It is hard to make money selling virtue – especially when your buyers cannot afford it.
General Motors’ net income is down by . . . 40 percent. Its business model is almost as successful as the Biden Thing’s presidency – and for dovetailed reasons. The Biden Thing crippled the supply chains upon which all companies depend in order to make the things they sell. GM has had fewer cars to sell on account of this.
But it goes much deeper than that. 
GM’s other problem is the same problem every company selling cars is dealing with, also caused by the Biden Thing. Or at least, by the things behind the Biden Thing. That thing being the devaluation of the buying power of the currency people use to buy everything. The admitted-to devaluation is close to 9 percent; it is probably closer to 12. Either way, it amounts to an equivalent tax on every American’s buying power.
Put another way, it means the price of every new car has increased by whatever the percent actually is – on top of increases caused by scarcity (those supply chain disruptions) and (more subtly but much more fundamentally) the actual increase in the cost of cars, due to the cost of complying with the decrees of the Biden Thing’s regulatory apparat.
As of the 2022 model year, there are only a handful of new cars remaining that are priced under $20,000. Of these, only one or two are viable as family cars. If you have a very small family.
The average price paid for a new car this year exceeded $34,000 – a record high. Costs are going up just as people’s ability to spend is going down. Low, low financing allowed that fundamental problem to be swept under the rug for a time but that time has come to an end as the cost of money – of borrowing it – is now going up.
This brings us to the expense of the virtue-signaling that GM is doing that will be its undoing. Possibly, the entire industry’s undoing.
Electric cars. Hand-built, $300,000 electric cars like the Cadillac Celestiq (which bears an uncanny resemblance to the SUX9000 from the original RoboCop) and the $100,000 electric Hummer and the $50,000 electric Blazer that costs about $18k more than the base price of the non-electric version.
Who does GM expect is going to buy these vehicles? Or – better put, perhaps – how does GM expect people to be able to afford to buy them? Keeping in mind that the putative “$50,000” electric Blazer actually costs closer to $55,000 in terms of how many devalued dollars it takes to buy the thing.
GM is fire-sale’ing the price of its Chevy Bolt, which it says it will sell for about $26k, soon. Probably because the Bolt tends to go up in smoke. The Bolt is also what is known within the business as a loss leader – like the Nissan Leaf – meaning they are “sold” at a net loss each, in order to move as many of them as possible.
This is not a sound business model, assuming you want to remain in business.
Historically, car companies have “sold” loss leaders in order to be able to sell the cars that earn them profits. The loss leaders are a kind of write-off, the cost of doing business, imposed by the regulatory apparat. “Sales” of the Leaf, for instance, improved Nissan’s overall Corporate Average Fuel Efficiency (CAFE) numbers, which the Biden Thing’s regulatory apparat decrees must be 35 MPG – headed toward 50. Each “111MPGe” electric Leaf ups the average – and reduces the cost of fines levied (and pass on) for “noncompliance” – enabling Nissan to continue selling Frontiers and Pathfinders.
But you can only “sell” so many loss leaders before the cost outweighs any offset. It is why Nissan is cancelling the Leaf. It is why GM will eventually be forced to do the same to the Bolt.
GM thinks that a $26k Bolt will sell – when no one is selling anything else for less than $20k – and gas costs $5 per gallon. Or even more than that. This is the Pete Buttigieg Thing’s business model: Increase the cost of buying – and driving – non-electric cars and people will then buy electric cars.
It is a model that dovetails the business model of government, itself. Need more money? Create more money! And then spend it. The fly in the soup, of course, is that unlike government, the people who are taxed to finance government cannot create more money themselves. Are limited – in terms of what they can spend – by the money remaining to them, after government takes from them what it says is a “fair share” of it.
GM – the industry – is banking on $50k (and $300k) electric cars bankrolling the cost of $26k electric cars. It is Tesla’s business model – and it has appeared successful in that Tesla has “sold” a few hundred thousand of its cars. The fly in that soup is that there are only so many people who can buy $50,000 cars – electric or not – and that pool is drying up. It will dry up faster as the cost of money goes up at the same time the value of money goes down.
And then what?
GM’s leather-jacketed CEO Mary Barra says “It is clear we are operating in a dynamic market that presents both challenges and opportunities for our company, and we will continue to rise to them.”
Opportunities? A dynamic market?
It sounds a lot like the new definition of “recession” uttered the other day by a Biden Thing apologist – and of “vaccines,” by the same apologists.
The theory, apparently, is that by changing usages you change reality. Until reality bites.
If GM – if the industry – were interested in making money, an effort would be made to reduce the cost of cars, in order to offset the reduced buying power of customers. It is a completely doable thing – just as it was (and still is) doable to reduce the cost of gas to half what it currently costs, courtesy of the Biden Thing.
There is no technical obstacle preventing the design, manufacture and sale of $10,000 non-electric cars (with AC and the other necessary amenities) or, for that matter, $10,000 electric cars designed for short hops at very low cost.
