Comments on: Whose bailout plan is best: Ford drops hydrogen while GM remains confused about ethanol

By: Austin

Austin — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 15:29:16 +0000

The Food -vs- fuel is another hoax. I am just one of a million other farms that get a goverment subsidy NOT to grow corn. There is a huge surplus, and that really drives the price down, making it impossible for the little farmer to compete. There are also goverment sponsored programs for things like reef enrichment- That is where a government front buys tons of corn just to make the price decent, this corn get dumped into the ocean, as fish food. Fish waste feeds the algae, minnows eat the algae, fish eat the minnows = heathy reef. Actually thowing tax dollars and food into the sea- amazing, isn’t it?
So instead of us planting several hundred thousand acres of corn, we let it grow grass. We get paid a decent salary, I make six figures off my subsidies, and live like a retiree. My children then take the hay and make a pretty good living as simple hay farmers.

By: Francis

Francis — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 15:18:34 +0000

Ford also has it’s legacy costs, and cannot really continue to rally the troops long term. It was the first to rely heavily on IMPORTED parts, and now is the most foriegn of the U.S. brands, with most lines being over 50% from overseas. It isn’t saying NO to bailout money because it doesn’t need it, it is wanting to avoid government involvement at all costs. There are BILLIONS of dollars in unsettled lawsuits for product defects, and probably a million unsafe vehicles out there that should be recalled. People are dying everyday, and the coverup is red tape. I have always bought American, but Ford is a Unamerican sheep in wolf’s clothing.

By: Jim Brenner

Jim Brenner — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 17:48:50 +0000

Step One: You have to go back to global warming and climate change. I live in Saskatchewan, Canada. The winter of 2008-09 has been a record for sub-zero weather. Where is the cold coming from? I would guess the Northern Arctic. Maybe we need to get the facts straight.
Step Two: Study the false publicity surrounding the electric cars. Where will the energy come from when you plug your car in at night? The great majority of electricity in North America is derived from coal fired power plants. A modern gasoline powered auto with all its emission controls in place will produce less CO2 than a coal powered electric car.
Step 3: Study the environmental costs of the disposing of large numbers of auto batteries.

Then we can make an honest estimate of the situation!

By: kend

kend — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 13:09:51 +0000

I like the Bailout 2008 poem, really captures what is going on right now. Here are more like it:

http://www.voicesnet.org/ allpoemsoneauthor.aspx?memberid=982900010

By: skeptic

skeptic — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 22:50:16 +0000

I think there is a serious problem with the Chevy Volt.

When the battery runs down, a 1.4 Liter engine will have to propel the car.
The battery will be 400 lbs of dead weight, and the Volt will not have any pep.

A 1.4 liter engine is what the Prius uses, but the Prius uses its batteries to give extra power for acceleration and hill climbing. A heavy car with ONLY
a 1.4 liter engine is underpowered.

By: hema

hema — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 12:51:43 +0000

I agree completey with Bob Wallace

We greatly regret by the senate decision against big 3 $14 biliion bail out.
Lets solve our problem ourselves not relying on inuhumanitarian (R) senates who didnt support bail out.

I have a couple of ideas and I urge each and every person of US to really think about these.

1) If each and every michigan family donates their tax rebates that they receive this year, we could easily meet the bail out money,consider the same about all over united states????

2)Loans from people Account:
Ok here is another approach, lets take a bank and add all people as members those who contribute some amount to support the Big 3 bailout

Lets stand out together and Lets make the difference,

By: juan

juan — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 23:40:48 +0000

Bailout 2008, a poem by David Jeffrey

Like a bloodied warrior,
laying broken and torn.

Like a dying soldier, hopeless and forlorn.

But the blood, it be green,
the color of money.

And the soldier is an economy,
and it is anything but funny.

Broken are it’s people and shattered are their dreams.

Thanks to the ultra rich and their full proof schemes.

It is a tragedy with more pain to come.

Finance will be Hell, and their wills will be done.

By: Roxanne

Roxanne — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 22:43:47 +0000

The car companies are obviously not being very smart with their plans for the future. I’d like to share a great blog with you to add to your perspective. What if Exxon were to buy GM? This option is explored on the Customer-centric Marketing blog (http://jonsherrington.blogware.com/ blog/ _archives/ 2008/ 11/ 21/ 3988390.html). . The two-part article starts off suggesting that Big Oil, because of high oil prices, were partially to blame for the (potential) collapse of the auto sector they should take a part in the rescue for the solution The new company would have the unique ability to balance the profit equation of car value to fuel efficiency, help regulate demand for (and price of) gasoline: a customer-centric utopia. Exxon has the financial resources to reinvest, with a more commanding management team. Might be a good solution.

By: M.E.B.

M.E.B. — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 21:07:30 +0000

Don’t worry Ford people I’m praying for you and your company that the auto show will take you to another Tech Level forever! Modification Engine Tecnicians need to modify remaining cars, suv, etc. in stock. P.S sense the Miracle!

By: Bob Wallace

Bob Wallace — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 02:26:57 +0000

charlie -

Let’s put the GM Loan into some context. (GM is not asking for a handout. GM is asking the government for a loan. Normally they would go to the banks for the money, but….)

GM is asking for a portion of the $25 billion loan that the Big Three are seeking. They want, what, 12 of the 25?

We spend about a billion dollars every three days on the Iraq war ($341.4 million per day).

We import about 12 million barrels of oil each day. At $100 per barrel, that’s $1.2 billion dollars per day. At $50 per barrel it takes us a couple of days to spend a billion dollars.

So, for the cost of a bit more than a month of the Iraq War or 2-3 weeks of what we spend on imported oil we can (possibly) retain several hundred thousand (a few million?) US jobs when we most need them.

I agree, GM has done some lousy things in the past. And they may not be in the lead in terms of turning things around. But can we really afford to so totally disrupt the economy of the Upper Mid-west over not that much money?

(I think GM and Ford ‘get it’. GM has seven 30+ mpg models scheduled for 2009 and the Volt for 2010. Ford has the hybrid Fusion and is bring some of their most economical models from Europe. They started changing prior to $5 gas and the financial breakdown.)

–

And three years of $1.25 gas?

Way, way optimistic, IMHO. The current historically (adjusted for inflation) prices are probably due to having too much product in the pipeline. When oil went over $100 per barrel I would bet that every funky well that could produce a few gallons per day and every rustbucket that could hold more oil than it burned were pressed into service.

The refineries must have purchased based on pre-collapse consumption levels. Now those contracts are being delivered, it costs to keep tankers standing by unloaded, the refinery tanks are full. Stuff is being dumped at record low prices to get it out of the system.

Give it a few months. Shake the extra out and prices will creep back up.

Additionally I would guess that there is a lot of pressure on oil producers to keep prices low in order to help the economy recover. When things settle down a bit look for production levels to fall and a return to $3+ gas.

I’d give it 6-12 months.

YMMV….