CARBIZ

The link is probably the funniest and scariest thing I've watched in a while. I don't understand why we are being so blind. Clinton and Obama are blaming each other and NAFTA. Are they high? Canada is losing just as many jobs. If all the jobs are in Mexico, then why are they still flooding across your borders? But here is the really scary part: It isn't enough that our manufacturing base is desintegrating, or even that Asia practically owns Washington. The truly scary part is what is Bejing going to do with their nearly $1 trillion in treasury bills? What could the U.S. have that they could possibly want????

Gold just hit $1,000. OPEC is going to decouple from the U.S. dollar. Mortgage defaults are up 64% over last February. I think the markets are more sophisticated than 1929, but I've seen some new reports suggesting that the U.S. downturn will swing into 2009. Everyone is quick to point out that this won't be another Japanese lost decade, but then that could just be a lot of analysts protecting their own clients.

Wait until the 2-mode GM system is in full swing. There was a local show the other day with the hybrid Tahoe and regular crew cab Silverado and they tested them off-road, pulling an 8,000 lb tractor on mud, slalom and other tests. The result: a tie. Not bad, considering the hybrid is expected to get 25% better fuel mileage. Suck on that, Toyota.

Well, you gotta hand it to the Chinese, they are getting our technology for Free. The Toronto Transit Commission (also known as Take The Car) is tendering a billion dollar contract for new subway cars. The unions are up in arms because Canada doesn't have any 'official' requirements for Canadian content on big government projects. I was not surprised to learn that both the U.S. and Europe expect a minimum of 50% local content of assembly (the Americans even want final assembly down there) to even be considered for a contract. Not surprisingly, the Chinese want the same, but they also expect a 'transfer of technology' . In Japan, foreign companies need not apply. They aren't even allowed to bid on subway contracts and others.

OnStar has greatly increased its services over the past couple years. I had a flat tire on the outskirts of Detroit about 15 years ago. I had a cell. I had Roadside. The first question they ask: where are you. How the hell did I know? I had to walk about a mile to the last exit and call them back to tell them. Good thing it was in June and it was sunny. Chock up one for OnStar. Stolen vehicle tracking sounds great on paper, but I doubt it is all the effective. I know the police are working on convincing the OnStar people to reach into the engine computer and retard the ignition timing of an escaping vehicel during a police chase. I am of two minds about that ability, frankly. One of my customers had a heart attack behind the wheel of his Buick on the way to his sister's in South Carolina. His wife was able to use the panic button, get the car off the road and the paramedics were there pronto. (Unfortunately, he still died, but his wife was treated for shock at the scene.) The new generation of voice-activated cell technology is way ahead of blue tooth. I don't know about the States, but up here, you can even piggy-back your Bell air time onto your OnStar phone. Remember, this is a 3W system, not 750 mw, like most hand held cell phones. How often does your DVD based nav system update its street addresses and places? Ever max your visa card on a vacation and need an Exxon NOW because it is the only card you haven't maxxed (try that one on the interstate in south Dakota). Most of the On Star systems couple with the DIC to give turn arrows, along with the voice over telling you to make the next left or right. I've tried to trip the OnStar guys up with the nearest Tim Hortons. They are good, very good. Your Nav system can't do that. I think this appeals to women more so than men. A woman working alone at night, especially in urban areas or our crappy winter nights would have a lot of solace knowing that if she gets into trouble there is an advisor right there with her. But more than all of this, what I like about OnStar, is that unlike other services, you get it free for a year (on most vehicels now), which allows you to play with it, get it out of your system and then let it lapse - unlike paying $2k for a Nav system in compeititve vehicles. Plus, if you are stuck in a bad area of Detroit, you can push the blue button, give them your credit card number (unless they already have it on file) and reinitalize the system IMMEDIATELY. You guys are big on CHOICES. Well, Onstar is one CHOICE that Toyota and Honda don't have. I'm slowly becoming a believer. I suspect that once Toyota unveils their version later this year, OnStar will come down in price, too. But why do people insist on paying $450 for Sync, but won't pay $450 to save their life?

