Indiana Chosen for Electric Car Plant (Norwegian Think's new hatchback called City)

[Robbien]

Source: NYT

Think, the Norwegian electric carmaker, said on Tuesday that it will open its first American assembly plant in Elkhart, Ind.

The Think City, a battery-powered, two-seat hatchback, is set to begin rolling off the Indiana assembly line in early 2011, ramping up to a potential annual production of 20,000 cars by 2013. The factory is expected to eventually employ more than 400 workers.

About 1,500 of the plastic-bodied cars are already on the street in Europe, and Think will begin selling the City in the United States later this year. The car will be imported from a Finland assembly plant until the Indiana factory opens in a former recreational vehicle factory.

Think’s investment in the Indiana facility depends in part on securing a United States Department of Energy loan guarantee to finance the project, according to Richard Canny, Think’s chief executive.

Read more: http://greeninc.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/01/05/indiana-chosen-for-electric-car-plant/

[jpak]

1. 400 new auto jobs in the US? horrible news - just horrible...this can't be true...

:cry:


















:evilgrin:

[Robbien]

3. Snide comments

just dirty up good news

It was nice to see this article. Thanks for all the negativity.

[Dappleganger]

26. *snort*

[avaistheone1]

32. A better use is when is when AMERICAN companies are doing this.

In that way not only the wages produced help communities, so do the big profits $$$ that are generated.

Now the profits go back to Norway.

[Don Caballero]

2. As an Indiana resident I thank the President for this development

Elkhart was experiencing some of the worst unemployment in the Mid West and then this comes along. The economy is getting better. It is a slow process but it is improving.

[Mopar151]

4. Yup

And an excllent use of existing skilled labor and industrial capability.

[Oerdin]

5. The funny thing.

Is Think used to be owned by Ford but Ford got rid of them saying they'd never make money. It kind of reminds of how, in 1945, the US government offered the VW plant to GM and then Ford free of charge but both rejected it saying the little car was worthless. The VW went on to become the world's best selling car of all time.

[Robbien]

6. Ford may have been right

The article says Think was on the brink of bankruptcy. Without this deal, financial support of the battery producer, and US government subsidies they probably wouldn't be a going concern.

[Romulox]

7. Yet ANOTHER foreign company bailed out by the Obama admin..

What was wrong with the US gov't subsidizing an American company in this way? :wtf:

[Robbien]

8. One third of that car company is owned by the US battery maker

Most of the rest is owned by hedge funds. Since globalization it is hard to find a company which is wholly "owned" by a nation.

Before the bailouts, every "American" car company was mostly owned by hedge funds who have most of their money in offshore non-taxable accounts.

[Romulox]

9. OK, fine. But the company got bailout money to build a car in Finland.

No way around that "inconvenient truth". :hi:

"Before the bailouts, every "American" car company was mostly owned by hedge funds"

Absolutely false. GM was a publically owned company. Ford is controlled by members of the Ford family. Only Chrysler was controlled by a hedge fund.

[jpak]

11. *cough*GM*cough*

:D

[Romulox]

12. Slept through debate AND geography? Talk about misspent youth! nt

[jpak]

15. Nope Obama never bailed out GM or Chrysler and they are not US companies

:rofl:

[jpak]

17. You're right - if we ignore all the fed R&D $ and stimulus money $ for the Cheney Volt

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x4211128

:evilgrin:

[Romulox]

18. None of that negates the fact that this is a foreign company bailed out with US taxpayer $.

The difference between a foreign corporation being bailed out by the US taxpayer and an American one? The role of the US government is (ostensibly) to meet the needs of its citizens.

Is this a difficult concept for you?

[jpak]

19. Heaven forbid that we encourage foreign investment in the US to create JOBS

and a *loan guarantee* is not as "bailout" no matter how loud one screeches.

Every one of those folks getting those 400 NEW US JOBS will be grateful for that loan guarantee.

yup!

[Romulox]

20. You've got it backwards: this was US taxpayer money sent OUT of the country.

A little of which trickled back into the country. You're not very informed about a transaction for which you're cheering so loudly. Odd. :silly:

[jpak]

22. That's just plain stupid. The loan guarantee is a *guarantee* - not money sent overseas

And the *loan guarantee* was for an auto plant here in the US - not overseas.

Finance much?

:D

[WriteDown]

21. So if the car flops and the factory closes...

what happens to the loan?

[jpak]

24. The taxpayers pay it off - what part of *loan guarantee* is so hard to understand?

Wishing for failure so soon?

Why?

:evilgrin:

[WriteDown]

25. So there really is no guarantee....

Just US money going to a foreign company that may or may not succeed. I don't care much either way. Wish the money had gone to a US company though.

[jpak]

29. The loan guarantee is for an auto plant built by "mericans in the US 0f A

The taxpayers pay the LENDER if it defaults - not the evil foreigners - sorry to inform you.

[WriteDown]

33. The DOE loans will go toward factory enhancement to make ....

the factory suitable for production of a very specific vehicle and if that makes the company profitable then those profits will go to the foreign company. If the company goes belly-up, the funds are lost.

If Fannie Mae gives you a loan on your house and then you abandon it, who is left holding the bag?

[jpak]

34. The *profits* go to a foreign company - not taxpayer money

and if the company is profitable and pays back the loan - then all is well.

[WriteDown]

35. You're right...

Its a gamble. Hope they're counting cards.

[tclambert]

10. Think, Inc. may not be very strong financially.

From the article: "The selection of the Indiana site comes as Think resumes production of the City in Europe after emerging from bankruptcy protection last August. The company subsequently shuttered its Norwegian assembly plant and contracted with Finland’s Valmet Automotive to produce the City."

[AngryOldDem]

13. I wonder if Ohio tried to get this plant.

And if not, why not?

But good for Elkhart, though -- that city needs a break since its RV industry hit very hard times.

[Kolesar]

14. If it works, they will be selling a million of them every year

...eventually. Good point, what is the Ohio Department of Development doing?

[WriteDown]

23. For a two seater?

Doubtful. As great as it would be, the two-seat automobile has limited uses. Even getting groceries home is a hastle if you buy more than a handful.

[Kolesar]

28. Half a million?

We are going to be reduced to rationing and riding bicycles if we don't do better energy planning.

[AngryOldDem]

37. Reason I ask is...

...lots of shuttered auto plants in Ohio.

While I know that some federal funds came into play here, I do have to give credit to Mitch Daniels for bringing Indiana to the attention of a lot of companies lately. I just moved here from Ohio, and the difference in state leadership is like night and day. (Disclaimer: I just moved to the state. I might change my opinion of Daniels the longer I'm here.)

[proteus_lives]

16. Jobs for Indiana?

Good news to this Hoosier!

[DavidDvorkin]

27. Good news for Elkhart

I went to high school there, before the days of the rust belt. It's an interesting area.

[alfredo]

30. It's a cute car

[treestar]

31. Stealing Norwegian jobs!

:sarcasm:

[alfredo]

36. No AC. That rules it out from some of us.

[Xithras]

38. Most purely electric plug-ins won't have A/C

A/C is very power intensive (note you're house electric bill during the summer) and would absolutely kill the range of an electric vehicle. Even the Prius takes a 25% mileage hit when you flip on the A/C (battery gets wound down much more quickly, requiring more power from the gas burner).

[alfredo]

39. My SO can't handle heat.