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A recent PrivacyWatch sighting of Erik Estrada, whom we recall fondly from our youths as the shirtless hunk pointing at us seductively every time we opened our locker door, placed the former CHiPs star at a Firestone dealership in the Valley, where he bargained over the price of a set of tires for his son. A lively comments exchange followed, which included some highly contestable ratings data relating to Estrada's early, Spanish-challenged work on the Telenovela circuit. Setting the record straight on all counts today is none other than Nanette Estrada—"aka Ponch's wife," as she helpfully appends her signature line—who responds to each and every claim with, quite frankly, a far greater good-natured spirit than befits a hearsay blog item about how her husband's pinchpenny tendencies could potentially result in a teenager-stranding blowout on the 405:

Someone mentioned to me that an article had been posted on your website regarding my husband ("Erik Estrada Has A Lot Riding of the Price of his Son's Tires"), and after reading it over, I would like to take a moment and clarify most of the inaccuracies that were printed. Since I was unable to post a comment directly on the site, perhaps either of you would do me the favor of posting it on our behalf.

1) To the individual or individuals who saw Erik the Firestone tire store, 'YES' Erik was there to meet our oldest son who was in dire need of new tires. He was 'pricing' the tires because this was to have been our sons first purchase of his own and Erik did not want him getting burned. Since he does not drive the truck he was not aware of the specifics as to what make & model the vehicle was. Erik spoke to our mechanic who recommended going to another vendor and so my husband called our son and to him to meet him elsewhere. Erik then left. Erik did not try to 'work' the young lady at the store. We have purchased tires there before and the employees know us and they are always eager to converse with us Spanish.

2) The comment about selling out his sons' safety for a sawbuck is really quite tacky and obviously do not come from anyone who knows him or has met him. For the record the safety of our three children is of the utmost importance to us. I personally find the comment offensive. I assume the person who wrote it does not have children, and therefore explains the callousness of the comment.

3) It is a known fact that when Erik was approached by Televisa to do the Spanish soap opera he spoke what he referred to as 'Spanglish' which is what he spoke growing up in the projects of Spanish Harlem in NYC. After committing to the project, in an attempt not to offend the viewing audience, he enrolled in an intensive 30 day program of eight hours a day, seven days a week, one-on-one language with Berlitz. And while it is very true that the first episodes were quite humorous with the way in which he spoke his 'Spanish' - by the end of the almost 17 month run of the show, he was speaking fluently. He was so happy to have learned the language properly that he added a dedication in his book that reads: 'To children of every ethnic background: Be proud of your history - it's the key to your future'. Our 6 1/2 year old is fluently bi-lingual and converses quite easily with her Dad!

4) Lastly, for the person that commented on ratings dropping....................WRONG~ WRONG ~ WRONG. In fact, according to Televisa, 'Dos Mujeres - Un Camino' was the longest running, highest rated telenovela produced by them in the history of Latin tv. The show lasted almost 17 months and aired in over 83 countries world-wide. It still plays today although the show was first on in the early 1990's.

While we usually read everything that is printed, posted & misconstrued about Erik and take it with a grain of salt - when it comes to our family and especially our children & their safety, that is when I take the time to correct the information.

It's great that there are open forums like yours in which people can comment & spew & discuss different topics; but it is also necessary for the accurate details be given so that the writings of people are more that just personal attacks. People all have opinions and that's one of the things that make this world so colorful. But the opinions should be based on facts and not fabrications. I hope that your website will raise the bar and report stories based on the facts and not the fabrications.

I appreciate the time and will continue reading on the interesting life we live!

God bless,

Nanette Estrada - aka Mrs. Erik Estrada - aka Ponch's wife.