The major oil companies have reported over $100 billion in net profit over the last 3 years and easily have the cash to bailout the big 3 by buying up a lot of their worthless stock.
And lets face it, the major oil companies are the ones who were pulling the strings of the Big 3 to keep cars running on gasoline while Japanese automakers shot decades ahead in R&D for hybrid and electric cars.
Either that or from the investment firms that congress recapitalized.
Anything else takes our free enterprise system in the wrong direction.
I like this idea.
Only if you want gas prices to double! You can’t look at profit as a number but as a percentage of the money spent to get that profit. Profit percentages for the oil companies are in line with most corporations. Thats how they keep their investors.
You have NO PROOF that the oil companies were responsible for anything. Of course if you can invent a reasonable alternative that people can afford. Go get your own investors. I’m sure they would be beating down your door!
It sounds like a good idea. Its never going to happen however. There really wouldn’t be a whole lot of incentive for the oil companies to ever go along with such a bailout.
This is the BEST idea/question I have heard in a very, very long time. I absolutely agree 100%. I feel like the automakers are pretty much threatening the American people by telling us if they don’t get the bailout money, negative things will happen.
love this question and yes they should loan them the money to get out of this mess.. Automakers closed their eyes for such long time for the changes happening in the world.. now they are late and missing so much opportunities to asian countries.. may be this crissis will put them to right track to compete with Asians ..Oil companies can afford to lend them some of that profit they are doing it from our pockets..
Oil companies aren’t dumb enough to make bad investments.
This would be a two edged sword. The oil companies would consider the auto makers obligated to them and in return they would expect the gas guzzler SUV’s to continue at full production and electric cars would be banned and high efficiency cars would be shelved.
What we need to do is somehow talk the oil companies into taking their money and develop NEW industries such as solar, nuclear, and windmill technology. If we can convince the oil companies that they are actually in the ENERGY business and devote their time and efforts to innovating NEW technologies.
There are current efforts on these new nuclear cells that are buried deep in the ground and can power 20,000 homes. If the govt or oil companies wanted to introduce these, or perhaps the power companies could be convinced to install these, it will revolutionize the
energy industry. Energy prices would drop, pollution would be cut in half, and it would be a long lasting solution that would not have increasing costs each year.
If Congress decides to let the auto makers go then we need to turn to GE and have them make electric cars. They are already producing engines for jets and railroad engines so autos should be an easy step for them. Perhaps they could buy Ford or GM for pennies on the dollar and use the facility to make the bodies while GE makes the motors.
We need to RE-INVENT THE USA … not try to put a crutch under the old outdated industries. The Industrial Age was introduced in 1890. We need to introduce the Energy Age in 2010.
GE can keep the jobs for Ford and GM workers, they just need to create a NEW plant and hire the old workers but teach them NEW technologies. The automotive infrastructure is already in place. We simply need to change it over to electric cars and possibly hydrogen or some other alternative fuel source. Since the icebergs are melting and the oceans are rising we need to design cars that run on ocean water. Fuel could then be delivered from the east and west coast to the entire country and the cost of fuel could be 15c/gallon once again. People on the coastal areas could simply go to the beach and fill up there.
The automakers missed the boat when America screamed for fuel efficient vehicles in 1985 and once again they are missing the call AGAIN.
Time to get rid of the dinosaurs and introduce some NEW BLOOD to the American Industrial Complex.
Peace, Love, and Light!
I AM
Dartagnon
THE PLANET IS IN PERIL 5X MORE ETHANOL & 35MPG BY THE WAY OF BUSH ADMINISTRATION SO OIL COMPANIES HAVE THEIR OWN PROBLEMS WITH SHORT MONEY ON RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT THE CAR MIGHT BECOME ABOSOLETE
The way I read this, this idea contains an inherent contradiction. It makes no sense for the oil companies to finance the automobile industry unless they expect the demand for gasoline to increase because of the money they spent for the bailout. Why would gasoline consumption increase? One reason: more demand: caused by either more driving or the lessening of the average MPG requirements set by the government. The second option is probably the most likely and most favorable to the oil companies if such a bailout by the oil companies was to happen. The fact that it is not in the interest of the average person is beside the point the oil companies are interested in their own interest. Lower MPG requirements would mean more consumption and eventually, not too long in the future higher gasoline profits, and more fuel needed to be expended to defend oil supplies around the world.
THIS MIGHT BE A GREAT IDEA FOR THE MAJOR OIL COMPANIES, I EXPECT THAT THEY COULD VERY WELL MAKE OUT LIKE BANDITS WITH THIS {STUPID} IDEA!!!!!!!!
This is the bottom line____________________________
heres the short answer, no. It would be nice if someone took on this high risk loan to give the automakers, but no person should be forced into giving another a loan. Its against everything we stand for as a capitalistic country that values liberty.
People love to villanize the oil companies, but unfortunately this cannot be blamed on them. I’m from Detroit, the Motor City, and about half the people i know work for the auto companies. The fault lies with many, management, unions, government regulations and bad governmental policy, and probably most of all globalization of the world economies.
“pulling the strings to keep us on oil.” may perhaps be true. But regardless, unfortunately, the world is not ready for electric vehicles. The technology is 5 years away at best. Batteries are not efficient enough to make it practical. there are not enough refueling stations. The cars themselves are expensive and inefficient. A hybrid, is not much better than a gasoline driven car in terms of fuel efficiency (depending, it takes an average of about 14 years of driving a hybrid, to make up for the higher purchase price). They also have more moving parts thus have more possibilities of failure.
The true light on the horizon is fuel cells and hydrogen fuel, but my guess is that will be 5+ years away from being feasible as well.
I could ramble on about this topic, but i think i have answered the question.
a final thought:
If the big 3 don’t get this loan from someone, though.. They will belly up, its inevitable. just imagine, ~1 million unemployed skilled workers flooding into the job market at the same time. You don’t think this will affect you? Well it must be nice to know you’re smarter than the other 20,000 college educated engineers in your state trying to get your job, and that you have the money to take a pay cut, to keep your job, because people will be willing to work cheaper than you, and that you have additional money to afford a tax increase to make up for revenue the autoworkers no longer generate for the govt. in taxes. Unfortunately this Will affect you, very much so. It means a widespread drop in our quality of life as a people on many different fronts.
Enjoy your life as you know it, for if something isn’t done, it probably wont be as good as it is now, for a very long time…
This is stupid. Why does everyone think that people/companies with money should help them out?
If you REALLY do not like the oil companies, then you should NOT want them to help the car companies. You should get someone else to help the auto companies make cars that do not use gas/oil and them make the oil companies go out of business.