Going green is the simple solution to Detroit's woes, according to NBC "Nightly News."
"[W]ith gas prices up and global warming at the forefront, Americans are looking for better mileage and cleaner cars these days," said anchor Brian Williams, broadcasting on July 24 from the Motor City.
NBC correspondent Kevin Tibbles promoted Ford's "experimental green fleet of the future" which includes a hydrogen/electric car. Tibbles also celebrated GM vice president Bob Lutz' green ideas.
"And while analysts predict it could take five years for Detroit to pull even [with Japan in the production of hybrid vehicles], Lutz doesn’t think it’s too little, too late," Tibbles said.
"It [going green] may not be easy, but for Detroit, it’s essential," he continued.
The NBC report downplayed the extent of Detroit's economic troubles. The city has seen a 26-percent population decline since 1980 and 31 percent of its current residents live below the poverty line according to Census data.
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if Detroit built cars
July 25, 2007 - 18:21 ET by Lame Cherryand if Detroit built cars instead of running a communist employment operation of benefits it wouldn't have to be saved.
The thing that destroyed the US auto industry is benefits, OSHA and those lovely Congressional mandates which Toyota doesn't have to deal with.
I hope this point is read by all:
My brother in law had a few years ago a 6 cylinder Chevy Lumina which got 50 mpg. He was astounded and asked around and sure enough several of these Luminas were around in the Minnesota area while others were in the 30 gallon range. His kids wrecked the car so that was that, but there was a Chevy getting 50 mpg which Detroit was making and in enough numbers that it wasn't a mistake. They just weren't shipping all of them.
So the point is Detroit can make vehicles with high gas mileage and instead for it's reasons (remember government makes a huge check off of each gallon of gas so they are in the business of wanting cars to burn gas no matter what Waxman might tell you) is screwing the American public over.
This isn't some theory or some car running on water, but there were Chevy Lumina cars getting 50 mpg. Never will hear NBC cover that story or investigate it though.
*HIC IACET ARTORIVS REX QVONDAM REXQVE FVTVRVS
I absolutely agree with
July 25, 2007 - 18:27 ET by Gat New YorkI absolutely agree with your points. I would add that at one point quality was not #1 (i.e. the K cars). Also they have had aesthetic design issues as well. Chrysler and Chevy have vastly improved that. The rest is old reputations and poor marketing.
Over the past 10 years the best car I had was a Lincoln LS and the worst was a Mercedes E.
the Chevy midsize and other
July 25, 2007 - 19:05 ET by UndercoverConservativethe Chevy midsize and other cars that got high 40's in MPG were European models before the newest EU (CARB?) emissions rulings were made. They had absolutely *none* of the emissions control crap, modified computers (because running rich produces cooler burn and less NO2, but at a waste of fuel) or mileage choking catalytic devices forcing the engine to waste most of it's power. These cars are as illegal as hell in America. Servicemen I knew overseas were getting 50MPG because a gallon of gas is actually a gallon of gas-not "cleaner" additives, lead replacement stuff, artifacts from refining, or reduced energy alcohol. Strip the EPA mandated stuff off, calibrate the computer right, and you're set.
Just like the turbodiesel Jeep engine you cannot buy because it's not approved in CA-hauls a big 4 door SUV around, tows a trailer uphill and still gets over 35MPG. Don't make the mistake of blaming the "Oil Industry". Blame the ecofreaks who refuse to understand "the law of unintended consequences" and cause more trouble with feel-good short term fix legislation than doing the efficient and properly researched thing.
What you're saying about
July 26, 2007 - 08:31 ET by dscottWhat you're saying about the emissions controls makes sense, motorcycles get great gas mileage, they don't have emissions controls due to size constraints and yet they supposedly pollute as much as 15 cars (like the gas lawn mower). Some dispute that figure and put it more like 5 to 8 times. http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/2007/07/are-electric-mo.html
It is interesting that high mpg engines polluting less is apparently a myth and rather counter-intuitive.
“The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane"
The biggest myth is that
July 26, 2007 - 16:30 ET by SoftRightThe biggest myth is that the "electric" cars of the future will be pollution free! HA!!! All an electric car does is shift the exhaust pipe from the back of the car to the exhaust stack of the nearest coal power plant...... big improvement (NOT). Unless you live near Chicago where the majority of their power is nuclear, then an electric car would actually reduce airborne pollutants and only produce concentrated radioactive waste that can be easily contained as opposed to dumped into the air......