But the industry seems more interested in buying the favor of the Biden Thing – and the things behind it – than it does in selling cars to people who can afford to buy them. Which is interesting in that organisms usually are motivated by an instinct to survive – and this includes corporations. At the end of the day, if people aren’t buying – if they are unable to buy – there will soon be no business.
Of course, that is of no consequence to CEOs such as Barra, who is paid staggering money – reportedly, more than $20 million annually, currently, which is several times what her predecessor was paid – – to signal GM’s virtue. She can afford to buy every Celstiq GM makes.
But GM won’t make much money on the deal.
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The sad thing is, a low production hand built halo model in the 300k range for Caddy is a good idea. I’ve been pushing that idea for many years. Lincoln should as well.
Just not what they are going to build. Nobody wants a blobby shaped plastic electric caddy for that price, (or any price for that matter).
Now if they would build something like the V16 concept from a while back… They would have a waiting list for it. And it would sell V8 Caddies all day long (if they still had V8 Caddies anymore).
Aren’t Ev’s just a way to kill the used car market? At least with an ICE car if it was well maintained it will usually keep running. Case in point my last used car was 15 years old when I bought it and it’s still running fine now. But if I had bought a used EV I would have had to replace the battery and that would have been the end of that car. I’m not rich but disposable cars would definitely make me poorer.
Kill the used car market and keep poor people out of cars entirely.
I’m not sure that’s the intent, but it’s going to be the result.
Hi Publius
20% of 1st adopters are switching back to ice vehicles….lol….EV pumpers/pushers have a problem….
I get paid more than $85 every hour for working on the web. I found out about this activity 3 months prior and subsequent to joining this I have earned effectively $15k from this without having internet working abilities.
Simply give it a shot on the accompanying site.. http://www.Profit97.com
Hey Sarah give it a rest already 😝
SUX9000 … Hollywood movies that predict future suck ass cars.
There was a little seen 1970’s movie with the Ford Suc2000, predicting that in the year 2000 Fords would still suck gas and look ugly.
That movie is a spoof of modernity, it starts off with a stainless steel tube “pooping” out a Monsanto product “Brown 45” that has a male voiceover exclaiming the great uses of this new product, it then starts splattering everywhere – sorta like a SNL product spook Bassmatic:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2HKTx5WFcs0
Eric, you and everyone else will enjoy this article. It’s very short.
https://www.manhattancontrarian.com/blog/2022-7-26-connecticut-sets-out-to-save-the-planet
Hi Elaine,
Loved this; thank you for brightening my day – literally and figuratively!
That article (Thank you for Sharing Elaine !!!) warms my heart on a cold July day in the NE USA.
It is a shame more people choose not to think the consequences of their choices and decisions.
I am guilty of that myself at times, but usually by poor choices only affect me and my immediate family.
Hey Eric—I figured you would like that. He has a very good blog, like I said the other day. He doesn’t post often, but they are always good articles. I always tell people about your blog. I have a huge amount of time to (waste, lol) read, so I have more time to read than a lot of people. I have turned into a sloth. I’m not fat, just highly allergic to work. I do housework and yardwork and that’s plenty. I am a highly unproductive citizen and proud of it. I was productive when I was young, that’s enough.
Anyway, your blog and the comments are one of the best parts of my day. That might sound kind of sad to some, but it’s not. I love my boring life—actually not boring currently, wish it was.
“Fortunately, no one was on the bus, and it was out of service on a Saturday morning.”
Well, hopefully they had it back in service by Sunday, right?
“The Connecticut officials reacted to the incident by immediately pulling the entire electric bus fleet from service.”
Oh, wait. Guess not.
Hi Elaine
A common problem……lol
ESG working well….lol
Paris suspends electric bus fleet after fires
https://tallbloke.wordpress.com/2022/04/29/paris-suspends-electric-bus-fleet-after-fires/?fbclid=IwAR0KFlCBCAPiAW8TaSWndrhsxyWPCA50ofTFshSjAw5RIrNQbNX5oe6HxH8
All great comments below. Great article Eric, as always.
My thoughts are US Manufacturers can’t compete at the low-cost car market anymore. The Fed has tried it’s best to ‘protect’ these manuf. with ever increasing Regs to the absurd with the net effect of prices going through the roof. BUT, the Asian and central/south american manuf. have caught up. And I believe why you are seeing GM go all-in for EV and high-cost future (the only way they survive). They will be protected with our dollars whether we like it or not, with more and more Regs coming, for sure. Again at our expense. “you ICE polluters will pay more and more”, until we can’t anymore.
The big 3 are only staying around because of pick-up trucks, and still hands down, they are probably the best in the world, currently. They have continued to innovate these, basically competing with each other, which has been great for us, but at $50K+, and millions sold every year, of course they would.
I personally have never been more truck satisfied/happy in my 40 years of driving them.
There will be a tipping point yet to come and be determined.