Because I am 46, still have a 32" waist, bust my ass at the gym and most of my peers have defected to the leather bars. I refuse. I am not going to age gracefully. I am going to go kicking and screaming into the night. One by one, my 40-something friends have ballooned out and now hang out in leather bars. I dunno what is happening to us. Thirty years ago, when I first 'came out' bears were a rarity. (Hey, I just realized that this June will be my 30th year of being a card carrying, fully licensed queer! Wow!) Maybe it is our McDonald's eating, Dynasty watching generation, that has literally gone to seed, but I don't remember seeing so many bears around back then. Back then, the sterotypical queer (remember the 'clone?') had a moustache, good pecs and abs, wore jeans, a black T-shirt and close cropped hair. Now, I realize those guys would all be in their 60s by now, but why has my generation fallen apart?

All of these options are just that - OPTIONS. Think of all the imported oil that could be saved just by mixing ethanol to say, 20%, of standard gasoline. I don't think anybody is seriously advocating corn-based ethanol is going to replace imported oil, but isn't it better to send a few billion dollars a mont LESS money to the Middle East? Everything is by degrees. The Ontario government is floating the idea (today's headline in the Toyota Star) of creating one of the largest nuclear plants in the world, even bigger than the already huge Darlington plant that we have on our door step. Ontario already generates half its electricity by nuclear, far more than almost any jurisdiction in the world. I think this is a positive step, especially considering Canada has most of the world's uranium ore as well. Besides, we can always ship the spent nuclear rods to Michigan, thus creating jobs in Michigan, too.

No, you're wrong: Toyota does not make mistakes.

Bears scare me........

I'd say the new Chrysler vans are trying too had and have failed. The seats are too tricky, too complicated and will fail over time. I can't wait to see how the floor pans on these things rust out and get banged into oblivion. Try to change the spare on a Chrysler minivan? Watch out: you'll get burned, literally, because the exhaust manifold travels along the passenger side, right where you would normally lay while trying to reach the impossible to reach spare. I am 6' 2" and tried to do it in a show room on carpet and was astounded at the stupiditiy of it. The fact that Chrysler has kept the hoary 3.3 litre, means they are poised to fleet the crap out of this van at any moment. The seats are woefully uncomfortable. I suspect after some initial market success, these vans sales are going to slide into oblivion, once owners have had a chance to live with their complexities and quirks. The Odyssey and Sienna are way too expensive - are they forgetting that most families don't make $80k a year? In the rush to over gadgetize these segment, the manufacturers are forgetting their core fans. All of this is why the lowly GM twins remain the #2 sellers up here in the Land of $4.25 gas and 30% tax brackets. On a bit of a side note, GM has recently gotten downright shrill about pushing OnStar because many of their studies are showing OnStar is increasingly a reason people are remaining loyal to GM. We can debate about how true that is, but the fact that Toyota is in sheer panic to come out with their own version by the end of the year is good enough proof for me. GM has such a huge lead on this technology, and its safety benefits are so proven that it astounds me why someone wouldn't want OnStar in their vehicle. Any of my customers who I ahve talked to who have needed OnStar in an emergency (flat tire, accident, medical emergency, etc.) are completely sold on the technology and won't be without it again. I guess the loyalty issue with OnStar boils down to who has needed it and who has only played with the 'cool' features. The Uplander/SV6 have it, so when properly demonstrated, it is a strong consideration for your typical soccer mom, who is worried about picking the kids up, getting lost, having a flat tire, etc.

$1.6 billion? Has the American dollar dropped that much in a year? I thought it was a one billion dollar plant.

Oh, and Obama? Forget it. Anyone who has watched the West Wing or Yes, Minister will know in a second that he will get bogged down in his own agendas, own grievances and the system will just suck him in and spit him out. Three years in his watch, he will age a decade, become petulant and get caught in some damned scandal, just like the rest of them.

