Comments Dan Detroit has made

  • Sitting on Boards

    A reasonable comment for a change!

    A board of directors typically is a voting group, Yes, an individual director can be opposed to the majority position of the organization. On Companies not following through on pledge to lobby for carbon reduction posted 1 year, 9 months ago 6 Responses

  • Let's get Really Real

    Wolverine,
    You must be terrified to live in an imaginary world filled by all these  evil people. Pity you are lost in such irrationality. Business men are certainly "in it for the money" just as you are when you go to work, assuming you do work for a living.

    When did the coal companies unionize? About 135 years ago, according to my brief research. Are those evil guys still around? I'll bet they are long dead.
      Karen Silkwood killed? She fell asleep and died in a single car crash.
    "..blood tests performed as part of the autopsy showed Silkwood had 0.35 milligrams of methaqualone (Quaalude) per 100 milliliters of blood at the time of her death. That amount is almost twice the recommended dosage for inducing drowsiness." Appears just as likely that she caused her own death by risky behavior.

    Yet more absurdly unfounded beliefs!On Companies not following through on pledge to lobby for carbon reduction posted 1 year, 9 months ago 6 Responses

  • Legislate Angels dancing on pinheads....

    The truth about the first terrifying "Report" you cite can be found at:
    http://www.fuzzysignals.com/archives/2004/02/index.html

    You spin as a prediction what is actually a "worst case scenario" the military often considers, even though highly unlikely.

    The second report contains this statement:
    "Much higher up the course of the glacier there is evidence of a volcano that erupted through the ice about 2,000 years ago and the whole region could be volcanically active, releasing geothermal heat to melt the base of the ice and help its slide towards the sea."

    Are you now claiming GHG causes volcanism?

    Report 3 may actually support your premise, but does in fact say:
    "Greenland's ice mass has already contributed in part to 20th century sea level rise of about two millimeters per year,..."
    At that rate, we will see a whopping 7.9 inch rise in sea level over the next century.

    None of this supports the notion that humans are the cause of the almost certainly natural warming and cooling cycles that ebb and flow over geologic time. You do know that in the ancient past, there were no ice caps at all, don't you?

    Never let real science get in the way of your emotions!   On A safety valve in Lieberman-Warner is senseless posted 1 year, 9 months ago 24 Responses

  • Detroit's problems are well documented

    You may be right about #1 & #3, but if you look at the market segments where the Japanese have expanded the most, you will note that they are larger, more powerful vehicles. Camry, Tundra, all Lexus.  Honda Civic is now larger than original Accord. Accord has more power than Corvettes did not that long ago.

    The current quality of vehicles produced by GM & Ford rival the best (Toyota) and exceed other Japanese (Subaru per your example)quality levels as well as almost all Europeans as measured by independent J.D. Power.

    The Prius captured a whopping 1.1% of the 2007 U.S. market.  They do sell a lot of Camrys & some Tundras, which you may note get poorer fuel economy than GM counterparts. Honda quietly dropped the Accord Hybrid due to slow (non-existant)sales.

    The real reason we don't import European models is because no one (maybe the 1% who like the Prius)will buy them, and most can not meet U.S. safety standards particularly for rear collisions. Over half (57%) of the U.S. sales in 2007 were trucks.

    BTW-How could the Detroit 3 have gotten universal health car (& what makes you think they don't want it?) if they can't vote and are reviled for even hiring lobbyists to express their views?

    You really have no idea what you are talking about with regard to the EVI.  Waiting lines to lease are the myth here.  Even though GM spent many millions to develop the car, battery technology was inadequate, not to speak of the huge loss incurred on every one.  GM (and the illustrious Toyota) are banking on a breakthrough in battery technology to enable plug-ins by 2010.

    These are facts, not lies, not even spin.  The Detroit 3 are not led by stupid men, they are not maliciously refusing you the cars you want. They are simply business people who have to make a buck to survive.

    More importantly - motor vehicles contribute only .5% (14% of total human contribution) of the annual CO2 emissions to the atmosphere and do not deserve the place of infamy you assign to them.On GM exec defends calling climate change a 'crock of shit' posted 1 year, 9 months ago 26 Responses

  • You bet I am worked up!

