I don't get this mania for electric cars

It does nothing to save the environment, it just moves the pollution out of the city, and probably, due to electricity generation, transmission and battery inefficiencies, increases the CO2 output. Unless you're France or Norway with massive amounts of renewable electricity.

I just wish someone could come up with a tiny, 2 seat car, limited to about 100 miles range and 50 mph, with a super efficient small petrol engine and do a comparison, because I bet it would be much more energy and C02 efficient. To make it match the electric cars, it could even look hideous too...

What really depresses me about the global warming 'debate' is the absolutely piss-poor quality of the argument. Too much wishful thinking and point-scoring, and not enough common sense and practicality - means nothing will get done until either we're all drowning in 2080 or it turns out that all the models were wrong and so it makes no difference anyway.

I sell solar technology and it's not going to be viable in the UK for at least 10 years because it's too expensive and no-one understands how to use it properly so it's used wrong and saves no energy. And that's solar-thermal. Photovoltaic is completely impractical here, unless we can arrange to get more sun that we currently have or the technology gets massively more efficient in say 20-30 years time.

... I suppose global warming may sort that problem out...

Aaarrggh!

Classic Chrysler

IIRC this is their 3rd bailout.

I suppose that having given *so* much money to various banks to save the asses of those who handed mortages to Mr & Mrs Otis Q Crackhead the relevant Chrysler played the sympathy card to their local Senators & Con-gresspersons.

The fact they did'nt spend the last shedload of bailout cash well enough to need *another* one (or two?).

Seriously had Chrysler gone to the wall what would have happened?

Some bits get closed for good. Some get sold to other manufacturers. Some *might* have set up as a new independant car mfg.

Workers for all of the above (provided they don't re-locate the plant) get re-hired and most of their suppliers (who no doubt are mostly as internationally uncompetitve as the companies they supported) would stay in bussiness.

A certain proportion of those workers would be near retirement age anyway (IIRC US auto workers pension arrangements are quite good).

$12.5Bn. If their were 10 000 workers involved that $1.25m *each*. If a 10x that are involved that's still $150k

American governments like to say they have a free enterprise economy. That is *unless* your big enough to have lobbyists to beg for your survival on your behalf. Then your a "Strategic asset" which "cannot be allowed to fail."

Some of Chryslers e-car designs looked good and there is interest in the concept and the vehicles themselves. Enough to make a business? We'll never know.

The deal's been done and the US taxpayers certainly have been.