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President Obama jumped in the Volt EV for a brief test drive.  (Source: Pablo Martinez Monsivais, AP)

President Obama today gave a speech in Detroit, commenting, "I have confidence in you and this economy. We are coming back.”  (Source: Eric Seals/Detroit Free Press)
"I will bet on the American worker every day of the week." -- President Barack Obama

Two years ago, General Motors and Chrysler stood on the verge of collapse.  No bank in the country was capable of undersigning such a huge bankruptcy.  The only possible resolution appeared to be complete liquidation to repay the companies' lenders, which would have decimated the American auto parts industry and left Ford Motor Company as the only major surviving America auto company.

Instead U.S. President Barack Obama, along with foreign leaders in Canada and the EU put together a comprehensive bailout, that while paling in comparison to the bank bailout of 2008 in size, was sufficient to carry the U.S. auto companies through bankruptcy.  Today GM is once more turning a profit and Chrysler is also showing signs of recovery.

President Obama appeared in the metro-Detroit area of Michigan today, touring various GM and Chrysler facilities and speaking to his vision of a revitalized auto industry.  Addressing a largely enthusiastic crowd Obama began, "Hello, Detroit. It’s good to be back."

Obama had some good news to announce -- with the turnaround, Chrysler’s Sterling Heights plant, previously scheduled for closure, would not only stay open, but also add a shift.  Obama hailed this news, commenting, "When a plant thrives, that doesn’t just affect the new workers, it affects the entire community."

Addressing the crowd, Obama fired them up stating, "A lot of people were skeptical. There were many who said we should just let the market take its course. Let GM go bankrupt. Let Chrysler go out of business.  But I had confidence in you.  I will bet on the American worker every day of the week."

At about 1:15 p.m. Obama visited GM's Hamtramck plant and jumped behind the wheel of an upcoming 2011 Chevy Volt.  He only made it about 40 feet before secret service agents stopped him.

The President joked, "Some of you saw me drive the Volt about 12 inches; they don't let me drive much these days."

The Chevy Volt is the first step in Obama's vision of a reinvented U.S. auto industry, driven by hybrids, electric vehicles, and fuel cell vehicles.  President Obama has called for over 20,000 electric vehicle stations, 1 million EVs on the road, and bargain EV prices of $10,000 per vehicle to be in place by 2015.

Video of Obama's speech is available here.

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Future of the US auto industry
By corduroygt on 7/30/2010 3:25:11 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
The Chevy Volt is the first step in Obama's vision of a reinvented U.S. auto industry,


So he wants a taxpayer-subsidized industry full of overpriced products, just like his "vision" in energy, healthcare, and financial industries.




RE: Future of the US auto industry
By Shatbot on 7/30/10, Rating: 0
RE: Future of the US auto industry
By Ammohunt on 7/30/2010 4:19:49 PM , Rating: 4
Things got worse starting in 2006 after the democrats took over the legislative branch. Obama just poured it on with the “Stimulus” ensuring that we will almost never recover. Things are even worse now because Americans know that Democrats kill innovation, prosperity, free market principles and individual liberty through burdensome taxes, fines and fees to pay for their socialist experiments. I for one am keeping a firm grip on any and all my spare income right now and reducing my tax profile so that I will be better able to feed my family after the democrats are done trying to tax me and my employer out of existence. Being from New Zealand I know it’s hard to understand the American way of individual sovereignty and self making vs. group think collectivism i.e. wolf vs. herd of sheep.


RE: Future of the US auto industry
By jackstar7 on 7/30/10, Rating: 0
By shin0bi272 on 7/31/2010 4:27:08 PM , Rating: 2
go look at the dow through the past 10 years on a graph. Then go look at the unemployment rate. Then go look at the budget deficit (by the 2007 budget, which was done in 2006 it was less than 200b in the red after being down over 700b in 2003). Then go look at when the FASB suggested to the SEC that we bring back mark to market accounting aka "fair market value assessment" I believe they called it. The FASB was created by the SEC to be a private and independent organization but the board members are appointed by the SEC! it was sept 2006 when they suggested mark to market be implemented for all companies that report to the sec starting with any fiscal year after nov of 2007. MOST businesses have their fiscal year starting in june or july. So what year would it be if they were forcing people to implement mark to market AFTER nov of 2007? OH YEAH 2008! When in that year was it their fiscal year was going to start? june or july... When did the economy start collapsing???

