Ed Bobit's Publisher's Page

During Secretariat's triple crown 31- length victory at Belmont early in June it was jockey Angel Cordero aboard My Gallant shouting over to Braulio Baeza on Twice A Prince just before the stretch turn: "I think we finish 1-2, Braulio, because I think they kidnap the leader. I can see him no more."

It seems axiomatic that our view into the distance during the good times compares favorably with the 20/20 vision we all possess in hindsight during any kind of times. Business is good. We are recording record car sales; leasing is at a new peak; financing and even insurance appear to be manageable problems today. The good times makes us all disciples of W. Clement Stone's "Positive Mental Attitude."

It's a good thing that we have the good business P&L's and personal PMA with the incredible Watergate and Ellsberg fiascos that lead the Buckley brothers, John Ashbrook, the editors of Human Events and other disaffected conservatives to take heart about our President. Good times provide us with an awareness that there are risks in making finite judgments about a man capable of making infinite tactical switches, ideology be damned. His record bears witness to his fidelity to the flexible response, whether in war, diplomacy or economics.

Closer to our own industry we have Senator Vance Hartke of Indiana who is sponsoring legislation that would require a used car dealer to tell prospective buyers of any mechanical defects in his vehicles and spell out the warranty terms.

Hartke is also sponsoring another measure that would require state licensing of motor vehicle repair shops and persons engaged in appraising collision damage to motor vehicles for insurance purposes. States would be asked to set up pollution testing stations where vehicles can be checked and repaired. During these good times this kind of legislation doesn't stir too many people.

Then we have a fuel shortage that is promised to get worse. With our PMA it should convert us to smaller cars and into training programs for drivers to help them get better mileage. This obviously will reduce the cost for the company and provides the perfect excuse to downgrade the driver's vehicle. There's always the bright side during the good times.

You can similarly study the new odometer legislation where virtually all the experts misjudged the strength of the used car market and the losses are not nearly as large as predicted.

Detroit shudders at auto recalls, but in spite of the gigantic cost it does offer the car owner a confidence he serves and makes the makers more quality conscious.

Seat belts and harnesses are expensive as hell but people are finally beginning to use them and they are saving lives.

As horrendous and unneeded as the federal indictment against the major makers for price-fixing and conspiracy is in the fleet business, it will eventually clear the business air to proceed into continued future sales without the current hanging cloud.

And can you imagine what kind of total attitude we all would have for the emission control devices and their costs if we were not into the good times. But we are breathing better and our kids will too in the future. During the good times we also find out that we can afford it.

Let's all appreciate the good times now since some of the economic pundits are telling us that it may be different next year. If they are correct, and we have an abundance of cars available in just the models we need, it will be a good test for our own individual PMA strength.