What a moron….lol
GM CEO Admits Electric Vehicle Is Charged On Natural Gas
Most electricity is generated burning hydrocarbons, how green is that?
90% of electricity is generated by burning coal, gas and oil, 5% is nuclear, solar and wind turbines are a joke, there is a small amount of geothermal and hydro, depending on the location. In U.S. 40% is coal.
Thermal efficiency of power plants using coal, petroleum, natural gas or nuclear fuel and converting it to electricity are around 33% efficiency, natural gas is around 40%. Then there is average 6% loss in transmission, then there is a 5% loss in the charger, another 5% loss in the inverter, the electric motor is 90% efficient so another 10% loss before turning the electricity into mechanical power at the wheels.
33% – 6% – 5% – 5% – 10% = 25% efficiency for EV’s.
(under not ideal conditions, like when it is very cold it might be 12% efficient).
NOTE: a diesel is 50% efficient….lol…
the 2014 Volkswagen Golf BlueMotion diesel, is capable of a claimed 88.3 mpg imperial, or 73.5 mpg U.S.
The average EV gets 20.5 mpg….lol
So they are banning all the diesels….
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wf3PT-vBDsg
Anonymous, I think you are being a bit uncharitable to power generation efficiency. Many power plants have been converted to “combined cycle” power generation, and increasingly more are converted as they need maintenance or retrofits, because it’s much more efficient, 50-60% efficient. EV’s charged from these plants have equivalent efficiency to typical gasoline cars. Some states have a lot of zero CO2 electricity due to hydrothermal or nuclear (OR, upstate NY come to mind), so in those places, those cars are indeed producing very little CO2. As the grid has more solar, wind and nuclear, this argument against EV mandates will fall.
We have to focus on the cars themselves; they’re inconvenient, expensive, and prone to self-immolation.
Hi OP
90% of electricity is generated by burning coal, gas and oil, 5% is nuclear, solar and wind turbines are a joke, there is a small amount of geothermal and hydro, depending on the location.
ATTENTION: In U.S. 40% is coal….90% of electricity is generated by burning coal, gas and oil
This where your EV electricity comes from…lol
your EV is remote emission so you can lie about it…lol….zero emission ….lol….what a joke…
coal powered electricity power station, spewing out far more emissions then the ultra low .000001% emission new gas and ice diesel engines
https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/8539efa/2147483647/strip/true/crop/890×667+0+0/resize/880×660!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Flegacy%2Fsites%2Fwvpn%2Ffiles%2F201403%2F01_us_largest_coal_fired_power_plant_890.jpg
Ice diesel:
The 2014 Volkswagen Golf BlueMotion diesel, capable of a claimed 88.3 mpg imperial, or 73.5 mpg U.S.
it has a 971 mile range, the perfect car.
The Volkswagen Golf BlueMotion has emissions of 85g CO2 per km. it is even cleaner (less emissions) than a Toyota Prius or an EV….
A bloomberg article states, “A current-model large EV car with a battery produced and charged in an average European Union country emits about 88 grams of CO2 per kilometer,
Hi OP
your green energy….lol
Solar Panels Subsidized By California Are Winding Up In Landfills, Contaminating Groundwater With Toxic Metals
The government has great solutions for the climate hoax……technology that is far more destructive to the environment…..
Lithium batteries:
Can’t be recycled = really green energy….haha
95% of lithium batteries aren’t recycled, Solar panels can’t be recycled, Used wind turbine blades can’t be recycled, Each blade weighs 81,000 pounds, they are made from fiberglass.
A typical EV battery weighs one thousand pounds, (tesla batteries go up to 1800 lb. ) It contains twenty-five pounds of lithium, sixty pounds of nickel, 44 pounds of manganese, 30 pounds cobalt, 200 pounds of copper, and 400 pounds of aluminum, steel, and plastic. Inside are over 6,000 individual lithium-ion cells.
It should concern you that all those toxic components come from mining. For instance, to manufacture each EV auto battery, you must process 25,000 pounds of brine for the lithium, 30,000 pounds of ore for the cobalt, 5,000 pounds of ore for the nickel, and 25,000 pounds of ore for copper. All told, you dig up 500,000 pounds of the earth’s crust for just one battery.”
Sixty-eight percent of the world’s cobalt, a significant part of a battery, comes from the Congo. Their mines have no pollution controls, and they employ children who die from handling this toxic material. Should we factor in these diseased kids as part of the cost of driving an electric car?”
95% of lithium batteries aren’t recycled
Solar panels:
The main problem with solar arrays is the chemicals needed to process silicate into the silicon used in the panels. To make pure enough silicon requires processing it with hydrochloric acid, sulfuric acid, nitric acid, hydrogen fluoride, trichloroethane, and acetone. In addition, they also need gallium, arsenide, copper-indium-gallium- diselenide, and cadmium-telluride, which also are highly toxic. Silicone dust is a hazard to the workers, and the panels cannot be recycled.
