Senate OKs $25B Bailout for Greener Detroit
Working through the weekend, Congress approved a $25 billion aid package for America’s sputtering auto industry. On Saturday, the Senate voted 78 to 12 to pass the auto bailout plan, which the House had passed earlier in the week. The President is expected to sign the bill into law this week. The bill kicks off with $7.5 billion in tax payer money from the Department of Energy in low-interest loans to help the auto industry, predominantly the Big Three, retool to make more fuel efficient cars.
These loans have been a long time coming. The program was actually written into law in last year’s energy bill aimed at helping automakers meet the new fuel efficiency standards of 35 miles per gallon by 2020. The legislation passed over the weekend finally approved the appropriations to fund the program. The DOE now has 60 days to map out the details, but the DOE thinks it will likely take at least 18 months before GM, Ford, and Chrysler get the money.
Presidential hopefuls Obama and McCain have already voiced their support of the loan program. Obama has said throughout his campaign that as president he would work to help Detroit get out the mess it made for itself. His plan included $4 billion in loans and tax credits to car makers for factory retooling. But already Detroit is lobbying for another $25 billion in aid. How’s that story go about when you give a mouse an industry a cookie bailout?
Oh brother. What a waste of money. If the dems weren’t trying to win Michigan this wouldn’t have happened. Total pandering. I say let’em fail if they can’t produce a good product that people want.
This auto loan crap makes me not want to vote. The big thre auto mfrs should be allowed to fold. I highly believe the UNION is the main cause of their failure. Think about it. Why should a person with no college education, some don’t even have High Scool ed, make $29/hr for mounting hardware on hardware? Tires, seats etc… I have seen people “Stage” parts like screws and washers and gaskets and push buttons that get paid over $24/hr. Give me a break. No wonder they are losing money. They have to support the morons in their work force. A high scool student can do this for federal min wage!
Most everything is automated and the unhealthy stuff is done by robots. That’s ridiculous. If one were to vistt one of their plants and audit this you will see it’s true. I have been in manufacturing for 10 years. Positions get a pay increas because of tenure? WTF is that. After 5 years your still an idiot manual robot doing the same thing you got paid for when it was minimum wage! The big three should fold and the American people should not have to suffer through their reign of OPEC Support terror.
DROP THE UNION!
Let’s take a look at this PHEV incentive that was passed also. To take advantage of this incentive, the vehicle you purchase must have soo much battery in it, can’t remember the specs but it was 3x more than any current foreign hybrid uses. Ironically if you look at any vehicles that can qualify, only the Chevy Volt and other US hybrid wannabe vehicles can qualify. Why? Because they are soo inefficient they require that much battery to run. So basically these US autos can not sell themselves and the big 3 need the govt to try and make the deal sweeter. For this reason I will never purchase a US big 3 vehicle again. The American people CAN survive even if the big 3 auto are gone. Need a car? There’s others to choose from? Lose your job because the plant failed to foresee the coming inevitable world change and they blindly charged on building Bradley Tank SUV’s? No problem, other auto manufacturers exist here in the US and when competition is gone from the big 3, guess what, manufacturing increases elsewhere in the US. Incentives for this PHEV bill should go to the vehicles that ARE PHEV. That should be the criterea. Then the consumers can decide WHAT PHEV they want to buy. So, guess what, they will most likely not buy a Chevy Volt and I highly recommend against the volt. This vehicle as well as any other attempts for the big 3 to sell as a hybrid / PHEV is just like their predecessors. They were hogs on gas back then, and in this generation they are hogs on batteries! Nothing has changed and they learned nothing. Tell me again why we are giving these huge loans to the same people that enticed people and sold Americans these poor excuses for a vehicle? I hope they all go under. This will open the doors to the small entrepreneurs like the “AC Propulsion”, “Phoenix Motors and “Hybrid Technologies” or “Black Bay Tecnologies”.
Basically IF the big 3 took what “Hybrid Technologies” is doing and refined the process, expand their facility, buy them out and ensure product reliability to “Their” standard the I believe the big 3 can make a come back. Think about it. This little comapny, Hybrid Technologies, takes already built ICE vehicles and convert them to 100% Electric in about 4 days. You get a range of 100+ miles. Good for commute and for soccer practices and runs to the grocery store, run to fast food for the 3 kids and get a beer. That is a perfect idea. So there, I just retooled the big three in less than an hour, my bill is $50Billion please.
Of course this will not happen because Detroit has this “It wasn’t my idea so I wont bother with it” persona. Sure they’ll probably get the loan. How’s it feel to be left out in the cold for those Americans who lost their homes to bad loans? Govt will bail big auto but leave Americans to fend for themselves and at the same time pay for this friggin mess. Yes, it is true that “We weren’t pushing these larger vehicles, we were just building what our customers wanted,” Mulally said….” (Quote from: http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5h4EahO3VBl2HqNDP58DrifgZ_RlQ) but you continued and did nothing to “Adapt” to the market, Just like the dinosaurs, and guess what, the Asteroid of OPEC hit and you cant “Adapt”! Hey Detroit, “Retool THIS!”, bastards.