This is true, it is
July 26, 2007 - 16:44 ET by dscottThis is true, it is shifting from the tail pipe to the smoke stack, however, the electric car can not become a viable alternative until there is a significant ramp up of new power plants. Just as you can thank the eco-nuts and their pandering friends the Dems for blocking refinery construction you can also thank them for blocking new power plants. Can you imagine the night time load on the present electric system equal to the daytime load? Guess what happens to electric rates in that event???? Here's a hint, do time of use customers pay more or less for peak hour electric use? What's the typical % difference??? Unless a slew of nuclear power plants are built soon, the electric car will do for electric bills what ethanol has done for the price of corn and everything based on corn byproducts. Yeap, that's right we're screwed again. Thanks alot Dems.
“The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane"
One solution might be
July 26, 2007 - 16:58 ET by sarcasmoOne solution might be modular (hopefully privately-owned and easy to license) pebble bed reactors, especially close to the shores of oceans where their waste heat can also be used for distilling H2O. Our national problem is that once-again the Chinese are acting more-capitalist than this country. My solution is to attempt to elect an actual capitalist for once.
JMR
I'm going to agree with you
July 26, 2007 - 19:19 ET by dscottI'm going to agree with you on the nuke reactor issue, it solves a lot of problems, now only if the breeder reactor program would be restarted we would have a winning scenerio by closing the loop on fuel rods and reduce the amount of nuclear waste that would need to be stored. You know which genius cancelled the breeder reactor program??? That would be the smartest idiot in the world - Jimmy Carter. You know why? Get this, he wanted to make sure we the US didn't contribute to nuclear proliferation!!! Ok, when does any US nuke plant sell it's spent rods to anyone outside the US???? The world's smartest idiot.
“The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane"
}}}----> 50 MPG Lumina
July 26, 2007 - 02:53 ET by Cool ArrowI'm pretty sure that was the same 3cyl Toyota engine used in the GEO.
Whatever happen to The Geo
July 26, 2007 - 03:11 ET by Free StinkerWhatever happen to The Geo Trio? ;-)
This is an odd report given
July 25, 2007 - 18:39 ET by jdhawkThis is an odd report given that Honda, Japan's 2d largest car manufacturer announced just last month that they were shelving the Honda Accord Hybrid and were not planning on making a hybrid model when they rolled out the new Accord next year due to - yes, you guessed it - lack of sales.
Despite AlBore's druggy son reportedly achieving 100 mph in a Toyota Prius before being apprehended by police, hybrids do not have a lot of pickup, are dead slow with a family of four on board, are expensive to begin with, kept any length of time could be extraordinarily expensive and there may be a whopping disposal fee for these oddities at their end of life.
IIRC they were actually
July 25, 2007 - 19:10 ET by UndercoverConservativeIIRC they were actually going to redesign the Honda Hybrid. Why? Because currently it looks *exactly* like a non-hybrid Honda Civic. Why is this important? Because if it doesn't *look* like a hybrid, be recognized by the unwashed as a hybrid, you can't wave around your environmentalist wang and show off your carbon supremacy. It's all about vanity, looking like you're doing the right thing, not actually doing it. Otherwise the old Chevy Sprint/Geo Metro 1000cc/5spd that got (as measured in mine-48mpg average city/hwy-and no toxic batteries) would be the vehicle of choice for Algoreans racing thru California as they run their dope and pills. Course the Metro didn't do a hundred, so the short attention span folks might forget what protest they were told to run to if the trip between SanFran and LA takes too long.
Kevin at NBC needs to Buy him a Dealership......
July 25, 2007 - 18:40 ET by JayTeeKevin needs to Quit his Day Job and Buy Himself a GM dealership, and bet his life savings that GM can Catch Toyota, after 20 years of losing market share to Toyota. Then he can Go back to Journalism after his GM Dealership Folds and become a Loser again as a Journalist.
Someone buy Stock based upon Kevin's Analysis of the Situation ........ but FIRST... be sure and check his Credentials as a Financial Manager, Auto Industry Expert, and his Inability to hold down any other job in the free World, besides being a Journalist.
NBC just made someone who Thinks Bush was behind 911 invest all their money in GM......following a REAL news Lead that NBC has shared with Granny Jones.
Poor Granny, watching too many experts on TV.
What good is a Free Press, if it is a False Press ? David Foote GoE
I must be reading this all wrong
July 25, 2007 - 20:58 ET by FastEdYears ago I had a British Racing GREEN Corvette ('68). Good on the highway, but it's biggest claim to fame was that it could pass everything on the road, 'cept a gas station. How is green supposed to be good for everyone??
There is no sense in being stupid, if you can't prove it! - my dad V
Fast Ed, That's a riot!
July 25, 2007 - 21:03 ET by BlondeFast Ed,
That's a riot! My very first car was a British Racing GREEN Opel GT....the poor woman's Corvette...and a piece of Eurotrash.