Now dont get me wrong the pump was primed long ago by the creation of a federally backed mortgage company (by a liberal), then another (by a liberal republican), then the creation of the great society where the welfare state became ingrained in society (by a liberal), then a law that said all mortgage companies had to give (as of 2005.. YES 2005) 56% of all mortgages to low income families which is enforced through the dept of housing and urban development (by a liberal but used by both parties), then the repeal of the law that allows a car company and an appliance company to become a bank (by republicans), then the subprime lending debacle, then the sec enacting mark to market was like flipping a switch on a massive fail.

The lesson in all this? When the government sticks its fingers in something there is an initial boost, then it becomes ingrained in society and then it becomes bloated and collapses some portion or all of the economy. Then the left blames capitalism and says that the government needs more power... HEY LOOK! They just passed a huge financial reform bill that exempts the SEC from FOIA requests ANNND allows the government to monitor your bank account without a warrant. But Im sure you already knew that!


RE: Future of the US auto industry
By OoklaTheMok on 7/30/10, Rating: 0
By straycat74 on 7/30/2010 6:57:57 PM , Rating: 3
You'll find out about the "rich people only" tax cuts when they expire and your tax liability goes up. That is of course only true if you have a job and make enough money to support yourself


RE: Future of the US auto industry
By mkrech on 7/30/2010 8:18:58 PM , Rating: 2
Ugh ya... no point arguing with ignorance.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MGT_cSi7Rs&feature...

The truth hurts... or it would if you could accept and understand it.


RE: Future of the US auto industry
By Dorkyman on 7/30/2010 8:51:37 PM , Rating: 3
Everybody got tax cuts.

Half the population doesn't even pay income tax any more.

Bush did not have any "failed economic policies."

The junk NINJA (no income, no job, no assets) mortgages foisted on us by Bwaney Fwank and his Dems were a precipitating factor in the financial crisis 2 years ago.

Messiah appears to have little business sense, and when one of his policies causes business management to pull back and hoard cash, he doubles down and brings out new policies that make things even worse. Stunningly bad judgment.

Fortunately it looks like a blowout year for the Republicans in November. People have finally seen through the smoke.


RE: Future of the US auto industry
By Donkey2008 on 7/31/10, Rating: 0
RE: Future of the US auto industry
By mkrech on 7/31/2010 1:12:30 AM , Rating: 2
I could try to explain it to you but I think your probably busy with your hammer.

http://tinyurl.com/yf8sk2z


RE: Future of the US auto industry
By Helbore on 7/31/10, Rating: 0
RE: Future of the US auto industry
By Nfarce on 8/1/2010 9:43:45 PM , Rating: 1
quote:
Run little Republican rabbits, run. Don't pass any legislation that might improve things,


Like what, libtard, passing a TRILLION DOLLAR "stimulus" bill that nobody read that is NOT WORKING? Keep breathing out of your mouth, you short bus riding libtard drooler. The adults will take the nation back one way or another.


RE: Future of the US auto industry
By Lerianis on 8/1/10, Rating: 0
RE: Future of the US auto industry
By Nfarce on 8/1/2010 9:37:00 PM , Rating: 4
Hey libtard, Barney Frank (D-New York) in 2006 during the Bush administration said that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac "are not facing any kind of financial crisis." Republicans and some conservative Democrats wanted to increase the regulation of Fan/Fred.

But your liberal ilk on the left like Barnie Frank (the flaming liberal lisper - flaming in more ways than one) wanted no intervention in the great government program. And the rest, as they say, is history.

But those of us who know our history - which generally rules you liberals out - know that the real housing problem and financial situation began years ago and there is plenty of blame to go around for both Republicans and Democrats, starting with this guy:

http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article...


RE: Future of the US auto industry
By Ammohunt on 7/30/10, Rating: 0
RE: Future of the US auto industry
By cmdrdredd on 7/31/2010 12:39:24 PM , Rating: 3
quote:
The economic failures that we are currently dealing with are the consequences of 8 years of Bush's failed economic policies. Two unfunded wars, the Bush "Rich People only" tax cut, and a complete lack of Wall Street oversight. Stop with the revisionist history and accept the facts as they truly are.


Remember...the legislative branch handles all the laws. Taxes, the financial industry etc etc. That was DEMOCRATS!

get your damn facts right and your head out of your ass.


