Posted on 12/07/2008 7:53:28 PM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach
With job losses mounting and Detroit’s Big Three automakers facing a battle on Capitol Hill over emergency federal aid, President-elect Barack Obama on Sunday predicted more hard times for the U.S. economy before it starts to turn around, and Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) threatened a potential filibuster of any attempt to bail out the automakers.
”This is a big problem. It’s gonna get worse,” Obama warned on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
“Things are going to get worse before they get better,” he added.
Obama’s comments came on a busy Sunday morning that saw Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice making stops on three talk shows to talk about the fallout from the Mumbai terrorist attacks, and lawmakers clashed over whether a $15 billion “bridge loan” to American automakers should be approved.
Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.), a staunch ally of the U.S. carmakers, and Shelby, who has emerged as the leading opponent of any aid package for the Big Three, sparred over the whether the American government should rescue U.S. automakers during an appearance on “Fox News Sunday.”
Levin said he was “confident” that Congress would consider a bailout bill for the auto industry, but stopped short of predicting whether it would pass. Democratic leaders in the House and Senate are considering a $15 billion “bridge loan” to help out the automakers.
"I think they're very close to a deal, I think there will be a deal and that will happen in 24 hours," Levin told host Chris Wallace. “Obviously, that's a much more complicated question of whether the votes are there. What I'm confident of is that a bill will be introduced."
(Excerpt) Read more at politico.com ...
What was wrong with the original 12 cylinder?
It never had a V12. It’s an XJ*6* with the LeMans-winning inline six.
Short wheelbase?
I would agree to a bailout on one condition. That all officers and board members immediately step down with no severance.
A buddy of mine got 1800 out of his old XJS...
I want to pick a new Vette off the nearest lot...
The short wheelbase chassis is what underpinned the XJS and in heavily modified form is under the XK8/R.
This one's mine:
I've currently got it apart to replace the transmission with a 700R4. I kind of blew up the Borg Warner M-66... one too many neutral drops shattered the input drum. :P
What, offshore racing V12 plus nitrous?
When they first started automating their lines the unions went on a tear and got them to make many concessions about jobs that the big 3 need to dump.
Its like the railroads, they had to keep a fireman in the cab of the engine even after they went to diesel/electric power, useless but still soaking up revenue. There are jobs like that in the big 3.
Bottom line of what I am trying to say is: Chapter 11, cut the fat, it is better to employ fewer people than to shut down, and I mean cut the useless executive and supervisory jobs also.
Like I said, If I suspect such a case, I can easily jump between the batt and the dist. problem solved.
If you did so, you would learn that most computerized cars can actually limp home if anything BUT the CPS fails.
A buddy's Dodge got hauled out of the woods- Computer kept shutting it off for insufficient oil pressure. Turns out it wasn't the oil pressure at all. It was the sensor.
In my case, since gauges are mechanical, I can make an intelligent diagnosis, choose to ignore the faulty gauge, and go on my way. He still had to walk out, trailer the rig out, pay to fix it, and etc.
All the complication is not worth it.
That has nothing to do with "computerized" or not, just the maker's particular design. My Nissan truck is computerized; you can disconnect most of the sensors and it won't care much. It will keep running. It will set a code, but it will keep running.
Like I said earlier, since your only experience with computerized cars appears to be with domestic crap, I can understand why you hate them.
What do you think of this 1970 Pontiac Firebird? It has been stripped out to be a drag car; it has a recent crate Pontiac 350, new GM starter, new GM alternator, battery relocation kit, Edelbrock 1405, HEI conversion from Mallory, nitrous, and a brand new and tested pair of batteries. Right up your alley, no?
Good for Senator Shelby. There is no reason why auto workers in non-union states (or anyone else for that matter) should subsidize UAW “legacy” promises which weren’t realistic then and are even less realistic now.
Yeah! I like the iron... Though the only Pontiac motor I really fall over for is the 428 interceptor... very partial to that one. For the trouble I'd have gone Chevy small block myself... :D
Funny, I like the Birds- The front end gives them better styling to me, but I don't like Camaros all that much. More of a Chevelle guy, normally.
But none of them are going to survive by cranking out mediocre cars in quantities 40-50% higher than the American market can absorb and in turn needing to promulgate absurd credit schemes to make their products virtually free to consumers in the short term. If that's the only way they know how to do business, then they'll have to go bankrupt.
Toyota, BMW, and Boeing can buy up whatever assets have commercial or military value and repurpose the production lines to make products that will sell. Big Three bankruptcies aren't going to be the "disaster" that would prevent us from having enough trucks and tanks to win WWII again, should the need ever arise.
It won't start, not even with TWO new fully charged batteries connected to it, without a boost from another vehicle. All of the electrics are new and properly installed, the starter is correct for a 10:1 Pontiac 350, when the starter is installed on another Ponty 350 it'll spin over fine, additional grounds don't help, bypassing the solenoid doesn't help. All the starting parts are new GM or Mallory made parts. Timing and mixture are correct, etc., etc., we've swapped parts with a known good car, etc., etc. It just won't start when cold or hot without help.
My Pathfinder boosting the Firebird:
First thought: New motor, motor is too tight? How's it spin by hand?
Spins over by hand just fine - well, as fine as a 10:1 engine can, anyway.
Oh, and this is something recent - car didn’t use to do this, per the owner. The Pontiac isn’t mine.
Remember, all this stuff is directly from GM or a reputable vendor. No installation errors, we’ve checked everything and had other people look at the car.
Which leaves only “GM SUCKS” as the remaining cause. Either they screwed up the engine or those aren’t 10:1 pistons in there.
I got nothing then. Providing cabling is sufficient to deliver the battery to the solenoid, solenoid to the starter, providing the grounding is as you say, and providing there isn't a big ol Jimmy Blower sitting on top of that 350 stuffing it up to about 12:1, I dunno what else to tell you.
thought is was Caroll Shelby and there would be some nice mustang pics. no such luck.
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