The Big Three "Stick-Up" By Chris Nelder | Wednesday, November 19th, 2008
http://www.energyandcapital.com/articles/big-three-bailout/786 snip> Lead, Follow, or Get Out of the Way At some point, our concern has to be the long-term sustainability of our economy, not just today's jobs. A truly sustainable economy has plenty of jobs; they just might be different from the jobs we have today. And the sooner we commit to building that sustainable economy, the sooner we'll have the jobs we really need, making the things we really need, like truly high-efficiency vehicles. It's a bad joke that American manufactured vehicles in Europe already get 60+ MPG while the same models here get under 35. Now, if GM fails, then so does the promise of the first serious American-made PHEV, the Chevy Volt. And that would be a shame. But I have no doubt that the world's more progressive automakers will be quick to fill that void. The Japanese manufacturers are already light- years ahead of the Big Three in PHEV technology, and are already tooled up to crank those vehicles out in mass production. Meanwhile, scrappy young startups in Silicon Valley and elsewhere are preparing to leapfrog the industry in technology, with high- performance PHEVs and all-electric vehicles that blow the doors off of anything the Big Three have planned, like the Tesla and the Aptera. These companies are shooting for 100 mpg, not 30, and they plan to deliver it in about the same time frame. We can do better, folks. With peak oil essentially already upon us, we must do better. The rest of the world is already doing better. Why cling to this lumbering beast that has done so much permanent damage to the long-term health of our country? In the short term, I suppose we have no choice but to try to preserve some of the Big Three's jobs, because such a massive loss will really cut when the economy is as down and out as it is. But any sort of public bailout must come with a lot of strings attached, to force the companies to downsize, shed their obligations and start building vehicles for the 21st Century. Eventually, however, I think they must go. For over 50 years, they have worked to ruin the future of transportation, stifle innovation, bury patents, and stop any progress on controlling emissions. They have spent hundreds of millions, and cost the public billions, in obstructing progress. This cannot be allowed to continue. In the same way that that a redwood tree inhibits the growth of the understory by blocking the light before it can reach the forest floor, the Big Three have become an effective monopoly of bad design. Their company cultures are rotten to the core, and they are about to topple, making room and letting in sunshine where new, nimbler companies may sprout and thrive. The only real transportation solutions for the future will run on electric power produced from renewable energy, because liquid fuels are going into terminal decline. Transportation of both people and goods will have to be switched rapidly over to electric rail and high- performance PHEVs. With the firm support of the Obama administration for a massive increase in renewable energy generation, a high-voltage long-distance grid, and research and development of battery technology, we can and will build those solutions right here at home. New companies will take over the Rust Belt, reopen Detroit's shuttered plants, and put everybody back to work. But we don't need the Big Three to do it, and we don't need to do it at gunpoint. >end snip Peace, Doc --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more. -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
