Why shouldn't we give the big 3 a blank check? Here's why:

[Pab Sungenis]

How old do you think hybrid vehicles are? Five years? Ten?

The series hybrid, the drive train that made "Prius" a household word, is about to celebrate its 40th birthday.



That's an ad from GM touting their Stir-Lec 1 concept car. Except for the use of lead acid batteries (Lithium Ion batteries were still years off), the orientation of the motors (electric in the front, gas in the rear), and the use of a Stirling motor (external combustion instead of internal) it's identical to the series hybrid drive trains that power the Prius, Impact, and other foreign hybrids. And it got almost 90 miles to a gallon in 1969.

While the technology to make the Stir-Lec a feasible production car in 1969 wasn't quite ready, it puts paid to the myth that General Motors, at any rate, needed to do research and development from scratch to provide modern fuel efficient vehicles. All they had to do was pull up the file on the Stir-Lec and they'd be 3/4 of the way there.

Take the engine design, reverse it so that it's front-wheel drive with battery packs in the back. Replace the Stirling engine with a more traditional Dual Overhead Cam 4 cylinder (at least until you could work on a more modern Stirling). Replace the capacitor pack with a more modern computerized monitoring system to take care of the recharging. Pull out the Lead-Acids and put in NiMH batteries (cheaper than Lithium). Drop it into a Saturn or Chevrolet frame and voila, a GM hybrid that would not only compete with the imports, but could be sold cheaper and easier here at home. It would also appeal to the "buy only American" people who want American cars but have been longing for fuel efficiency.

When Prius-mania hit, and gas prices started to soar, GM could have had their own hybrid in the showrooms in a year. Less if they crammed. All those waiting lists for Priuses and Impacts? They would have been cut in half as Saturn and Chevrolet hybrids came onto the scene. Market penetration of hybrid vehicles could have jumped higher faster, decreasing demand for foreign oil and helping to keep gas prices down for the majority still driving gasoline powered vehicles.

Obviously, GM hasn't. Instead of using what they already had, they tried to co-opt the "hybrid" label with their "Green Line" mild hybrids, which only gave you about an extra 3-5 miles a gallon, but could make you feel good because you were buying a "hybrid." Eight years after the Prius came to America, GM finally has a full series hybrid engine...but you can only get it in the Cadillac Escalade, probably the most expensive vehicle GM makes.

GM has failed to respond to market demands. They have refused to use their own research and development from the past. They're a dinosaur and now that the comet is coming into view over Pangaea, they're starting to whine.

This is a perfect example of what is wrong with the Big 3, and more than anything else why they have failed. We should not and must not just give them a blank check to keep doing more of the same. Bail out the workers and the suppliers, but let the companies currently known as GM, Ford, and Chrysler die so that newer, more effective, better companies can rise phoenix-like from the ashes.

[Rabrrrrrr]

1. I'd feel better if a bailout included a mandate that all top executives be fired.

I'd like to stand there with the money and say, "Okay, I'm happy to help - however, you three are all clearly and beyond a doubt utterly incompetent to run a small donut shop, let alone great big auto industries. So, you all leave, and take all your staff and lower management assholes and board members with you. I'll choose new people - people who understand the world and what the auto industry needs, not what their wallets need - to run the companies."

[Phred42]

3. Exactly!

[unpossibles]

2. K&R! nt

[Kalyke]

4. Lemme guess... you drive a foreign car.

I don't want the Big 3 to die.

I want parts for my Ford.

I want to employ unions.

I don't want a Depression of epic proportions.

And, if that car had been affordable and popular, it would have been on the road.

Sigh... people who accuse the Big 3 CEOs of living in a bubble need to look at their own round surroundings first.

[Pab Sungenis]

8. No, I drive a Saturn

and I've always driven American cars.

But rewarding the Big 3 for not innovating, and not responding to the market's needs and demands, is only delaying the inevitable and will cause bigger problems down the road.

We need to use this bailout request to reinvent the American car manufacturer, not prolong it unnaturally.

[panader0]

5. Good post. Rec'd.

It should be clear to everyone that the oil companies and Detroit have been in cahoots.

[Barack_America]

6. I don't recall them asking for a blank check.

I recall them asking for a specified amount of money that happens to be a fraction of what the financial industry got.

[elocs]

7. I heard Gov. Granholm of MI say they want a loan and not a bailout or blank check.

When I bought my new car I got a loan and not a bailout. Also, Granholm mentioned that Chrysler repaid their loan along with $300 million in interest. That sure saved that car company then and kept a lot of people working.

[madrchsod]

9. --"green car of the year"--

http://www.chevrolet.com/fuelcell/?seo=goo_|_2008_Chevy_Fuel_Solutions_Lifestyle_|_IMG_Fuel_Cell_|_Chevy_FS_Fuel_Cell_Car_|_fuel_cell_car

electric cars have been around since the early 1900`s. the problem was the batteries. it takes time to develop reliable batteries that will work in 120 deserts in the south west to 30 below plains in northern america

[ColbertWatcher]

10. Kick and rec so it can't hide any more! n/t