Bailout: What would sell you?
Build more hybrids?If there is one thing that has annoyed me with the US auto industry more than anything the last 5 years, it's been the lack of hybrid cars, especially a Prius-fighter. Even GM's Chevy Volt really isn't a Prius-fighter. For many more years, there is going to be a need for both conventional hybrids and plug-in vehicles. Yet, I've still not heard of a plan from one US automaker to directly challenge the Toyota Prius.
Would a detailed plan to build more hybrid vehicles, in addition to plug-ins, sell you on an automaker bailout? What else would it take? Serious cuts in executive compensation? Serious cuts it UAW benefits?
What would sell you on the legitimacy of a bailout, or a bridge loan, for US automakers? Can anything sell you?
Labels: Chevy Volt electric vehicle concept, Hybrid Vehicles, toyota prius
posted by Dahcredyns at
8:16 AM
11 Comments:
1.) Fire all the top execs. 2.) Cancel all UAW contracts. 3.) Provide a plan that ends foreign oil dependency by 2020.
Your first point seems a little unfair to Ford's CEO, whom hasn't been there but a couple of years. In that time, Ford has made a number of significant financial moves. In fact, most analysts believe Ford is in far better economic shape than the other Big 2. To a large extent, Ford is part of the bailout request because Ford believes that the bankruptcy of any automakers will cause a domino effect that will take down all automakers.
I don't really have any comments for the second point, but I do think that would be a tough sell for Democrats.
Finally, I like the idea of ending foreign dependency by 2020, but it seems a very difficult task. You'd have to get fleet fuel economy to at least 45 mpg almost instantly as it takes 12 years to recycle the current fleet of autos. It seems the only way that could be accomplished is via some alternative fuel, probably natural gas.
Maybe the loan could fund conversion programs for the big 3 to convert conventional vehicles to natural gas vehicles.
Still, while i'm open to the natural gas discussion, there is growing evidence that natural gas drilling is polluting precious clean water resources.
I understand that the Chinese are interested in buying GM & Chrysler. No need for a American buyout.
And you would be content with a Chinese buyout of the US auto industry?
Sell them all our debt, our auto industry, our manufacturing? Might as well become Chinese.
Who wants to buy a company that is losing 2.5 billion a month?
The bailout should be worded like CARB's ZEV mandate way back when. Give us zero emissions cars now or go home. They have all done it in the past (produced viable EV's) and they can do it now. At a minimum, give us serial hybrids like the Volt and BYD F6DM, which can be driven emissions free...
Well, the Big 3 will be in far better financial shape if they are able to survive until 2010 because that's when they lose ownership of many legacy costs and new UAW contracts are enacted.
So, there could be some long term value in the Big 3, especially if you could buy them for dirt cheap prices. That would be a win for China and a loss for American tax payers as we would pick up the financial responsibilities for healthcare, pension and unemployment benefits. While China would be left with undervalued assets at a huge bargain with few financial obligations to America.
In terms of zero emissions. That would be impossible right now, if you made it fleetwide. The battery manufacturing capabilities don't exist for such a production and there are real questions as to whether they will ever exist, at least if your talking lithium.
In terms of nickel, such production capabilities will never exist.
DC batteries have an extremely short life and would be quite expensive for that fact.
I think we obviously have to move towards electrification, but I think maybe conventional hybrid technology might be a better short term focus as you can develop about 10 hybrid cars for every electric car.
And, if you could guarantee green CNG drilling, you could make those hybrids CNG hybrids. Even better, use the bailout money to create more CNG conversions for conventional vehicles as GM just did for the Impala.
That way we could end foreign oil dependency, keep jobs in America, as we develop electrification. And, if the battery technology develops faster, all those hybrids could be converted in plug-in hybrids.
Perhaps instead of giving money to the Big 3, we need to concentrate on just having LESS CARS?
We've been trained so well to think the only option is to build more fuel efficient vehicles. The consumption of resources doesn't just start and end with what comes out the tailpipe.
What about all the material used to make a car? How about the waste a car produces? Where does that go? What do we do with it? How much is actually used? Discarded?
None of these seem to be addressed at all.
How about taking those billions and making a transportation system that will offer excellent mediums of travel? Comfortably? Quietly? Cheaply?
Why is it that the only option I have to go to Santa Monica quickly right now from Glendale is by car?
We have no options...that's the problem. We have no real alternatives...that's the problem. These corporations still have as much of a stranglehold on us as they ever did when they destroyed our public transport systems to put their cars in place. So much power in fact that we don't even begin to discuss such things...it doesn't even cross our minds.
Reducing emissions is only going to be met by increased population, more cars on the road, more people driving. So we're going to end up in relatively the same place as we are today but just more of the same shit.
Case in point....look at MB and their fiasco with excessive shipments of cars at the LA ports....and there are more on the way. How can we continue to function like this?
Very simple:
1) Buyout must be a loan that is funded by a gas tax to encourage fuel economy.
2) The gas tax would also go towards national healthcare which could reduce the burden on the UAW pensions needed for redegotiated reduced cost of labor to compete. 3) Salary caps in 6 figures.
Does anyone know how bankruptcy would affect the UAW contracts?
move production back to the US!!!!!
move all production for US sales back to the US, if BMW and all the others can make a profit so can GM
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