Free Republic

Humorous (yet frightening) depiction of a nationalized U.S. car manufacturer. Pics after the jump......

Korea's car industry, one of the main growth engines of the economy, has been hit hard by the global economic slowdown. In the second half of this year domestic auto sales plunged to levels that haven't been seen since the Asian financial crisis of the late 1990s due to deteriorating consumer confidence. In November sales dropped by almost 30 percent compared to the same period last year. And just this past week Korea's fourth largest automaker, Ssangyong Motor, announced that it will not be able to pay staff this month because it lost over W100 billion (US$1=W1,313) this year alone....

"Keynsianism is proof you shouldn't 'leave economics to economists..."

TEHRAN, July 25, 2006 (AFP) - Iran said Tuesday it has decided to block planned car imports by French car giant Renault, presenting fresh difficulties in the company's dealings with the Islamic republic. Renault had reportedly planned to import several thousand Megane saloon cars to supplement its local production of the lower-budget L-90, or Logan, model. But Iran's industry ministry said in a statement that "because of some ambiguities regarding after-sales service, imports of this car are halted as long as the problems are not resolved". The cars have been already been advertised in the national press and sources close...

GM Weighs Closing Three Plants Under Plan to Reduce Capacity By LEE HAWKINS JR. Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL November 21, 2005; Page A3 General Motors Corp. could close at least three North American assembly plants and additional support facilities such as metal-stamping plants when it announces a plan to cut excess capacity in its home market, people who have studied the company's operations say. GM Chairman and Chief Executive Rick Wagoner has promised to unveil a plan before year's end to bring GM's capacity in line with North American sales by 2008, and an announcement could come...

Some safety and privacy experts are reacting with apprehension, others with all out condemnation over a recent ruling by the National Transportation Safety Board to require electronic data recorders or "black boxes" in all new cars manufactured in the United States. "I take offense that this personal property of individuals is now being designed by the federal government," said Jim Harper, privacy attorney and editor of Privacilla.org. EDRs are certainly not new. Information gathered on black boxes — typically everything from speed, brake pressure, seat belt use and air bag deployment — has already been used in determining guilt in...

Gentlemen, kill your engines By Jamil Anderlini SHANGHAI - Two weeks ago, in a beautiful display of dry banker's understatement, Morgan Stanley lowered its rating on China's automobile industry to "cautious" from "in-line". But "cautious" doesn't quite tally with the actions of the world's biggest auto manufacturers over the last year and certainly fails to capture the current mood that must pervade the Shanghai boardrooms of General Motors, Volkswagen and all the other car companies that have been pouring spectacular sums into the Chinese car market. "Blind panic" might be a more apt description. Sitting in their corporate boxes at...

By now, I'm sure everyone is familiar with the commercial that appeared following the October 4th accusations. In this rather ridiculous commercial, the sheriff negates all accusations against Janet Napolitano. Yet he does nothing to assure Arizona's people that the accusations are truely false; he does not offer any evidence that negates the accusations. He only requests that Arizonians join him in refusing the accusations.

The Attorney General claims she had no involvement in this financial disaster. However, the documents included here reveal the involvement of the office of the Attorney General as far back as October 1999. Memoranda from the Attorney General's office early in the implementation of the alt-fuels laws show that concerns surfaced about the actual prices of the vehicles.