    Good job!  You are right about me being worked up!I fear for the future of my industry and my country! I am saddened and dismayed by the lack of technical validity in the arguments here. I even have to agree with the comment that product quality has been a huge part of GM's (& Ford's & Chrysler's) problem. Although I promise you that I understand the issues and causes from the plant floor to the showroom floor.  

    I know that I, as a 38 year experienced automotive engineer, am very unlikely to get any respect here. I know that you are extremely presumptuous that only you see the light while having little or no technical knowledge. I do guarentee that I have written no lies though. Please tell me what you think is a lie, if you can avoid bringing up Limbaugh in your rational commentary.
    On GM exec defends calling climate change a 'crock of shit' posted 1 year, 9 months ago 26 Responses

  • Reality 3?

    Today being my first visit to this blog, my observations are:

    Lots of emotion - no evidence of education in physical science or business.

    Serious anti-Americanism.

    It has been said:
    The problems of the environmentalists are a complete lack of technical or business education and experience to draw conclusions and make decisions.

    In the real world, decisions which control the life or death of an enterprise must be made based on accurate data. I often hear the phrase "If we could send a man to the moon, we should be able to...."-you fill in the ending.  Do you know that GM spent more than the cost of the Apollo Space Program to dramatically and rapidly downsize their fleet in the mid '80s to meet fuel economy standards that were not demanded by the market? What came of it? Customers ran away. Sales collapsed. Now Toyota, in particular, while currying a "green" image, has moved into larger and larger vehicle segments.  Honda's new Civic is larger than the original Accord! All imported vehicles have gotten larger, more powerful, and less fuel efficient, as they have gathered ever larger share of the market while benefitting from fuel economy credits earned when they sold only small vehicles. Everybody wants fuel economy/plug in electrics/et al but only until they have to pay for it. Now, thanks to human emmitted CO2 caused Global Warming hysteria, Congress has essentially banned the remaining market segments (trucks & SUVs) where the Detroit 3 can make any money. Thanks! On A safety valve in Lieberman-Warner is senseless posted 1 year, 9 months ago 24 Responses

  • Reality 2?

    amazingdrx

    How do you feel about GWB's No Child Left Behind initiative that is intended to promote reading ability?

    Let's hear you talk from both sides of your mouth now.On A safety valve in Lieberman-Warner is senseless posted 1 year, 9 months ago 24 Responses

  • Reality?

    Some passion, but your ignorance! Oh My!

    You seem to think you are much smarter than GWB, but surely lie to soothe yourself that he must have bought his degrees from Yale & Harvard while earning higher grades than beloved Kerry & Gore.

    What new auto plants are in Canada? Check your facts.

    Did you know that the Prius accounts for 1% of U.S. sales, while Honda has dropped the Accord hybrid due to poor sales? That Toyota's growth is in larger more powerful, less fuel efficient vehicles because that's where the money is? That Toyota joined the Detroit automakers in opposition to increasing fuel economy standards simply because it forces them to be at odds with their customers?

    You are right about the health care burden on the U.S. makers, but do you know it is the result of a multi-decade monopoly by one union on all the U.S. makers? The ever increasing burden could be sustained until off shore competition and Non-Union transplants arrived?

    Do you really think the long, steady decline of U.S. manufacturing, particularly the Detroit 3, is because every single company is run by fools? Are you really that anti-American?

    There is plenty of blame to go around, but if you insist on picking who caused our decline in competitiveness you can look squarely at one political party for advancing entitlements, unionism, and trial lawyers.On A safety valve in Lieberman-Warner is senseless posted 1 year, 9 months ago 24 Responses

  • What is a Green Collar Job?

