Monday, January 11, 2010

My Apology to Ford Motors and to Nissan

I would like to formally apologize to Ford Motors and to Nissan. I did not purchase a 2010 Ford Fusion hybrid, the way I planned to. I am sorry. I had a slight windfall from my summer teaching, and I planned to use it for a down payment.

(I know that I've used that photo recently, but it's more germane this time.)

I could explain why I didn't use that money for the down payment. The Cash for Clunkers program was going, and many people were saying that there simply were no good cars to get at that time, that the fuel efficient vehicles would not come to market for a year or two. Oh, I once told someone that I wanted my next vehicle to be a Chevy Volt, but I was joking. After all, I suspect that the Volt will never exist.

In fact, if anyone who reads this knows a journalist, would that person mind suggesting a topic of investigation: the Chevy Volt. It would be dead easy to track when GM has made press releases for the Volt. Simply put those in one column of a word processor, and in the other column, track gasoline prices the week or the two weeks before. Then look at the releases/sales of fuel efficient vehicles by other manufacturers. I would venture a thesis that General Motors will never produce the Volt, that it is merely the "clean coal" of GM: a public relations device designed to keep the public and press from asking them why they have no fuel efficient vehicles available for sale in the U.S. I could be wrong. They only have to make the car to prove me wrong. I doubt they will, but a journalist could help matters (and the country) by making this bluff more well known.

Anyway, news began to reach me that my job was not secure. Then word reached me that my employer would no longer make contributions to my retirement. Then word reached me that my employer was going to "look at" health insurance. I knew that meant that the prescription plan would go the way of the Dodo, or at least the way of the Buffalo (rare, expensive, dangerous). I held my money in fear and spent it on books and CD's and pills and car repairs.

"What a jovial and merry world would this be, may it please your worships, but for that inextricable labyrinth of debts, cares, woes, want, grief, discontent, melancholy, large jointures, impositions, and lies!" -- Corporal Trim to Uncle Toby

I also need to apologize at the same time to Nissan Motors. I have owned Nissan cars before. I cannot say that my Datsun 310 hatchback was an especially happy relationship, but it was a long relationship. If a marriage is miserable, at least it might be long. (I got rid of it for a Subaru that made me very happy. That car was everything my Nutsad was not.) I am willing, more than willing, to believe that the 310 hatchback I had was the worst Datsun ever made and that I was unlucky. I am ready to love again, and Nissan is about to offer something that would make me very, very, very happy: the LEAF.

I want that to be visible again: the Nissan LEAF is going to be an ideal second car.

97% of Americans drive less than 80 miles in a day.

Most of us drive less than 60 miles in a day.

So, a totally electric car that goes 100 miles on a charge will mean all of your daily driving without using a single drop of gasoline. It means being in rush hour driving with no noise, no stink. It means an acceleration curve that can only be beat with a drag racer. It means going very fast. It means going for $0.02 per mile. My current car gets 29 mpg, and I drive for $0.09/mile. It means that it's the equivalent of gasoline costing $1.00 a gallon.

If you have trains or planes, you can take those for your long trips. If you have a second vehicle, you can use that for your long trips. The LEAF is going to cost the same as any other mid-sized sedan.

I want it.

I won't get it. I'm sorry.

Ok, so I'm poor. We'll grant that at the outset. I make less per year, net, than the car will cost, probably, or just about the same. That's one factor. The economy is scary, and my job is scary, as stated above. But that's not what I wanted to say. If I wanted to say that, I would only be saying what everyone says.

Instead, I wanted to point out to the auto companies that I have already purchased a car, despite not having a new car. You see, I have to stay alive. To do that, I am assured that I need to stay on male contraceptives, heart thinners, scab breakers, sugar eaters, and palliatives. Now, lets take all the co-pays and the "premium non-formulary" charges and add them together, and then lets take the charges for the insurance premium itself and add that in. Guess what? It's more than a car payment.

Ok, and then let's toss in my foolishness, my luxuries. We'll take my satellite radio per month, my Netflix per month, and my ISP. All of these are small. None hurts. Why, it's piddling. I can afford it! Let's add them together, though.

The point that I am making, here, is that economists wonder and manufacturers fear and fume that Americans are not purchasing. Oh, yes we are. When our purchases, our major purchases, are already made in the form of maintaining our lives, we're not buying cars. When the majority of us are indebted to live, we do not live beyond the debt.

Do we wish to? Oh, yes, but others have already calculated exactly how much we have left after our food has been consumed, and they have already taken it from us. If you want us to buy cars, work for prescription reform.

4 comments:

Clyde Penquin said...

D0de, the reason Chevy is ignoring the Volt is that they're going bankrupt. A car like that is a "loss leader" for a LONG time; Honda could afford to do that with the Prius, but GM is worried about meeting their payroll next week. (And frankly, I hope the b*stards DON'T and the company burns and the workers starve, as punishment. But that's another story.)

The Geogre said...

The Volt was supposed to apologize for killing the EV-1, suing to stop EV's, crushing existing EV's, refusing to take any of the $2 billion Clinton offered to create hybrids (because they thought they were loss leaders), and then finding that Toyota took the hybrid seriously and has actually made money on the Prius.

The Volt was designed in '04 and promised in '06... then '07... then when Cash for Clunkers saw big spikes in Ford sales but not GM (because you had to get a vehicle with 18 mpg better than what you ditched, and GM STILL HAD NOTHING BUT SUV's and still believed that America only wants and auto makers only profit by tanks) they suddenly had newspaper releases about how the Volt would get 200 mpg and would be released RSN, and they even ran commercials for the car... which was not for sale. Taken over by the government and given a mandate to make small, efficient vehicles like the Volt, they still have said that it's coming RSN.

All of those who think that these are "loss leaders" have to explain how Toyota is making profits on the Prius and what Nissan is thinking with the LEAF.

Anonymous said...

Good day, sun shines!
There have been times of troubles when I didn't know about opportunities of getting high yields on investments. I was a dump and downright pessimistic person.
I have never imagined that there weren't any need in big initial investment.
Nowadays, I feel good, I begin take up real money.
It's all about how to choose a correct partner who uses your funds in a right way - that is incorporate it in real deals, parts and divides the income with me.

You can ask, if there are such firms? I have to tell the truth, YES, there are. Please be informed of one of them:
http://theinvestblog.com [url=http://theinvestblog.com]Online Investment Blog[/url]

Anonymous said...

Hi there!
I would like to burn a theme at here. There is such a thing, called HYIP, or High Yield Investment Program. It reminds of ponzy-like structure, but in rare cases one may happen to meet a company that really pays up to 2% daily not on invested money, but from real profits.

For several years , I earn money with the help of these programs.
I'm with no money problems now, but there are heights that must be conquered . I get now up to 2G a day , and my first investment was 500 dollars only.
Right now, I managed to catch a guaranteed variant to make a sharp rise . Turn to my blog to get additional info.

http://theinvestblog.com [url=http://theinvestblog.com]Online Investment Blog[/url]