jeep yep.
Speaker 1 (12:53):
Okay, so you know you're eleven years old. You're getting
to the point where you no longer need an ambitions inspection, right,
So that's fifteen years old or older. I don't know
if Now Hampshire doesn't an amssions inspection or not. I'm
not sure. I doubt they do.
Speaker 7 (13:08):
No, they do, okay, So so even even like my
son said to me, Dad, he said, if this cor
came in right now, before this goes into effect, and
there's any bit of.
Speaker 6 (13:18):
Rust on it, it get failed.
Speaker 1 (13:20):
Yeah.
Speaker 6 (13:21):
Now if that's all the window with all the salt
that they use up in New Hampshire, yeah, are you
kidding me?
Speaker 1 (13:26):
Yeah, Massachusetts, I've you know, I have failed. One of
the one of the two times I failed was because
I had rust on the on the rear quarter panel.
That was like I mean, it was a hole in it.
So I get it fine, I'll go home. I patched
it in the driveway. I brought it back the next
day and I drove away with a sticker. Didn't cost me,
you know, twenty bucks to fix it.
Speaker 6 (13:47):
So well, And like I said, I was up there
last night because I had to take my granddaughter's car
have the oil change. But anyway, he said, I said,
what's the reasoning behind me? He said, Well, when the
fellow dropped the stickers off last time, he says, we
are both mechanics up there. Said to him, what's going on?
He says, women going to have a coy inspected and
they come into a place and that this is gone,
(14:09):
that's gone this morning, that they're ripping them off.
Speaker 1 (14:11):
Yeah, yeah, and you know, I mean that was you know,
Bradley and I were talking about that a little. I
don't want to get ripped off, right, and I don't
know how they do it in New Hampshire. But again
in Massachusetts, you don't have to get the car fixed there,
so you know you can. You can get it fixed anywhere.
You know. Unfortunately, if they're failing you for those but
(14:31):
here's the thing. In Massachusetts, they're also watching the inspector.
So there's there's multiple cameras in the shop and if
they're getting taken, you know, taken advantage of, and people
make enough complaints, they're going to lose their inspection station,
which they don't want to do.
Speaker 2 (14:46):
Richard, thank you, excellent costs.
Speaker 1 (14:48):
Thanks for Richard.
Speaker 2 (14:49):
So Richard is one who's against the new thing that
we'll get rid. Yeah, inspections. I don't think that any
time that anywhere that tests you for anything, should you
able to sell you the fix for that same thing,
like eyeglasses stores.
Speaker 1 (15:04):
Okay, what are you gonna win for an eye test?
Speaker 2 (15:07):
He's going for an eye test and say, why don't
you visit? Uh, I'm shure them out here because your going.
Speaker 1 (15:13):
Yeah, but it's the same thing. They give you the
prescription you can go off to. That's what I do.
I get you know, some you know fly by night
operation on the internet to make glasses for me.
Speaker 3 (15:23):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (15:24):
Person doesn't know, like, yeah, what to do?
Speaker 1 (15:28):
I guess. I mean there's a warby Parker. You can
always go there. Yeah, so right down there's one.
Speaker 2 (15:33):
Oh yeah, we're taking a poll.
Speaker 1 (15:35):
Yeah. That's one for one for keeping it.
Speaker 2 (15:39):
Keep yep and not keep, and one for ditch jettison yep. Okay,
one for keep. Now Linda in Weymouth, which would be
a Massachusetts town, Yeah, okay, Linda, Hello ISLANDA.
Speaker 8 (15:52):
Hi, I say keep it. See, I'd like to do
it twice a year.
Speaker 1 (16:06):
So if I remember correctly, if I remember correctly, did
we used to do it twice a year?
Speaker 8 (16:13):
I don't know. I'm too young.
Speaker 1 (16:14):
I can't remember. I can't remember.
Speaker 2 (16:17):
We never remember. I don't remember that.
Speaker 1 (16:20):
I'm trying to.
Speaker 8 (16:20):
Give reason why, Okay, what I what I would like
and alu of that. As I drive around, too many
cars have one headlight at night. You never know whether
it's a motorcycle or not. Right, Yeah, you know, so
(16:44):
I maybe maybe give the give the gas station or
ten in the next to five bucks. Would you checked
my lights make sure they're both working?
Speaker 2 (16:53):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (16:53):
So you know the lights are part of the inspection.
And you're right, you know, you know you get to
you gotta stick around your car and your light burns
out the next day, you go a year before you
replace that. I mean to me, it would be annoying,
but I would get I would fix it.