RE: Future of the US auto industry
By Gungel on 8/1/2010 8:26:38 AM , Rating: 1
Doesn't matter, the leader was Bush. He showed no political leadership and completely failed in his presidency. He still holds the lowest approval rating of any president in history. Instead of taking care of US politics he started a war that was based on lies and non existing weapons of mass destruction. No wonder when he left the US economy was in shambles.


RE: Future of the US auto industry
By Gungel on 8/1/10, Rating: 0
RE: Future of the US auto industry
By Gungel on 8/1/2010 8:30:42 AM , Rating: 1
Sorry had to add that, didn't mean to double post.


RE: Future of the US auto industry
By AssBall on 7/31/2010 4:12:11 PM , Rating: 2
You assholes that hate rich people are ignorant tools. The average person with 10 times the money you have pays 20 times the tax, in many cases this money goes to support public programs that YOU (not them) utilize to your advantage. Where is the equality in that?

I was skeptical of the program but gracious when I got my tax breaks under bush (I just wished I had 17 kids and was poorer and a minority and unemployed so that I could qualify more).

If you think the poor are proportionally overtaxed you should try earning your keep some day without the capital of the rich, only to see it taken away for someone that contributes nothing to you. Better yet, just send your money to me. I'm needy too.


By JediJeb on 8/2/2010 3:07:03 PM , Rating: 2
My grandfather came through the Great Depression and he and my father always lived by the things learned back then. I was grounded in the idea "if you don't work you don't eat". Not that we never gave to charity, but that we believed you need to be willing to work for what you have. I have seen my family give cloths and food to others in need even when we barely had enough to keep ourselves going, but having the government come in and say they will be taking away what we have to give to someone who is perfectly able to work just rubs me the wrong way.

Why is it thought that the rich must pay for everything the poor need? Why isn't every single person taxed at the same rate? Wouldn't that be the fair thing to do? If you actually read the Constitution, it provides on provision for rich to be treated differently than poor. It does not state that one class should be more responsible for providing than another.

Our forefathers left Europe because there the poor were taxed heavily to support the rich, now I guess the poor are trying to exact revenge by making the rich support the poor here in America. Neither of those ideas is fair and equitable. Every person should have to stand on their own merits, and charity should come from the hearts of individuals and not be mandated by the government.

.


By JediJeb on 8/2/2010 2:31:44 PM , Rating: 2
So I guess people who make $40 per year are rich people since people making even a little below that rate of pay received those tax cuts. And when they expire, those tax rates will increase about 3%.

So if you are making somewhere in the range of $40k per year as a single filer on taxes then after December you will be looking at a 3% increase in your income taxes. The Unions may have kept all the autoworkers in jobs, but they are now going to be paying 3% more on their taxes for the privilege.


RE: Future of the US auto industry
By Quadrillity on 7/30/2010 4:30:04 PM , Rating: 1
quote:
Obama still has a while to go. His policies may or may not work

So your idea is to let Obama/congress run rampant, slinging out one HORRIBLE piece of legislation after another and just "let it run it's course"? A sh** storm in the making, and you don't so much as pick up an umbrella. Great logic ya got there.

What needs to happen: When November rolls around, the American public elect leaders that will ACTUALLY ABIDE BY THE CONSTITUTION and listen to the F****** taxpayers! Demo or Repub, most of our leaders don't lead, they dictate. This whole idea of "I know what's better for you than you know for yourself" needs to change, and it needs to change now.

Change. I want it. Now.


RE: Future of the US auto industry
By OoklaTheMok on 7/30/10, Rating: -1
RE: Future of the US auto industry
By Dorkyman on 7/30/2010 8:59:05 PM , Rating: 2
Boy, I guess we both live in different countries. The USA I lived in for the previous 8 years did pretty well. Our net worth rose considerably, we recovered after the 9/11 attack, and had jobs. The deficit was a tiny fraction of what Messiah has managed to create in just 18 months.

W was a lousy motivational speaker but a pretty good manager, and I teach management for a living. And don't bother calling him stupid; his grades at Yale were better than Kerry's.


RE: Future of the US auto industry
By spread on 7/31/2010 1:08:41 PM , Rating: 1
quote:
The deficit was a tiny fraction of what Messiah has managed to create in just 18 months.


If you completely disregard the trillions of dollars spent on two unnecessary wars.

quote:
Boy, I guess we both live in different countries.


If by that you mean a different reality, then we agree.


