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Ford, General Motors, Daimler Chrysler, Toyota: The Saga Continues

Read more articles on Finance and Cars and Trucks.

January 26, 2007

Posted by neillevine

About This Editor: I am a writer. Have been writing for other sites, but expect to do most of my future work HERE! My expertise extends from the esoteric such as burning hydrogen to the unpredictability of the stock market and my writing makes me a jack of all trades and exasperated master of none. I have had some influence over national wildfire and water policy and there are hints of a change in energy policy, BUT as Samuel Goldwyn once said, "A verbal promise is not worth the paper it is written on."

         

Ford, F, has just announced its worst losses in 103 years. It is rumored that General Motors, GM, and Daimler Chrysler, DCK, will follow Ford’s lead in posting red ink, meaning the entire domestic automobile industry has run into difficulties.

The problem is that, as matters stand, Toyota, TM, is more appealing to consumers in terms of fuel efficiency and cost, spurring sales of Japanese brand cars over domestic American models. In order to cut costs and eventually save money, Ford and General Motors have been paying workers to leave, so the companies can automate to better compete. Drivers are better able to afford cost effectively produced vehicles as labor and supplies become more and more expensive.

But the current overwhelming hurdle that car manufacturers have to overcome is the high cost of fuel, which makes it expensive to drive, heat homes and run factories.

This is where Washington comes in. Politicians have to encourage the use of alternative fuels to reduce costs by replacing expensive imports. President Bush has talked about using hydrogen powered fuel cells to run cars and, also, increasing ethanol production as a way of spurring gasohol sales. Domestic energy sources produce not only domestic jobs but domestic incomes.

Ethanol would come from converting agricultural products such as corn and cellulose into combustible liquid fuel. In the case of cellulose, this would also help solve the problem of how to protect people and property from destructive forest fires since pruning overgrown wilderness land would vastly reduce the threat from destructive fires and protect wildlife from the real threat of burning alive and the loss of their habitat.

Should Washington ever decide to approve the use of water power, it would be possible to produce combustible hydrogen gas (as clearly described by G. W. Bush) to initially supplement natural gas supplies and, eventually, be used as a home heating supply on its own.

But American politicians have their priorities and spurring the economy does not appear to be near the top of their agenda as evidenced by falling home sales. For those who like to complain, what are you going to do?   “Call Ghostbusters?”