Free Republic

Conservation: The Chevy Volt is said to be able to get 230 miles per gallon. That's if it's continually plugged into a fragile and overburdened power grid. Where will you be when the lights go out? Since most U.S. electricity generation is not carbon-free, the Congressional Research Service agrees. The "widespread adoption of plug-in hybrid vehicles through 2030 may have only a small effect on, and might actually increase, carbon emissions," it observes. "If you are using coal-fired power plants and half the country's electricity comes from coal powered plants, are you just trading one greenhouse gas emitter for another?"...

Competition on Auto Pilot by: Mytheos Holt, June 23, 2009 At the Hudson Institute recently, two economists and a business reporter discussed ways in which General Motors could avoid turning the lights off on the U.S. Auto Industry. The discussion was moderated by Christopher Sands, a fellow at Hudson Sands introduced the key question of the morning when he asked his audience (and the panelists), “Are these company troubles more lasting?” The answer was unanimously in the affirmative. Thomas Klier, senior economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, warned his audience that “we’ve got to keep our eyes on...

The odds that the federal government will ever get its hooks out of Chrysler or General Motors are slim to none, regardless what President Obama says. Why? In one word, Amtrak. There are reasons why Chrysler and General Motors are failing, and they have nothing to do with hard luck. Both companies are top-heavy, paying more for union labor (and retirees) than their competitors and, since the 1970s, have turned out cars that consumers want in dwindling numbers. The Big Three (that includes Ford) have higher costs and have gotten an image as lower quality than some foreign competitors. Toyota...

Using a separate E85 direct injection boosting system combined with gasoline port fuel injection (PFI) makes the engine more efficient in its use of gasoline, and can be viewed as a more cost-effective alternative to a modern diesel, according to a Ford study presented by Robert Stein, currently of AVL, formerly of Ford, at the SAE 2009 World Congress.

"The government is weighing the possibility of delaying support measures for the auto industry in order to win meaningful concessions from union workers, official sources said Sunday." Too good to be true? Has the government finally realized the unions are a major part of the problem with the auto industry? The answer is yes, but it’s not the US government. The story is datelined Seoul, and the unions are South Korean.

WASHINGTON -- The Obama administration plans to provide $5 billion to troubled auto suppliers who are linked to Detroit's automakers, The Associated Press said. Three officials with knowledge of the plan spoke anonymously to the AP on Thursday because the official announcement has not been made. The $5 billion comes from the government's Troubled Assets Relief Program, or TARP. The administration would create a financing facility to provide funds for auto parts that large suppliers shipped to the Big Three automakers but haven't been paid for, said a congressional aide who was briefed on the plan.

Sen. John McCain said the Obama administration should've let General Motors fold, rather than keeping it on life support. General Motors should hand over the factory keys to a bankruptcy court, two top Republicans said Sunday. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said the best thing for the ailing automaker to do would be to go into Chapter 11 to reorganize some of its business agreements and come out stronger than before. "I think the best thing that could probably happen to General Motors, in my view, is they go into Chapter 11, they reorganize, they renegotiate ... the union-management contracts and...

February was another dismal moth for carmakers as every major producer saw sales drop from 35% to 53%. The sales rate of 8.9 million cars sold was the worst February performance in 40 years as a dismal economy warded nervous consumers away from showrooms. Car sales fell 41% for the month; General Motors (GM) was the biggest loser, with sales falling 53%. Ford Motor (F) also took a big fall, as sales dropped 48%. Toyota 's (TM) U.S. sales fell 40% and the company has asked the Japanese government for $2 billion to help its finance arm write car loans....

Senator Sherrod Brown took a private, taxpayer-funded plane from Cleveland to Washington and back so he could vote on the stimulus bill and get back to his mother's funeral the next day. Will he have to appear before Congress and be excoriated for flying on a private jet?

Ford Motor Company, the only Detroit automaker not currently digging in taxpayer pockets, posted a $14.6 Billion loss for 2008, its largest loss ever, and is buckling down for a tough 2009. Unlike its competitors GM and Chrysler, both of which are right now suckling at the teat of nanny government, Ford has chosen to try and remain independent while competing against their own tax dollars in the form of government bailout money given to their competitors.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Battered by tight credit and the worst recession in decades, industrywide U.S. auto sales plunged 36% from year-ago levels in December, a decline that hit all of the major automakers, both foreign and domestic, and capped the industry's worst year since 1992. But despite the big drop off from year-ago sales, the December results were up about 20% from November, although the gain was more narrow on a seasonally adjusted basis. A strong final week of the month gave some experts a glimmer of hope that the weak sales that have plagued the industry have finally...

