Bailing Out the Canyonero

Posted on 11/09/2008 at 5:32 pm by Bob Cesca

I don’t like the smell of the auto-maker bailout. These are companies that deliberately ignored fuel efficiency while continuing to produce ridiculously gigantic penis-compensators. General Motors in particular is facing bankruptcy, yet they killed the EV1 electric car a decade ago, and they’re responsible for the Escalade. Smart!

So we’re supposed to bail them out? Obviously, saving the hundreds of thousands of jobs is important, but if we do this, there have to be conditions: 1) no more outsourcing, 2) no more Escalades, Hummers and the like. That’s a fair trade off, no?

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  • http://obamaproject.windonwater.net QueenTiye

    I was going to shamefacedly admit to loving the escalade… but the hummer is an abomination to the face of the earth – being neither nice to look at, fuel-efficient, nor anything at all like the vehicle it’s supposed to look like – and furthermore promoting the macho militaristic culture with the aim of fueling our wars with lots of fodder… So… crush them! Crush them without pity and without mercy!OTOH, I am really looking forward to their electric car. If we bail them out, maybe we can make sure all the money goes to that project?QT

  • kansasdem

    Something that miffed me to no end was the huge tax break for buying SUV’s! I think that was about 2002, anyway it was the kind of stupidity that only Bush and Cheney could come up with.I actually knew of two businesses, one a hardware store and the other a floral shop, that changed from using much more energy efficient mini-vans to using Suburbans!Stupid, stupid, stupid!I trust Obama to fix it! What happens before January 20th is a different story!

  • rixxk

    What the carmakers need as well as every local taxing body, including school districts need is to have the exorbitant health care costs removed from their budgets. The carmakers spend more on health benefits than on steel. Large and small city, county and township governments spend most of their budgets on health care. And, how many teachers strikes would be avoided by removing health care from negotiations ?Solve health care and you solve a lot of other problems.And if all else fails, make bank, financial and pharmaceutical executives, federal employees. That should take care of those bonuses and get that credit roadblock unclogged.

  • http://www.osborneink.com Matt Osborne

    This is an opportunity to put GM over the barrel head and get exactly these concessions, Bob. I’d go further and tell Detroit they can only have a bailout if they (1) Develop non-gasoline engines by 2012 (2) get to 40 MPG by 2014.All this talk about the hummer takes me back to the motor pool… The biggest scandal about that vehicle isn’t its looks or its mileage, but its price tag. Taxpayers lay out $60,000 for their sons and daughters to go to war in a stripped-down version of this vehicle — no sound system or A/C, a 3-speed transmission, cheap plastic doors. But the civilian version comes with all the comforts of home for $50,000. The US Army pays three times the market rates for spare parts. I’d venture that procurement scams account for more taxpayer dollars down the drain than earmarks ever did.

  • bertkamp16

    I couldn’t agree more, Bob. This proposed bailout for the auto industry sounds fishy as hell. Auto manufacturers have had since the late 70′s to get the ball rolling on improved fuel efficiency standards.

  • http://obamaproject.windonwater.net QueenTiye

    Who are all these invisible commenters? I keep showing up to see what they’ve said, and they keep not being here. :( QT

  • El Mystico

    Exactly, bertkamp. We need to look out for the people more than the industries because 1, I’m a dirty commie, and 2, they did it to themselves. The workers did their jobs in good faith. The people in charge wanted an open market, with no fuel efficiency standards so they could sell big, expensive, inefficient cars. Which is great so long as the economy is always good and oil prices are low. And now they want to be bailed out. You wonder whether these people know that they’re…y’know… assholes, or if they just don’t care.

  • dontpanic23

    QT, FINALLY someone else sees that. I’ll see the count–and it’s rare but baffling–of say, 6 comments and I look and there are 2. I wonder if they are troll-attacks that were removed or if I’m just losing my mind (and now you are) or if comments are being made but haven’t posted. Feeling a little more sane (or at least not alone) now. Whew.

