Will the EU ever Rival the US as a Worlds Superpower

Will November 28, 2007 do?

The Arizona Republic

 

Nothing a weak dollar can't fix:

http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/content/nov2007/gb20071116_300833.htm?campaign_id=rss_eu

http://www.spiegel.de/international/business/0,1518,518138,00.html

If we go 2 to 1 dollar to the Euro, you can kiss airbus goodbye or "Au revoir".

 

"Originally published 26 Dec 2003, last update 10 Nov 2007". Perhaps reading the article would help? It really is rather good.

Whether or not it is a disaster remains to be seen.

 

They don't have as many bombs as we do.

 

[SIZE=-1]"A380 burns 12 percent less fuel per seat than a 747
—80 passenger miles per gallon"
I agree the sinking dollar will kill it.
[/SIZE]

 

Well, let's just say that, "If it's not a Boeing, I'm not going!"


The A380 uses increased size to lower seat/mile costs, whereas the Boeing leverages new powerplant and airframe technology to do so. Couple that with uncertain international growth prospects for the next decade or so, and the smaller, more versatile Dreamliner is the winner.

It's really that simple.

Might I digress...?

As far as the Concorde, what killed that plane was, primarily the lack of US sales. This happened when the results of USAF sonic-boom testing (which led to regs prohibiting supersonic overflight of the USA) became widely published, along with drastically increasing jet fuel prices (which played havoc with operational cost estimates done when Concorde was designed), and the growing concerns of the environmental movement.

The world changed around the Concorde, as much as anything...whether the Consortium should have seen that is up for debate, however.

But, if you've ever been on Concorde (which, I suspect, you may have), or even seen it fly --and you've got an ounce of aviation enthusiast blood in you-- for those brief seconds (or hours, if you were fortunate), it really didn't matter. Yes, it was cramped, and yes, it got a bit warm and stuffy as the flight progressed. But it's like asking how much it cost for Michelangelo to create a sculpture, or Raymond Loewy to streamline those Pennsylvania RR locomotives. It brought tears to my eyes, the way we were cleared for immediate takeoff...engines gulping fuel at prodigious rates, and threatening to overheat during taxiing...

It's beauty in motion, and an absolute expression of the artistry in even the most arcane mathematical calculation, and of the vision of human creativity. And how form and function are inexorably intertwined. Whether the the manufacturers felt that way or not, however, is another matter...but that's the legacy, I think, this aircraft leaves us.

Also, without getting too far into it, the aviation scene in the UK in the '60's was very politically controlled, on the verge of socialism, much moreso than in America...the marketing and design decisions made regarding Concorde sometimes had lots to do with politics, and not so much to to do with aeronautics. It was an odd time over there, in that business.

I think your example would have been much better served by, say, the VC 10 than the Concorde, IMHO...

Anyhow, back to topic; sorry for the diversion.

 

I think PintoGirl can see what your saying, the rest may have chosen to ignore.

 

As was stated earlier, before the sidebar bickering took over, superpowers come and go. The question isn't who will succeed the U.S. The question is when? Egypt was the superpower for, arguably, thousands of years. They were superseded by the Roman Empire which was the superpower for 2000 years and still affects the world at large. The U.S. has only dominated for a little more than 200 years so as as lasting superpower, it's still just a baby. Ultimately, the real question is 'will the U.S. as a superpower last as long or longer than previous superpowers?' The answer cannot be answered by modern people. It will be answered by future generations so don't worry, be happy. Read Gibbon; read Barbara Tuckman's A Distant Mirror; they'll help put things in perspective for you.

 

China, they are way beyond the EU today and rapidly catching up to the USA

The EU is about as hopeless as the UN

 

Don't make a fuss! Its got to be Airbus.

 

Boeing's development of the 2707 SST cost US tax payers over a billion dollars back in the early '70s. No passengers ever flew in it. I suspect Concorde may never have recouped its investment but did make a profit.

She was as beautiful on the ground as was in the air. I once saw 3 parked at Heathrow and saw her flying over London.

 

I think that the dangerous situation is when there is only one superpower. The question is how many superpowers are needed to be in existance concurrently, for a good balance?

 

What has any of this to do with the Toyota Prius?

 

Nothing. That's why it's in Fred's House of Pancakes ... the off-topic forum. Don't like it? Don't read it.

 

"relatively benevolent"? Is that how you describe our unjustified invasion of a foreign country and the installation of a puppet government there?

Your idea of a superpower is one that can exert its will wherever it wants without threat of serious repercussions. Is that type of power ever truly "benevolent"?