Speaker 8 (17:08):
So the other guy right, but you know.
Speaker 1 (17:10):
It's most, You're right, most a lot of people are
driving around with one one headlight. You know that's that's
not good.
Speaker 8 (17:17):
And you know what else bothers me is when you know,
like after dusk. You know they're supposed to have our
lights on at dusk and we're supposed to have a
lights on when the windshield wipers are going a lot
of people don't do that, correct.
Speaker 1 (17:28):
They don't.
Speaker 8 (17:29):
And when they got a dark car. I was buying
a new car, I didn't want a dark car because
I didn't want to be a shadow, and I didn't
want to be a have a white car because I
didn't want to be a rolling snow bag. I got
a great car.
Speaker 1 (17:42):
Gray is good. Gray is good.
Speaker 8 (17:45):
So yeah, complaints, yeah, drivers, anybody drivers?
Speaker 2 (17:52):
Fair enough? A great, great call. Okay, So there's a
lot to address there. But as far as headline, it's
why can't car headlights go on automatically when it's dark,
just like the lights on the street.
Speaker 1 (18:08):
So so now they do. I mean most most cars
now have auto on headlamps.
Speaker 2 (18:13):
And also start to.
Speaker 1 (18:16):
Get that's that's a question that that that I have
asked myself. It's like, well, if more and more states
are making this a requirement that you have your headlights
on when your wipers are on, you would think that,
you know, by by turning the wipers on, that would
turn the headlights on. But everything has daytime running lights
now too, so you know that's been a mandatory feature
(18:39):
for you know, twenty years now. So the headlights are
always on. The daytime running lights are always on when
your wipers are on, but your tail lights are not
necessarily on. And I do see a lot of people
running around with their daytime running lights on and none
of the other lights on in the car because they
haven't figured out like, oh, I need to actually turn
(19:00):
all the lights on rather than just the drls.
Speaker 2 (19:02):
I have a fairly reason talk Amobile twenty twenty four,
twenty twenty three Mazda, and I love it. And one
of the things it does is it and I guess
a lot of cars do this these days. It knows
when even the tiniest sprinkle of rain starts and it's
and the wind show wipers stopped by themselves, right. I
can't believe that the sensors would know that it's raining.
(19:25):
Where are the sensors located.
Speaker 1 (19:26):
It's it's in the glass, so it's behind the glass,
and it can sense that there's water there, and you know,
it'll run the wipers. And the other thing I love
too is automatic on headlamps are great and auto dimming
headlamps are fantastic. That's that's a requirement now in order
(19:47):
for manufacturers to get an IIHS top Safety Pick plus.
So pretty much all manufacturers are going to have an
auto dimming headlamps, you know, in the in the next
few years. I love that they're great because I that
that is a fault of mine is that I will
(20:09):
often forget to turn my high beams off. I will
absolutely cop to that. I confess that that's me who's
running around with their high beams on. And I'm sorry.
I do love the autodimming headlamps.
Speaker 2 (20:24):
I think that was a great We're gonna actually spend
a little dedicated time on headlights. And as it turns out, Craig,
I guess Craig Fitzgerald, automotive writer for DCI Marketing, is
does have the definitive answer to the question that has
plagued us all for years. Actually, and I've been trying
(20:45):
to get the answer to this act literally for years.
And when I use the phrase literally, I literally mean literally.
The question was, if you come up to a red arrow,
a light with a red arrow, is it treated the
same as a red light? And you if without any
(21:06):
signs that say no, right on red? If there's no sign,
can you turn right on red arrow? After stop?
Speaker 1 (21:12):
Don't say anything? Okay, we got to keep them in
you know, suspense spoiler alerting.
Speaker 2 (21:17):
Some of you go, yeah you can. And part of
my life, part of my job in life is I'm
responsible for watering eleven trees in this little green garden,
and right by beside that is one of those lights
in question. And every cycle I see someone come up
(21:38):
and not take the right on the red arrow. And
also somebody a couple of cars back going bye byey
maybe correct, like you know, in a wild frenzy of beeping.
And then the person in the front acquiesces because they
don't know really what the law is, so they're thinking, oh,
I guess that. I guess the law must be that
(21:59):
I do go, or that man would or a woman
wouldn't be beeping. So frantically we're gonna find out what's up.
Make sure you remind me, okay, so I don't forget,
all right, And then we go to John and Boston
All on w WBZ.
