Filed under: Hybrids/Alternative, Government/Legal, Green, GM, Earnings/Financials
Wagoner to Obama: Automakers need research money from feds
After being asked what the next President of the United States could do to help Detroit's automakers, Rick Wagoner, head honcho at General Motors, responded that his company could use an injection of cash for research and development into new, potentially green technology. Also mentioned were additional incentives for consumers to purchase those vehicles once the automakers actually produce them. Neither of these suggestions should be shocking to anybody paying attention to the Detroit 3's recent financial woes. Much of the admittedly meager R&D budget is already being spent on new technologies such as hydrogen fuel cells and electric drive systems, including the extremely important lithium ion battery. Federal aid in the form consumer incentives would allow automakers to offer eco-friendly vehicles at potentially profitable prices while still being in the target range of many consumers. In the past, tax credits for hybrid vehicles have helped move that technology along when it was in its infancy. This latest meeting hosted by presidential hopeful Barrack Obama once again indicates how important the emerging green-auto sector and health of the Detroit auto industry in general will be in the coming election.
[Source: The Detroit News]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 6)
Vintage 3:37PM (6/26/2008)
Funny... Honda isn't demanding any money for producing fuel efficient vehicles. Imagine that.
Reply
compy386 3:41PM (6/26/2008)
Where's your evidence of that? Just because you're unaware of it doesn't mean it didn't happen. Companies apply for grants all the time.
Keat 3:48PM (6/26/2008)
Honda is not an American car company last time I checked. How would they get a grand from the U.S. government when they ship thier cars over here from Japan.
That One Person 4:07PM (6/26/2008)
You sure?
cly 4:09PM (6/26/2008)
So too. More tax money to research fuel burning trucks and muscle cars.
I believe American Honda qualify as an "American car company". In fact, they probably do more in this country than your so call "American aka Mexican car companies"
Greg 4:13PM (6/26/2008)
@Keat
Actually, last I checked Honda ships their cars here from Ohio, where they are made by Honda of America Mfg, Inc... an American Company.
And Honda R&D Americas, Inc. is an American company. They happen to have an owning body in Japan. There's nothing keeping them from obtaining a grant and investing that money at their R&D facility here. Wake up folks, it is a global economy.
Chris 4:21PM (6/26/2008)
Vintage:
Do you ever actually post anything that makes sense?
as previously states why would Honda ask the US government for money? take a minute and think about how ridiculous your statement is.
As usual...nothing but snide idiotic remarks from you
why not the LS2LS7? 4:38PM (6/26/2008)
The Japanese government funds a lot of tech development which has benefited Toyota. I'd be shocked if it didn't benefit Honda too.
Vintage 4:41PM (6/26/2008)
Chris: I'm sorry you were too retarded to understand. The point is they aren't a sinking ship like the Big 3, because they didn't try to convert their entire profit strategy to SUVs and Trucks. Instead they built.. oh... CARS. And good ones. That were reliable, well built, and efficient.
So the Big 3 are begging for money? Why? Honda has already proven it is POSSIBLE to build a more fuel efficient lineup, and not only possible, but PROFITABLE. So why should the government give ANY company money, when Honda is already doing it?
Matt 4:49PM (6/26/2008)
More importantly, who's to say Honda doesn't receive incentives from the Japanese government?
I'm pretty sure I remember hearing Toyota had/does.
why not the LS2LS7? 4:49PM (6/26/2008)
Half of Lexus' lineup was SUVs last year. More than half of the new vehicles Toyota announced over the last couple years have been SUVs.
Honda's 4 most recent vehicles? Pilot, Element, Ridgeline and Fit
Stop pretending the Japanese somehow were somehow above selling trucks. The market wanted SUVs and trucks, and so every company, including Toyota, Honda and even Porsche, made them.
Vintage 5:00PM (6/26/2008)
WhyNot:
What does that have to do with anything? Nothing. I'm not reprimanding them for building SUVs, I'm saying that GM, and others, steered their companies away from the production of cars, and spent all their time making bigger, more aggressive, more macho trucks and SUVs. Why? Because they were NOT PLANNING AHEAD.
