Government Motors

[Babagounj]

GM chief pushing for higher gas taxes

David Shepardson and Christina Rogers/ The Detroit News

Detroit — General Motors Co. CEO Dan Akerson wants the federal gas tax boosted as much as $1 a gallon to nudge consumers toward more fuel-efficient cars

From The Detroit News: http://detnews.com/article/20110607...ef-pushing-for-higher-gas-taxes#ixzz1ObBjiLpo

and just where are the people going to get the money to pay for all these new cars ?
​

 

[Babagounj]

Oh, by the way GM, could you possible produce a small pickup truck, 4x4 , that gets 30 mpg , NOW.

 

[Lue C Fur]

Report: Inmates, deceased among those who scored 2009 auto tax break...AKA "Cash for Clunkers":

When Cash for Clunkers was announced in 2009, the federal government promised to keep close tabs on the vouchers that were paid out in exchange for clunkers. Problem is, the program led to 4.3 million taxpayers receiving $7.2 billion if vehicle deductions in the span of only a few months. So it should come as little surprise that some less-than-reputable deals passed through the C4C juggernaut, including vouchers for criminals in jail, dead people and children.

Reuters reports that 4,257 C4C claims were flagged as excessive by the Internal Revenue Service, resulting in $151 million in potentially fraudulent "qualified" deductions. 439 prisoners managed to score $955,843 in sales tax for C4C purchases. Meanwhile, $36,490 in claims reportedly came from beyond the grave, and another 18 people under the age of 15 received a total of $31,139 in deductions. In most states children under 15 aren't allowed by law to purchase a motor vehicle.

While the Cash For Clunkers program was far from squeaky clean, we can still remember the impact the program had on auto sales. We're guessing in spite of the few bad apples, C4C was still a rare win for Uncle Sam.

http://www.autoblog.com/2011/06/09/inmates-deceased-among-those-who-scored-2009-auto-tax-break/

 

[Babagounj]

The only real outcome of this program was that now there is a shortage of cheap used cars. Instead of letting the "clunkers" enter the normal supply cycle the program demanded that they all be scrapped. Also this effected the used parts supply chain.

 

[trplnkl]

Report: Inmates, deceased among those who scored 2009 auto tax break...AKA "Cash for Clunkers":


Reuters <snip>, $36,490 in claims reportedly came from beyond the grave, a<snip>

http://www.autoblog.com/2011/06/09/inmates-deceased-among-those-who-scored-2009-auto-tax-break/

Undoubtedly Unicorn recruited 0bama voters

 

[Lue C Fur]

The Truth About the GM Bailout
With Chrysler and GM announcing they have repaid their government loans, it did not take long for Democrats to crow that the federal auto bailouts were a clear success. Indeed, the president and his supporters hope to make political hay from these efforts for the 2012 elections.
Never mind that the bailouts were a use of taxpayer dollars not even within the initial scope of the constitutionally questionable TARP. Never mind that taxpayers are still a major shareholder in GM. And never mind that these bailouts have ingrained a “too big to fail” strategy among American businesses, who now feel entitled to federal funding should they fall short in the marketplace.
In reality, GM’s claim about paying back bailout money is misleading. Much of the $50 billion in federal assistance came in the form of equity purchases, with the government taking a 61-percent stake in the company. The cash loan totaled “only” $6.7 billion in taxpayer dollars. For taxpayers to recoup their investment, the federal government would have to sell its 365 million shares at a profit. The break-even price would be $55 a share, but GM is currently selling at $28.90.
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2011/06/10/truth-about-gm-bailout/#ixzz1P5b8DING

 

[klein]

Well, government or no government involvement.... that's another thread on it's own.
While the US is still the Innovator of the world, most of those innovation jobs head overseas.

The governments of Germany and China highly subsidized the solar cell industry (yup, you guessed it, solar cells were invented in the US). China and Germany are now the world leaders and suppliers of solar technoligy, cells, and power.

GPS system, same thing.

So, what to do ?

 

[moreluck]

Love the rear view mirrors!

 

[brett636]

Well, government or no government involvement.... that's another thread on it's own.
While the US is still the Innovator of the world, most of those innovation jobs head overseas.

The governments of Germany and China highly subsidized the solar cell industry (yup, you guessed it, solar cells were invented in the US). China and Germany are now the world leaders and suppliers of solar technoligy, cells, and power.

GPS system, same thing.

So, what to do ?

Perhaps when solar energy can stand on its own we will invest more into it. As of right now it requires government subsidies just to be a viable energy source. As far as GPS is concerned the GPS constellation of satellites is currently owned and operated by the U.S. department of defense. I have read of other countries wanting to put up their own GPS satellite constellation, but I don't know where they are in their planning. Doesn't matter where in the world you are or what GPS unit you have you are relying on the U.S. to be your guide to wherever you are going.

