How I hate him. >:(

I love how people have convinced themselves that the people running these companies are the same people who made business plan decisions in 1997. I don’t know about you, but I’ve had three different jobs since then. And the people running the Big Three are not the same folks who were there then. The idiots are all either dead or golfing. The people running places like Ford now come from places like Boeing and Toyota. A car cycle plan takes at least five years, from conception to engineering to running the line. The decisions these people make will lead to innovations. We can help them ride out the financial crisis (that was none of their making, your aunt who bought the house she couldn’t afford is more responsible) and see their visions come to life or we can just listen to the madness of the hoard and let a few million people lose their jobs. Of course, change will come. We should apply some wisdom to that change. And yes, ride your bike to work if you can.

Don’t be mad at Toyota for having good business sense. Be mad at the idiots running the Big 3 who’ve convinced themselves that Americans won’t buy small, efficient cars–a delusion so powerful that even though they could sell their thrifty Euro models here, they won’t.

Also, be mad at Toyota for continuing to push silly vehicles, when they’re patently unnecessary.

But by all means let Fort et al. continue to run themselves in the ground.

Disclosure: I live in the Republic of Boulder, and don’t own a car; I do own three bikes though :)

online retailer != tech company

If you design and build computer chips, you’re a tech company. If you write and sell software, you’re a tech company. If you sell pet food, you’re a pet food company. Just because you need tech people (i.e. web developers) in order to run your business, does not make you a tech company.

But part of me is happy that a huge insurance company got the money. I mean, that’s like ten times more perverse than anything in Saw V.

Actually, in all seriosnes, I remember back in the 80′s there was an idea on the table to simply levy larger import duties on imported cars in order to keep American ones cost competitive. Wouldn’t this solve both our problems at once?

Because domestic auto companies will just increase their prices to match the artificially expensive price of imported cars. Auto companies (domestic and foreign) win, but consumers lose.

For example, assume a comparable domestic and imported car both sold for say $20K. If the imported cars price is raised to $25K (after import duties), why would the domestic auto maker continue to sell its car for $20K when it could sell it for $24K.

Can I get my Hummer military spec, with a .50 caliber machine gun ring up top, so when things go all Road Warrior and stuff, I’m already geared up?!

It’s time for America to do the same with SUVs.

No, we hate our domestic car companies for making SUV’s and big trucks the core of their business plan, to such an extent that the punch in the nose they received when gas prices rose should’ve been seen coming from a mile away. We hate them because they learned absolutely nothing from the 70s, when gas prices shot up and instead of building smaller, more efficient vehicles they kept pumping out giant gas guzzlers, allowing the Japanese to eat their lunch.

Don’t be mad at Toyota for having good business sense. Be mad at the idiots running the Big 3 who’ve convinced themselves that Americans won’t buy small, efficient cars–a delusion so powerful that even though they could sell their thrifty Euro models here, they won’t.

The difference is that the SUV costs less. Granted, the upolstery and woodwork aren’t as good as the casket, but you feel less ridiculous about sticking it in the ground before you’re even finished paying for it.

Management offered some people free travel and housing to Indianapolis, from San Francisco. And they went. I tried to talk them out of it, just pulled up the stock chart for PETS and pointed at it, but they went anyway. A week later Pets.com was out of business.

Free shipping on a 50 lb bag of dog food to Alaska is NOT a good business model.

We should also consider using wheeless SUVs as inmate housing.

Then let’s use just our taxes to pay those 2 million people to do nothing. It’s better than giving the automakers the false impression that anyone wants the awful cars they make.

Actually, in all seriosnes, I remember back in the 80′s there was an idea on the table to simply levy larger import duties on imported cars in order to keep American ones cost competitive. Wouldn’t this solve both our problems at once?

(Except for the fact that then the big 2.5 wouldn’t have any reason to make competitive cars)

Instead of giving taxpayer’s money directly to the automakers, why not pass a law that requiring every US citizen of driving age to buy a Hummer, Tahoe, or F250?

With the exception of the US citizenship requirement, that’s Obama’s plan for the Korea-US FTA.

Like the ancient kings, they’d be buried with favorite belongings (gun rack), religious symbols (plastic Jesus), and (Super-Sized) food to eat in the afterlife. The “Mission Accomplished” bumper sticker proclaims their success in life.

No, I doubt this will work because then foraign automakers will just build cars in the US using evil robots rather then union workers. Honda and Toyota are already manufacturing mostly in Canada, and it’s not like you can make a “not a Ford” tax.

Waste not; want not.