After arriving at the first Senate hearing by private jet, GM's Rick Wagoner is looking to feign innovation and a commitment to frugality by driving a Chevy
Volt prototype to Washington and past the camera crews awaiting his arrival. The obvious stunt meant to reverse public opinion in GM's bid for bailout cash will put Wagoner behind the wheel of the Volt prototype for just a fraction of the 355 mile journey. Good thing too, because without the
infrastructure required to
support electric vehicles, Wagoner's Volt would only last about 40 miles on battery before the fuel burning engine kicked in to maintain enough charge to drive the powertrain. Instead, the GM exec will begin his journey from Detroit in a hybrid Malibu capable of just 24/32 MPG city/highway. We just hope that the Saturns and dilapidated Chevettes he sees abandoned along America's rust-belt provides the man with ample reminder of GM's previous failures to revolutionize from within. Oh, sorry Rick was that too mean?
P.S. The car pictured above is a non-functional 2011 Volt prototype that will be parked in DC upon Wagoner's arrival.
[Via
Detroit Free Press]
posted December 4th 2008 9:48AM
The car in that picture doesn't look half bad!
For people who are yelling for the Big 3 to fail, are you guys stupid?
The Big 3 make up at least 2-8% of the American economy.
Yes, it is that high.
Now, let's see, so if Ford, GM, and whoever else goes bankrupt, goes out of the business, while you guys are cheering, Michigan and the Rust Belt are gonna through a poverty unseen in well over 130 years since the end of the Civil War in the South.
And it doesn't end there. Don't forget that they also have extensive international branches, so those millions out there in the world are gonna go out of luck too.
So, you got the United States losing major amounts of manufacturing power, millions and millions unemployed, and the economy in turmoil.
I'd say keep your party hats in the drawer, because it'll just be gloom and doom.
Alexi said - "For people who are yelling for the Big 3 to fail, are you guys stupid?"
I'm not yelling for the Big 3 to fail - but I think GM bowing out would be a good thing for the country long term. It would wake up some unskilled laborers that middle income for pushing a broom is not guaranteed. It would wake up the other car companies they better up the quality and MPG of their vehicles. Be faster to market and bolder in their ideas for better MPG. It might also wake up senior management to the fact that big incomes don't guarantee government assistance or copayments. In fact if you make big bucks and drive a business into the ground, I think the stock holders have a right to a criminal investigation.
I think it would be good for the country as a whole if we realized we need to be more competitive in technology, improve our quality of product and work, and not depend on future generations to bail us out for our economic and ecological foolishness.
The union workers do not make 80 dollars an hour. A large portion of the cost is for the already retired workers that GM needs to support. Pensions need to be payed; health insurance needs to be given.
At 25 dollars an hour, a worker will make around 56k a year. Lets assume
that GM pays their retirees 30k a year for 20 years in pension costs. Lets also assume that a GM worker works for around 40 years. With an interest rate of 5% and an inflation rate of 2.5%, GM only needs to contribute 10k a year on top of the regular salary. An average GM worker therefore, will make 65 thousand dollars if you factor in the pension costs. It is above the median wage earned in the US, but it is still considered a solidly middle class wage.
Those who think GM should go bankrupt to teach the unions or executives a lesson don't understand the consequences of bankruptcy. Those issues can be addressed as conditions of the loan. The supplier erosion that bankruptcy would cause would impact the whole countries manufacturing infrastructure.
Wow. The comments are particularly asinine today. Thomas included. *sigh*
Maybe he should drive the EV1??? Oh wait they crushed all of them 10 years ago..... Want a eye opener? Rent who killed the eletric car. After seeing what GM could have done to change things 10 years ago it makes me sick. I hate how my 2007 looks but it gets the job done for now.
1) Saturns are [were] made of plastic, so they won't be scattered in the rust belt.
2) I work for Toyota, in the US. I believe the Big 3 should be propped up. I believe this b/c we set a poor example by not bailing out the Banks. They made insanely poor decisions and ruined the economy in less than 2 yrs, all the while giving poorly structured loans that were obviously bad for the consumer. Meanwhile, the Big 3 were giving the buying public exactly what they wanted (more cheap trucks/SUVs).
The unions are ruining America. The bailout should have a clause that boots the UAW. Union are past their prime and only harbor corporations now. The $14 UAW workers are worth is what they should be paid. Not 2-3x that, including 20 paid holidays/yr.
Around 1% of the US works directly for GM. Country-wide, about 10% are employed by the Big 3. How many ppl work in the banking industry? A lot less I am safe to say. They should repurpose that cash to keep them alive.
-bZj
Wow, Those Oil companies just run you and your country now don't they?
It's even obvious from across the pond. xD
And this guys having a Laugh! Just go By a Toyota and soon you won't have to worry about bailing out these fat cats.
somebody bell me out.