Solar panels can’t be recycled…..what will they do with them (and wind turbine blades)? throw them down old mine shafts like nuclear waste?…..lol..
solar panels are toxic. They sterilize the ground they sit on. Birds that fly over a solar farm are roasted mid-flight.
Have you researched the temperature directly above a solar farm?? These farms have been accused of creating warming in the regions around them.
The alarmists will always show you pictures of solar panels on green grass – which have to taken as soon as the panels are installed. They leach cadmium and other toxic chemicals and sterilize the soil. Just try to find anything growing under a solar farm that has stood for a few years.
Wind turbines
Wind turbines are the ultimate in embedded costs and environmental destruction. Each weighs 1688 tons (the equivalent of 23 houses) and contains 1300 tons of concrete, 295 tons of steel, 48 tons of iron, 24 tons of fiberglass, and the hard to extract rare earths neodymium, praseodymium, and dysprosium. Each blade weighs 81,000 pounds and will last 15 to 20 years, at which time it must be replaced. We cannot recycle used blades. Sadly, both solar arrays and windmills kill birds, bats, sea life, and migratory insects.
Used wind turbine blades can’t be recycled, Each blade weighs 81,000 pounds, they are made from fiberglass.
ATTENTION: they leak oil from their motors into the ocean, really green…haha….
They cannot be recycled so they are buried in Landfills. They use more electricity than they create. They can fling ice for hundreds of meters. They kill large predatory birds, bats and insects. Their infrasound negatively affect the hearts of humans and animals that live near them. The huge cement footings damage aquifers.
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/solar-panels-subsidized-california-are-winding-landfills-potentially-contaminating
OP you said…..As the grid has more solar, wind …..haha…..they are dirty and a joke…
Hi OP
more of your green energy….lol
Hydro power is green?
However, building a dam in a river is similar to building a roadblock in the middle of the highway; it disrupts the flow of traffic in both directions. This “roadblock” can disrupt species populations, water quality, the river food web, and the surrounding environment. Declining fish populations can result in major complications for communities that are dependent on fishing for food and income.
The reservoirs can also cause floods which can force communities to relocate. Although hydropower is labeled as “renewable,” specific forms of hydropower and its effect on the ecosystem must be explored before we continue to develop more dams.
River systems around the world are fragmented by dams which can affect fish assemblages throughout the river. Impoundment facilities contribute to the biodiversity crisis by disrupting the river ecosystem. The physical impacts of changes in freshwater ecosystems include riverine fragmentation, sediment retention, enhanced evaporation, and increased greenhouse‐gas production [4]. These impacts must be addressed when designing and developing dams.
In addition, impoundment dams facilitate the introduction of aquatic invaders into freshwater ecosystems. Invading species are 2.4 to 300 times more likely to occur in impoundments than in natural lakes [4]. After combining information on the boating activity, water body physiochemistry, and geographical distribution of 1080 sampled water bodies (combination of natural lakes and impoundments), Figure 3(a) depicts that the invasion likelihood of impoundments exceeded that of natural lakes.
The most common non‐indigenous species include zebra mussels, Eurasian watermilfoil, and rusty crayfish. According to Figure 3(b), impounds are also more likely to support multiple invaders. These findings suggest that reservoir construction and conversion of lotic to lentic water stream conditions may have promoted the spread of invasive species across the landscape.
the trend in more developed regions like the United States and Western Europe, where new science is driving efforts to dismantle existing dams. (Dams for hydroelectric plants) Aging reservoirs have become inefficient, local ecosystem and habitat impacts can be profound, and accumulating research suggests that hydropower reservoirs may be a much larger contributor of methane — a greenhouse gas roughly 30 times more potent than carbon dioxide — than previously realized.
In a recent study published in the journal BioScience, researchers found that reservoirs may produce as much as a billion tons of carbon dioxide equivalents — the majority of emissions coming in the form of methane — each year, more than the total emissions from the country of Canada.
“It’s not just about snails and fish,” Rozman says of the projects. “It’s about people, because we depend on the rivers.” Organic materials build up behind dams, consuming oxygen as they decompose. This sedimentation can create oxygen-free dead zones, where no river life of any kind can survive. As water stops flowing, its temperature rises. Even a few degrees can be life-threatening, since most aquatic life is highly temperature-sensitive. Sedimentation also gradually lowers the storage capability of the reservoir, reducing the amount of electricity generated.
The area downstream of a dam is obviously impacted by reduced water flow — the Colorado River, for example, no longer reliably reaches the ocean — but also by the lack of stones, logs, and sediment. “Downstream of a dam, the river is starved of its structural materials and cannot provide habitat,” according to the Hydropower Reform Coalition, a collection of 150 environmental groups. “Most dams don’t simply draw a line in the water; they eliminate habitat in their reservoirs and in the river below.”
