Car Rant

   Not about my car.  The Hummingbird (as I call it) is great.  No it's more of a car maker rant.

This economic slowdown (while the national economy is still fundamentally sound) has affected car makers.  They are going bankrupt and are shutting down plants because people don't want to or can't afford to buy the vehicles like they used to.

Since Americans aren't buying trucks and SUVs en masse, car makers are laying off people and begging the government for more bailout money.  On a similar note, lobbying for that $700 billion has become an industry all its own.  Instead of focusing on running a functional business, companies are trying to get a piece of the pie.

Here's my thing with the car makers.  Build cars that people want and can afford.  Really, is it that hard.  Maybe it is but let me tell you what set this thinking off for me originally.

A few months ago, Tia and I saw a commercial for a hybrid that got 20 mpg.  20?  With a hybrid price tag?

The Hummingbird is 6 years old and gets 35 mpg.  Why on earth would anyone spend an extra 10 grand over the cost of a car to buy something that gets half the gas mileage of a regular car?  Who is the rocket scientist behind this idea.

"Doesn't this get less gas mileage than a Greyhound bus?"

"Yes, totally, but it's a hybrid!  We can cash in on the green movement with a hybrid!"

"To be green, wouldn't we need to use less gas?"

"Yes, totally, but to appear to be green, all we have to do is put the word hybrid on the back of the car.  And we get to charge a premium price for it."

"Premium price, eh?  I'm in."

If Saturn brought back the EV1 and didn't charge an outrageous amount for it, they would own the car market.  The first company that breaks free of oil's grasp, wins.

Or we can just stop making cars.