    A "Green Color" job is a political word for the imaginary employment opportunity that will replace the jobs lost as our economy is devastated by nonsensical CO2 emission (i.e. fuel economy) regulations.On The latest eco-buzzword posted 1 year, 9 months ago 17 Responses

  • Technology is the only answer

    Since support for mass executions seems unlikely, despite the anti-human bias of this crowd, we will just have to rely on technology to solve the problems of pollution.  But wait, we will stop the advance of technology as we leave the cities, with their Enterprise, Universities and R&D centers, for the simpler life on the land. Of course, then most will die off due to starvation.  Problem solved!    On California sewage makes for femme fish, says study posted 1 year, 9 months ago 7 Responses

  • Population reduction

    Do you propose shooting them or just starving them to death? Oh, maybe mandatory abortions -that is a democrat party plank, isn't it? Wait, that wouldn't be quick enough.On California sewage makes for femme fish, says study posted 1 year, 9 months ago 7 Responses

  • Vote for Nader

    Please, please vote from your heart.  Vote for Nader to let the world know how important your cause is.On Mary Matalin calls global warming 'a largely unscientific hoax' posted 1 year, 9 months ago 17 Responses

  • not quite mirror versions

    Actually, Mary's perspective is more based on science. In this case the lack thereof.  Carville is in the business of manipulating the weak minded who "think" with their hearts and not their heads.

    Aren't any of you old enough to remember when "Global Cooling" was the terrible future we faced?  It really wasn't that long ago. Give it time, it may make a comeback.On Mary Matalin calls global warming 'a largely unscientific hoax' posted 1 year, 9 months ago 17 Responses

  • No respect!

    Maybe you have no respect from either party because your nonsensical emotional perspective is not founded on reality!On A safety valve in Lieberman-Warner is senseless posted 1 year, 9 months ago 24 Responses

  • Common Sense is gone!

    I wish all of you would at least realize that if the economy collapses, there will be no money for advancing technology to improve energy efficiency.  Meanwhile the Chinese & Indians continue to eat our lunches. There is a lot of sideline chatter among folks that have not been realistic in the costs and impacts of the proposed changes in society.  There comes a time when "common knowledge" (humans are causing global warming) is not based on common sense.
    If you had any brains, you too would be Republicans. (to paraphrase Ann Coulter)On A safety valve in Lieberman-Warner is senseless posted 1 year, 9 months ago 24 Responses

  • Green Engineer?

    Are you a real engineer? If so, you cleverly hide any sign of it.  Do you think everyone should just ride their bikes to work, play, vacation,etc?

    It appears to me (a real engineer) that you are the stupid one.  For God's sake, what more could be done to take the car out of the environmental equation than moving to electric and fuel cell vehicles?  GM has and will continue to spend $billions on these initiatives. The terrifying prospect from a business perspective is that consumers are unlikely to spend the money to buy them!

    Do you just want to control the lifestyles of others?It appears that you wish humans didn't exist-no roads, no vehicles, no freedom of movement. That's the end game of your argument.

    I'll wager you have not calculated the tiny, tiny portion of global greenhouse gases added by motor vehicles annually -about .002% (in case you are not a real engineer, that is two thousandths of 1%). Even if you discount water vapor as the 95% factor that it is, vehicles only contribute about .5% of annual CO2 emissions to the atmosphere, and only 14% of the anthropogenic total. Seems like a hell of a "mountain out of a mole hill". You are the one who should get a clue.On GM exec defends calling climate change a 'crock of shit' posted 1 year, 9 months ago 26 Responses

  • Gingrich says - "We just don't know!"

    WOW!  I apprehensively expected support at the link. However, Gingrich says: "We don't know even if the globe is warming, let alone if humans are causing it." to paraphrase. "Remember global cooling was the fear just a few decades ago."

    Why must environmentalists demonize anyone who expresses a different view?   On Like peanut butter and chocolate posted 1 year, 9 months ago 12 Responses

  • Wacknuts!

    It is a shame that the minimal scientific evidence that global temperatures may have risen in recent years is taken as proof that humans have caused it leads to such strident comments. Anyone who disagrees is lying for some demonic reason. I guess that is part and parcel of the leftist shtick. Demonize anyone who disagrees.

    Amazing- The presumption of the ignorant!