RE: Future of the US auto industry
By AssBall on 7/31/10, Rating: 0
RE: Future of the US auto industry
By Solandri on 7/31/2010 6:42:28 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
If you completely disregard the trillions of dollars spent on two unnecessary wars.

The cost of both wars thus far is about $1 trillion, and I would venture that fewer than 10% of voters thinks the Afghanistan war was unnecessary. Mismanaged or could be handled differently, maybe. But unnecessary? Highly unlikely. It was a direct response to the 9/11 attacks.

The Iraq war has cost a bit over $700 billion so far. The $3 trillion figure that's been bandied about for the Iraq war cost, I knew was trouble the moment I read the report. As I expected (and was probably intended), anti-war groups have latched onto the total dollar figure while completely forgetting the context. The $3 trillion estimate was for the cost of the war, plus cost of replacing destroyed military equipment, plus the cost of taking care of veterans disabled in the war for the rest of their lives. i.e. Some 50+ years worth of cost.

By that measure, it works out to ~$60 billion/year. Or put another way, our food stamp program ($55 billion in 2008 and will increase with population over 50 years) will cost about $4 trillion in the same time frame. And the expected cost of social security, medicare, and medicaid in the next 50 years will be $100-$170 trillion. Suddenly, once you apply the proper context, $3 trillion isn't really all that much.


RE: Future of the US auto industry
By Nfarce on 8/1/2010 9:41:51 PM , Rating: 2
Please don't give facts like that to anti-war moonbats. It just makes their wittle bitty heads hurt.


By corduroygt on 7/30/2010 4:58:50 PM , Rating: 2
As a working American, I get very good healthcare and I had the privilege to study in a good University with superior resources.

See, here we like to have the possibility of getting the very best of things if we're willing to work for them, instead of forcing everyone to settle for the average.


WTF????
By Spivonious on 7/30/2010 4:05:28 PM , Rating: 5
quote:
"A lot of people were skeptical. There were many who said we should just let the market take its course. Let GM go bankrupt. Let Chrysler go out of business. But I had confidence in you. I will bet on the American worker every day of the week."


GM and Chrysler DID go bankrupt!!




RE: WTF????
By mkrech on 7/30/2010 5:21:59 PM , Rating: 1
Bankruptcy or fascist takeover... not exactly the same.

In a normal bankruptcy, the laws in place are followed to ensure that the debtors are repaid as fairly and equitably as possible. Fascist political elite commandeer industry to compensate the specific groups to maintain political control.

In the case of GM and Chrysler, unsustainable union contracts and federal regulations forced them into insolvency. Then White House administration stepped in and dictated ownership changes and who would receive debt repayment. Those decisions were based on politics at the expense of the taxpayer.

So, still sound like a normal bankruptcy or a fascist agenda?


RE: WTF????
By OoklaTheMok on 7/30/10, Rating: 0
RE: WTF????
By Runiteshark on 7/30/2010 6:50:05 PM , Rating: 5
Do you just not understand how Bankruptcy works? People don't just get unemployed with it, its how private industries restructure to become competitive or become obsolete and wither away with another private company taking the shares that it lost.

Giving the UAW 61% share, and cutting out everyone else like they did was outright government takeover.


RE: WTF????
By sigmatau on 7/30/10, Rating: -1
RE: WTF????
By TSS on 7/31/2010 7:22:54 AM , Rating: 3
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/feb/13/aut...

That's posted a few months BEFORE the crisis began (that loss still eclipses the loss they incurred when the car market shrank with 40%). The last numbers i could find are from june 2009 when GM went bankrupt, they say they'll ahve about 65,000 ish people employed in the US in 2011.

Meaning they've shed atleast 45,000 jobs since, and those 65,000 remaining jobs cost about $50b taxpayer money to keep. Not to mention any further losses suffered after the bankrupcy because i'm willing to bet nobody would be willing to invest in GM after that drama.

That comes down to a $750,000 per job. Quite expensive if you look at the other government stimuli. Was it worth that?

And don't gimme any supply chain crap. The viable ones would've been picked up by the competitor since they need them to take over the gap in the market created by the loss of GM. The ones buried in debt would've gone bankrupt too, yes. As they should since their buried in debt.


