Maybe one reason the NRA went nuts was because members who weren't "nuts" left the organisation instead of fighting their corner, and continuing to fight it until they were expelled.

I'm sure that there are "car nuts" who would like to abolish all kinds of speed limts or driving tests and licences and so forth. But they are a tiny crazy minority who would never be seen as representative of the sane majority of car drivers. Why doesn't the same apply in the USA when it comes to guns? Or are the "nuts" actually in a majority?