Downstream Impacts
Depending on the design of the dam, water released downstream often comes from the deeper parts of the reservoir. That water is therefore much the same cold temperature throughout the year. This has negative impacts on aquatic life adapted to wide seasonal variations in water temperature. Similarly, dams trap nutrients coming from decomposing vegetation or nearby agricultural fields, reducing nutrient loads downstream and affecting both river and riparian ecosystems. Low oxygen levels in the released water can kill aquatic life downstream, but the problem can be mitigated by mixing air into the water at the outlet.4
Mercury Pollution
Mercury is deposited on vegetation downwind from coal-burning power plants. When new reservoirs are created, the mercury found in the now submerged vegetation is released and converted by bacteria into methyl-mercury.5 This methyl-mercury becomes increasingly concentrated as it moves up the food chain (a process called biomagnification). Consumers of predatory fish, including humans, are then exposed to dangerous concentrations of the toxic compound. Downstream from massive Muskrat Falls dam in Labrador, for example, mercury levels are forcing indigenous Inuit communities to abandon traditional practices.
Evaporation
Reservoirs increase a river’s surface area, thus increasing the amount of water lost to evaporation. In hot, sunny regions, the losses are staggering: more water is lost from reservoir evaporation than is used for domestic consumption. When water evaporates, dissolved salts are left behind, increasing salinity levels downstream and harming aquatic life.
ATTENTION: Estimate in dollar cost $/MWh energy production at power plant in 2015. exclusive of tax credits, subsidies, or other incentives
coal 95.1 natural gas 72.6 nuclear 95.2 offshore wind 196.9 solar 239.7
NOTE: (if a natural gas power plant is converted to solar source power plant source of power the price of electricity triples, who is going to pay for that?….stupidity…)
natural gas is the cheapest and cleanest, less environmental damage….next best nuclear, push nuclear…..everything else except coal is far too expensive, forget it….
solar, wind turbine and hydro are way too expensive environmentally damaging…
Hydro power stations are expensive:
Capital costs
For power generation capacity capital costs are often expressed as overnight cost per watt. Estimated costs are in dollars:
Conventional hydropower $2752
Combustion turbine (petroleum) $710
ATTENTION: Estimate in dollar cost $/MWh energy production at power plant in 2015. exclusive of tax credits, subsidies, or other incentives
coal 95.1 natural gas 72.6 nuclear 95.2 offshore wind 196.9 solar 239.7
(if a natural gas power plant is converted to solar source power plant source of power the price of electricity triples)
Capital costs
For power generation capacity capital costs are often expressed as overnight cost per watt. Estimated costs are in dollars:
Gas/oil combined cycle power plant $1000
Combustion turbine $710
Onshore wind $1600
Offshore wind $6500
Solar PV (fixed) 1800
Solar PV (tracking) 2000
Battery storage power $1380
Conventional hydropower $2752
Geothermal $2800
Coal (with SO2 and NOx controls) $3500–3800
Advanced nuclear $6000
Fuel cells $7200
bottom line……
natural gas is the cheapest and cleanest, less environmental damage….next best nuclear, push nuclear…..everything else except coal is far too expensive, forget it….
Anonymous – all good reasons why the Sierra Club ran the “Nukes, not Dams” campaign in the 1970s.
Hi OP.
…you said….Anonymous, I think you are being a bit uncharitable…..sounds like you are uninformed or misinformed, a common problem today……
sounds like you have been listening to brandon and the gm ceo….lol
‘Organisms usually are motivated by an instinct to survive – and this includes corporations.’ — eric
They are. But in a totalitarian mixed economy, corporations become brain-hijacked zombies of the state, producing according to its orders and helping to enforce its arbitrary edicts (e.g., reporting cash car buyers as suspected money launderers).
“Everything in the State, nothing outside the State, nothing against the State,” as ol’ Benny Mussolini used to say.
Sewell Avery is my hero:
He refused to negotiate with a union that won representation for 7,000 of Montgomery Ward’s employees and ignored Roosevelt’s War Labor Board.
When Avery refused to settle a strike in 1944, Roosevelt’s administration physically removed him from his office and seized the company.
In April 1944 two soldiers picked him up by his arms and carried him out to the street. Avery yelled at the Attorney General, who had flown to meet with him and try to avert a showdown, “To hell with the government, you … New Dealer!”
Photo of Avery in the street:
https://tinyurl.com/2p967ffx
Hey, Mayor Pete: To hell with the government, you … catamite coprophagiac!
GM has been successfully converted from a car company into a lucrative rent seeking enterprise that goes along to get along. When its financial collapse occurs again, it will be bailed out once more by the politicians it bribed along the way. Wash, rinse and repeat.
Its not a whole lot different from the fake pandemic and “vaccines.” A total shit show based on lies and propaganda which is collapsing before our eyes, but big pharma is laughing all the way to the bank with tens (maybe hundreds) of billions.