  • anemone17

    Just slightly off topic, but perhaps relevant nonetheless…Here in Los Angeles, in the weeks before the election, the cars most likely to be sporting McCain/Palin stickers were Escalades, Lincoln Navigators, and monstrously large Ford pickups. In other words, big American cars.The ones most likely to have Obama/Biden stickers were Toyotas, any kind of hybrid–practically every Prius had one; big surprise there–Hondas, Hyundais, and Lexuses. In other words, fuel efficent imports.Occasionally you’d see a Ford Explorer for Obama, or a Camry for McCain, but not that often.At first this was a random observation, a way to pass time during those annoying long Air America commercial spots, but wherever I drove–even once through all of Orange County–the theory held.(Yes, I spend WAAAAY too much time in the car. Viva L.A.)

  • http://obamaproject.windonwater.net QueenTiye

    anemone17: time for a bike! ;) Yeah. I’m in a contrary mood today, it seems. I was looking at an article about plugins, and got depressed. While I have hated every SUV I’ve ever seen (Escalade excepted. Sorry!), I’ve also always hated two seaters. My philosophy has always been that cars ought to have enough room for kids, and for picking up the neighbors kids, and giving old ladies rides to wherever… In short, I’ve always seen the two-seater as inherently selfish, and detested those who drove them. Now all of a sudden the kindest to the environment cars are all two seaters, too small to do anything but get two people from point a to point b. I wonder what families are supposed to do in this new world.DP – thanks for validating. Oddly, when I complained, all of a sudden, everyone appeared. I think Bob’s playing tricks on us.QT

  • MatthewN

    Those to whom this post makes no sense, please ignore.To those who have been helping me over the last 48 hours or so, I just wanted to post my thanks, and an update.What I had left in the medicine chest went down the toilet about an hour ago.Turns out the support of a community of total strangers can help.I honestly don’t have the words to express what I’m feeling now.Thank you allMatthew

  • ceu

    I hesitate to ask but…what happened to the $25 billion we’ve already given them?

  • Tanya42

    Shopping spree, ceu! Woot!

  • anemone17

    Matthew,Your post doesn’t make sense to me, but I don’t want to ignore it. If you’re saying what I think you’re saying, I think you’re incredibly brave, and I’m so very, very happy that people here were able to help you. Sometimes the internet can offer people unexpected ways to show they care. Blessings to you on this brand new day.Hope (That’s my real name. Seriously.)

  • http://obamaproject.windonwater.net QueenTiye

    Yay, Matthew! :) I’m so happy to hear that news! Stay in touch, you hear?QT

  • http://www.osborneink.com Matt Osborne

    @MatthewN: Who da man?! WHO DA MAN?!

  • bibimimi

    Can you name the truck with four wheel drive,Smells like a steak, and seats thirty five?Canyonero! Canyonero!Well, it goes real slow with the hammer downIt’s the country-fried truck endorsed by a clownCanyonero! Canyonero!Hey, hey!Twelve yards long, two lanes wide,Sixty five tons of American pride!Canyonero! Canyonero!Top of the line in utility sports,Unexplained fires are a matter for the courts!Canyonero! Canyonero!She blinds everybody with her super high beamsShe’s a squirrel-squashin’, deer-smackin’ drivin’ machineCanyonero! Canyonero! Canyonero!Whoa, Canyonero! Whoooooaaaa!

  • bibimimi

    Maathew;Congratulations on dumping the temptress.Find yourself a pain doctor and a good massage therapist.

  • Poleezz

    It is absolutely essential to bail out the auto-makers. They are the largest employers in the country. There should be conditions and I think they know they must start to manufacture cars people will buy. I mean really isn’t that the problem? No one is buying their cars and trucks because no one can afford to drive them. The Green Initiative is going to have to spell these things out.