After going into a coma when Obama won the Presidency, Ed Anger, the original conservative commentator, has been revived by his hatred for the Big Three CEOs and their execution of the auto industry.

Despite just receiving $13.4 billion in government loans, General Motors (GM) hopes to make another federal cash withdrawal, probably in early 2009. GM spokesman Greg Martin noted the automaker had originally requested $18 billion in "bridge loans" and revolving credit from the government in late November to help survive the recession. Instead, talks stalled in Congress and the Bush administration acted on its own to approve $17.4 billion in loans, with $4 billion going to Chrysler.

NEW YORK – The financing arm of General Motors Corp. remained silent Monday on whether it had raised enough capital to become a bank-holding company and eligible for access to billions in federal bailout money. Analysts have speculated that if GMAC Financial Services LLC doesn't obtain financial help it would have to file for bankruptcy protection or shut down, which would be a serious blow to parent GM's own chances for survival. GMAC had received the Federal Reserve's approval to become a bank holding company last week, but the approval was contingent on the auto and home loan provider raising...

The collapse of the U.S. auto industry would be easier to take if the cars were junk. That’s how it was the last time one of the Big Three (Chrysler) went belly up back in 1979. If you’re old enough to remember the Cordoba, you know what I’m talking about. It was easy to comprehend the failure of late ’70s-era Chrysler because Chrysler’s cars of that period were junk. People tend not to buy junk — end of story. Simple relationship. Cause and effect. But today? Never have the products of the Big Three — especially GM and Ford —...

This is the stupidity that government intervention in markets engenders: Cerberus Capital Management LP, which owns Chrysler, is refusing to put more money into its failing company because competitors Ford and GM are not taking similar measures to save their rotting empires. This is an absurdity, and our tax dollars should have no part of it. Here's a snippet from CBS News: Congress urged Cerberus to infuse Chrysler with capital earlier this month, but the company rejected the plea, noting that Ford and GM were not being asked to inject more capital into their flailing operations, the Journal reported. Here's...

He's going to do it.I would have wagered a kidney.With his time in the White House dwindling away, and the Messiah waiting in the wings to fire up his own trillion dollar stimulus package, President George W. Bush has decided to dip into his bag of inexplicable tricks and live up to the "lame" half of lame duck. He is tapping the $700 billion bailout bag - the three-quarters of a trillion dollar taxpayer bailout bag-o-loot originally intended to save the banking industry - and try to make things all better for the failing American automobile industry.I'd like to say...

DETROIT (Reuters) - Chrysler which has over 100,000 US employees is closing it's plants for at least one month as the company does it's best to save money and sell off existing stock. Earlier in the day Chrysler LLC's finance arm has told dealers it may temporarily stop loans used by dealers to stock vehicles because the retailers pulled money from a fund that helps finance them. Chrysler Financial Chief Executive Tom Gilman sent letters to dealers, dated Dec. 12, that asked them to refrain from withdrawing large amounts from a "cash management account" used to finance the loans, a...

Seven Republican senators signed a letter sent to President Bush on Tuesday, urging him not to use Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) funds in a bailout of U.S. automakers. The senators wrote that absent restructuring, they "do not believe any amount of money will succeed in saving these companies." The letter was sent by Senators Jim DeMint (R-South Carolina), Jeff Sessions (R-Alabama), John Ensign (R-Nevada), Tom Coburn (R-Oklahoma), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Mike Enzi (R-Wyoming) and Saxby Chambliss (R-Georgia).

DES MOINES, Iowa -- Sen. Tom Harkin is proposing new legislation that he said would increase the demand for American cars. Along with Sen. Dick Durbin, of Illinois, Harkin introduced a bill earlier this week that in turn would take older, less-fuel-efficient cars off the road, while also giving buyers a big bonus. The Sell Fuel Efficient Cars Act would provide a rebate of $10,000 to buyers who trade in a car more than 10 years old for a new American car. Officials said the reason for the act is to help create demand for American cars and preserve jobs...

WASHINGTON: The House voted 237 to 170 Wednesday night in favor of a $15 billion rescue for the automobile industry, but the fate of the measure was uncertain because of shaky support among Republicans in the Senate. The House approval of the Democratic-backed program was not a surprise, given the Democrats' 236-to-198 advantage in the chamber. The bigger test will come in the Senate, where the Democrats' edge is only 50 to 49 and where 60 votes are needed to advance the legislation because of procedural rules. Debate in the House focused on the whether the bailout was good for...

