Comments on: Should We Save General Motors? http://www.aspousa.org/index.php/2009/03/should-we-save-general-motors/ Truth in Energy Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:11:34 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.2 By: The Kiss of Death :: ASPO-USA: Association for the Study of Peak Oil and Gas http://www.aspousa.org/index.php/2009/03/should-we-save-general-motors/#comment-2259 The Kiss of Death :: ASPO-USA: Association for the Study of Peak Oil and Gas Thu, 02 Apr 2009 14:20:46 +0000 http://www.aspousa.org/?p=1158#comment-2259 [...] been so crucial to our past economic health and figures greatly in our future oil consumption. In Should We Save General Motors? I pointed out the important difference between “productive works” like the Chevy Volt [...] [...] been so crucial to our past economic health and figures greatly in our future oil consumption. In Should We Save General Motors? I pointed out the important difference between “productive works” like the Chevy Volt [...]

]]> By: itulip.com » Blog Archive » FIRE Economy turns turtle http://www.aspousa.org/index.php/2009/03/should-we-save-general-motors/#comment-2257 itulip.com » Blog Archive » FIRE Economy turns turtle Wed, 01 Apr 2009 23:10:28 +0000 http://www.aspousa.org/?p=1158#comment-2257 [...] been so crucial to our past economic health and figures greatly in our future oil consumption. In Should We Save General Motors? I pointed out the important difference between “productive works” like the Chevy Volt [...] [...] been so crucial to our past economic health and figures greatly in our future oil consumption. In Should We Save General Motors? I pointed out the important difference between “productive works” like the Chevy Volt [...]

]]> By: Don Dwiggins http://www.aspousa.org/index.php/2009/03/should-we-save-general-motors/#comment-2119 Don Dwiggins Tue, 17 Mar 2009 03:56:16 +0000 http://www.aspousa.org/?p=1158#comment-2119 Save GM? I say Hell No! We do need heavy investment in our transportation infrastructure, but there should be a strong emphasis on energy efficiency in evaluating the alternatives, e.g., rail transport, redistribution and localization of production to reduce miles traveled, etc. Even focusing on automotive investment, GM is a bad choice, unless by "restructuring" you mean a wholesale reworking of the industry to improve the environment for innovative startups, and in general to improve the competitiveness of the marketplace. We can no longer afford an automotive industry beholden to the anticompetitive and unresponsive practices of the "big 3". As with a disturbed ecosystem, it's time to foster lots of small "r-selected" companies to provide the requisite variety of candidate vehicle types, and a level playing field where natural selection can operate, to gradually converge on a mature set of K-selected ultimate solutions to the transportation problem. Save GM? I say Hell No! We do need heavy investment in our transportation infrastructure, but there should be a strong emphasis on energy efficiency in evaluating the alternatives, e.g., rail transport, redistribution and localization of production to reduce miles traveled, etc.

Even focusing on automotive investment, GM is a bad choice, unless by “restructuring” you mean a wholesale reworking of the industry to improve the environment for innovative startups, and in general to improve the competitiveness of the marketplace. We can no longer afford an automotive industry beholden to the anticompetitive and unresponsive practices of the “big 3″.

As with a disturbed ecosystem, it’s time to foster lots of small “r-selected” companies to provide the requisite variety of candidate vehicle types, and a level playing field where natural selection can operate, to gradually converge on a mature set of K-selected ultimate solutions to the transportation problem.

]]> By: Jeff Berner http://www.aspousa.org/index.php/2009/03/should-we-save-general-motors/#comment-2079 Jeff Berner Sat, 14 Mar 2009 19:24:29 +0000 http://www.aspousa.org/?p=1158#comment-2079 Like all bubbles, the "financial services" bubble that we're experiencing has resulted in misallocation of resources and an oversupply of companies providing such services. In every bubble, the oversupply is eventually addressed through companies either contracting or going out of business. We also know that the "financial services" bubble also resulted in bubbles in automobile manufacturing and in home building. I cannot see a situation where we will ever produce the number of automobiles per year that we have in the prior 5-year period. It is apparent that there is too much manufacturing capacity in the US and that means all of the Big 3 will need to contract. Unfortunately, the newer plants built in the South have an economic advantage due to their age and the non-unionized workforce. Regional politics solely is the reason why GM, Ford and Chrysler have been permitted to stay in business under the current business realities. Like all bubbles, the “financial services” bubble that we’re experiencing has resulted in misallocation of resources and an oversupply of companies providing such services. In every bubble, the oversupply is eventually addressed through companies either contracting or going out of business.

We also know that the “financial services” bubble also resulted in bubbles in automobile manufacturing and in home building.

I cannot see a situation where we will ever produce the number of automobiles per year that we have in the prior 5-year period. It is apparent that there is too much manufacturing capacity in the US and that means all of the Big 3 will need to contract. Unfortunately, the newer plants built in the South have an economic advantage due to their age and the non-unionized workforce. Regional politics solely is the reason why GM, Ford and Chrysler have been permitted to stay in business under the current business realities.

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