    You do know that the sensationalist points made by Mr. Gore were found sufficiently lacking by a British court such that his film can not be shown with out notation to that effect. On Like peanut butter and chocolate posted 1 year, 9 months ago 12 Responses

  • Stop Global Warming Virtual March

    Global Warming is a natural effect that is the result of factors that trivialize human contributions by comparison.  Anthropogenic Global Warming is an Alarmist Myth, verging on a religion.  It is absolutely not science. Precisely how did humans cause the coming and going of the ice ages?  How is it that rise in CO2 levels lags nearly 1,000 years behind upward trends in global temperatures? Before you drive for policies that completely cripple the U.S. economy, you may want to take note that the U.S. has reduced CO2 emissions while the illustrious EU has maintained or increased CO2 emissions. We have to be prosperous to afford the technological progress necessary to achieve greater energy efficiency. On If by 'unparalleled' you mean 'suicidal and morally indefensible', then yes, you are correct posted 1 year, 9 months ago 3 Responses

  • Remember the Stirlec: GM's first hybrid

    And another thing- GM has never said they couldn't make a more efficient vehicle.  They know, as the market proves, that they don't sell. The vaunted Prius, accounted for a whopping 1.1% of the U.S. market last year, and you may note that Honda has dropped the Accord hybrid due to poor sales. The latest hybrids from Toyota are being marketed as performance enhancers.  Meanwhile, as GM heavily subsidizes their hybrid SUV's, which save many times the fuel of the Prius compared to their non-hybrid counterparts, you look the other way. On GM exec defends calling climate change a 'crock of shit' posted 1 year, 9 months ago 26 Responses

  • Blame America First?

    The real crime is the stupid opinion that ALL AMERICAN BUSINESS IS RUN BY CROOKS! What a twisted, self destructive perspective. You must be on assistance or, if even employable, work for a government agency.  One thing is clear, you know nothing of which you speak, while exuding the presumptuous arrogance only a fool is capable of.On GM exec defends calling climate change a 'crock of shit' posted 1 year, 9 months ago 26 Responses

  • Remember the Stirlec: GM's first hybrid

    What ignorance! GM released the most advanced, most efficient electric vehicle- the EV1. Bad news- no one wanted it. $Billions down the drain. Hybrids have no business case unless fuel goes much, much higher than it is now. Simply put, the consumer pays more for the technology than they will recover in the life of the vehicle. Oh, what about Prius? Toyota has manipulated the weak minded to think they are so green by selling that product at a loss.  All the while, they have had the greatest decline in corporate average fuel economy of any maker as they have expanded into the powerful, large, PROFITABLE vehicles that the market demands.On GM exec defends calling climate change a 'crock of shit' posted 1 year, 9 months ago 26 Responses

  • amazingdrx and other ignoramuses

    Your crackpot faith-based belief in anthropogenic global warming is reflective of scientific ignorance. It is clear that you are unaware that increasing warmth over the ages has been followed, by nearly a 1,000 year lag, by higher CO2 levels.  It appears from history that warmer temperatures are more likely to cause higher CO2, than vice versa. The earth has had CO2 levels many, many times higher than today in the distant past, with no human activity at all!  I am confident you are also ignorant of the fact that 95% of the global atmospheric greenhouse gas inventory is water vapor.  CO2 accounts for less than 4% of the effect, has decreasing impact as the concentration rises, and that 96.4% of CO2 is emitted by natural sources. Only 14% of the anthropogenic (human caused) CO2 is from vehicles. If you have adequate arithmetic skills, unlike your writing skills, you too can calculate that all motor vehicle CO2 emissions contribute about .5% of annual CO2 emissions, which comprises .002% (two thousands of 1%) of the Global Greenhouse Gas Inventory.
    Mr. Lutz knows that customers want fuel economy, but  only after they have the capability, features, style, and cost they demand.  Well over half (57%) of the vehicles sold in the U.S. last year were trucks.  It is a shame that their is such ignorance of the truth. It is doubly painful to see this ignorance contribute to the demise of the domestic auto business.  In case you haven't noticed, manufacturing in the U.S. is already under great duress, not because American business men are stupid, but because the economic deck is stacked against them by the power of unions and government policies. You probably just think they are all stupid unlike the wise and caring Japanese. Didn't you get the news, Toyota is against regulations that put them at odds with their customers too.On GM exec defends calling climate change a 'crock of shit' posted 1 year, 9 months ago 26 Responses