Well, the Big 3 should suffer for wasting this chance!

[JESSE69]

I finally found through the web about the 1993 program where the US Gov did give the Big $3 1 Billion to develop a hybrid high fuel efficiency car! They wasted their chance! And no Japanese companies could participate in the program! Now, only the Japanese have real good hybrid cars, that they developed at their own expense!

Congress should wake up and ***** to the Big 3 about this past R&D and to use the technology developed in it!

Here are web links about the program -

Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Partner...on_of_Vehicles

The Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles Is Corporate Welfare At It's Worst
http://www.commondreams.org/views/061900-104.htm

Here is one Chrysler car they should make today to save themself!
Dodge ESX3 Hybrid Gets 72 MPG - Popular Mechanics
http://www.popularmechanics.com/auto...51.html?page=1

Here is my post from another thread --

Biggest BS in the world! I was a Mech Eng student at UIUC in 87 to 92. There was a big Gov program where maybe the US Gov gave $1 Billion [I think] to the Big 3 to develop hybrids. - They told - no Jap automakers can participate. And Ford donated Escorts to colleges to convert to hybrids, was the Ford Escort HEV college program [I was in it].

All the big 3 [in 2000] had to show was their complaint that hybrids are unfeasible and too expensive to make and sell to the public. So much for "Professional Grade" GM Engineering too! The big 3 suck big time at making good fuel efficient cars and hybrids. And if they all go out of business, I guess it worked out better for my career that I was never hired by them!

[Dalez0r]

OH noes, the automakers are going to go out of business!! Everyone is going to lose their jobs!!! OMG!! PANIC!!

Oh, wait, honda, toyota, etc, will just buy up the old factories and ramp up their own production to fill the void. Hiring American workers back. Nevermind though that some of the Big 3 outsourced alot of their manufacturing to Mexico.

To those losing your jobs: I do sympathize, it sucks, I was laid off myself. But bad businesses fail...

[VetteOwner]

hmm let the big 3 fail and then theres tons of jobs lost(yes they may get hired back but who knows, it will take months if not years to reopen the factories and who says thier openign all of them?) not to mention all the suppliers of the big 3 will die off completely (if not, then major layoffs) and dont forget were already in a craptastic economy...having that all happen wont help anything.

that and in 1993 gas was under a buck, noone cared what FE you got.

did they not have FE cars? festiva, escort, metro(was that a US car company???)were all around...

lol not to mention 1993 batery technology wasnt the best nor the computers. if they could create somehting it would have to be pretty primeative and akward.

kinda like telling someone in the 50's to design a fuel injected car...

[theholycow]

Originally Posted by Dalez0r

Oh, wait, honda, toyota, etc, will just buy up the old factories and ramp up their own production to fill the void.

Good point. I hadn't thought of that. That would mitigate the effects, at least a little.

However, it won't be enough to re-hire most of the employees, and they won't buy parts from domestic suppliers or use domestic contractors. It would be a fraction of the economic support that the big 3 currently provide. I think the demand would spread thinner than that.

Originally Posted by VetteOwner

dont forget were already in a craptastic economy...having that all happen wont help anything.

Important point there. Cutting off our nose to spite our face, or letting our nose rot off instead of saving it, is not a good idea for total body health. The resulting infection would be system-wide.

that and in 1993 gas was under a buck, noone cared what FE you got.

did they not have FE cars? festiva, escort, metro(was that a US car company???)were all around...

Not only that, but the low-tech FE cars from then (domestic and foreign) got the same FE as the modern Japanese "hybrids that they developed at their own expense"!

Question: If the big 3 go under, what happens to all their bought subsidiaries that are generally known as foreign cars, and their own foreign-only subsidiaries? For example, Ford has Jaguar; GM has Saab, Vauxhall, Opel, Holden, and dozens of others...one of them has Volvo and I don't remember which one.

I think those, and many of their core brands, might get bought up and continued. Initially they'd continue running as they were but they would eventually be consolidated with the buyer's core operations. This would at least spread it out and reduce the size of the huge initial shock.

[VetteOwner]

Originally Posted by theholycow

Not only that, but the low-tech FE cars from then (domestic and foreign) got the same FE as the modern Japanese "hybrids that they developed at their own expense"!

.

ahh yes dont get me started on that...when somehting as basic as a metro gets equal if not better fe than a hybrid well id rather have the metro...(not to mention for about 1/4 the cost!!!)

[bowtieguy]

i'm kinda middle of the road here. it could certainly be catastrophic for the economy if all three go under, but they need to make changes including tough ones like salary and benefit cuts.

i believe ford is working on several new econo lines of vehicles. hopefully the other two are as well(better be anyway).

i once heard that all three gave funds to the 9/11/01 victims, while other car manufacturers simply sent letters of condolence. no doubt execs have gotten fat, but many were/are able to earn honest livings.

[Jay2TheRescue]

Originally Posted by bowtieguy

i believe ford is working on several new econo lines ...

Like the 2009 Ford Econoline? Sorry, but the temptation was too great...

[kamesama980]

Originally Posted by VetteOwner

lol not to mention 1993 batery technology wasnt the best nor the computers. if they could create somehting it would have to be pretty primeative and akward.

kinda like telling someone in the 50's to design a fuel injected car...

Hence the money for R&D. billion bucks to figure out how then you CAN make decent hybrids. that's how you get better batteries and computers

[theholycow]

Oh my god, that is one awful abomination. What was wrong with the old design? That's the same one, except they plastered that ugly grille on it...guess they're trying to pimp it.

[Jay2TheRescue]

Yeah, I'm a big fan of chrome, but that grille is just way overdone. Its too big for that front end. That front end would look fantastic on an F550 Super Duty though... Come to think of it, I think it is the exact same grille as the F550...