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Cars, Candidates, Loans, and Bailouts

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Why GM Should File For Bankruptcy - NAM
Wouldn't we be better off if we invested the $50 billion in a sector that could create new jobs? Even within the automotive industry there are innovative companies. Tesla Motors, for example, a tiny company in San Carlos, Calif, was founded by Elon Musk, the co-founder of PayPal. Tesla is building an all-electric roadster for the high-end market. It plans to expand into broader markets when the technology becomes cheaper.

Maybe we should look beyond the automotive sector to invest the $50 billion slated for GM.

The availability of cheap and abundant fuel sources cannot be taken for granted anymore. And even the most fuel-efficient car is not going to address traffic congestion issues. It is unrealistic to assume that we can solve this problem by building even more freeways without serious quality-of-life implications.

We may very well be seeing the beginning of the end of the age of the automobile.
 
Clean-tech industry drawing up wish list for Obama administration - San Jose Mercury News

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Autos: Diarmuid O'Connell — vice president of business development at Tesla Motors, the Silicon Valley electric-car startup — said consumer incentives on electric and plug-in hybrid cars are needed "to pull our products into the marketplace and to make the first and second generations of these new technologies cost-competitive with the incumbent technologies."

O'Connell said it also is important for the new administration to continue and expand the U.S. government's loan and loan-guarantee programs. Tesla is waiting on a $200 million loan from the Department of Energy to help it build its first factory in San Jose and move its headquarters here from San Carlos.

O'Connell, who worked for the Bush administration's State Department before joining Tesla, has heard that Obama plans to create a National Energy Security Council that is on par with the National Security Council. "We think this is a great signal that they intend to handle things from the center, and not simply through agencies," he said.
 
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I watched the Senate hearing today.

I was amazed by Gettelfinger's (President of UAW) arrogance. He basically said "we did our negotiations last year. We made concessions and now these guys (Big3) need your money to pay us."

Please read this article from 2007
UAW contract: All the details | Freep.com | Detroit Free Press


My favorite parts:
"The UAW said GM will pay $29.9 billion in cash and other assets into the trust, which Gettelfinger assured his members, will remain solvent for 80 years, regardless of GM's financial condition."

"The Center for Automotive Research estimates that the Detroit automakers spend an average of $63.65 an hour on hourly production, not counting its buyout and jobs bank costs, while Toyota spends an average of $47.50."

So the "Average" Big3 worker makes $63 X 40 hours X 52 weeks = $131k plus full health care with no co pay + retirement benefits + guarantee of no layoffs without compensation.

With all extra employee cost (health care /retirement / training/ layoff funding / and who knows what else) the big3 gotta be running north of $150k per annual worker.

So even if the big3 get the $25B+ they will never be competitive.
It has and will continue to show up in the products. If the cost to mfg is 20% more than your competition then you must skimp on product r&d and materials in order to hope to be close in price.

The consumer has seen this operation for the last 30 years and has made a choice.

If congress wants to "give away" money they should cut out the middle man. Make check payable to: UAW

I Hope they are not given the money and are forced into some negotiated reorganization.

If any of them go to bankruptcy court, then the Feds can step in and seize all warranty funds. Then Feds could guaranty all U.S. consumers that their warranty's are valid and backed by U.S.A. and will be for years to come.
 
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Cool Response to Auto Bailout, As CEO's Fly Private Jets to DC | NBC Bay Area

Interesting view in the comments, EVEN IF THEIR CAPS LOCK KEY IS STUCK:

DONT BAIL OUT ANYONE DOIN G BAD BUSINESS.THATS JUST MORE OF THE SAME WITH THE SAME RESULTS PENDING.INSTEAD COME UP WITH BUSINESS PLANS/SOLUTIONS TO THE PROBLEMS.FOR INSTANCE GM COULD BUY OUT TESLA.GET LISCENSING TO BUILD THE LOTUS BODY HERE IN THE STATES.GET TESLA'S PROPOSED SEDAN LINE UP AND RUNNING AND THEY WOULD HAVE WHAT WE WANT AND NEED A PREMIER GREEN LINE.NOW FOR THIS TO WORK GM WOULD HAVE TO KEEP THE CEO AND ENGINEERING STAFF OF TESLA AND KEEP THEM FROM BEING INFLUENCED BY GM'S CORPORATE LINE(NO BAD HABITS OR TRAINS OF THOUGHT INJECTED).THIS PLAN WOULD SAVE GM AND IS WORKABLE DUE TO THE CREDIT CRUNCH AFFECTING TESLA'S ABILITY TO GET FINANCING FOR PRODUCTION FACILITIES TO MAKE MASS PRODUCTION POSSIBLE.THIS WOULD BE A NON ISSUE FOR GM.TESLA GETS FACILITIES AND AID IN MASS PROD GM GETS A PREMIER GREEN TECH LINE AND THE PEOPLE GET THE CARS THEY NEED AND WANT AT A RESONABLE COST.
 
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I wonder how long it would take for little Tesla to grow to have the capabilities of a major car manufacturer given enough operating cash? GM has something like 1000x more employees than Tesla right now.