The entire political process is broken, both in your country and in mine. Only crooks and egomaniacs want to go into politics or become lawyers: anyone who actually has ideals and visions inevitably becomes crushed by the hypocrisy, lies and corruption in the System, and gets out. Cynical? I have seen this with my own eyes. We are nations of lawyers and posers. You talk to real people on the street, and you get a totally different opinion than what the politicians and pollsters come up with. Why is that, I wonder? There is a complete, total disconnect between what ALL the levels of government do and what people actually want them to do. As wierd as this sounds, I think the entire political system needs to be smashed. I am not an anarchist, but the system is hopelessly broken and only the lawyers are benefiting right now. Here is my proposal: Everyone born in the country, over the age of 21 with no criminal record, has their name put in a lottery and a list of 50 or so names are picked: one for each State for you guys, plus a manager. They are then in charge of EVERYTHING. No city councils, no governors, no petty local politics. It is all pure crap. I watch the in-fighting and back stabbing, whether it is at the city, state or federal level and it makes me sick. Everyone protects their turf; everyone blames another leve of government. Ultimately, these 51 randomly picked people would be responsible for revamping everything: the court system, the police, all the laws - everything. Nothing would be sacred. Not the Constitution, not the religious sects, not the military - nothing would be exempt. Give them a fixed budget, a fixed time frame ( 2 years?), a loose set of guidelines and unlimited access. That would shake things up a bit. Fresh pairs of eyes on everything. People with no axe to grind, no agenda, no vested interest. The world that the U.S. was formed in during the 1780s and Canada was formed with by the BNA has greatly changed. Nobody envisioned the internet, gay marriage, the influx of immigrants who are here to suck us dry, the exodus from organized religion, divorce rates, the murder rates, teenage pregnancies, television, cocaine, Britney Spears, landing on the moon.....none of these were even imagined when our countries were formed. The system is completely busted; completely overwhelmed. Conflicting systems are smashing into each other, rather than working together. People are corrupted by their own petty interests and cannot see the big picture. As an organism, we have become too complex and too big for systems that were designed 200 years ago. With the monies you guys spend on your military, you could have cured cancer, put the Pope on Mars and had money left over to fix the pension crisis. With the money my governments blow on cover ups, studies and passing the buck, we could have invented cold fusion.

The more I read about economic indicators, I am growing very concerned about what is happening in the U.S. right now. Iraq: $3 trillion. The mortgage crisis: $1 trillion. Gasoline prices: up 50%? How many more hits like that can the American economy take before it implodes? When you couple that with all the foreign holdings of U.S. currency - it adds up to a potential nuclear bomb. I can't imagine any single government deliberately making a run on the U.S. dollar, but panic could set in and domino things.

Exactly. So, even if we are lazy and continue to waste liquified dinosaurs for fuel, what will happen, say, in 40 years when all the easy to get at oil is gone? We can probably find good alternative fuels in the next 40 years, but what about the plastics industry? Our entire economy is based on plastics. What will they use for an alternative? I don't have kids, but I have 5 nephews and I worry for them................

Just be careful that a highway overpass doesn't fall on you.................

It won't be global warming that will force us to drive forklifts: it will be $150 a barrel oil. Have you any idea what will happen if the Middle East stops using the U.S. dollar as their standard????? They are planning on using the Euro.

Quebec: 594,860 sq miles Alaska: 570,380 sq miles Ontario: 415,000 sq miles Texas: 268,581 sq miles Canada = 3.84 million sq miles USA = 3.79 million sq miles This is a bigger margin that GM won the sales race over Toyota.

