Just as I don't want to know exactly what's in a hot dog, I didn't like reading the other day that there's a possibility Hershey may be taking over Cadbury. I don't know what's in Cadbury chocolate or Hershey bars, and I don't care because I trust them to put good ingredients in their candy.

I don't want the details of what's in a candy bar. The ingredients of some things are best left secret. I often eat a Hershey bar, even though I don't necessarily think Hershey bars are the best chocolate or even better than Cadbury's. Every candy store in America sells Hershey bars. The name has become part of our language. "Hershey Cake," "Hershey Stick," "Hershey Nibble," "Hershey Sweet" wouldn't have done it.

I know little or nothing about big business (or even about business that isn't very big), so I have no idea why Hershey would want to buy Cadbury, but I hope they're both happy about it. I really doubt that they are, though. It's as if Ford were buying Chevrolet, Saks were buying Bloomingdale's, or NBC were buying CBS. It might be good business to take over a thriving company, but many people in the company being bought don't like the idea.

The image and price of things in general has a lot to do with our opinion of them. It seems wrong, but almost always the things that cost the most are considered to be the best (including chocolate). The shoes I'm wearing are better and cost more than other shoes I looked at that were cheaper. The coffee I'm drinking, as I write, tastes the best because it's the most expensive.

I've never had one, but I think that Cadillacs are better than Fords because they are more expensive. Maybe I should save my money and see. I've owned several Fords and eight or 10 other cars in my lifetime. I've never owned a Porsche, an Audi, or a dozen other brands of cars.

A lot of families have two cars because a car has become vital to American life, and one doesn't seem to be enough for a family of two or more. I like the car I drive regularly, but I also own a great little sports car that I don't drive often and I've owned it for 30 years. It would blow the doors off the car I drive every day.

You can't go far without a car, and it's hard to think what people did before cars were invented. You can be sure they did less. There's just so far a horse can take a person. There are a great many places you can never go to if you don't own a car. A 5-minute drive is a half-hour walk. I've worn out the heels of more shoes driving than walking.

Just for fun, I've tried to make a list of the cars my mother and father or some of their friends owned when I was growing up. Here's the list, although I'm sure I've missed one or two cars: Packard, Reo, Durant, Hupmobile, Studebaker, Arrow, Chandler, Cleveland, Christie, Essex, Hudson, Lafayette, Marmon, Nash, Overland, Peerless, Singer, Reo, Star, Stutz, Terraplane, Whippet, Willys Knight.

The cars I liked best that we owned were the Packard and the Hupmobile. I suppose some of the cars we have on our roads today will be forgotten in 20 years.

I now drive a car known only by its three initials.

ALSO from andy rooney:

What Are Your Preferences
Andy Rooney

We all have favorites. I know the people who are my favorites. I have foods I like, clothes I prefer to wear, places I like to go to, television shows I watch and politicians I vote for. In every case, my preferences include the opposite -- people I hate, food I won't eat, television shows I skip and politicians I can't stand.

One Man's Trash / Treasure ...
Andy Rooney

We waste more in the United States than the people of most other countries even have. Driving through the streets of any major city on the day the trash collectors come -- or are supposed to come -- is an experience the citizens of a hundred less prosperous nations would find difficult to believe.

Wouldn't You Like to Be a Politician?
Andy Rooney

It's a good thing for all of us that there are people who want to be politicians because you couldn't pay most of us to take the job of mayor, governor or president of anything. Why are there people who want to do such difficult work? We're all glad they do, but why?

How Does Your State Rank
Andy Rooney

This column is sort of a cheat because I have a book called 'State Rankings 2009' that you probably don't have. I get to do an easy column once in a while, and this book has some fascinating numbers

The Newspaper Business Then and Now
Andy RooneyThe newspapers keep coming in my office. There's always today's paper before I've finished yesterday's and I get a lot of them. As you know, I'm an avid newspaper reader and I like all the little stories, so the paper takes me a long time to read.

How Does Your Brain Work
Andy Rooney

It may not matter to you, but I wish there was a better way for us to keep track of some of the numbers and information we gather throughout our lives. And then of course I'd like to be able to permanently forget some information. Sometimes I feel that we should be in more control of our brains.

For More Andy Rooney Click Here

(Write to Andy Rooney at Tribune Media Services, 2225 Kenmore Ave., Suite 114, Buffalo, NY 14207, or via email at aarooney5@yahoo.com)

(c) 2009 Andy Rooney

About Andy Rooney

Andy Rooney born January 14th, 1919 is a writer, humorist, radio and television personality.

Rooney became most famous as a humorist and political commentator with his weekly broadcast on the CBS News Program "60 Minutes" since 1978.