Big Auto

Why bail out the car companies when they bailed out on us?

I have a new Salon article, “Is Detroit worth saving?” It is built around this piece, but I have expanded on the sad story of the Big Three Medium Two walking away from the development of hybrid gas-electric vehicles in the 1990s. I’ve been asked why I think they gave up on hybrids. The answer, […]

Is defending an industry against modernity really good for it?

“The auto industry declined while [Dingell] was chairman, ranking member and chairman again. He said we should do nothing to modernize the auto industry. That kind of protection is why we lost out to the Japanese and why Detroit chose the wrong kind of cars to make.” — an unnamed “aide to a [Henry] Waxman […]

Inflated fuel efficiency ratings for Canada’s cars

A few weeks ago, Canadian resident Rachel Perks sent me an email puzzler. Why is it that apparently identical cars — same make, model, engine size, specs, etc. — are advertised with drastically better fuel economy in Canada than in the United States? To see what I mean, compare the official government fuel ratings in […]

Pearlstein: ‘A Detroit bankruptcy beats a bailout’ — but what do you think?

I’m quite interested in hearing your thoughts on two questions: How much of your money, if any, should the government give to Detroit? What should we get in return ? That is, of course, beyond the $25 billion already promised the Big Three (Medium Two?) U.S. automakers to retool their factories (in theory) to make […]

Al Gore offers a five-part plan for solving the climate and financial crises

Al Gore has a fantastic op-ed in Sunday’s New York Times. There’s lots of good stuff, but one thing I was particularly pleased to see is this dismissal of the rush lately toward dirty domestic fuel: Some still see this as a problem of domestic production. If we could only increase oil and coal production […]

The oil companies should bail out the automakers

Cross-posted at the NDN blog —– As the U.S. auto companies frantically search for ways to stave off bankruptcy, an interesting bit of news surfaced yesterday: Exxon Mobil’s profit in the last quarter was the highest of any company ever in history: $14.83 billion. The company is on track to make $50 billion or so […]

Chevy Volt not so revolutionary

For those of you who missed it, GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz hit the talk show circuit last week to talk up the latest incarnation of the Chevy Volt (more on his boneheaded climate change comments here and here). The marketing goal is to create the public perception that the Volt is an electric car […]

Umbra on buying big cars

Dear Umbra, I’m in need of a new car. I’d love to get a Prius, but I often need more passenger seats than the Prius has. What is the most environmentally friendly and responsible choice for a driver who needs a larger car? It seems like the bigger hybrids (i.e., the Toyota Highlander) are expensive […]

Light truck sales drop 25 percent, Toyota screws up

Green Car Congress reports: US sales of light-duty vehicles continued their decline in July, dropping to a total 1.136 million units, a 13.2% reduction in volume compared to July 2007, according to Autodata … The year-on-year decrease came, in general, out of the light-duty truck segment. Sales of cars in July 2008 slightly increased 0.3% […]