MellowGuy

Why the Government Is Keeping GM Alive

I owned GM stock until I found out that they hadn't fully funded their pension plan. In the mean time they were paying dividends although they didn't have enough equity to cover their debts.

GM, Ford, and Chrysler weren't on an equal tax basis with foreign manufacturers which could have been partially alleviated by a value added tax.

GM shouldn't have been pushing blue sky hydrogen technology when hybrid technology was shown to work in a cost effective manner.

New North American Rare Earth Production Could Help Toyota Save GM

COBASYS has many of the NiMH battery patents.

Cobalt is used in NiMH and Li batteries.

Toyota is using Neodynium in their PM electric motors. Cobalt-Samarium is another possibility but it is more expensive.

Chrysler vs. Debtholders: Who Will Win?

There is too much long term debt in the hands of bond holders, Just let them own the company after other creditors have been paid.

Six Cars That Represent the Future of Driving

Regenerative braking is what makes the current hybrids attractive. Any future vehicle will have to have regenerative braking with a battery pack and electric drive motors.
Hydrogen is expensive to produce, dangerous, and has a short driving range. Fuel cells(expensive!) are are a better way to convert hydrogen to power than an IC engine.
Plug in power add on to a hybrid vehicle would work for me, but for vehicles that need to travel hundreds of miles per day, that might not be suitable add-on.
Compressed methane would work for large trucks, but passenger vehicles need something more like propane which is much cheaper than gasoline.
Ethanol has delivery problems that could be improved by converting it to ETBE.
Reducing vehicle size can reduce energy consumption, but that might require a second vehicle that can haul more people, cargo, and trailer.

Half of U.S. Consumers Delaying New Car Purchases

I am delaying partly because a hybrid model I want isn't available locally that isn't overloaded with expensive options.

Better to Let Automakers Go Bankrupt

Bailouts primarily help bond holders. Without a bailout bond holders have to assume ownership of a company and will only get a small portion of their investment back.

How To Save the Big 3 Automakers

There are many factors that have and are destroying manufacturing in North America. A value-added tax to replace part of the current corporate taxes would reduce the subsidy to foreign manufacturers. A reasonable health care system would reduce health care costs for current and retired employees. If the value-added tax were to be extended to oil, manufacturers would have a more predictable market for vehicles with lower fuel consumption.

The switch to defined contribution pensions, such as 401ks will help since the companies won't be gambling away all of their obligations to employees.

Companies that are in financial trouble shouldn't be paying dividends.

Are Hybrid Vehicles Worth the Price?

Since depreciation is the main expense and hybrids have minimal depreciation, it makes sense to get one now if one can be found that isn't way above MSRP.

Are Hybrid Vehicles Worth the Price?

Depreciation is the main expense and since depreciation is minimal with hybrids, it makes sense to get one now if you can find one.

Chrysler's Rebadging Plan: Strategic Blunder for Nissan?

If Chrysler can't deliver a hybrid minivan they should just go out of business.