Shelby lied when he said the foreign car makers in his state were doing fine

[NNN0LHI]

http://www.examiner.com/x-1172-Birmingham-Progressive-Politics-Examiner~y2008m12d5-Alabamas-big-3-automakers-report-plummeting-sales

Alabama's big 3 automakers report plummeting sales

December 5, 4:29 AM

by Karen Harper, Birmingham Progressive Politics Examiner

Detroit's big 3 automakers have turned in their applications for federal loans to try to stave off bankruptcy, sparking a lot of controversy. Some economists say we should loan government dollars to the automakers and other economists say we shouldn't. It's hard to know what to believe.

Senator Richard Shelby, Republican from Alabama and ranking member of the banking committee, is one of those who opposes a loan to the U.S. automakers. Alabama, Shelby's home state is also home to automakers Mercedes, Hyundai and Honda. Shelby's opinion may not be completely unbiased on the subject of federal loans to automakers based in Michigan.

Opponents of the government loan to Detroit automakers repeatedly argue that U.S. automakers haven't been competitive with foreign automakers. The foreign automakers, opponents say, are building better fuel efficient cars than their American counterparts. An example they love to point to is the Hummer and one must concede that it is a great example. However, opponents' arguments imply that the foreign automakers build fuel efficient vehicles and the American automakers build gas guzzling SUVs as if the issue is black and white. And that isn't an accurate way to potray the auto industry.

Chevrolet is set to launch its first electric car in 2010. Saturn and Ford both produce hybrid vehicles and have plans to build more. And while it's true that American automakers produce an abundance of SUVs, the same can be said of the foreign automakers. Honda, Toyota and Mercedes all produce SUVs that aren't noted for fuel efficiency.

The Mercedes-Benz G-Class SUV with a retail price of between $100,250-$119,450 claims to get 11-15 mpg.

Honda's Ridgeline pickup truck starting at $28,000 gets an estimated 20 mpg.

Hyundai's Tucson SE SUV, $19,970-$25,620 gets an estimated 18 mpg city/ 23 mpg/ highway.

Toyota's Tacoma 4x2 PreRunner truck, $19,652-$21,420 gets an estimated 15 mpg city/ 19 mpg highway.

[Kahuna]

1. Of course he was lying. But no one called him on it. Sigh.

:eyes:

[LiberalFighter]

9. That's because it is against Senate rules to accuse a member is lying.

[gratuitous]

2. Well, there's only one thing to be done when a Republican is caught lying

Keep lying.

[msongs]

3. shelby is a lobbyist for Honda and Hyundai. nt

[kentuck]

4. It's just a matter of time before he asks for a bailout...

for his foreign companies. He's a hypocrite. He used to be a Democrat.

[NNN0LHI]

5. Let Japan and Germany bail out their own auto companies

We have enough to worry about with our own.

Shelby will have to let his constituents decide if his idea to give almost $300,000 to these companies per job to these companies to move there was a good idea or not.

Don

[TreasonousBastard]

6. That useless, lying pantload conveniently forgets...

the deal to get Mercedes to open down there, and the other deals weren't much better.

(Freebies and guarantees to get them to open a plant don't seem to count when talking about "bailouts.")

[FSogol]

7. A Republican LIED!!!!????? Alert the Press!

:rofl:

Shelby is stinky pond scum. Let me know when he stops lying.

[zbdent]

8. What??? A Republican lied???????

Wow ... that has never, ever, EVER happened before!!!

[jody]

10. IMO Mercedes, Hyundai and Honda plants in AL are doing much better than Ford, GM, Chrysler. n/t

[NNN0LHI]

11. You must not read so good?

Automobile sales are down for the year. But they aren't down just for Ford, GM and Chrysler. Sales of cars built in Alabama by Mercedes, Hyundai and Honda are down 38% from a year ago.

Sales of Honda's minivan, Odyssey, which is made in Alabama, are down 46 % over last year. The Hyundai Sonata, made in Alabama has seen sales plummet by 55% from a year ago and their Santa Fe SUV has seen a drop of 42%.

Alabama-made Mercedes-Benz G-Class SUV sales fell 33% from last year.

In total, Honda's overall sales in November dropped 31.7% from the previous month and Hyundai's dropped 40%. Ford sales fell 31% and Toyota sales dropped 33%.

[jody]

12. If you are correct, then why not bail out Mercedes, Honda, Hyundai also because they employ US

citizens?

[NNN0LHI]

15. No if about it

Refer to my post above in this thread about who can bail out those companies.

Don

[Freddie Stubbs]

13. Are they too asking for a government bailout?

:shrug:

[NNN0LHI]

16. The Japanese government has been propping these losers up for long time

http://www.autoyensubsidy.org/faq.html

What does it mean that the yen is "misaligned"?

Currency misalignment takes place when a country's currency value vis-á-vis other currencies is not consistent with economic fundamentals. Most often, this reflects a policy choice carried out by governments and central banks to artificially set the value of a currency in order to gain an unfair competitive advantage over trading partners. When a country's currency is weak relative to others, its exports become cheaper to purchase in overseas markets, and imports become more expensive.

What is the effect of a misaligned yen on the U.S. auto industry?

The impact of the Japanese government actively maintaining an artificially low yen is a fundamental competitive factor for the entire U.S. auto and auto parts industry. The misaligned yen is giving the average imported Japanese car a $4000 windfall cost advantage over U.S. automakers and other competitors in the U.S. market. This ‘yen subsidy' also crosses over to Japanese vehicles made in the U.S. because of the high level of imported and subsidized auto parts used in their U.S. based plants.

[Freddie Stubbs]

17. That would expalin an advantage for imports, but not for American-made Hondas, Toyotas, ect.

[NNN0LHI]

19. My fault. I cut off half of the last sentence when I posted. I fixed it

I apologize. That should explain it.

Don

[Hubert Flottz]

14. Richard Shelby backs companies that helped bomb Pearl Harbor.

And build staff cars for the SS.

[madokie]

18. Does the word LIE even apply when it comes to politicians?

I know it has not meaning when it come to them, that I do know.