Some interesting comments in this story from Automotive News:
THE AUTO INDUSTRY BAILOUT:
Comments from experts, insiders, pundits and comics
Debate is rampant about whether some form of federal aid is headed to the Detroit 3. Late last week, Democrats crafted a set of requirements that General Motors, Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC must submit with their loan applications. That topic and others triggered the latest rounds of editorials and commentaries from major international media.
Here are some snippets from the latest round of soundbites:
http://www.autonews.com/article/2008...811240276/1200
The Car of the Future -- but at What Cost?
Hybrid Vehicles Are Popular, but Making Them Profitable Is a Challenge
"That's because car manufacturers still haven't figured out how to produce hybrid and plug-in vehicles cheaply enough to make money on them. After a decade of relative success with its hybrid
Prius,
Toyota has sold about a million of the cars and is still widely believed by analysts to be losing money on each one sold.
General Motors has touted plans for a plug-in hybrid vehicle called the Volt, but the costly battery will prevent it from turning a profit on the vehicle for several years, at least"
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...12403295&s_pos=