Yeah, and ZR1 production is now pushed back to September. Great. Shades of SSR all over again. It is tough to remain so loyal to a company that clearly doesn't give a $h! about Canada. What the f$#k are we going to do with all the pre-orders on vehicles that people were expecting in the summer? September means Xmas deliveries for a lot of people. Just in time for the first blizzard. I am starting to think Enzl is rubbing off on me. I understand that production/design changes can be a nightmare, but these happen too often with GM. I had a customer whine to me about how he works for a plastic company that supplies GM and they got dozens of design changes for plastic moulding on the Colorado/Canyon: his company went crazy trying to keep up. And he claims that one of the project managers came from the Cadillac division and didn't understand the simplest design terminology. I have an ugly feeling that by the time we get the Camaro, it will be a big YAWN in the market. We will be at $5 a gallon and you guys will be at $4 - GM WILL THROW A BIG PARTY AND NOBODY WILL SHOW UP.

LIke it or not, the population 'center' of the U.S. is in the northeast/midwest. It still makes more sense for manufacturing to be located up here. Instead of slash and burn manufacturing policies (like were adopted in the late 19th/early 20th centuries), Washington needs to rejuvenate those areas of Ohio/Pennsylvania/Michigan/Indiana, etc that have been devastated by changing demographics and manufacturing. After all, there is only so much desert in New Mexico, Arizona and Nevada to build on, before they, too become toxic wastelands that nobody wants to live in. And never, ever underestimate the value of water. Many economists believe it will be THE next battleground of the 21st Century - and it's all up here, baby.

The last time I looked, GM could ill-afford to blow off 450k in annual sales. Canada may be a 'blip' in the auto market, but that 'blip' is the ony profitability that Detroit has left. There isn't a car market on Earth (much to our chagrin) that is so easily handled as is Canada and the U.S.' - across the Detroit river, literally. And the guys/gals in Georgia are probably DAMNED glad the Uplander/SV6 are outselling the Sienna and Odyssey here - it's keeping them in jobs. Ford did not invent anything. Jeep owned 25% of the SUV market. They invented it. GM grew it with their 2 door offerings in the early '80s. (I worked at a GM dealership in '81/'82 when those things came out - and the public was literally blown away! You have to compare those trucks with what else was out there - they were simply amazing.) Yes, Ford did come our with their 4 door first (but long after Jeep), but the GMC/Chevy twins still continued to do very well - and their 4 doors were only a couple years behind. After the Exploder debacle in 2000, the Exploder's sales tanked, while the Jimmy/Blazer did very well and the TB/Envy still continue to kick ass. One of the dangers of playing Revisionist History, is that for those of us who lived through those troubled times, we didn't sit back and lament 'what could be.' We only knew what is. The original Taurus was a blockbuster in terms of sales and, yes, it was ahead of itself in terms of packaging and style, but that was short lived. Early rust problems, and Ford's problematic 4 spd automatics started killing off sales.

Yes. Also, trucks were not part of the original CAFE numbers, so Detroit found a way around them. Not to sound cynical here, but the 'truck bubble' was artificially induced, I suspect. Now that trucks are to be folded into the equation, Detroit (and others) will be forced to get back to making small, economical vehicles fun to drive and own. If the leaps and bounds Detroit made in the '80s with respect to fuel economy numbers had continued (instead of being sidetracked into a rejuvenation of the currrent horsepower wars), we could have fun cars that would be getting 40 mpg, instead of 242 hp minivans and 6,000 lb. SUVs. Has I have harped about for 3 years on this board, oil consumption is a matter of national security for you guys. Canada could turn off the taps tomorrow and be energy sufficient for a thousand years, but our cultures and histories are inexorably entwined, so it matters to most Canadians what you guys do down there. I, for one, hate seeing the billions the Saudis get from you guys. Let Europe fund their religious schools that harbor terrorism.

I practice serial monogamy.

Let them move their headquarters to Toronto. We'll tax them out of existence, complain about the increased traffic, force them to build affordable housing on the site of their new office tower, and leak trade secrets to President Obama.

Exactly. Anyone who lived through the vehicles or the early and mid-80s will attest that they were nearly universally awful, but technology has come along way in the past 25 years. How did vehicles like the Tahoe and pickups become best sellers?