Comments on: Automaker Aid Plan Gathers Steam in Advance of Next Week’s Sessions

By: Fahrvergnugen Fanboy

Fahrvergnugen Fanboy — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 16:03:05 +0000

Here’s my proposal:

Government picks up x percent of all new car purchases,

where x = 5 * (CombinedMPG – 30), maybe up to 33 percent.

Adjust the 5, 30, and 33 to your taste.

Save the car industry, the planet, the country, and money, all at the same time. How often can you get a deal that good?

By: Casey

Casey — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 06:37:18 +0000

GM, don’t go bankrupt it will cost millions of jobs, you say, what do you think will happen when the Volt comes out and the country finaly gets away from oil, there will be a lot more millions of jobs lost, think about it.

GO VOLT???? I don’t know?

By: Jay

Jay — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 02:40:12 +0000

If GM fails, this will create a chain reaction and we can say good-bye recession and hello depression!

By: RB

RB — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 19:58:14 +0000

WSJ now: “The top Republican in the U.S. House of Representatives assailed plans Thursday for emergency aid to auto makers as “neither fair to taxpayers nor sound fiscal policy,” raising new doubts about Democrats’ ability to pass a rescue package.”

By: N Riley

N Riley — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 19:35:27 +0000

#31 Statik

All four of your points make too much sense for any of them to be adopted. Come on, now. To get things adopted you have to get some real “hair-brained” ideas thrown out there. Stop it with these suggestions that actually make sense. You keep putting forth these kinds of ideas, we gonna stop reading yours. haha

By: statik

statik — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 18:14:51 +0000

#44 Dave B

I see you cross posted to the new thread, so I’ll just continue the discussion over there.

I didn’t mean to infer that you were unintelligent, sorry if I came across that way.

By: rickj

rickj — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 18:06:38 +0000

- Statik for CEO.
- Nasaman for CTO.
- The rest of us can be put to work on the assembly line. First order of business: get a union organized.

By: Dave B

Dave B — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 17:16:12 +0000

Statik @ 31:

Statik #31 writes

#16 Dave B

One more point…the Volt could very well be the answer to oil independence. Anyone giving that argument?

I doubt you can make that argurment. At least not with the Volt. A low level production car at 40K? The car is way too flawed when thinking about mass adoption by the public and trying to get to the holy grail of ‘oil independence’
—————————-

700 billion/ 40,000 = 17,500,000
bailout money/cost of Volt = 17,500,000
Now, dump that money into electric cars, and poof, no more oil. I know there are problems here Statik, I’m not dumb. But as Nasaman can attest, we made it to the moon and back. Just think.

By: RB

RB — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 16:44:45 +0000

#41 Exp_Eng Tech says
After that occurs, the Fed makes available “coupons” like the DTV upgrade program. $10,000 towards the purchase of any US built vehicle.
=======================================

As a detail, but a critical one, it is going to be hard to define what “US built” means now. Hondas will have a stronger case than many Chevys. But maybe that’s ok. Let a rising tide lift all boats.

By: Keith

Keith — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 16:33:27 +0000

The only way to do the saving of the auto companies is to place an order for high mileage hybrids and pure electric vehicles .
The order has to specify that the hybrid engines are not to be over 1.5 liters in size though and they must have the ability to drive over 50 miles on gasoline when it is used as the operating fuel.
There must be a transparency accounting on every dollar spent and none is to be spent on any vehicle of any kind that uses an engine over 1.5 liters , if that were to happen then the bale out order transfer of payments stops right now , no bonus payments of any kind to anybody for any reason period .
Canada should get in to this deal as well as their government has stated that they are willing to put billions of dollars up to save these corporations from financial ruin . After all , the North American market is made up of United States and Canada anyway , we are in this thing together .
Just one thing though , the Volt should come out as a Cadillac Volt because it is priced like a Cadillac , not as a Chevrolet .
Later on when they can come out with shorter range and less battery and the ability for carrying five people then introduce the Chevrolet Volt and call it a Chevrolet Volt .There could even be a Buick version called the Buick Electra that is made on the same flex frame structure that is pure electric . GM plants in North America couldn’t build them fast enough to match the global demand especially if they were only made in North America for the first ten years as Toyota did and Honda and others have done over and over to protect their workers and their own economy . There are some excellent auto factories in Canada and United States that need something to do . Giving money wont do a darned thing , but placing an order for finished goods will save the jobs and incomes of thousands of workers directly and tens of thousands of jobs indirectly. Buying billions of dollars of shares will just enable current share holders to sell their shares and we will be right back in the same predicament in a month or less , you might actually be farther ahead to give the money directly to the shareholders as they might invest in some other auto or battery company that needs venture capital, you can buy a lot of serious production for $25,000,000,000.00.
Let me think about this for just one little minute , if the finished car was sold for $25,000.00 and it cost about $15,000.00 to make seems that the auto industry would make lots of money (USA prices) The same car could be landed in Seattle or San Francisco if it were made in China for about $8,000.00 USD and that is what will happen if the wrong thing is done , we will be buying BYD hybrids as they will be the only real ones that are made to North American standards , not smoke and mirrors.