  • Arghun

    I was having some very similar thoughts myself when it came to the bailout idea for the auto folks. Mandates for better and more fuel efficient vehicles, more hybrids at better prices, and alternative fuel models.It might sound kind of conspiracy theoryish of me, but I’d be more than willing to bet that between the car manufacturers and oil companies, there have been any number of advances in areas of efficiency and alternatives, that have been patented and hidden away because it would eat into profit margins. Never forget for an instant that these greedy bastages only care about money in the end. The people, the planet… meh, who cares? They dangle milage rates of 30mpg like some kind of shiny carrot. I recall cars that would get over 50mpg less than 20 years ago. Remember the Geo Metro? Cheap and efficient, it didn’t take off as well as it should because it was small and unattractive.My advice would be to have some folks that have the economy and the planet in mind to start raiding the patent office and finding who owns the rights to the really good ideas in the areas of energy sources and transportation and lay down some pressure to have this stuff researched and properly developed. Either than or have the government buy up the unused patents and have the tech developed and produced some other way if corporate America won’t play ball.In any event there really is no reason that we can’t have even large vehicles that are also fuel efficient. It just isn’t profitable for GM and Exxon if they are. These goons really have done their best to make the biggest, least reliable, most inefficient vehicles also be the most expensive and “luxurious”. The smaller, cheaper cars tend to be more reliable and more efficient, but also tend to be consistently the most esthetically unpleasant.Then again what does is say about the general sensibilities of the consumer populace when it is somehow considered to be a good thing and full of high status, to be envied by all, if you can afford to drive around in a huge, overpriced piece of crap that gets two gallons per mile.Ah well.. I’ll lay off my rant for now. I’m at work. Gotta make da money to keep paying for my Kia.

  • http://livefreeordie08.wordpress.com LiveFreeOrDie08

    @Arghun:GREAT post! I completely agree. This is the moment when we dig into the patent records and free up so many thousands of phenomenal ideas that have been buried by Corp America. To make this easy, I suggest that as condition of any bailout the Govt. takes ALL patents into receivership until the debt is fully repaid. All patents become “declassified” and publicly licensable. So, for instance, if the Govt. takes stewardship of the patent for a low-weight high output battery, any company willing to pay the licensing fees can have access to the technology, and the revenues go to the US Govt. These fees (imo) would not be accrued against the loan balance either, this would be pure profit to the Govt. and provide motivation for the Corporation to clear the loan and regain control of their patent portfolio.This really should be done. It would blow your mind how many ideas get buried that would revolutionize our energy consumption practices.

  • http://livefreeordie08.wordpress.com LiveFreeOrDie08

    @Matt:Congratulations! You are the change you’ve been hoping for!

  • solrac2002

    Just slightly off topic, but perhaps relevant nonetheless…++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++I thought I was the only one who noticed.

  • solrac2002

    This really should be done. It would blow your mind how many ideas get buried that would revolutionize our energy consumption practices.+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++Great idea..but the Lobbyist will have their way with congress.

  • FrictionSoul

    QT and othersHow the dbase and sessions handle the front page is different than it handles the comments in the actual page. Bob probably is deleting comments from trolls who cling bitterly to their belief systems, but more likely you haven’t emptied your browsers cache, and even then each browser is different.And even then, it’s TypeKey. It keeps on sucking.

  • Andhakari

    Don’t bail ‘em out. Buy ‘em out.As long as it’s only about the money, they’ll be wanting to build heavy gas hogs with lots of add-ons and higher profit margins per vehicle.Most of what GM builds is crap. Switch them to high mileage and electric safe cars and dump the pickups and monster SUVs. An American VW bug!Here in Norway you rarely see a pickup truck, but lots of people have little utility trailers for those occasions when you need to haul something. Even with all of our snow, you don’t see all that many SUVs, and rarely a big one.And gas costs about 2 bucks a QUART!

  • http://www.webdunce.blogspot.com webdunce

    In a perfect world, the oil companies would be forced to bail out the auto industry. After all, it’s big oil that’s called the shots in Detroit for decades.

  • KenInCO

    I would much rather see the money go to start-ups like Tesla and Aptera. Give them the billions to ramp up production and bring down costs instead of giving the money to failed companies that dug their own graves. The start-ups could be required to re-tool shuttered factories in the rust belt and hire laid of GM, Ford and Chrysler employees in order to qualify for federal money. Problem solved!