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Depression Economics: What a Bank Run Looks Like in the Auto Industry
Open Left - Front Page —
... vehicles to 10 million vehicles. That's not something that can really be managed away in a short period of time, it's the equivalent of demobilizing a small war. That's overhang of factories, management, people, capital, and expertise of six million vehicles a year. The auto industry reaches into every community in America, with car dealerships, supply chains, and parts makers sustaining millions of jobs a year. Beyond that, as Wes Clark notes, there's the national security element of electrifying our armed forces, a project the auto industry is moving ...
“The Auto Industry Never Lobbied Against Higher CAFE Standards” And Other Lobbyist Knee Slappers
Firedoglake —
I was on a conference call yesterday with Charles Territo, Director of Communications for the Auto Alliance, who said that some of the auto makers wouldn't make it through 2008 without the bailout, then refused to name which ones and how much they needed.
There's a lot of rhetoric flying around and precious few statistics. And with a big pool of money sitting there that everyone is trying to get a piece of, people are going to be rightly skeptical of such claims unless concrete answers are forthcoming. We've been told for the past 8 years that every time someone screams "crisis" that we're supposed to jump, that disaster will strike if we ...
Today in The Nation: Why Save GM?
The Nation: Top Stories —
... GM should probably just declare bankruptcy, break the contracts with the unions, close 75% of the plants and sell the rest to the Japanese with the promise to employ some UAW workers. He said GM passed the tipping point years ago and is probably beyond redemption, and that he sees no need for the United States to have an ongoing auto manufacturing interest. I have a fundamental philosophical belief that the US should not cede domestic auto manufacturing to foreign companies for a variety of reasons -- not the least of which is I think it would be demoralizing and ...
Can GM Survive? A Wall Street Analyst’s View
Firedoglake —
... I have a fundamental philosophical belief that the US should not cede domestic auto manufacturing to foreign companies for a variety of reasons -- not the least of which is I think it would be demoralizing and ...
What a Take Down of the US Automotive Industry Would Mean for Our Future
Firedoglake —
Cars per 1000 people.
China wants a car company. The right wing blinded by a hatred of unions, wants to give it to them. China is already looking at what that would mean: gaining a decade on having a car culture, and the ability to produce it's own automobiles.
Up until now, it has acted as an assembly point, and source for ...
Tomgram: Nick Turse, Back to the Future with The Complex?
TomDispatch —
Once upon a time, Detroit was known as "the arsenal of Democracy" because the city's big three automakers converted so quickly from turning out civilian vehicles to producing the tanks and trucks that "helped win World War II" (and then "lent their technology to aircraft and ship manufacturing" as well). Now, the same three companies are simply beggars. Whether they are capable today of transforming themselves, as an Obama administration might wish, into an "arsenal for a green future" is certainly an open question. TomDispatch regular Nick Turse, author of the groundbreaking book The Complex on the militarization of American daily life, ...
Back to the Future With the Complex?
Antiwar.com Original —
O nce upon a time, Detroit was known as "the arsenal of Democracy" because the city's big three automakers converted so quickly from turning out civilian vehicles to producing the tanks and trucks that " helped win World War II ...
Nick Turse: A Recipe For Corporate Success in Tough Times?
Politics on HuffingtonPost.com —
Cross-posted from TomDispatch.com
Is it possible that one of the Pentagon's contractors has a tripartite business model for our tough economic times: one division that specializes in crock-pots, another in adult diapers, and a third in medium caliber tactical ammunition? Can the maker of the SaladShooter, a hand-held electric shredder/dicer that hacks up and fires out sliced veggies, really be a tops arms manufacturer? Could a company that produces the Pizzazz Pizza Oven also be a merchant of death? And could this company be a model for success in an economy heading for the bottom?
Once upon a time, the ...