They’re all thieves that couldn’t care less about their victims (and why would any thief have such a concern?). Once they bilk their victims, they move on to the next ones. Right now big tech is about to get a $52 billion “chip” payoff. Remember the seeds that were sown about a year ago that there was a dangerous chip shortage? I’m certain that a big tech, Bernaysian PR agency was behind all of the stories so as to soften up the public for this payout. Just like “15 days to flatten the curve” or “I stand with Ukraine,” every “news” source and pearl-clutching moron was bleating the BS phrase “its because of the chip shortage” for the past year. Even if there was a chip shortage, it was because virtually every government on the planet mandated a 2-year vacation because of the fake pandemic. Big tech was likely simultaneously bribing politicians and drafting up the legislation. This shit happens 24/7 without 99.9% of the population (victims) knowing it. Every “news” story in the mainstream media has a specific purpose behind it.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-07-20/senate-moves-forward-with-52-billion-in-semiconductor-funding
And speaking of woke car manufacturers, I’ve recently learned even more about why I am disgusted with Audi — on the heels of the yearly dealer service, no less.
After having my 2014 A8 w/ ~66K miles serviced, I tried to renew the “Audi Care” service plan on it. No dice, “told old, too many miles” is what they said. But I had older (year-wise) cars with more miles in the past that they were happy to extend the plan on into eternity!
Then, I had my 2015 A4 Allroad w/ 50K miles serviced (this past weekend) and they renewed the policy, no problem. I then asked about the A8 and got the *real* answer — because it is an 8-cylinder. Despite being purchased from that particular dealer with an extended warranty and in near perfect condition.
That combined with a recent revelation about one of their departing executives — story was on Zero Hedge but I can’t find it. That departing woke loser’s mission in life was to get Volkswagen Auto Group (VAG) to outdo Tesla and become the leader in EVs. Now that his vision is falling apart and the reality is starting to sink in, “see ya!”.
Also, I *could* afford a $50K car w/ trade in… if I was absolutely financially irresponsible! They’re redefining the meaning of “recession” it’s so bad! I’d have to want financial suicide to go long on a $50K loan during this absolute blood bath. Also, the day I pay $50K for GM *anything* is the day after I’ve fully lost my fucken mind. Never mind an EV.
Don’t forget, communist states like Maryland (where I live) are gonna tack on 6% (IIRC) to that price! Some states, even more AFAIK.
NOPE! NFW! I’m buying a whole-house propane-based backup generator to protect my 4 freezers full of meat. The “captain” of our “ship” is smoking crack like it’s going out of style and is about to have a stroke. Man the life boats!
I found the article: https://www.zerohedge.com/technology/volkswagen-ceo-forced-out-after-clashes-union-bosses
The *story* is that after “dieselgate” the brought on Herbet Diess as CEO who made it his mission to “catch up with Tesla and become the world’s largest electric car producer”. And that, now, the German auto workers union is “forcing him out” — vote of no confidence.
So, being someone who knows these people do nothing but lie, I’m pretty sure that “dieselgate” was a complete setup and not at all what is reported about it. They all knew about those diesel issues and made the previous CEO a scapegoat.
Now that this Diess loser has run VAG into the ground with pie-in-the-sky woke delusions, he gets ousted by the union?!?! If VAG (or specifically Audi of America) survive that “transition”, without any assistance from the government, I’d be highly surprised.
In the meantime, all of the old-school Audiphiles (that I know about) have had it with AoA. We didn’t sign up for Alcantara super-over-priced golf carts. That engine… that mattered… big time. Personally, I hope AoA dies a miserable death. Fuck ’em.
“how does GM expect people to be able to afford to buy them?”
I suppose that’s the point –you will own nothing and be happy. Cars will become a subscriber service (like the wretched microsquirt office suite is nowadays).
Hi Mike
WEF Issues Edict to Global Leaders: Phase Out Car Ownership, People Can ‘Walk or Share’
Earlier this month Klaus Schwab’s World Economic Forum ordered compliant governments around the world to increase the already sky-high price of gas. Now the WEF is claiming people have no right to own cars and must instead “walk or share.”
https://www.truth11.com/untitled-376/
Yeah, more of this “sharing economy” BS. I’ve got a baseball bat I’d like to share with Klaus and his crew.
As my martial arts teacher used to often say about fighting, “rather than rising to expectations, you will more likely sink to your true ability.” GM is going to “continue” to “rise” to their fantasy-land expectations?
Sure, and I can beat up Mike Tyson with enough wishful thinking. Let me find that bastard and quickly put him in his place! 🤣
Do I smell a 2nd auto bailout?
Since the late 1990s inflation wasn’t much of an issue. Mostly due to the massive deflationary impact of information technology in the workplace, and overseas manufacturing. The last 20 years of FED policy has been to print and print some more. The government got whatever they wanted, however much they wanted. Only the occasional blip in oil futures would screw with the game.
Anyone remember the 1990s? When I entered the workforce, there were secretaries. Printers and copiers. Greenbar. Handouts. Printed manuals. All that paper management stuff. Computers were islands. IBM terminals. Phones that could survive a nuclear war and had a massive cable hard wired to the wall. As all that went away, so did all the people who’s job was to prepare the roll-up for the general managers. Then the GMs went away too. Deflation hit the white collar workforce.
