[Ben4mich.]

GOV.GRANHOLM WANTS IDEAS TO IMPROVE MICHIGAN'S ECONOMY BY 3/19/08. Here is one: Use our automobile industry to make cars the entire world wants. Gov. should use all resources to get GM, Ford & Chrysler motivated towards alternative fuel sources for cars. GM has a winner in its ELECTRIC Volt. As the first, practical, gas/plug-in electric car, in production they would sell. And, I predict, HUGE sales. Bob Lutz has a great start and needs Granholm's push to start production ASAP! Ford has a winner in its Focus hydrogen/electric FCEV that has been tested, tried, and proven since 2003! This car can compete with the Honda Clarity and Kia and Hyundai FCEV models that will be in the U.S. this year and next. IT JUST NEEDS FUEL!! Granholm needs to "push" strategic gasoline stations to add HYDROGEN PUMPS so HFCEV users can travel the state. (Start by more in Detroit metro, Grand Rapids, Flint etc. and along I-75, I-96 etc. and expand). Don't let California be the only state that is proactive! These two alternative powered vehicles can re-start our flagging auto industry; put people back to work making them and selling them. IF YOU AGREE LET GRANHOLM KNOW! Thanks!

[mitchell24]

Fist of there is no way known now to extract Hydrogen from water and there is no source for Hydrogen, It costs more to get it than you get out of it.
Second there is no setup intrastructure to transport it store it and no cars to use it. It would take a combnation of new tec, and building new systems for usage. This would take an act by the federal government, and a state government would not be able to get such a program started, Bush does not give a crap about what is happning in the country, heck he says that things are great in the us economy, then runs off like a little frat boy whos daddy has always cleaned up his messes,to a 27k a plate dinner fund raiser for the Rep. party. We are spending a couple hundred billion in a war that we most likely will not win, It just takes low IQ people longer to come to this conclusion. How much better could the $ be spent on our people,bridges,roads,R&D on new fules.

A company in Europe has made a thing called a tirby that is an upright wind generator, it produces dc power then inverted to ac. The government sould give a tax break to people putting these things in their homes.
Unlike Limbaugh we need to start to use less fule. We did it in the late 70s we started to weather proof our homes, we got rid of our land cruise ships and bought small High MPG cars.
The biggest problem we have is that the federal government is stopped everything that is any help to the problem. Fortunatly we only have 10 more months to go before he is in the history books as the dumbest pres. we have ever had.
As far a the volt goes Bob Lutz just came out and said that the cost was going to be around 30 to 40k for a car that has a range of 40 miles W/O range estender gas installed.
This car is not at a price point where people would buy it over a prius priced at 20k. It is another fix that people dont want from GM. I think this company will go the way of bear sterns if it is not very carfull. Chrystler is shutting down two weeks acorss the world.
I think this is for stock reduction. People just do not want a high power gas guzzler.
I am seeing more and more prius all over. In my parking area where Dr.s used to park the likes of BMWs now I see prius in these parking spots. 50 mpg is hard to beat so far. With oil at 106 a bbl. and no signs of backing of anytime soon, I will say I dont blame them. I drive an aveo that gets 35 MPG and picked it up new for 9000 with a/t air,power locks and all the goddies. I have never fell into the I need a car to make me feel like I am somebody, I would like to see the federal gov. tax any car under a fed. lis. plate tax that does not get over20 mpg. and then reduce it to no tax on the highest MPG cars.
People will not try to fix things unless you make them.
Do you think that people would stop smoking in a day care, or rest. if the gov. did not set a law to say you can not? do you think that companys would not dump toxic waist in your back door if there were not a law that said they could not?
You can not let the "market" rule, it will favor the rich and stomp on the poor every time.

Nothing good will start untill we get rid of the oil people in the white house.

[Ben4mich.]

.....about hydrogen powered vehicles. You need to do some reading friend! Just "Google" pretty much anything with hydrogen in it and you will get tons of references. Hydrogen fuel cell powered vehicles are here, and have been here for many years now. California has hundreds of vehicles using this concept in FLEETS of cars brought in by a number of manufacturers. These "O" (as in NO) emissions vehicles are driven mainly in the Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco areas but Gov. Arnold has ordered "Hydrogen Fuel Stations" to be set up all over the state so these vehicles can leave those metropolitan areas. The country of New Zeeland plans to be the first COUNTRY to fully adopt hydrogen starting this year when Kia takes their HFCEV cars there this Summer.

Hydrogen is the most plentiful fuel source on Earth. All water is two parts hydrogen, - one part water. Most of the earth's surface is covered by water. It does take power to refine water into just hydrogen. Currently natural gas or electricity is being used which does add cost to an otherwise free product. But better solutions for power are available throughout Europe and Asia; Its called Nuclear Energy and the US needs to get back up to speed on this also.

