Why we needed Dingell - $25 billion in retooling being eyed for non-Big Three - by Democrats!!

[Truth Teller]

"She (Feinstein)said some terms of the retooling loans as drafted so far -- such as requiring automakers to have had a U.S. plant open for at least 20 years -- would unfairly bar upstarts such as electric car designer Tesla Motors.

"I do not support disadvantaging the next generation of American automobile companies in an effort to save the first generation," she said."

http://www.freep.com/article/20081130/BUSINESS01/811300...


Waxman is far more inclined to use his influence to direct that $25 billion away from the Big Three. And here you have Feinstein making no bones about it.

Dingell may not have met everyone's litmus test as being liberal enough, but he would sure as hell fight for that $25 billion to be directed towward the Big Three.

[Dover]

1. I agree with Feinstein, and her reasoning...n/t

[KakistocracyHater]

2. 150 mpg hybrid not allowed at auto show?

http://www.scientificblogging.com/news_releases/afs_trinity_150_mpg_suv_being_suppressed_auto_industry

...."AFS Trinity's 150-MPG mileage estimate is based on a typical week of driving: 40 miles, 6 days per week and 80 miles on one weekend day each week. The first 40 miles of every day are electric, with gasoline being used only for distances beyond 40 miles. For this driving profile, the XH-150 uses up to 2 gallons of gas to travel 320 miles, which works out to 160 mpg, which the company rounds down to 150 miles per gallon."....

[depakid]

3. Dingell's one of the people responsible for the big 3's demise

Perhaps if he'd thought about what was bound to happen and hadn't tried to shield the automakers from reality for so long- and instead used his leadership power to spur innovation, he'd not only likely have remained chairman, but would be receiving accolades, rather than approbation.

[jakefrep]

4. I agree with you...

..I don't understand why Waxman chairing this committee is a good thing. He's utterly clueless about the car industry.

[AdHocSolver]

5. The Big 3 executives want the taxpayers to support their desire to continue to produce "buggy whips"

GM had a big lead in electric vehicle technology in the 1990's with their development of the EV1 and EV2 electric vehicles.

The test drivers (in California) who leased them loved them. Most of the drivers wanted to purchase one. This turn of events so horrified the management at GM that they recalled and destroyed (literally) the majority of these cars. Then GM sold the patents for the batteries to an OIL company.

Now GM wants the U.S. taxpayer to subsidize their continued production of their over-sized, gas-guzzling, dinosaurs that nobody wants (or can afford) to buy.

If the auto workers want to keep their jobs, they should contact their Congress person and tell them to insist on replacing GM management as a condition of a bailout package. The current GM executives want the bailout money to subsidize building factories and creating jobs in China and Brazil.

An unconditional bailout package to GM will HASTEN the LOSS of union JOBS in the U.S., as it will speed up G.M.'s ability to build factories offshore.

G.M. and other corporations have been pulling this scam for years, and they have been suckering the unions into aiding and abetting them for that long. The unions and their leaders have been ignoring this corporate chicanery for years. By ignoring the long term implications of corporate actions, the unions have actually assisted the corporations in weakening the union movement.

When will the unions wake up to the fact that the corporations are handing them crumbs so that the union workers will "defend" the management's position, which is geared to eliminating jobs in the U.S. in the long term.

[last1standing]

6. I don't really see what you object to so strongly.

Obviously start up companies like Tesla wouldn't get nearly the funds that GM or Chrysler would. In fact it's unlikely the amount would even be a blip on the radar. All Feinstein and Waxman are saying is that the auto companies can't use the money the borrow to lobby congress for the very things that caused them to become uncompetitive in the first place.

Detroit can make economical, fuel-efficient, green vehicles. GM proved that with the EV-1 project that it cynically scrapped. It won't take a 26% wage cut from employees or a loss of health benefits, it just needs some competent leadership that is more interested in transportation for the future than the stock values of today. Unfortunately, John Dingell became nothing more than a mouthpiece for the worst excesses of the Big Three many, many years ago. He is also a part of the problem.

[TankLV]

7. That's why dingell should GO! We don't need to subsidize "horses and buggies"

imagine if you had been around a century ago - we'd still be subsidizing buggy whips and horse carriages!

I'm glad the fucking dingel will be OUT!

I don't want MY taxpayer money subsidizing INCOMPETANCE!

If the "big three" go - we'll still be fine - there are a LOT of other BETTER run car companies ready to take their place...

Good for Waxman! I definitely support HIS emphasis!

[blue_onyx]

9. Funny you support Waxman

He voted to spend your taxpayer money to subsidize the INCOMPETENCE of the financial institutions on Wall Street.

[blue_onyx]

8. I was disappointed to see Dingell lose

I believe he had some good ideas, such as taxing carbon, increasing the gas tax by 50 cents, and phasing "out the mortgage interest on primary mortgages on houses over 3000 square feet."

The link doesn't work but I do believe the 25 billion should be used to help the 3 US automakers. Isn't Tesla Motors a Californian company? That's probably why Feinstein is pushing the idea of possibly using the money to fund other companies (companies that may be in her home state).

[Ichingcarpenter]

10. Dingle kept the Cafe standards the automakers wanted for 20 years

and thus contributed many of the problems of the automakers, the planet and
stupidity of the culture of Detroit's problems.

Listen I can post the crap he did over the years if you want.