I’m having a purple patch with my writing. Another of my articles has been published at Pajamas Media: “The GM Volt: Fascism Strikes the Auto Industry.” For my loyal readers here at NOT PC, here's an excerpt:
Your comments are invited, both here and there.Whether the American taxpayers get their money’s worth out of the investment, which they won’t, is beside the point. The precedent has been set for a massive public-private partnership in the auto industry, which can easily spread to other industries (and already has).
Granted, Chrysler gets partial credit for that precedent, owing to its $1.5 billion loan in 1980. Giving credit where it’s due, Chrysler’s loan did get paid back. But several things are different now that raise the Volt fiasco to a new level.
Thanks,
Jeff
2 comments:
I hope you remember we humble toilers in the field when you're rich and famous and riding around in your Lear Jet, Jeff. :-)
Congrats on another publishing success.
GM are basically a state-owned company (in the same mode as Air N.Z) and owe their very existence to the U.S tax-payer. The largest shareholder is the U.S Treasury – so why shouldn’t their owners get a say in what they produce?
But let’s be honest they could make a solar-car in America, sell it for USD 1000 at your local Walmart and it would still not be value for money.
With few exceptions, the Yanks don’t produce good, cheap and reliable cars when stacked-up against their Japanese/Asian competition. Nowadays Hyundai even come-out higher in terms of reliability, and they didn’t start making cars till 1967.
The American motoring industry relies on consumer patriotism to override common sense and tax-payer subsidies to save them from total extinction (pity really our roads here in N.Z would be better-off without GM and Chevs)
My bet is The Japs will come up with a car that ‘will spank’ the Volt making this argument academic.
Don’t get me on to the subject of crappy British cars either!
So when GM become a true car capitalist company in the same mold as say Toyota - they can get a say in what cars they make and the consumers they are targeting.
Till then they should do as their masters say.
Cheers.
Paul.
Post a Comment