Toyota and Honda, while both companies built SUVs, were still focusing on CARS, and giving people a nicely built, reliable, efficient automobile. Detroit was instead packaging crap with rubbermaid interiors, ultra cheap quality standards, and outdated technology. Why? Because they were too busy churning out SUVs as fast as they could make them.
Do I feel sorry for them now that they're in trouble? NO. They made stupid decisions and now they have to deal with it. Quit begging for money, because I don't feel that I should have to pay to bail out a company that has a history of making awful decisions.
Matt 5:06PM (6/26/2008)
@why not the LS2LS7?:
The Fit is a fuel-efficient sub-compact.
Just... letting you know.
FYI, I'm a hardcore Domestic fan, and would probably never buy Honda. At least I get their product classifications right, however. ;)
Matt 5:13PM (6/26/2008)
"Detroit was instead packaging crap with rubbermaid interiors, ultra cheap quality standards, and outdated technology."
That's funny, last I checked the only two compact vehicles in existance (in America) with SOFT touch interiors were the Saturn Astra, and the Hyundai Elantra. That means the Honda Civic and Chevrolet Cobalt have the exact same crappy hard-touch plastic interiors. The difference, by the way, is that the Cobalt isn't designed to replicate a SPACE SHIP.
Move up to mid or full-sized, and most interiors in the price range ($20-30k) are similar in quality.
You get what you pay for, in almost every case, so do NOT sit here and tell me that your Civic somehow has this AMAZING interior compared to some Domestic car, when they're made of the EXACT SAME MATERIAL.
Be a fanboy, but don't be a lying asshole.
Vintage 5:17PM (6/26/2008)
Matt: Compare a cobalt/cavalier to a civic/corolla. One has a nicer interior than the other. Can you guess which one most people prefer? And I'm not referring to just the plastic quality, I'm referring to the way it's made. My 89 Honda Accord interior IS soft touch, and it doesn't rattle AT ALL, even with 265,000 miles. Same with my 89 Prelude. Both wonderfully screwed together.
REALITYCHECK 5:34PM (6/26/2008)
You are so wrong! They have received government support by making cars 10 years or older almost impossible to keep on the road in Japan. They also have a market that is almost closed to the outside world and people that drive imports are thought to be scum. Go there and see for yourself they think that American are fools for buying so many outside brands. At Least their people respect their auto makers and in the future the stock holders need to be last when it come to investments with the big three. Automakers need to invest profits and not just give them back to investors that think they deserve every spare penny of profit. The unions are not what they once were and they need to understand the same issues if they are to have jobs in the future.
Matt 6:19PM (6/26/2008)
@Vintage
I'm glad your twenty year old Japanese cars have tacky soft-touch, but try a NEW car some time. I've owned a Cobalt, my room mate has a 2007 Corolla, and I test drove the Corolla AND Civic before buying my Cobalt. ALL THREE had hard-touch plastic interiors, and all three were pretty comparably crappy. You. Get. What. You. Pay. For. Period.
why not the LS2LS7? 6:24PM (6/26/2008)
Matt. I know. I listed the last 4, 3 of which are trucks.
If you think 3 out of 4 vehicles being trucks is any way better than the big 3, I'd love to hear it.
Vintage:
3 of 4 Hondas most recent vehicle are trucks. They were concentrating on trucks, because trucks sold.
If you say they were concentrating on cars when 3 of their 4 most recent new vehicles are trucks, you're only fooling yourself.
whofan 9:25PM (6/26/2008)
No the japanese government takes care of Japans` interest.25 years ago Chrysler asked for government backed loans and they still get bashed to this day. How much foriegn aid has the US givin out over a 25 year peroid? Time we take care of out own interest. Our priorities in the US are severly screwed.
whofan 9:28PM (6/26/2008)
No the japanese government takes care of Japans` interest.25 years ago Chrysler asked for government backed loans and they still get bashed to this day. How much foriegn aid has the US givin out over a 25 year peroid? Time we take care of out own interest. Our priorities in the US are severly screwed.