[wanderer74]

Have you watched the movie "Who Killed the Electric Car"? For some reason GM really does not want to get on board with technologies that would allow them to branch out into more environmentally friendly fuels. (The whole "flex fuel" thing with ethanol really makes me angry because ethanol is NOT an environmentally beneficial solution and the push toward it is resulting in higher food prices because of the corn being diverted to ethanol instead.) Also GM won't bring up the fuel efficiency to the standards that would allow their cars to be sold in the EU and other countries that have higher fuel efficiency standards than the US.

I absolutely agree with you that getting on board with new technologies for alternative fuels could save Michigan. I'm not sure hydrogen is the answer yet because the hydrogen fuel cells are still too expensive to be realistic for widespread use. But GM and Michigan both could do a lot to rebound if they were willing to explore more alternative fuel options and be on the leading edge of that technology...unfortunately GM seems more interested in lobbying to keep the status quo

[Ben4mich.]

The sad thing is that ALL of the US Automakers lobbied Congress to postpone new mileage standards for 32 years! Had they been forced to keep increasing the MPG of their fleets we wouldn't be hearing them boast of 30-35 MPG for the best of their cars today. Its pathetic, but they shot themselves in the foot and I, for one, am not sorry to see them losing sales to foreign companies now producing better cars at cheaper prices, - with better warranties. Its too bad American Labor has to suffer with their stupidity!

I think they are beginning to realize their mistake now and should be willing to quit propping up the old gas guzzlers and begin the switch to something new. I agree with you, flex fuel isn't even worth the effort! As you point out GM pulled the plug on electrics a few years back. BUT learned that they CAN work and now have resurrected the best of that prior experiment, made improvements with the addition of the small gas operated alternator for longer trips, - and have a 4 passenger car that should do extremely well for the average family. They will have to "eat" some of the setup cost as it must be competitively priced but with 1000's of inventory just sitting around what choice do they have?

[Cliffie]

I think we should be using our empty manufacturing plants to supply OUR OWN bullets and bombs to the military instead of buying them from the frikkin' Middle East.

[mike231]

Gas mileage:
I had a 1979 Chevy pick up with a topper and was getting 15 mpg, my 2004 GMC pick up with a topper is getting 13.9 mpg
25 years between these two trucks

[tallguy924]

Detroit car manufactures have allways been good for their pickup trucks/ suv's. if we could find a way come up with cars that have good gas milage, lasts long, and is able to compete with industrys like toyota and honda, then GM, Chrysler, Ford, etc. will find sucess and regain control of the worlds auto industry.

[Newsbash]

Someone needs to knock some heads in GM, Chrysler, Detroit Motors...whoever. We now know reliance on the Internal Combustion Engine is the road to hell. Maybe there will be fuel cell cars in the future that will lure us away from the simplicity of an electric battery powered car. But that is the NOW car. The idea that no one wants to talk about, sort like Single Payer Health Care, is A BATTERY POWERED ELECTRIC CAR WITH A POWER TAKE OFF that accommodates easy insertion of a charging engine for long journeys. We can produce battery powered cars right now, at moderate prices, that will go over 100 miles on a charge. That isn't counting economy of scale. Having Charging Engines as Rentals can be another big industry.Sorry GM, but who wants to be stuck with a car that will get you work and back on electric and lug around a useless ICE 99% of time? It will be neglected and with Ethanol separation issues (we're seeing it in Marine Engines from lack of use) it will be constant head ache. I think we citizens have earned the right of a little cynicism here. THEY LOVE THAT INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE (ICE) GRAVY TRAIN AND DON'T WANT TO GIVE IT UP. Don't kid yourself that the maintenance and replacement of them has been very profitable for the industry.SOMEONE IS GOING TO STEP UP AND MAKE SOME PROFIT MAKING THE ELECTRIC CAR WITH THE...POWER TAKE OFF (PTO). The others will sit there with their mouths hanging open. Will it be Detroit Motors. Nissan, Tesla. I think the mainstream auto manfacturers are too addicted to gravy.THIS COULD LIGHT A FIRE IN DETROIT.......OR NOT.

[Newsbash]

GM with their Volt and the Ethanol Fuel issues today is coming nightmare for GM if they go down that road.

The sick things is they know about this issue. There are class action suits against Yamaha and other other Marine Engine manufactures on going. I assume it spills over into fuel suppliers.

Ethanol works pretty well if isn't allowed to sit and evaporate or attract moisture. It is much more hygroscopic than gasoline.

GM will say, you just have to run your engine up to warm temp. anyway. Lug around a tank of fuel w/ethanol for six months and see what happpens.