Four Big Lies about the Big Three Automakers Monday, December 8, 2008 3:58 PM With Congressional Democrats and the Bush administration agreeing in principle over the weekend to drop a few billion on General Motors and Chrysler, all signs point to a government-backed auto industry bailout. But could the crisis in Detroit be the product of myth, spin and outright lies? As the nation inches closer to an unprecedented investment in private industry, Newsmax has examined the falsehoods being spread to promote the deal. Indeed, the exact amount of money to be doled out isn’t clear yet. GM and Chrysler...

Detroit's Big Three refused to adopt the bottom-up approach that Toyota, Nissan and other international manufacturers used to achieve success. The failure is even more egregious because GM, Ford and Chrysler management knew about the bottom-up secret to Japanese auto-making success and ignored it. Time magazine describes the painful, lost opportunity the top-down management mindset of Henry Ford bequeathed to the Big three produced: Of all Detroit's failures – the failure to master small cars, failure to cut costs, failure to get tough with the UAW, failure to improve fuel efficiency – the failure to learn, says MacDuffie, is perhaps...

For those of us with a grain of self-respect, it’s embarrassing to watch Chrysler’s Bob Nardelli, Ford’s Alan Mulally, and GM’s Rick Wagoner pleading with Congress for a bailout. And while these grown men grovel at the feet of Representatives and Senators in a manner befitting slaves, the beggary isn’t the worst of it. No, the worst of it is the fact that the money for which they’re pleading isn’t even the government’s money to begin with: it’s our money.

"Yesterday, Americans for Limited Government President Bill Wilson, along with seventeen other conservative, limited government, and free market leaders, delivered an unyielding message to members Congress. It is an imperative message, and one that must become the clarion call of the opposition party during the next presidential administration: No more bailouts—especially not for the Big Three."

The push by Detroit's ailing Big Three automakers for government aid has set off a furious debate that has distinct undertones of a North-South conflict - and Alabama is smack in the middle of the skirmish. With the fate of the Big Three hanging in the balance, the chief of the United Auto Workers late last month singled out Alabama for criticism, saying the state has ponied up $700 million in tax breaks and perks for foreign automakers. Ron Gettelfinger, whose union also is imperiled, complained that Alabama lawmakers are among those opposing a bailout of General Motors Corp., Ford...

Looking for improved business models for the personal computer business, Apple CEO Steve Jobs often used to cite automobile makers, though never American car companies. The examples were invariably German. Whether it was the design aesthetic of his Mercedes sedan or Porsche's success at selling high-margin cars as entertainment devices, Jobs could always point to farfegnugen as a way to sell a good car for a great price. So since he thinks about these things anyway, and because the U.S. automobile industry is on the skids and begging for help this week, I find myself wondering what would happen if...

Dear misharu, You made the right choice when you put your confidence in General Motors, and we appreciate your past support. I want to assure you that we are making our best vehicles ever, and we have exciting plans for the future. But we need your help now. Simply put, we need you to join us to let Congress know that a bridge loan to help U.S. automakers also helps strengthen the U.S. economy and preserve millions of American jobs. Despite what you may be hearing, we are not asking Congress for a bailout but rather a loan that will...

The car was the symbol of the prewar 20th century. Henry Ford's Model T, Volkswagen's people's car and even Britain's Morris Oxford were more than just industrial products. Suddenly, industrialisation was able to offer the mass of consumers cheap, convenient and individual mobility. The car changed industrial civilisations and their cultures. Detroit was the undisputed centre of the industry. It manufactured more cars than anywhere else - four out of five across the globe as late as the mid 1950s. Its cars shaped American society. Americans yearned to climb into its Buicks, Cadillacs and Mustangs. The cars denoted your identity...

Only a professor, preferably a sociology professor, one with way too much time on his hands, could have come up with this one. His solution to the Detroit crisis that has the Big Three automakers on the brink of bye-bye? Unionize their foreign competitors manufacturing in the USA! Now why didn't we think of that? Because we're not Jonathan Cutler, associate professor of sociology at Wesleyan University. His solution in a nutshell, contained in his Los Angeles Times column of today [emphasis added]: "[N]ot to tear down the historic and heroic gains won by prior generations of UAW workers. If...

GM CEO Wagoner optimistic after Senate HearingWould you be optimistic if someone who had burned down their house playing with matches offered to light your furnace for you? General Motors Corp. Chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner emerged Thursday from a six-hour hearing before the Senate Banking Committee optimistic that a deal can be reached in Congress to help his company survive a critical cash shortage.Ever heard the phrase "brilliant minds think alike"? Well, so do dumb minds: Wagoner said many of the questions and suggestions from committee members were compatible with the viability plan GM submitted to Congress on Tuesday...