 

[moreluck]

Gov't Motors has just dropped the base price of the Chevy Volt from $41,000 to $39,995.00 !! Shut the front door !!!! The people will be beating down the dealer's doors now!! I can hear the salesmen on the lot now...."That's my up!" "No, that's my up." No, I saw them first!"

 

[Babagounj]

[h=1]Electric cars may not be so green after all, says British study[/h]
ELECTRIC cars could produce higher emissions over their lifetimes than petrol equivalents because of the energy consumed in making their batteries, a study has found.
An electric car owner would have to drive at least 129,000km before producing a net saving in CO2. Many electric cars will not travel that far in their lifetime because they typically have a range of less than 145km on a single charge and are unsuitable for long trips. Even those driven 160,000km would save only about a tonne of CO2 over their lifetimes.
The British study, which is the first analysis of the full lifetime emissions of electric cars covering manufacturing, driving and disposal, undermines the case for tackling climate change by the rapid introduction of electric cars.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/new...ys-british-study/story-e6frg8y6-1226073103576

 

[brett636]

Gov't Motors has just dropped the base price of the Chevy Volt from $41,000 to $39,995.00 !! Shut the front door !!!! The people will be beating down the dealer's doors now!! I can hear the salesmen on the lot now...."That's my up!" "No, that's my up." No, I saw them first!"

Government Motors is coming up against the age old problem of Supply versus Demand. The demand isn't there for the car so they are dropping the price in order to increase it. The problem is they need to whack another $10k off before demand is going to be anywhere close to the production levels they initially predicted.

 

[moreluck]

Government Motors is coming up against the age old problem of Supply versus Demand. The demand isn't there for the car so they are dropping the price in order to increase it. The problem is they need to whack another $10k off before demand is going to be anywhere close to the production levels they initially predicted.

Maybe they should "garage sale" them, so to speak!!

 

[Babagounj]

even at $30,000 for a Volt is still a bad choice , a Prius still cots less and gets better mileage.
now if they cut the cost to $5,000 they could regain some market share . better to sell many and lose money than to sell none and still lose money.

 

[bbsam]

Perhaps when solar energy can stand on its own we will invest more into it. As of right now it requires government subsidies just to be a viable energy source. As far as GPS is concerned the GPS constellation of satellites is currently owned and operated by the U.S. department of defense. I have read of other countries wanting to put up their own GPS satellite constellation, but I don't know where they are in their planning. Doesn't matter where in the world you are or what GPS unit you have you are relying on the U.S. to be your guide to wherever you are going.

How about we take away the government subsidies from the oil companies and give them to solar and wind? Can't really say that oil "requires government subsidies". They just like them...alot.

 

[bbsam]

Gov't Motors has just dropped the base price of the Chevy Volt from $41,000 to $39,995.00 !! Shut the front door !!!! The people will be beating down the dealer's doors now!! I can hear the salesmen on the lot now...."That's my up!" "No, that's my up." No, I saw them first!"

In my spare time, I like car shopping and over the months watch dealers lower the price on all models over the year. Currently a very sweet 2011 Mustang GT has a $3500 rebate and low financing, so what's so different about the Volt?

 

[Lue C Fur]

In my spare time, I like car shopping and over the months watch dealers lower the price on all models over the year. Currently a very sweet 2011 Mustang GT has a $3500 rebate and low financing, so what's so different about the Volt?

2011 Mustang has the 4.6 and that is why its cheap...the 2012 has the awesome 5.0. Big difference in value and performance.

 

[klein]

Obviously the North American Car journalist have a different opionen then the Twighlight 10 do :

Chevrolet Volt and Ford Explorer win 2011 North American Car and Truck of the Year.

DETROIT - The Chevrolet Volt is the 2011 North American Car of the Year and the Ford Explorer is the 2011 North American Truck of the Year.

The winners were chosen by a jury of 49 automotive journalists from the United States and Canada.
The awards are unique in the United States because instead of being given by a single media outlet they are awarded by a coalition of automotive journalists from the United States and Canada who represent magazines, television, radio, newspapers and web sites.
The awards are designed to recognize the most outstanding new vehicles of the year.
These vehicles are benchmarks in their segments based on factors including innovation, design, safety, handling, driver satisfaction and value for the dollar.

The Volt won with 233 points followed by the Hyundai Sonata with 163 and the Nissan Leaf electric with 94.

 

[Babagounj]

The Nissan Leaf has had it's production delayed.

And , just for your info , it always seems that a GM and/or a Ford gets those awards.

 

[moreluck]

The Edsel probably got all kinds of awards too....where is she now ???? There's just no accounting for taste. Studebaker anyone?