RE: WTF????
By sigmatau on 7/31/10, Rating: -1
RE: WTF????
By maverick85wd on 7/31/2010 5:36:50 PM , Rating: 3
quote:
Summary The big news regarding General Motors the last few days revolves around GM's announcement that they had made a "final" $5.8 billion loan payment to the U.S. and Canadian governments on Tuesday. Two questions, however emerge. How did GM pay it back? And, what about the $50 billion bridge loan? Analysis First the bridge loan. The payments do not include the much higher loans made to the company under its former guise, being slowly wound down in the bankruptcy process. The U.S. government, which provided about $50 billion in emergency loans, holds a 60.8% stake in the new GM and $2.1 billion in preferred stock. The Canadian government and a retiree trust (UAW) also hold significant stakes. The expectation seems to be that the government will recoup the $50 billion when the company goes public later this year. However, GM's market cap has never been $50 billion (let alone 60% of it). Now to the issue of how the money was repaid. The issue came up at a hearing on Thursday when the special watchdog on the Wall Street Bailout, Neil Barofsky, was asked several times by Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE) who was looking for answers on how much money the feds night make from the controversial bailout. "Its good news they're reducing their debt," said Barofsky of the accelerated GM payments, "but they're doing it by taking other available TARP money. In other words, GM is taking money out of one pocket and putting it in the other, said Carper, who got a nod of approval from Barofsky. Seems like the way the payment is going to be made is by drawing down on the equity facility of other TARP money. Translated - they are using bailout funds from the feds to pay off their loans.


http://www.glgroup.com/News/Did-GM-Pay-Back-Its-Lo...

they did?


RE: WTF????
By sigmatau on 8/1/2010 6:11:39 PM , Rating: 2
So are you going to be still parroting the same crap when they do make the public offering and pay back the other money?

The management failed and that is what was replaced. I guess you prefer them to run the company for another 1 year before it goes into a bankruptcy that it could not come out of instead of government help.


RE: WTF????
By JediJeb on 8/2/2010 2:19:54 PM , Rating: 2
What if when the stock hits the market in a public offering it only sells for maybe $5billion? That would then leave them short $45billion and I guess that would turn into a write off of the remaining debt?

Why did the UAW even get any ownership of the company? If GM has paid their workers their wages up through the point the bankruptcy was filed, then they owed them nothing, therefore their other creditors should have been given ownership in GM before the UAW was. It is amazing how much political power the Unions have yet less than 20% of all workers are members of a union. Why does such a small fraction of the workforce get all the perks and benefits from politicians?


RE: WTF????
By sigmatau on 7/31/2010 2:45:18 PM , Rating: 2
OH and like I said above, and people can disagree all they want, but I am still right, GM would not have been able to come out of bankruptcy as a solvent company. No bank would give them any loans. Oh, and the worst CEO in history would still be in charge.


RE: WTF????
By tng on 7/30/2010 6:56:22 PM , Rating: 4
Bankruptcy would have helped GM more than what they got in the long run. As of now they have just forestalled the end when they will really have to declare bankruptcy. All for the sake of the labor unions.

Only in a real bankruptcy will GM be able to modify the union contracts enough to get the union workers on par with the standards that most of the rest of the people here in the US work under.

Most of us out here have to pay at least part of our own medical, dental and other benefits, and we don't get a promise of a huge pension just for showing up to work, we have to contribute to a IRA or 401K account. Also union workers, in my experience, make huge amounts of money for what could only be termed as semi-skilled jobs in most cases and just plain unskilled labor in some.

Why should I buy a GM vehicle? I have rented hundreds of the things over the last 14 years and all of the ones that I got that were less than 100 miles had something seriously wrong with them. Only in the past 2 years have I driven GM cars that I would consider buying and before you ask I know that rentals get abused frequently, but almost all of the other brands that I rented were good (with the exception Kia).


RE: WTF????
By Solandri on 7/30/2010 7:00:55 PM , Rating: 4
Bankruptcy doesn't mean the company is butchered, buried, and all employees let go. It means the assets are sold off to people/companies who think they can do something with those assets, and the funds from the sale used to reimburse the creditors. Chrysler and GM may have disappeared as household names; but their individual parts would have lived on, probably bought out by Ford, foreign auto companies, and people with the desire and finances to take a shot at starting a new auto company.

The number of people who would've been left unemployed by the bankruptcy would be directly proportional to how efficiently the company was already operating. The more inefficient, the less can be salvaged, and the more people would be unemployed. If 1 million people truly would've been made unemployed as you claim (I'm guessing that's the sum total of all GM, Chrysler, and supplier employees), then that means the company and its suppliers were so horrendously inefficient that we should stop its operations right now and force it back into bankruptcy rather than letting it survive another week.