The engine was German, the body parts were French, it ran on, um, actually, it didn't run. It was cute, and probably caused my penchant for two seat autos.
I'll never drive anything with less than a V8 ever again. Once was enough.
A UFO in every garage
July 25, 2007 - 21:14 ET by nkviking75Why not advocate that Detroit get into making personal flying saucers for all of us? It would be about as practical.
Why does everything with environmentalists hinge on chasing some fantasy technology that may not be ready for decades, if it works at all?
When you put the clowns in charge, don't be surprised when a circus breaks out.
Green Cars only save in city driving!
July 25, 2007 - 22:21 ET by PawpawNNote that the so-called Green Cars only get better mileage in city driving. And how many Prius have been recalled? What is the cost to replace batteries? Where do you dispose of the old batteries? Are they harmful to the environment? How many Escape Hybrids recalled?
Paw, there was a study . .
July 25, 2007 - 22:29 ET by FastEdand it was here on NB, that the Hummer was more green over its life span, then the Prius. Has to do with all the manufacturing and transportation costs attributed to its manufacture. Most of its (Prius) components are manufactured "un-green", yet it is held up as the savior for the environ wakos.
There is no sense in being stupid, if you can't prove it! - my dad V
Batteries
July 25, 2007 - 22:43 ET by PawpawNI've heard the batteries don't last long and can't be recycled!
I spent a number of years
July 26, 2007 - 10:07 ET by danboI spent a number of years working in government, as a manager. There were so many conditions you had to meet in buying something. To prove that you weren't taking the money. To prove it was "competitive bid". That you weren't discriminating against anyone; that whatever you bought, as a rule, cost twice as much as it would if you'd just let your fingers do the walking. And that doesn't include the cost of staff time. Which is a lot more.
I'm getting the same feeling here.
I can see them forcing us to buy a car that doesn't work. That no body wants. Cost a lot more money. And I can see a lof of junk cars piling up in peoples yards. because thay won't want to pay the disposal fee when the car finally die after 50,000 miles.
Whoever undertakes to set himself up as a judge of truth and knowledge will be shipwrecked by the laughter of the Gods. Albert Einstein
Gas prices are going down; I
July 25, 2007 - 22:27 ET by robert108Gas prices are going down; I filled up for $2.96/gal this morning. When the premise is false, the conclusion is bunk.
Here in Jersey . .
July 25, 2007 - 22:30 ET by FastEdwe can get regular at $2.65, but you have to look for it.
There is no sense in being stupid, if you can't prove it! - my dad V
You must be in South
July 26, 2007 - 08:22 ET by dscottYou must be in South Jersey. Here in Florida gas is $2.78
“The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane"
Actually almost Central
July 26, 2007 - 08:45 ET by FastEdon the Rt. 1 corridor, between the GSP and Rt. 18.
There is no sense in being stupid, if you can't prove it! - my dad V
I used to live down that
July 26, 2007 - 08:49 ET by dscottI used to live down that way many eons ago in the Somers Point/Atlantic County area.
“The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane"
Although an improved
July 26, 2007 - 09:27 ET by TotheRightofReaganAlthough an improved automotive industry would help out Detroit/Michigan greatly, an improved Governor would be of great help as well. The governor is looking to basically tax everything and anything to fill the billion dollar defecit. Of course she still blames Bush and the former Republican governor from five years ago!
There are some options on the table in the latest union talks with the "Big Three" that could push retiree healthcare expenses over to the union as opposed to being on the books for the auto manufacturers. This would help GM especially since there expenses on retiree healthcare could are more then the GDP of some small countries.
Personally, I tell my "green friends" they are hypocrits for owning a car or riding in one. I also haven't seen my friends protest when we drive North on our golf outing. Amazing how they want to enjoy the comfort of a big SUV as opposed to be squished into an "eco-friendly-kindaish" car for a long car trip. Libocrits!
“Above all, we must realize that no arsenal, or no weapon in the arsenals of the world, is so formidable as the will and moral courage of free men and women. It is a weapon our adversaries in today's world do not have. “ – Ronald Reagan
Levin and Stabenow
July 26, 2007 - 11:44 ET by mikebromoAnd don't forget our lefists Senators who voted no to drilling for oil in ANWR.
Hey Jennifer, Go tax yourself.
I prefer to call them Lenin
July 26, 2007 - 13:33 ET by TotheRightofReaganI prefer to call them Lenin and Stabunowandlater.
“Above all, we must realize that no arsenal, or no weapon in the arsenals of the world, is so formidable as the will and moral courage of free men and women. It is a weapon our adversaries in today's world do not have. “ – Ronald Reagan