Now that automakers are all busy gearing up to make electric vehicles, consumers should be getting a choice of roomy, speedy, gasoline-free models that charge up at a standard 110-volt socket. So when will those cars roll out of factories so plentifully that prices drop to what ordinary people can afford? That was the question at the Electric Drive Transportation Association conference and exhibition in Washington this week, and on Capitol Hill as well, as the Big Three automakers made a pitch for aid. The recession, the credit crunch and the dominance of oil-driven transportation will make it difficult. However,...

Washington, D.C.--Advocates of a bailout for the Big Three claim that if we allow these giants to fail, it will destroy the U.S. auto industry. “In fact,” said Alex Epstein, an analyst at the Ayn Rand Institute, “it is the bailout, a veritable marriage between Detroit and Washington, that will destroy the U.S. auto industry. “The Big Three have no right to demand that taxpayers risk money on them when private investors won’t. They do, however, have a right to demand the repeal of the policies that have helped destroy the auto industry. These include the labor laws that have...

By now I'm sure most of us have seen the result of a week or so of intensive image counseling with the CEO's of the "Big 3" automakers out of Detroit (see photo). Emerging from the intensive PR boot camp leaner and greener, the three most powerful men in the American auto industry are selling their souls to "bail out" their companies. Simultaneously South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford is telling us that the auto industry in his state is strong. No matter which way you look at it or whether or not you support floating tax dollars to mismanaged companies,...

The United Auto Workers union called an emergency meeting for December 3 to decide what it is prepared to concede to help the Big Three U.S. automakers stay solvent. Up until now, the UAW has argued that it shouldn’t have to make additional concessions. After all, the union agreed in 2007 to new contracts that brought wages and benefits down to more realistic levels. Once the health-care provisions of these contracts take effect in 2010, union officials say, the Big Three will be out from underneath the crushing labor liabilities that have saddled them with so much debt. While it’s...

The U.S. economy is in the toilet because Congress, led by Sen. Christopher Dodd and Rep. Barney Frank, browbeat lenders into giving mortgages to unqualified borrowers. To date, the government has allocated almost $4 trillion it doesn't have to try to repair the resulting economic damage. Unchastened by the experience, Congress may lend the nation's Big Three automakers $25 billion to keep them afloat into 2009. Congress has become the bank of last resort for General Motors, Ford and Chrysler because they no longer can get private financing. For good reason. Combined, they have a negative net worth exceeding $60...

Conservative hero Congressman Thaddeus McCotter won raves on right-wing blogs and forums for his invocation of free-market principles in opposing the financial-sector bailout. The Detroit News editorial page has historically been such a bastion of limited government, it makes its counterparts at the Wall Street Journal appear almost left-wing by comparison. So surely these two flag-bearers for the free market don’t support the government bailout of relic automotive manufacturers – not after said automakers let their operating costs get out of control by giving in for years to the demands of labor unions. Ha. Joke’s on you. They’re from Michigan....

CEOs for the Big Three auto makers -- General Motors, Ford and Chrysler -- came to Capitol Hill today with an urgent appeal. Testifying before the Senate Banking Committee, the Big Three sent a clear message to lawmakers: Either pay now, or pay much more later if and when the industry collapses. "The societal costs would be catastrophic," said General Motors Chairman Rick Wagoner. "Three million jobs lost within the first year, U.S. personal income reduced by $150 billion, and a government tax loss of more than $156 billion." Chrysler chairman and CEO Robert Nardelli said that the ramifications of...

** EXCERPT ** In the 1980s, when the Big Three had virtually no competition, they sold their souls to the devil unions, signing contracts that put them at an incredible competitive disadvantage in today's environment where consumers don't have to buy American and have plenty of choices. Unfortunately, these companies are run for and by the unions that have very different objectives than for-profit enterprises. These contracts, for instance, forced GM to run factories at 80% utilization, whether there was adequate demand or not. This, in turn, forced GM to sell cars to car rental companies at cost, killing future...

A Cancer on the Big Three If you’ve followed developments in the auto industry at any time during the past couple couple decades, you’ve probably heard of GM’s “Jobs Bank.” This nausea-inducing scam was the concoction of the UAW in the 1980s. Rather than allow GM to layoff workers when conditions warranted, the UAW had GM assign workers to the Jobs Bank, where they were paid almost full wages and benefits NOT to work. The Jobs Bank was pitched nominally as a retraining program, where workers would acquire the skills and train themselves in the technologies and techniques of the...

