Paul Killinger

40,000 Jobs Lost as GM Becomes Biggest Ever U.S. Company Failure

Not necessarily, Jack, but for sure the cars (except Ford). As the dollar weakens, we'll be doing alot more manufacturing once again. Just not in Detroit. Unless our govt. does something (else) stupid, that is, like cap and trade.

Foreign Carmakers More Domestic than Detroit's Big Three

Lots of ways to distort numbers. Nissan imports the steel they use because NO ONE MAKES IT HERE. They would obviously prefer to purchase it domestically.

Since the UAW is now in control of Detroit, I will buy my next U.S. branded vehicle in my NEXT lifetime. Thank you.

How Trucks and Tariffs Contributed to GM, Chrysler Failures

Lest we forget, it was only in the recent past that small trucks became full sized, and full sized trucks became mammoth. The future will belong to the automaker(s) who decide to build small trucks in the U.S. once more, as they always sold well.

Do You Believe Borrowing Leads to Prosperity? (Part 2)

You are EXACTLY right, sir. Our current dilemma is our government can no more charge its way to economic prosperity than its citizens can. Our future problem is how do we get the governmental camel's nose out from under our tent long enough to let nature take its course?

And Jo's right, too. At least the Tea Party folks PAY their taxes, unlike many of B-O & Co's. political appointees.

A Capitalist's Letter to President Obama

epeon,

And you get an A for looking through the haze of media drivel and seeing all this coming.

A Capitalist's Letter to President Obama

An historic look at GM is instructive. It grew out of the chaos of hundreds of car companies, absorbing or merging with dozens as most others fell by the wayside. This eventually resulted in it becoming the most successful vehicle manufacturer in the history of the world. But it, too, ultimately succumbed to what the economist Schumpeter described as, "Profit is a penalty." The problem now is to not let it and others like it fail risks our entire economy.

A Capitalist's Letter to President Obama

Ferdinand,

Interesting your analogy to the hedge fund that is no longer in existence. That is the essence of capitalism, if you will, creative destruction. Following this concept, the automakers should be allowed to fail, and their remaining capital reallocated to going concerns. But we're not doing that, are we? At our peril, I might add.

A Capitalist's Letter to President Obama

No offense, buddy, but save your breath. B-O & Co. are non-ideological alright, much like Marx, Stalin and Ho Chi Minh.

Defending the UAW, Felix Salmon Abandons Logic

Sadly this is much ado about nothing. Because nothing is what these companies are really worth. As we shall discover when this theater is finally over and the actors leave the stage.

What Could Fiat Be Thinking?

Just another broke car company trying to get Too Big to Fail.

The Plug In Vehicle Scam

We are confronted by a variety of very serious life-changing problems right now, not the least of which is the affordability of energy. Those of us who would like to see a MEANINGFUL effort on the part of our elected representatives to address this have been disappointed thus far. Remember, NO nation in the history of civilization has been economically viable without fully utilizing its OWN energy resources.

The Plug In Vehicle Scam

Yes, Searcher, it would be wonderful if our politicians (of all stripes) left their Hucksterism at home. Unfortunately for us, that's all they seem to know or care about in the nation in which we now live.

The Plug In Vehicle Scam

A-Palmer,

You're going to get your wish. True EV's are ideally suited to your needs. All you need do is fork over $100K to Tesla or $50K to GM for a Volt when they come out and you'll be in business. Meanwhile, you may wish to opt for a Prius hybrid that costs $25K and gets 50 MPG.

The point is once we all make alternate transportation choices, which will differ according to our individual needs, we can begin making a serious dent in OPEC's stanglehold on us. And it won't take all that much to do it. If we can reduce oil consumption by just 10-15%, that will seriously limit their cartel's dominance.

The only remaining problem is no one in Washington has figured this out yet.

The Plug In Vehicle Scam

Let's talk for a moment about the true costs of building a CNG/LNG transportation infrastructure. First off, of the thousand or so CNG refueling depots now in existence in the U.S., all were built without public financing. And Boone is moving along in his LNG quest with no federal funds, either.

But let's say for the moment that the feds were to contribute to speed up the pace. What would be wrong wth that? This would surely generate MANY MORE REAL JOBS than the Green ones being bandied about by the Know Nothings in Washington, not to mention the ridiculous trillion dollars being spent by B-O & Co. in so-called Stimulus, which is replete with projects like updating skating rinks.

And what's more important to our future economy and well being? Getting rid of the yoke OPEC has around our necks, or rewarding one's political supporters? Insofar as those now running Washington are concerned, we've already learned the answer to that.

The Plug In Vehicle Scam

Wisdom,

While I concur with your thesis about the threat, or lack thereof, presented by global warming, I have a question about your second point. How is it that you arrive at the conclusion that NGV's are less efficient than oil for operating ICE's?