Well hey there. As we enter the last week of June/ first week of July more changes to the auto industry are coming down the wire. As of yesterday, 6 of the biggest automakers have announced plans to cease production of all diesel-running vehicles in the US by 2010. What does this mean for the future of diesel; anybody’s guess at this point. This may be a hot button issue in regards to saving money on gas because diesel engines can get up to 30% higher gas mileage than a standard fuel vehicle. The issue that the auto companies are facing is the price of Diesel engines. On average many components of a diesel engine can drive the retail price of the vehicle up as much as $8,000, something auto companies aren’t willing to place any bets on (and who can blame them in this market). So far GM, Ford, and Chrysler as well as Japan’s Honda, Toyota, and Nissan are the companies I am talking about here. This is of course excluding German automakers such as BMW, Audi, Mercedes, and Volkswagen, all of whom are still producing diesel fueled engines in the US market. What we have yet to see is if they will follow in the example of these other 6 companies. Something I wonder, does this move away from diesel pave the way for the massive onset of the electric car? I guess we’ll be able to tell by next year.
In other news, the Italian automaker Fiat (which bought out Chrysler earlier this year) has announced plans to begin reintroducing themselves into the American market by 2011. Specific plans are at this point nothing more than speculation; I wager that we will hear much more on this in the coming months.
Finally I’d like to end today’s article on a positive note (something I so rarely get to do). Do you remember the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA)? This was one of the first moves of the Obama administration in an effort to combat unemployment and stimulate the economy when it was signed into law on February 17. This agency has released a progress report regarding the release of funds into the economy. You can check out the specifics here www.recovery.gov . As far as the Department of Transportation: the agency is claiming that the massive infrastructure overhaul that was promised in campaign season last year, is being delivered upon with up to 50 percent of the highway reconstruction funds having been allocated within the first 150 days. This is very good news for the economy as it will definitely combat unemployment in a big way. You can read more about this on the DOT blog at http://fastlane.dot.gov .