Ponder this: The cost of transmitting a data bit from anywhere on Earth to anywhere else has dropped 99% since the 1980s. We don’t even use the phone as a phone anymore, it’s a cat video production system. epautos.com is just as easy to access as motortrend.com, and is far more engaging too.
And we all know what was going on in manufacturing. Robots in the states, poverty wages overseas.
All the while the FED was obsessed with 2% inflation. The world was deflating like a punctured tire and Greenspan thought that was bad. Well, it was for debtors… like the foolish and the government (but I repeat myself). Remember that the Clinton Whitehouse and Gingrich Congress produced a balanced budget. They were on track to finally pay down the debts of the last 80 years. Greenspan would have none of that and made sure to destroy any gains from technology. Then the tech bubble burst, and suddenly fake wealth was destroyed. Somone had some explaining to do and… oh look! 9/11! So much for deflation…
They used to say that if cars were to advance at the same rate as microprocessors and computers, a Rolls-Royce would go 0-60 in less than a second and cost $25. Cars have improved immensely over the last 30 years, but the DOT flunkies and henchmen have grabbed all the gains for their goals, not yours. Instead of faster/cheaper/better we got more airbags and roll cages and CAFE.
Government has not only been take over by psychopaths, but by schizophrenic psychopaths. As in paranoid delusional psychopaths. Not only are they completely devoid of any of the normal human virtues (psychopath), but they also believe their delusions are REAL (schizophrenic). That by simple edict, their dreams will come true. Reality be damned. Even if such results in our destruction. Which becomes increasingly apparent is exactly what they seek. So they can “reset” to a system where all their dreams come true.
Trying to run a business model that sells products no one can afford is stupid or insane. Or both.
JK: Psychopaths have always run the government. The main purpose of government has always been for those in power to plunder those who are not.
My theory is that we can just see and recognize the psychopaths a whole lot better now than say 20, 50 or 100 years ago.
Mister,
I suspect 100 years ago few knew what a psychopath was.
You’re right, governments have always been run by psychopaths. Sane people do not seek the authority to kill any who disobey. Which fairly well describes what government is.
Ok
That’s a great first step.
Might I humbly suggest that, now the psychopaths have been ID’d, they should be made comfortable in some type of facility?
Problem is, it seems, it just might take a psychopath to actually follow through on this.
We need a better solution.
Publius,
All it would take is enough mostly sane people to simply ignore them. The problem being, public education has made the mostly sane a minority.
Publius you need a few psychos around to defend you from the other tribe’s psychos. It’s when you allow them to gain power that they become a problem. We’ve allowed the psychos to take over, starting with World War II. The only reason the US became the “Defender of the Free World” is becuase we had psychos willing to bomb civilians. They were supposed to be on a tight leash thanks to the Commander in Chief being a civilan elected by the people. But once Truman dropped the bombs, even against his own generals’ recommendations, that was the end. Now, every president save one since 1945 has used the miliatry for their own boondoggles. We almost got back to our traditional role as a neutral nation after Vietnam (which at least made the draft an unpalatable option), but then the Iranian blowback was marketed as a slap in the face of America, instead of a logical outcome of English colonialism.
And we still have all the bombs on a hair trigger, ready to launch on order of one man.
That is absolutely spot on, John. That is exactly the situation and meanwhile, everybody here slogging through the results of their delusions are suffering mightily. But since they’ve rigged the voting system and shouted down any sane voices with their MSM bullhorns, it will all have to blow up. Surely we common people will get the blame and they walk away from their disaster patting themselves on the back just as fervently as ever.
At this point, I have to revise what I’ve said about this country. We’re not even like “farm animals”, we’re more like weeds apparently… maybe trees at best. We’re nothing more than fuel when necessary and get mowed when too inconvenient.
I also used to think that “demons” were some folklore tale about wispy apparitions, some form of maybe-existing thing in the ethers. These people are real-life demons and are much scarier than the tales of folklore. Indifferent, mass murdering psychopaths.
‘But since they’ve rigged the voting system and shouted down any sane voices with their MSM bullhorns, it will all have to blow up.‘ — EM
Breaking … shots fired at Fort Sumter:
“The indictment of a former president, and perhaps a candidate for president, would arguably tear the country apart,” Lester Holt said. “Is that your concern as you make your decision down the road here, do you have to think about things like that?”
‘Garland’ replied: “We intend to hold everyone, anyone who was criminally responsible for the events surrounding Jan. 6, for any attempt to interfere with the lawful transfer of power from one administration to another, accountable. That’s what we do. We don’t pay any attention to other issues with respect to that.”
Holt followed up, asking whether, if Trump were to become a candidate for president again, “that would not change your schedule or how you move forward or don’t move forward?”