Democrats in the Senate are scrambling to draft an auto industry relief bill that can win over skeptical Republicans when the measure comes up for a vote next week. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and supporters of the bill, which would extend $25 billion in emergency loans to the auto industry, are trying to round up the votes needed to break an expected filibuster. Reid plans to begin debate Monday and set up a test vote on Wednesday. But Democrats will have to do a lot of arm-twisting before then. Supporters expect to need between 12 and 15 GOP votes...

WASHINGTON – Congressional Democrats are marshaling support for a rescue package to pump $25 billion in emergency loans to U.S. automakers in exchange for a government ownership stake in Detroit's car companies. That may lead them into a showdown with Republicans .. Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, and Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., are developing legislation that would let the auto industry tap into the $700 billion Wall Street rescue money, approved by Congress last month, to fund their business operations. General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC are lobbying Congress to approve...

The troubles of the ailing auto industry are quickly becoming a major focus for President-Elect Barack Obama's young administration. As Congress and President Bush debate an industry bailout, sources indicate that Obama may favor creating a White House office, headed by an "auto industry czar," to oversee reforming the troubled American auto industry. The Detroit News reports that both "Bush and Obama are signaling they may favor appointment of an auto czar to oversee the government's efforts to funnel emergency assistance to automakers." Congressional leaders and members of both the outgoing and incoming administrations have all said that automakers might...

So the Big Three are asking for a government handout... You should write your representatives and ask them this question: Why are the Big Three going broke and asking for taxpayer money while Toyota USA is expanding?Ford, GM and Chrysler have become as sclerotic as the liberal states that host them. Like the failed state of Michigan, the Big Three promised goodies to the masses and now they have the gall to ask the American taxpayer to fund their generosity. Note to nanny-state liberals (in government and on corporate boards): It's not generosity when you do it with other people's...

The automobile industry is at a crossroads. The speaker of the House recently met with management and labor about a government-sponsored bailout. Many speak with awe of the bailout of Chrysler many years ago during the Carter administration. They reminisce how Chrysler repaid the money and the government benefited financially. But is this a memory clouded by time? Did the bailout enable Chrysler to ignore the systemic problems in its industry as well as with Chrysler itself, virtually guaranteeing its need for another bailout or its ultimate demise? Anytime you bail out a company or an industry, you merely institutionalize...

One, giant government mammary. Everybody gets to suck. Wasn't this boondoggle bailout last month to shore up the banks and mortgage industry? How did this morph into helping the UAW stay employed Auto Industry? House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid sent to send a letter to Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson urging him to assist the Big Three auto makers by considering broadening the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program to help the troubled industry. The two top Democratic leaders in Congress are likely to make the request in a letter to the White House, which...

Nissan has just announced a new version of its entry level Versa sedan today, along with an MSRP that will make that car the lowest priced in the country—$9990 before destination and handling ($10,685 after). The new base model Versa replaces the standard 1.8-liter four with a 1.6-liter unit, an engine that produces 107 horsepower and can deliver 34 miles per gallon on the highway (26 city) when paired with the standard five-speed manual transmission. The optional four-speed automatic delivers a slightly lower 26/33 mpg rating. As you might expect, Nissan has decontented the Versa somewhat to be able to...

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- U.S. auto sales tumbled in May as buyers fled from pickups and sport utility vehicles in the face of average gas prices that are now just shy of $4 a gallon. The trouble hit not only U.S. automakers General Motors (GM, Fortune 500), Ford Motor and Chrysler LLC -- which have long depended on sales of pickups and SUVs -- but also trimmed the sales of their top Japanese rival Toyota Motor (TM). But other Asian automakers held up reasonably well. Nissan (NSANY) reported a narrow sales gain while Honda Motor (HMC) and Kia rode American...

LAS VEGAS -- The U.S. auto makers and their dealers both seem to agree that they have too many franchises, but there is ample debate over how to shrink and consolidate that base and how quickly the Big Three can move. Bloated dealer bodies are a critical issue for Ford Motor Co., General Motors Corp. and DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler Group. Years of market share losses to competitors such as Toyota Motor Corp. have left some of their dealers financially stressed, though overall U.S. auto sales are at a relatively healthy level and most dealers generally are optimistic about their prospects....

Detroit's big three auto makers spent last year shedding tens of thousands of workers, overhauling their marketing and shaking up their managements. Now, it's becoming clear that even more-drastic action may be needed to turn them around. Yesterday, Ford Motor Co. announced losses of $5.8 billion for the fourth quarter and $12.7 billion for all of 2006, the deepest deficit in the 103-year history of the nation's No. 2 auto maker. Also expected to report losses for the year are General Motors Corp., which yesterday said it will delay announcing its fourth-quarter financial results, originally scheduled for release Tuesday, and...