I don't agree entirely with the OP's characterization of the whole thing as a union sell-out (most of the value given to unions was in pension and medical funds, and I can buy an argument that those deserved some special protection, although it's really the unions' fault for not insisting those be spun off into a separate company in the first place). But he is correct that it really wasn't a "trim the fat" type event that one would expect from a true bankruptcy.


RE: WTF????
By maverick85wd on 7/31/2010 5:53:43 PM , Rating: 1
quote:
but their individual parts would have lived on, probably bought out by Ford, foreign auto companies, and people with the desire and finances to take a shot at starting a new auto company.


yes, and now those people that didn't get a chance to buy up those pieces and try to run with them are cheated out of their chance, and consumers are cheated out of benefiting from their ideas. Oh, and taxpayers are out $50B.


RE: WTF????
By maverick85wd on 7/31/2010 5:53:47 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
but their individual parts would have lived on, probably bought out by Ford, foreign auto companies, and people with the desire and finances to take a shot at starting a new auto company.


yes, and now those people that didn't get a chance to buy up those pieces and try to run with them are cheated out of their chance, and consumers are cheated out of benefiting from their ideas. Oh, and taxpayers are out $50B.


RE: WTF????
By RGrizzzz on 7/30/2010 7:25:26 PM , Rating: 1
LOL. Fascists. I guess you think our last two presidents are fascists and so are their political parties, since bailouts occured under the last two administrations.


RE: WTF????
By KCjoker on 7/30/10, Rating: -1
RE: WTF????
By CharonPDX on 7/30/10, Rating: 0
Heh
By Proxes on 7/30/2010 3:33:52 PM , Rating: 4
Almost every picture of a Volt that I've seen up to this point the car has been silver. The first picture of a black one I see is the one they give Obama to drive.




RE: Heh
By Quadrillity on 7/30/2010 4:02:44 PM , Rating: 2
Lmfao! I did not even notice until you said that; brilliant catch!


RE: Heh
By Jedi2155 on 7/30/2010 7:24:48 PM , Rating: 2
There's been plenty of pictures of the Volt in black, light green, red, brown and silver. You just weren't paying attention to the Volt news very much.


RE: Heh
By Dorkyman on 7/30/2010 8:28:21 PM , Rating: 1
The logic fails. The car should have been brown. Or brown and white.


RE: Heh
By Jeffk464 on 7/31/2010 2:26:31 PM , Rating: 1
I love the styling on this thing, it would also look good in dark gray. I am a fan of high lid hatchbacks like this one and have to say this has got to be the best looking one on the market. The Honda Crosstour probably has more cargo room but the styling is ten times better on this car. I would take one in a second with GM's 2.4L 6spd Auto power train. With a standard power train this thing would probably go for around $20,000 and still get good mileage.


awwww too bad Barry
By shin0bi272 on 7/31/2010 4:07:55 PM , Rating: 1
Too bad the nissan leaf gets 100mi to a charge and it sells for 32k.

But he's pulled GM back from the brink right lefties? He saved the world from collapse by spending us into a bigger hole and restructuring the payment structure of companies so that the UNIONS get paid first then the normal stock holders then the bond holders (bond holders are people who gave their own money to the company and are supposed to get paid first). Forget about the fact that hes surrounded himself with communists and radical revolutionaries that want to end captialism and replace it with socialism... he's just a regular guy right? yeah sure...




RE: awwww too bad Barry
By Spuke on 7/31/2010 11:49:57 PM , Rating: 3
quote:
Too bad the nissan leaf gets 100mi to a charge and it sells for 32k.
There sure are a LOT of idiots that STILL don't know sh!t about the Volt.


Is Chrysler still a US company
By BZDTemp on 8/1/2010 6:24:16 PM , Rating: 2
Isn't it a Italian company with factories in the US?

If not are we calling Toyota a US company now?




We the People
By 225commander on 8/2/2010 1:25:55 PM , Rating: 2
Folks, its really a simple concept - Divide and Conquer
This isn't your daddy's Demo Party, this is a whole new animal dressed in a Demo Coat.
From the comments I am reading here its working fantastically. All the policies, finger pointing, ra ce baiting, social and economic 'justice', et al, you see going on is designed to do just that. Its an assault on what we call American Exceptional-ism and seems to be designed to 'take us down a notch' from being the #1 super power. United we stand, Divided we fall.




