Bail out the big 3? My response to that is: Who killed the electric car?

[LibraLiz1973]

These companies have had the opportunity for YEARS to be on the cutting edge of the car world... and they chose
instead to cow tow to big oil.

Flying in their private jets to testify about why they NEED money? Pathetic!


The oil companies should bail them out. We've done enough for them.
I'm against a loan. They OBVIOUSLY aren't using the money THEY DO HAVE in a proper way.
They seem fine with laying people off while the big wigs continue to live high on the hog.
Something HAS to change- maybe something as epic as this will be good, in the end.

[aldo]

1. Your purity is admirable

I'm sure the 3 million or so unemployed will think warmly of you. Look, it doesn't matter what mistakes were made in the past, now we're facing another great depression. If the auto industry goes (and it's too bad it was ever allowed to get too big to fail) the American middle class way of life goes.

[SammyWinstonJack]

3. !!

:applause:

[robinlynne]

6. The auto industry as we know it is gone. Who is going to buy those huge trucks?

not Americans. not foreign countries. They are all sitting on docks here in LA. Noone wants them. the whole world wants electric cars, and Ford has had the technology since 1990!

[JuniperLea]

7. And you think that assholes who fly to their beggar's banquet in private jets...

Have a clue as to how to save these companies? Really? There is no guarantee, no matter how much money we hand them, that any jobs or unions will be saved. They have already said they will cut back jobs as a cost saving measure... I guess they figured the tens of thousands it cost to fly those jets are justified against laying hard working people off. That smacks of stupidity.

These greedy bastards have no clue how to save the auto industry. If they did, they would have had a lot more constructive things to say. They don't. This is good money after bad unless someone else, someone with some horse sense, is put in charge.

[frustrated_lefty]

11. Yes,

It would be terrible for the people to suffer the consequences of the government they elected.

[niyad]

2. I am concerned for the people in the industry, but, the minute I heard one of the ceo's blaming the

UNIONS for the mess, my reaction was, "go to ****"

there has to be a way to protect the workers, and make the ones in charge pay for their stupidity and negligence (along the lines of what michael moore proposed last night)

[Greyhound]

12. There is, a worker/government partnership. It eliminates the mismanagement

and sacrifice of quality and innovation in the name of shareholder equity, while the people that actually design, engineer, and build the cars keep doing it.

I know, that's evil SOCIALISM and we would all be better off squatting in the road rubbing dirt in our hair than to have SOCIALISM!

[robinlynne]

4. EXACTLY! That should be the only way this conversation even takes place.

The money could be lent to whomever wants to produce electric plug-in cars. in the USA. period.
Don't care if it is Ford or Toyota. As long as the labor is American, and the cars are all electric, preferably with solar panels added on top. Hey, we might even export again....

[DJ13]

5. Saving our last manufacturing sector should be above this kind of pettyness

Seriously, kill the automakers and we are totally fucked as an industrial country.

We might as well become the third world country the Republicans have been trying to achieve for 30 years.

[SammyWinstonJack]

8. !!

:thumbsup:

[JuniperLea]

9. Is it petty to ask that they do something differently?

They don't even have enough sense to fly commercial to save money! How the hell can we trust them to do the right thing with this money? They are already whining that the unions are what killed the industry! Bullshit. They did.

[DJ13]

14. Move to electric with gas below $2 would be suicide

This issue isnt about political ideology, its about saving whats left of our last major industry, and the millions of jobs and retirees that depend on it.

[JuniperLea]

16. You actually think gas is going to stay at that price?

Dream on!

The auto industry execs are blaming the unions and already have plans to lay a lot of people off once they get their money. And this is going to help how?

People need to think this through a bit farther down the line! This is getting ridiculous! The naiveté is astounding!

[robinlynne]

10. We are. It has happened already. We have two choices:

buy Chinese crap, or create new industries based on a new set of values. Electric cars will sell. provide jobs for auto workers. SUVs and trucks will not, no matter how many more you make. Do you want a new SUV?
I don't. I would jump at the chance to have an affordable electric car. 80,000 people were on waiting lists in the 1990s, but the cars were never made! Ford has all the patents. They ar ready to roll. they made them already.

[Greyhound]

13. The key term here is "our last manufacturing sector". I think the problem is a little

deeper and requires more than a loan or a patch or a tweak.

[99th_Monkey]

15. CHECK THIS OUT > GM is already making fuel-cell autos, just NOT for US Consumers.. WTF?

CHEVROLET EQUINOX FUEL CELL AND SAAB 9-3 BIOPOWER RECEIVE TOP HONORS AT MICHELIN CHALLENGE BIBENDUM 2007

The zero-gas, zero-emissions Chevrolet Equinox Fuel Cell electric vehicle is a fully functional crossover car that is powered by GM’s fourth-generation fuel cell propulsion system. It has a U.S. Environmental Protection Administration (EPA)-estimated range of 320 km (200 miles) per fill-up.

The Saab 9-3 BioPower flex-fuel vehicle runs on E85 fuel (85 percent bioethanol/15 percent gasoline). Bioethanol can be produced from a wide range of agricultural crops and biomass, including sugar cane in Brazil and corn in the United States. Unlike gasoline, its consumption does not raise atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide (CO2), the main greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change.

“These products showcase GM’s leadership position in the development of advanced vehicle technologies to reduce dependency on petroleum and boost vehicle fuel efficiency,” said GM China Group President and Managing Director Kevin Wale. “Their appearance in China demonstrates their potential for helping resolve challenges involving rising emissions and energy security in the world’s second-largest vehicle market.”

This is the fourth year that GM has participated in the Challenge Bibendum, an international forum where automakers, policymakers, media and other stakeholders discuss the future of sustainable transportation and demonstrate current and future vehicle technologies.

In addition to the Chevrolet Equinox Fuel Cell electric vehicle and Saab 9-3 BioPower flex-fuel vehicle, GM displayed the Opel Corsa 1.3 CDTI ecoFLEX, Opel Zafira 1.6 CNG, Chevrolet Tahoe 2-Mode Hybrid and Saturn Aura Green Line hybrid at this year’s Challenge Bibendum. GM also hosted a ride and drive for attendees and led panel discussions on key transportation and energy issues facing the world today.