Repugnant is a pretty strong word.
In the past, threads which discuss controversial subjects have got completely out of hand and caused chaos on the forum.
To my knowledge, admins came close to pulling the plug and walking away, as it became a major disruption to their lives.
Perhaps this is why, from your perspective, locking the thread seemed a tad oversensitive and premature.
Those of us who remember (and were involved in) the "bad old days", probably understand the reasoning a bit better.
There was a very long (and argumentative) thread on the same subject several years ago. although it caused problems, I think it would be worth your while to search it out and read it.
The reason being, there was quite a lot of serious input, with many useful links, which put the opposite point of view to yours.
We have been here before.
In my opinion, the only cronies Auto addict might have would be at the local bowls club. He certainly doesnt have any on here. Very few people on here would know him from Adam.
I believe at least part of the reason you have come up against resistance in your posting is that you come across as someone who
knows what is right and true, and give the impression that anyone who disagrees only does so because they arent as clever as you.
I also believe that this is the very same reason that Lizzie has run into so much trouble, so many times, over the years on OOF, but I doubt she will ever consider that possibility.
This soon turns threads into a competition to win the argument, rather than a reasoned discussion.