His company
By Ammohunt on 7/30/2010 4:02:44 PM , Rating: 1
Well of course he is going to prop up GM products its his company.




Ugh
By YashBudini on 7/30/10, Rating: 0
GM, layars and ..others
By vladio on 7/30/10, Rating: -1
RE: GM, layars and ..others
By OoklaTheMok on 7/30/2010 6:08:14 PM , Rating: 2
Spelling is even easier...


Wow
By phantom505 on 7/30/10, Rating: -1
RE: Wow
By BAFrayd on 7/30/2010 3:40:22 PM , Rating: 1
quote:
Republicans are the ones that are suppose to in sack with business

This is the kind of brainwashed political ignorance that gets us an unqualified puppet like Bush/Obama for president.


RE: Wow
By MonkeyPaw on 7/30/2010 4:34:05 PM , Rating: 1
Yeah, we need to scrutinize all of these politicians. This is the same guy that scolds CEOs for making profits, yet today he's driving a Volt off the line and taking credit for saving a company that was run into the ground by overpriced labor, lackluster design, and questionable quality. This guy is the biggest ego-maniac I've ever seen this side of Hollywood or a sports team.

I was a big GM fan back in high school, and I can't count the number of times they claimed their newest models would "fix the quality issues." After so many times, I just can't believe their promises anymore. And yes, Americans can build great cars, they just do it at the auto plants that the Japanese built here.


RE: Wow
By rburnham on 8/3/2010 12:58:16 PM , Rating: 2
Thank you for pointing out that there are unqualified people in both parties. The problems in this country are not the fault of any one party, company or entity.


RE: Wow
By adiposity on 7/30/2010 3:40:40 PM , Rating: 2
Democrats love the auto unions.


RE: Wow
By rika13 on 7/30/2010 5:17:50 PM , Rating: 2
thats why union shops dont have to provide health care for a few more years than non-union shops


RE: Wow
By whoisme on 7/30/10, Rating: 0
RE: Wow
By YashBudini on 7/30/2010 6:14:11 PM , Rating: 1
Would it make more sense if he condemned the car?


RE: Wow
By Stuka on 7/30/2010 6:17:08 PM , Rating: 2
His billions of dollars have pushed technology that is unproven to market ahead of its time, requiring the government to pay millions more dollars to convince the public that this premature technology is sound. It's PR and nothing more. There is no candy coating, just a bitter pill that deteriorates your liver to dull your elbow pain.


RE: Wow
By Stoanhart on 7/30/2010 7:02:17 PM , Rating: 1
Yeah, shit, electric motors are so new. If only we'd had about a century and a half to get some experience with them. And generating electricity from fossil fuels? Don't even get me stared! Where do they dream this stuff up?


RE: Wow
By AssBall on 7/31/2010 4:35:40 PM , Rating: 2
I'd like to see you make a realistic electric passenger vehicle that passes safety, reliability, and environmental standards, with a reasonable price for the market it is intended for.

See you in a century and a half, when the volt is not a the automotive equivalent of a subsidized i-phone.


RE: Wow
By bobny1 on 7/30/2010 7:18:23 PM , Rating: 2
Obama test drove the Volt?. I'm sure all politicians in washington have already reserved one. At 41k + price tag they maybe the only ones to afford it. Get real Man!. Invest the money into mass serving technology. If you realy want to make a different...;(


RE: Wow
By Lerianis on 8/1/2010 11:58:31 AM , Rating: 2
The prices aren't going to come down for those cars until they are the ONLY cars on the market, unfortunately.

I would support a mandate that ALL cars had to be hybrids that are sold NEXT YEAR, excepting ones already on dealers lots.


RE: Wow
By cmdrdredd on 7/31/2010 12:42:30 PM , Rating: 3
quote:
I don't understand what you mean. Hes simply seeing what the bailout has done for the company, and showing pride in what an American company has accomplished. If I were President I would sure as heck wanna see if the billions of dollars my administration (and the democrats) had given actually did anything.


Um... example = Ford. They took NO money from the government and currently have the #1 rated car, cars that get better mileage, are more innovative and stylish, are making more money than Chrystler or GM and oh what's that? They took no money from the government handout. Yeah...


RE: Wow
By CowKing on 8/2/2010 1:07:00 AM , Rating: 2
couldn't it be that GM and Chrystler just REALLY suck at making cars?


"We don't know how to make a $500 computer that's not a piece of junk." -- Apple CEO Steve Jobs











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