Hey, the federal government is bailing out every other company, what’s another subsidy between friends?

Wait for it. There will be an announcement from GM in the very near future that a new Volt could now cost as much as 40 large.

Howsmydriving, you know that Toyota was getting essentially the same concession with the Prius when it first came out, right? I think that was a $3500 rebate for a much less complicated and expensive advancement in technology. This is nothing new, and if any other brands had dumped hundreds of millions of dollars into battery development they’d have a vehicle eligible too. But they didn’t and they’re not. Too bad, so sad. It’s only ever a bad idea when a domestic company benefits, right? This attitude toward your own businesses is why your economy is in a shambles. Cater to everyone, punish ourselves, as though the only business worth having is foreign owned.

This is a good thing, people. The government is offering you $5000 off the purchase of a hot new car. Bastards! How dare they promote green technology, give homegrown industry a boost for investing heavily in it, and give you back your money?

Oldraven, wise words, not often seen on LLN. This site should start a spin-off solely for Japanese automotive news so the domestic haters can stroke each others egos, among the other things they already stroke.

God forbid we get our industries competitive in their domestic market again. Next thing you know, Japan will have a trade barrier against importing US vehicles. Oh wait.

You two must not have heard of Capitalism before. It’s a supply and demand thing, look it up. It’s also survival of the fittest. The Big 3 haven’t been giving the consumers what they want. That obvious with the sales Toyota and Honda have been doing. Their gross-mismanagement and union messes are their problems. It’s not the American people’s job to be guilt-tripped into buying American if it’s not what they want or a better product. Honda, Subaru, and Toyota have all invested in building American plants with American workers. So either way I guess America gets screwed. Good luck buying your crappy American RCA TV next time at Walmart. (But I do agree these rebates are good as they did them before.)

HoosierHero . . . I am just a simple Delaware guy. Were you trying to be ironic? RCA became defunct years ago after it was sold to a French company and quality nose-dived. I am sorry if it disappoints anyone, makes me an anachronism or pathetic; but, I do root for the domestics. The original point of tariffs was to fund nascent American industry (feeding the tariff money to promising young American companies). Somewhere along the line, the world got it into its head that it was unfair that America was doing so well. So countries like Japan put up their own tariffs and quotas to keep American vehicles out of Japan. There were no commensurate quotas (keyword: commensurate) in the U.S.. We have seen the decline of American industry.

It is doubtless the world will really notice when Americans stop having the money for those Japanese autos you have mentioned. It is less-and-less true with each passing day that as the U.S. sneezes the world catches a cold. The emerging markets of S. America, Asia and even Africa are the future. The world will not miss us, but Americans will someday miss the power and cache we once had. More importantly, Americans will miss being able to afford things. Will America fix things at that point? Probably not. The end of any empire is marked by squabbling and the selling off of assets in general.

You are right HoosierHero. There is no need to guilt-trip Americans. We are just smart enough to see the value of trade deals that benefit us today while picking our pocket tomorrow. So the Japanese autos are a deal now. It must not matter that 1 in 10 American jobs still rely on the domestic auto industry. You are right I guess. Oldraven and gallonoffuel have no right to make the case for their own pocketbooks and livlihoods, but arguing about the value of Japanese autos over the domestic economy is utterly fair. Or maybe I am now being ironic. Maybe I refuse to let others shout me down. Maybe I have to sit on a ship that I know is sinking, with Oldraven and gallonoffuel, and root for the crew as they try to save us from slipping below a very cold and unforgiving sea. I have to root for the American ship HoosierHero. I am just a simple Delaware guy. Where else can I call home?

Hoosierhero, they’re not being guilt tripped into buying American. They’re being given a rebate if they buy an electric car with an advanced battery, no matter where the car comes from. It just so happens that GM is the only company with anything close being readied for the market. And like I said before, it’s the same thing as the rebate currently offered for any hybrid electric vehicle under so many units. If you want to talk about survival of the fittest, maybe the US and Canada should implement some severe tariffs on any foreign made vehicle, just like they do in Japan. I bet the Japanese houses would bitch and moan.

There should be tax credits as it only allows the execs too further secure their bonuses, maintain poor performance, and saddle those who actually pay taxes with more taxes. Ah, the corporate whining while all the while being in bed with a government that no longer recognized its own indentured taxpaying servants.

GMs wish? Sounds like every automakers wish LLN!
The rebate for Prius was $3500, I would have paid $3500 too not have to ever see a Prius, they make an Armadillo look sexy.

Globalism is great unless you are the top dog. Then it just pulls you down.
Fire congress and start over with people who put America first.

Shaver, armadillo’s ARE sexy! Just kidding.

I feel we’ll be seeing everyone trying to cash in on that refund. Not just other automakers, but the makers (via price hikes), the dealers (via markups) and the customers. Feeding frenzy…

This car will sell even better with this rebate despite the hikes. Women love this type of thing. They say, “I’m saving money because I’m getting a rebate. I COULD have paid $5,000 more!” despite the fact that the whole price has been hiked $10,000.

Oldraven- I agreed that it was a good thing. It’s fair and promotes innovation in the new technologies when adopted by a wider audience.

Lionwithoutpride- I totally agree. Rome had a long decline and we are in the midst of ours. China is going to be the next big kid on the block, and Americans better wake up if we want to remain competitive. But we’ve always had foreign investment, and that money (and immigrants) has helped make America the great country it is today.

If “BIG OIL” can get BIG TAX BRAKES, why not the big 3, if it helps to keep jobs, boost the economy, why not. The U.S. Rederal Resive just pumped $50 Billion in to U.S. Banks, THAT’S $50 BILLION… The main CEO of Exxon oil made 1.3 Blillion last year and dam near got 60% tax brake of $38, Hundred Million he had to pay…. just look it up on Forbs wed-site. Look the car will sell regarless of what any one says, now if the Volt is a MISS, you can only hope to save some extra ca$h, and if it’s a HIT then your save big becouse the mark-up will not come down…

HoosierHero . . . Sorry if I sounded too harsh this morning. I certainly do not intend to come off as anti-immigration (far from it-and yes I know you did not accuse me of mentioning immigrants). And while we have had foreign investment, that’s not what is going on in our discussion above. We are talking about wholly owned foreign companies that, from the perspective of some of us, have been advantaged by unreciprocated and predatory government programs. Perhaps I did not stress enough that I do not despair of America’s condition. Rather, I meant, though did not convey well enough, that we can fix our problems and we must. I am not pleased at the source of the government’s incentive as I assume it will be derived from taxes or loans rather than tariffs, but I still believe the program is necessary.

In my perfect world, the American auto-execs would pour every available technology into each auto and have it off-set by a tariff on foreign vehicles that is commensurate with the tariffs they place on our imports to their countries. Unfortunately that will not happen. So, I must content myself with making my meagre contribution to strengthening the voice for creating programs to level the playing field-at least somewhat.

For once, Congress has done something that makes a little sense.

I don’t know if people understand why the “rich” (big companies) get big “tax breaks.” Imagine if the government started asking a company like General Electric to pay 10% more taxes per year. Well, the guys at the top aren’t going to take a 10% cut on their pay. They’re greedy. So what do they do in order to pay the taxes and bring home the same amount of money? They raise the price of the product, that’s what they do. So, now your light bulbs cost 10% more, as do refrigerators, washing machines, alarm systems, locomotive engines, jet engines (raising the airfares), and so on and so forth. Now just imagine all the big companies receiving the same taxation, and you can watch the price of all your products rise. Rich people don’t pay taxes. Instead, they pass that “cost” on to the customers, which are you.