JosephThePoet's Blog

If President-Elect Obama decides to redirect the $350Billion that is left from the bank bailout money to rebuild the country’s economy then he can direct it to infrastructure building and rebuilding, and he can save the big three auto companies at the same time.  Infrastructure building and rebuilding should include in-country clean power production projects as well as the transportation and water infrastructures.

The big three auto makers say they want money from the government so they can restructure to continue to manufacture and sell vehicles, so they should only receive it under the government’s terms the same as we must abide by the bank’s terms if we want a loan from them.

As a part of an economy rebuild effort, consider the following type of loan to the big three auto makers: The federal government loans the companies specific amounts of money.  The auto makers would have to spend most of the money to retool to manufacture the next generation vehicles if they want the loan because they must repay the loan with those vehicle types instead of cash.  The federal government uses those vehicles for replacement vehicles for its fleet requirements, and they can also direct some of the vehicles be given to the states for their needs and the states can give some to their cities.  No regular gas powered vehicles, no matter how fuel efficient, can contribute to the loan repayment.  Of course like any loan there would be interest payable as well, by the same method.  Set a time line.

That would mean the auto companies immediately gear up to a high level of mass production of the next generation vehicles which reduces the vehicle unit prices.  A campaign to encourage companies to also buy those vehicles to show the public their commitment to America and that they are environmentally responsibly would assist to speedily move things along, and their being sold on the public market would better ensure the companies are not placing an inflated price on the vehicles they give to the government for their loan repayment.  And it would encourage the auto companies to more quickly get involved in improving methodologies and efficiencies to compete in the new market.

There are mass production electric vehicles already in use, even up here in Canada with our terrible winters, and some which are easily identifiable as electrics are owned by companies that advertise their business on them.  Hydrogen fuel celled vehicles have also already proven themselves to the level that they can begin to be mass produced, and hydrogen is a combustible gas so I don’t see any reason why hydrogen combustible vehicles or hydrogen combustible fuel cell hybrids can’t be constructed for the more powerful horsepower longer distance vehicle needs.

This does not disallow foreign companies from also choosing to participate in the manufacturing of the newer vehicles.  And the big three can continue to build fuel efficient vehicles at some of their plants to sell overseas or in-country to add to their diversity and income.