Speaker 9 (22:15):
You're on Night Side with Dan Ray on WBZ Boston's
news radio.
Speaker 2 (22:22):
Well, my friends, this is just a breeze, This is
a lot of fun. We're here with Craig Fitzgerald initially
talking about the fact that New Hampshire has dropped its
requirement or will be dropping its requirement as a jan
one twenty six to get your vehicle inspected. And I
asked myself, would I still get mine inspected, and I
(22:44):
asked that, of you, would you my guess. Craig, an
automotive writer, says he will still get his car inspected
thirty five bucks. I bet you'll let it slag though
you'll say, oh, it's been a year ago. Another mind,
Oh yeah, now it's two years.
Speaker 1 (23:01):
So this is exactly the problem, right, is that you
know you let it slide. Now if it's voluntary, you're not.
Speaker 2 (23:08):
Going to do it. Yeah, you know. I don't have
the time. I'm busy.
Speaker 1 (23:11):
I got my right.
Speaker 2 (23:11):
I gotta take my daughter to a soccer game.
Speaker 1 (23:14):
Right, And then meanwhile, nobody looks at the tires that
you're carrying your precious daughter around in.
Speaker 2 (23:22):
I can't believe. Look, I can't believe people don't care
about tires as much.
Speaker 1 (23:27):
As I don't. They don't care about anything.
Speaker 2 (23:30):
You don't even care about tires as much as No,
I don't, you care more but than I do. When
I get in a car, I not even to check,
like I'm worried about their tires. But if somebody picks
me up and I'm walking to the car, somebody picks
me over at the bus station, I Sai'm walking to
the car up stick my fingers in the tread. Just
get your penny out, make sure it goes up the
Lincolns head. I'm just curious about it. It's just I'm
(23:52):
very curious about the tread path.
Speaker 4 (23:54):
Yea.
Speaker 1 (23:54):
And they're running around on Remington rim Shots or something
like that, some off brand from you know, the middle
of nowhere.
Speaker 2 (24:01):
And I'm not even a car freak. Yeah, but something
about me just loves new tires.
Speaker 1 (24:07):
Yeah, it's great. It's a great feeling to get new
tires on your car. Feels like a new car.
Speaker 2 (24:11):
How much your tires know?
Speaker 1 (24:13):
It's they're expensive, and they're expensive because of the size
that manufacturers put on cars. What brand do you like
that's a big bang for the buck? I like us.
I think Kumos are a great bang for the buck.
I think Krugans are are the Kumo is what's the
other what's the other Korean brand? I can't remember, I
(24:35):
can't but anyways, Kumo's are really good. I think they
are decent value for the money. I like Falcons. I
think they're a decent value for the money.
Speaker 2 (24:45):
Is it good to keep the original operating equipment tire
on your car?
Speaker 1 (24:48):
If you want, you can get oh, you can always
get a better tire. The the tires generated on the
cheap tires, unless well, not necessarily cheap. So the tires
that are on performance cars, they're generally you know, Perelli Mission, Micheline,
Pilot plus Four's or Parelli or whatever. They're really good.
(25:10):
They're great times. Yeah, they're great tires.
Speaker 7 (25:13):
Game.
Speaker 1 (25:13):
But but when when manufacturers put tires like on a
on a passenger vehicle, they're really going for uh, no
noise and high fuel economy. That's what those are. Touring tires.
They're no good for the winter.
Speaker 2 (25:30):
John and Boston Hell, hey.
Speaker 10 (25:32):
John, Hey, Hey one Shawn holl you know one Shawn
how China? Okay, anyway, h Bradley and the Boston Gloglet
me ask you.
Speaker 1 (25:43):
I used to be yeah, years ago, I used to
write for the Boston Globe.
Speaker 10 (25:47):
Oh do you remember John White? Yeah?
Speaker 1 (25:48):
I love John White was my mentor. I traveled so
much with John White. It's not even funny.
Speaker 2 (25:55):
Who's John? What did John White?
Speaker 3 (25:56):
Right?
Speaker 1 (25:56):
John White was the automotive editor at the bar Austin
Globe for many, many years, and when everybody else was
reading comic books and all that kind of stuff, I
was reading John White every Sunday when I was twelve
years old.
Speaker 4 (26:10):
I love that.
Speaker 10 (26:12):
Yeah, coming all over the living or wherever reading John White.
That's the first thing I would grab by on the
Sunday paper.
