A laughable bit of summer news arrived yesterday in the form of a 70 year old Ohio man, who reportedly paid for his car with coinage.

Here’s $8,000 in coins

- ‘I want that Chevy truck’

tootled the Cincinnati Enquirer.  Er… not quite.  He paid for half of it because he “doesn’t trust paper money” and the other half with a cheque.

James Jones’ son, Dennis, said his father was

pretty tight with his money

However, I’ve just checked the specs for his purchase.  Check them yourself here on the Chevrolet Silverado website.

For a supposedly tight man, (he seems to have bought the 2WD base model for the price he paid which kind-of negates the machine’s off-road abilities…..),   he has bought a vehicle that only does 15-20 mpg even after all the trumpeted miserliness of the 5.3litre engine.

Mr Jones lives in New Miami, Butler County, Ohio which has the geography that really demands a tough off-road vehicle – NOT!  See satellite image here.  (In actual fact, because of his proximity to a flood plain and the fact that the satellite image clearly shows several former river courses, he’d be better off fixing the handbrake on his old car and buying a boat).

At least we know that the war in Iraq is being fought for the correct reasons.   I’m pleased for Mr Jones so that he can continue with his 15 miles per gallon “lifestyle” and I’m sure that he feels happy about the 100,000 deaths that allow him to do so.

I’m also sure that the $18,000 he paid has knocked a big hole in the $51,000,000,000 loss that GM has made over the last three years.  The two stories are connected – they both show a total lack of planning for the future and the triumph of greed over need…

GM and BMW; They Must Change or Die Like Jaws

Carmaker GM loses another $15.5bn

Car sales fall hits US spending

GM axes four SUV and truck plants

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