‘Garland’ responded: “I’ll say again, that we will hold accountable anyone who was criminally responsible for attempting to interfere with the transfer, the legitimate, lawful transfer of power from one administration to the next.” — NBC News
Read his lips: these bolshevik fanatics are going to burn the system down.
Garland’s actual “given name” is Garfinkle. That sorta tells you something about where his allegiances lie. Certainly it is not with the USA…
you are brilliant man who writes well.
Buickman
Founder
GeneralWatch.com
Hi Buickman,
I’m humbled; thank you for the kind words! Also, I’m a Buick fan – though mostly of the old ones. Most especially the old 225s and Regals and Rivs. GM once allowed Buick (and Pontiac and Olds) to design and build some magnificent cars. It is sad that GM no longer builds much that’s magnificent. Even including the current Corvette. It posts magnificent numbers. But that is not always or necessarily the same thing as magnificent…
I’ve been seeing a few Z06 ‘Vettes along the interstate. First of all, $105K for a Corvette? OK, sure why not. But they look pretty odd to me. Angry and agressive. I know women who owned Corvettes (3rd grade teacher had a C3, the hot young lady at church had a C4), because they liked the styling and it was a fun car. Who the hell is this car for? New money Arabs and Russian oligarchs? College sports-ball players who just got drafted to the majors? Collectors aren’t ever going to value these things like they would a Bugatti, there’s too many of them.
…Now that I think back, 3rd grade teacher was pretty hot too…
But anyway, who’s going to buy this thing? For certain it won’t/can’t be a daily driver. GM is about selling millions of things, not a few thousand. Let the Europeans handcraft cars for the upper class twits. GM will never be Ferrari no matter what they do.
H RK,
Very well-said. The new Corvette is an exotic that isn’t. As you say, too many – which means they can’t be. The car also no longer looks like a Corvette, a saving grace of all previous Corvettes, including the ones that did not offer exotic performance. A ’78 Corvette was about as quick as a new four cylinder Camry. But it looked like a Corvette – and that made ti more emotionally desirable than a Camry.
This thing? It looks like a junior high school kid’s doodling – of a generic “exotic.” Which means that its appeal is solely by the numbers, which other exotics will surpass… rendering its appeal extremely ephemeral. That plus the automatic-only is a deal killer for me – and I expect for anyone else who values more than just the numbers.
Hi Eric
New sports cars like the Corvette can make numbers and lap times but they are over weight, they understeer everywhere because they are too heavy and they are unstable with the driver aids turned off, they aren’t involving (the AI computers drive the car, that is how they make lap times), they are boring,
the EV’s are way worse they are another 1000 to 1800 lb. because of the lithium fire bomb battery, their biggest problem, which is huge is, they are horrible on corners, bad lateral acceleration, only good at linear acceleration, can’t stop, bad brakes because they weigh 4000 to 5000 lb., a light car will outbrake them by huge margins and out corner them, (lateral acceleration) by a lot. they are very unstable, so AI computers have to drive them to get them around a track and out of the ditch. They have no sound or soul they are boring.
There is one company that makes light sports cars still……There is one fully analog driver’s car still, the Donkervoort D8 GTO, it is similar to an old F2 car in specs, but street legal. It is a Super Seven clone.
Donkervoort is making light weight fast Sevens because Lotus won’t…
At 3:30 watch the Super 7 clone the Donkervoort GTO eat/walk away from the Porsche 911 GT3, the Donkervoort is a very fast seven. It is the quickest car sold in Europe now…..the only street legal car that pull over 2 G’s in corners…
695 kg. 1532 lb…..lightness matters….
Lotus should have kept making/developing the seven and made this car…..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_J0v69_r_4
It is coming to the U.S. now, 3 cars will be brought in shortly, (in Europe the car is so good there is a 2 year waiting list to get one), it will be the most exclusive car for sale in the U.S………https://www.topspeed.com/cars/car-news/donkervoort-finally-arrives-in-the-us-as-a-240-000-d8-gto-one-off-ar196798.html
I agree Eric, one on my customers has a mint pair of ’89 Reattas that I maintain and repair as needed. Awesome little cars, way ahead of their time
GM is launching “EV Live,” a free online platform that connects consumers who have questions about electric vehicles with an expert who can answer them.
Consumer hesitancy due to lack of knowledge and potential misconceptions about electric vehicles is considered one of the greatest hurdles for EVs.
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/07/25/gm-electric-vehicle-chat-tool-aims-to-fill-the-ev-knowledge-gap.html?&qsearchterm=GM%20live%20chattanooga
It would be funny if you trolled this “chat tool” non-stop for a few days. See how long it takes to get banned.
If people don’t want to buy one, the problem is not them.
If EVs are so great, show me.
We can’t all be early adopters anyway, or the term would be meaningless.
I for one prefer to be a “never-adopter,” at least for certain things, and a “former adopter” for certain other things. If that can’t be okay then I’m going to have to find somewhere else to be.