Speaker 1 (26:23):
I missed that guy so much. He passed away three
years ago, I think, and uh, And I did see
him at Tom Maliatzi's memorial service, and it was great
to see him because I hadn't seen him in a
long time. But I did travel everywhere with that guy
for a while.
Speaker 2 (26:40):
Johnny, you on speakerphone or something that? Can you do
anything to make it okay?
Speaker 10 (26:45):
How's that better?
Speaker 2 (26:47):
Like in the room of I let that be a
lesson everybody that calls do whatever John just did? Who
did you do? Take off speakerphone?
Speaker 1 (26:55):
Yeah, okay, take beautiful.
Speaker 5 (26:59):
I like join Whey article one time, pix up a
conchor and beat the high price of a new car.
That's what people should do. What are you doing buying
a forty fifty thousand dollar car? Take a car, have
a mechanic, look at it, a ten twenty year old
car even and you say thousands of dollars?
Speaker 3 (27:13):
What are you doing?
Speaker 2 (27:14):
Example? What are you doing?
Speaker 5 (27:16):
Before he did not glamorous, the old cock cars. In fact,
that he is a tot of them around.
Speaker 1 (27:20):
So you're trying to John's personal vehicle that you know,
because he used to drive a lot of you know,
press cars and things like that, evaluation vehicles. His personal
vehicle was a completely stripped out two wheel drive Ford Ranger.
Uh you know it was. It looked like, you know,
it would have been on a rental fleet somewhere.
Speaker 5 (27:40):
He was.
Speaker 1 (27:41):
He was a real character. That guy loved him.
Speaker 2 (27:45):
Anyway, John, question about.
Speaker 5 (27:47):
The Well, I just wanted to mention there was a
legal loophole to beat the system. You ever hear that
trim legal loophole?
Speaker 1 (27:53):
Yeah, yeah, sure, yeah.
Speaker 5 (27:55):
There was a vehicle call that enclosed this ability scooter
and doesn't have a stead wheel. But see a little car.
This might be great for your teenager. They cost around
seven thousand dollars, like a little pricey six seven thousand dollars.
Speaker 2 (28:06):
He'll see them.
Speaker 5 (28:07):
I haven't seen any, but that's all you know, d
it up for people. Don't license, no insurance, no registration,
no sticker. It's all legal. You could drive it on
the sidewalk. The disability scooter. It doesn't say it to
be disabled to drive it. Uh, no standing whill even
get him a stay with? But I wouldn't get to
stand with because the police's gonna pull you over. Yes,
what are you doing? This is not an automobile, officer, madam, officer. Sure,
(28:31):
this is a disability scooter like an electric wheelchair. And
you can look at it and close disability school. You'll
see what they look like. It might be great to
beat the high insurance if you're a teenager that wants
to drive around the neighborhood.
Speaker 2 (28:42):
That's all yeah, right, thanks thanks for that. John, quickly,
can you kind of flesh out what he was getting at?
What the heck is he saying?
Speaker 1 (28:48):
So you there, this is like the loophole for electric
bikes now right, So electric bikes showed up and everybody's like, oh,
that's cool.
Speaker 2 (29:00):
Now there are.
Speaker 1 (29:02):
Essentially electric motorcycles that people are not put in plates.
Speaker 2 (29:06):
Electric bikes right by the way. I need to add
this in here because it's one of my pet things.
I went to an electric bike store YEP and asked
them how fast I could go, et cetera. I asked them,
is it easy to remove the governor so they can
go faster? And this dealer said, yeah, you know, they
just put pedals on. Put pedals on them, so they're
(29:27):
allowed on by deaths. Pedals are like appendicide. So there's
appendix there.
Speaker 1 (29:32):
There's a couple of different things, like if you bought
a specialized mountain bike, an electric mountain bike that is
an actual bicycle with a with an electric motor in it,
they're there. You can, you know, either use the pedals
or not use the pedals. It kind of rides the same.
But then there's this sort of other class of electric
bikes that will do fifty miles an hour. Then depending
(29:54):
on your way fifty you should have to get a
plate on those. You should have to on a.
Speaker 2 (30:00):
Bicycle path, right, because a lot of times they're going
faster than the traffic right automotive speed limit on a
bike path right.
Speaker 5 (30:10):
Right.
Speaker 2 (30:10):
And there's something else as well. This is in addition
to what you said. If you google some of some
of the brands, one is ghost something. They don't even
try to make them look like. They make them look
like dead bikes, right, and they just stick the pedals right,
And you know that as a loophole.
