"OK, so maybe they are starting to get it in Detroit. When GM, Ford and Chrysler CEOs met today with President Bush, two out of three drove through the White House gates in hybrids: a Ford Escape Hybrid and a Saturn VUE Greenline ... " "With GM and Ford closing plants in many states and cutting thousands of jobs, the political influence of the Big Three is likely to wane." http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/artic.../611140360/1148
I was reading something about a bail out and how unlikely it is. The auto industry has changed a bit since the last bail out back in the early 80's. First off, for auto mfgs employ about 100K americans and have invested billions in plants in the US. The idea that "what's good for GM is good for America" just isn't true anymore. The big 3 contribution to the American economy has shrunk considerably over the years. They're just not THAT important anymore.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(tripp @ Nov 14 2006, 02:12 PM) [snapback]349066[/snapback]</div> The White House was able to meet with American Idol before the Big 3 according to the article.
bah... them driving to the White House in hybrids is just for show... and they got the attention they where hoping for. <_<
Agreed. I'm sure they would have rather shown up in their custom Stretch-Hummer, Stretch-Excursion, and Stretch-Pacifica. They were probably riding in there saying, "good God what do people see in these things?"
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(TonyPSchaefer @ Nov 15 2006, 10:35 AM) [snapback]349596[/snapback]</div> They do give the impression that they drove those vehicles in kicking and screaming. Considering their legacy of the Electric Car, if they could have added a Plug-in EV or Plug-in Hybrid (PHEV) concept/prototype car to replace the Chrysler Sebring, now that would have garnered some attention.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(TonyPSchaefer @ Nov 15 2006, 02:35 PM) [snapback]349596[/snapback]</div> Stretch Hummer... I can see. Stretch Excursion... I can see. But why pick on the Pacifica? It's a little minivan/station wagon type thing. Did the Pacifica somehow make it to the top of the hated vehicles list without the world noticing?
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(TonyPSchaefer @ Nov 15 2006, 01:35 PM) [snapback]349596[/snapback]</div> Yes, as Henry Ford II famously remarked after the first time he rode in a pre-production '65 Mustang coupe: "Who's in their right mind is going to buy one of these...it rides like a buckboard!" I'd also agree that the odds of a bailout aren't so good as they once were. But I do wonder if the feds will find a way to manipulate the system, in an attempt to reduce the legacy costs with which the UAW saddled the big 3. It could be spun as something else besides a bailout, too.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Jonnycat26 @ Nov 15 2006, 03:58 PM) [snapback]349735[/snapback]</div> They were probably thinking of the stretch 300. Compared to the stretch Excursion or Hummer, this thing is positively green.
I bet within three years there will be a "Stretch Prius". Whether or not it's actually a hybrid or just for show, I won't predict.
If it doesn't have six wheels, a hot tub in the back, and HSD under the hood, I'm not interested... [laughing]
JOINT STATEMENT That link is for the pathetic "effort" they proclaimed to deliver as a result of that brief meeting. This is the very, very disappointing highlight... Is it possible for them to do any less? Geez! It costs less than $200 per vehicle to add the E85 capability. They've been producing those flex-fuel vehicles for 10 years already. Why will it take 6 years for them to only deliver 50 percent? That's awful. How can their motives possibly be taken seriously when all they do is shift focus? Using a different fuel is barely a solution, especially when they are making such a weak committment to it. Even worse is the reality that the entire 50 percent could choose to just continue using just gas instead of E85. A far better statement would have been for all involved to follow Minnesota's lead. The state has mandated the use of E20, where all gas must be a 20 percent blend of ethanol by 2013. Of course, a guarantee that everyone will be using is more than just saying "we are willing". But then again, all those lazy automakers would have to do is certify that their vehicles can using E20, which many of them are capable of supporting already. And the ultimate question still remains: What about using less fuel in the first place?
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(john1701a @ Nov 16 2006, 09:03 PM) [snapback]350583[/snapback]</div> haha! nice one!
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(john1701a @ Nov 16 2006, 06:03 PM) [snapback]350583[/snapback]</div> There are still corrosiveness issues with E85. See recent article in USAToday: 'Confusion reigns over safety tester's approval of E85 fuel station pumps' "A UL listing is a requirement for filling stations under most fire codes. But on Oct. 5, UL said it was suspending its listings for any fuel system that handles E85, a blend of 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline". http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/e...-e85-pump_x.htm
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Alric @ Nov 15 2006, 04:09 PM) [snapback]349746[/snapback]</div> I can understand how the Vue can be viewed as such, but how the Escape? Aren't you also dissing the Prius with that stroke?
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(TonyPSchaefer @ Nov 15 2006, 12:35 PM) [snapback]349596[/snapback]</div> I can't find it now, and it wasn't in that article listed, but apparently they all flew back to Detroit in their private jets. Yep, 3 private jets, no jet-pooling allowed. I'm surprised that wasn't mentioned in more articles. So they show up in hybrids to prove they can make vehicles with decent mileage, yet they only talk about ethanol (and health-care costs), hoping to put off CAFE raises that the Democrats will likely want to pass. You'd think they'd drive their flex-fuel vehicles instead, but maybe they didn't want to answer the question if it really had E85 in it. Whatever the case, I don't get it.