Speaker 1 (30:28):
The issue is for me, the frightening part is like
people are putting their kids on them and they're letting
them run all over town with them, which is like,
I mean, kids get hit on bicycles all the time,
and you know, like I mean, I rode a mopead
when I was sixteen, but it was legal, right I got,
I got a sticker on it. You know, I had
(30:50):
to register it. I didn't need a license for it,
but I didn't need.
Speaker 2 (30:54):
To register it, so at least, you know, and a
lot of people who are on bicycles, including electric by
have a chip on their shoulder about cars and pedestrians.
And my big fear is getting hit by one because
you know, I'm over forty and that could smash your
palvis take you.
Speaker 1 (31:12):
And there's no recourse, no right, So there's no plate.
Speaker 2 (31:15):
They can just ride away. And I wish that the
towns and cities, including my town, would right now ban
those that they need to have specific classes and how
fast they can go. I mean, that's how it always
allow them on the bike path. That's how it bikes.
Speaker 1 (31:35):
It always was with scooters, right, so I had you
remember this, I had a Vespa scooter right from the
nineteen sixties. I needed a plate and I need a
safety inspection on that just as if it were a motorcycle,
because it had a four speed transmission and it was
over fifty see seeds. So if you're under fifty c
c's and it it, you know, it just has a
(31:58):
twist and go, you know, auto at transmission you don't
need you just needed a registration sticker, which is super cheap.
It's like fifteen bucks. You don't have to ensure it.
But I had to ensure my scooter because you know,
it was treated like a motorcycle. So like that makes
total sense to me, like just you know, at least
(32:19):
have some registration.
Speaker 2 (32:20):
Motorcycle, totally cycle with the motor on it, a literal motor,
an actual motor doesn't has to be gasoline motor. It's
a motor. It's electric motor, and electric motors have more
torque and they go just as fast. And I hope
they don't wait till.
Speaker 1 (32:37):
Somebody's eventually going to get wet.
Speaker 2 (32:40):
So I need to And we'll get right to Mike
and Bernie up in the Great Granite State talking about
their their removal of the mandatory inspection after this year.
It's WBZ.
Speaker 1 (32:55):
It's Night Side with Dan ray On.
Speaker 2 (32:59):
Boston's news radio looks like New Hampshires dropping the mandatory
auto inspection after this year. Good thing or a bad thing.
It's Mike Insituate. You're on WBZ.
Speaker 5 (33:12):
Hello, Mike, Hey, Mike, Hey, guys, how are you taking
to call the How you doing good?
Speaker 7 (33:19):
Excellent?
Speaker 5 (33:19):
Excellent? So, uh, before I get in the whole auto thing,
the inspection thing, I just want to say Bradley's I
was excited last week when I heard you back on
the radio. You bring me back to my youth, back
on BCN. Glad to see you back on the radio. Man,
It's great.
Speaker 2 (33:32):
I do what I can. Thank you very much.
Speaker 5 (33:35):
But it is all for the inspection. Oh I'm sure
you know.
Speaker 10 (33:40):
Yep, I remember those days.
Speaker 5 (33:41):
Those are good times, man. But I'm all for of
the inspection sticker. But I have to say I am
somewhat of a hypocrite.
Speaker 9 (33:49):
I'm driving my two thousand and two pickup truck that's
gonna twenty twenty expired inspection sticker on it. That's great,
twenty in the reason, But the reason being is, you know,
I've got a few rush holes in it that you know,
I'm sure it won't pass.
Speaker 5 (34:05):
Other than that, I'm all for it. I mean, I
keep it up mechanically. I just spent you know, over
ten thousand dollars you know on the engine and brakes
and tires and everything else, on the truck update and everything.
So I know it's a safe vehicle. You know, I'm
allf of that.
Speaker 1 (34:18):
And so that is interestingly with the rust hole thing,
there's no requirement that you need to fix it like
as it came from the factory, right, So you could
conceivably get some of that heavy duty duct tape and
tape those holes up and get a sticker on it,
you know.
Speaker 9 (34:37):
Yep, yeah, I had to do that a couple of
years back back in twenty twenty. I guess a few
years back now, I had some rust over the wheel
wells stuff. I bought the those Fender f lass a
just scroll on the side of the yeah.
Speaker 1 (34:49):
Yeah, yeah, you know what I mean, check this out.
I told Bradley this and he didn't believe me. But
there was a guy in I think he was in
Uxbridge who would rent you. He would rent you a
pickup bed, so you'd go to his shop. You'd take
your old rusty bed off, put your bed and put
his bed on, you'd go get your sticker, and then
(35:11):
you'd come back and spock beds again. I mean, like
how much why, I don't know, it was like three
hundred dollars or something. It's like, why wouldn't you just
fix it?
Speaker 3 (35:19):
You know?
Speaker 1 (35:20):
The stick for ridiculous?
Speaker 5 (35:22):
It was so funny, funny.
Speaker 2 (35:23):
So, Mike, did I hear you say that you've been
driving around with an expired sticker since twenty twenty?
Speaker 1 (35:29):
Yeah? Yeah, yeah, okay, okay, it's this COVID sticker.
Speaker 2 (35:33):
I'm not you know, with you. I'm just wondering, how
can you get away with that?
Speaker 3 (35:39):
Like that?
Speaker 2 (35:40):
Is ei there any officers on outside? They care anymore
what they deal?
Speaker 1 (35:45):
You know, I it's funny, like some days I have
gotten I did get pulled over once for an inspired
expired sticker. I just forgot to do it, and it
was like a month out of date. I got pulled
over in Wellesley, which apparently, you know, like they're looking
for him and Wellesley. But I mean I have driven
stuff for quite a while past the inspection date and
(36:06):
have never gotten pulled over other than that one time.
But you know, I mean it's the color that you
would indicate that the stickers out of date and they
need to you know, they may be looking, they may not,
who knows. I don't think they're looking for anything anymore.
To be honest with you, I'm with you on.
Speaker 9 (36:23):
That one, because I mean, I mean I'm driven right
by cops all the time. I mean I end a
fairly nice town on the social I'm from Situate and
driving the Boxton every day.
Speaker 1 (36:31):
Yeah, And it's not like they're looking on the highway,
you know that. So it's like always the back roads
that are going to get you. And I honestly, I
think they got other things.
Speaker 2 (36:41):
To do, you know exactly, Mike, Thank you.
Speaker 1 (36:43):
Yeah, a good call, mikel And one of the things
is that the police departments are wildly understood they're understaffed
or one that's yep, down.
Speaker 2 (36:52):
Like a third or actually a So I guess you
have to prioritize, and I guess stickers out at the
top of the pile.
Speaker 7 (37:01):
Right.
Speaker 2 (37:02):
We have Bernie in New Hampshire. Hi, Bernie, let's finish
out the hour with you. Hi Bernie, Hey, how are
you doing?
Speaker 3 (37:08):
Guys?
Speaker 4 (37:08):
Go heay? So Damn Ray had a show on this
the state settler from New Hampshire I proposed the bill
maybe a couple of months ago, so I understand this reasoning.
I understand what his reasoning was because in New Hampshire,
I don't know if you guys were aware, when you
go to register your car every year you get that
state and city tax. Yeah, And I mean, so it's
(37:32):
me and my wife and we have nineteen year old
twins and when they were turned sixteen, we got them
decent cars. We got my daughter of twenty fifteen Jedi
and my son of twenty fourteen Fusion, and my wife
has a twenty twenty three super route, so they do
the state in spectrum free anyway. But I'm like that guy,
kind of like Bradley was saying. Like I heard Dann
(37:53):
Ray say this, it was perfect.
Speaker 1 (37:54):
He says.
Speaker 4 (37:55):
Other than joining the military, he told his children, driving
a car is the most dangerous thing you're gonna do.
Speaker 3 (38:03):
Why they are one.
Speaker 1 (38:05):
More likely to get killed driving the car than you
are in the military at this point, especially on man,
it's you know it.
Speaker 9 (38:11):
Yeah, No, I know.
Speaker 4 (38:12):
I grew up in mass believe me, and I work
in Waymouth, so.
Speaker 10 (38:15):
I do it every day.
Speaker 5 (38:17):
But uh my, so it's the cost.
Speaker 4 (38:20):
And I understood what the settle I was saying talking about.
But you know, I make sure that my children's like
my sons, stays to the poor pelbow with DC. So
before I broke my cat out to him, I brought
it to my guy. I got a guy and he
goes shoot a car, and so it's not gonna affect me.
Who's gonna for people that don't care, don't well he is,
(38:42):
He's gonna get away with the stupid stuff.
Speaker 2 (38:44):
All right, thanks very much, good point. I'm glad you
brought that up. Craig's gonna stay with us some more.
We get all kinds of folks calling Brian and Ed
and unknown. We'll get you all on and there's more
to talk about. Even In addition to this topic, a
couple other automotive angles coming up on WBZ