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- hdrkid, on 06/16/2009, -20/+395See movie "Who Killed the Electric Car".
- 4degrees, on 06/16/2009, -16/+247Ahh the "American" version of capitolism. Dont make a good product, just make competitors look worse than your piece of crap.
I think thats always been a problem, more resources are spent on the marketing lies than the actual product. Bass Akwards if ya ask me. - inactive, on 06/16/2009, -30/+248YAY capitalism is perfect.
Companies should be allowed to do whatever they want.
I don't see any possible downside. - chockster, on 06/16/2009, -4/+169Yep, it's the best we've got and it's still terrible compared to what's available in other countries.
- oep4, on 06/16/2009, -2/+140ever been to san francisco? All our buses are electric and run off a grid of power lines. that used to be ALL over the country until GM bought up the company that produced and maintained them and ran it into the ground by purposely mismanaging it! and at the same time they came out with their new diesel engine...coincidence? i dont think so, terribly smart business tactics with bad side effects
- grinsy, on 06/16/2009, -8/+138We got hornswoggled.
- spamly, on 06/16/2009, -2/+90Same thing happened in "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?"
Where's that crack head bunny when you need him? - Suzilla, on 06/16/2009, -6/+90I'm truly impressed that this is seeing the light of day. There's an excellent book out titled "Internal Combustion" by the same author -- Ernest Black -- who wrote about IBM's complicity in the holocaust (selling tabulating equipment to the nazis.)
In 1947 GM and its executives and many subsidiaries, including Mack Truck, were prosecuted successfully by the US DoJ for conspiracy. They appealed all the way to the USSC, but the case was well-tried and none of the appeals were successful. Still, the public's attention span being short as it is, this soon disappeared from the headlines and everyone forgot about it until 1973, when the oil shocks from the Arabl embargos began to hit. GM was once again called to account for its systematic destruction of mass-transit in the US. Unfortunately, the congressional investigators going after GM this time charged it with trying to completely destroy mass-transit -- a claim GM set about to dispute through a massive PR campaign. They were successful, and once again the public became ignorant
of GM's crimes.
Good bye, GM. And good riddance. (Long, LONG overdue.) - GodAImighty, on 06/16/2009, -19/+86"Cities where GM managed to eliminate electric/rail systems, and replace them with buses and private cars, included New York"
err.. NYC has the largest mass transit/electric rail system in the US. - Manther, on 06/16/2009, -0/+66Don't even talk about Chicago, at least they have public transport....
- lazycat, on 06/16/2009, -29/+94No wonder this is the condition of NYC public transit today - http://digg.com/d1oeJh
- inactive, on 06/16/2009, -13/+74It's time we kill GM for good... Give us back our taxpayer money and stay in bankruptcy court forever!
Damn the unions, execs and dealers -- you all fed this frenzy! - Leonffs, on 11/20/2009, -11/+70Let these douchebags fail...
- DirtyBinLV, on 06/16/2009, -22/+78GM has done plenty of despicable things over the years, most notably IMO crushing every EV1. But the decline of mass transit between 1920 and WWII was far more the result of the free market than an evil conspiracy. The fantastic column The Straight Dope researched this topic several years ago-
http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/551/did-g ...
"most authorities agree that trolleys bit the dust in LA and elsewhere not because of a conspiracy but because they were slow and inconvenient compared to autos, and in the long run just couldn't compete."..."The PE, which was owned by the Southern Pacific railroad, made a profit in only 8 of the 42 years it was in business under its own name. The problem was exacerbated by the fact that many PE lines in LA proper operated on city streets, and as more cars crowded those streets, service got progressively slower. (The average speed on the run to Santa Monica was only 13 MPH.)" - inactive, on 06/16/2009, -7/+63/s for the gullible
- ZenMojo, on 06/16/2009, -2/+55"Who Killed the Electric Car" is cool and all, and accurate, but if you really want to see some ***** up ***** about LA's highway system watch "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?"
- DangerCollie, on 06/16/2009, -2/+49It's still true, though. GM colluded with government to get cities to scrap their trolleys and trade for buses in exchange for highway funds. That's how Seattle got the Alaskan Way Viaduct, a major eyesore of a highway. San Francisco turned down the money and kept their trolleys.
I thought everyone knew about that? Some of you act like this is news. Gah, how quickly history buries corrupt mistakes. Next you'll be telling me Nixon really was a swell guy. - duewydo, on 06/16/2009, -1/+47Never thought about latex in tires causing breathing problems, that is an interesting concept. The thing about it all is that we have allowed the auto manufacturers to behave like this for so long that it is hard to calculate the impact thier actions have made.
- kingofinternet, on 06/16/2009, -1/+46there used to be a large system of above-ground electric street cars though.
- Number23, on 06/16/2009, -19/+62The GM bailout was never about saving GM, it was about preserving the sinecures of reliable democrat voters and contributers: UAW workers.
- larryjr88, on 06/16/2009, -10/+48God...
Everything about this company reeks of *****. Please let them die already. - otbeverly, on 06/16/2009, -3/+40**Capitalism**
It's actually more about industries coming together to form oligarchies at the top and drive away competition in order to fix prices and assure profits and revenues for shareholders. In America, I truly believe that once the focus of companies shifted from the items they produced to the price of their stock on Wall Street, it was a matter of time before the whole house of cards came crashing down. Unfortunately for younger generations, the Baby Boomers were called the "me" generation for a reason. They don't give a ***** about anyone else and are all about sticking someone else with the bill for the mess they created. It's all about what you can do for them. I see this level of selfishness reflected in the most minute decisions. - wheezy360, on 06/16/2009, -1/+36We doooooo... we doooooo
- maledin, on 06/16/2009, -2/+35And the widespread operation of cars is impossible without fossil fuels, which many believe has reached the peak of production.
Er... looks like we're screwed. - Snoogs, on 06/16/2009, -1/+33Who controls the British Crown, who keeps the metric system down?
Who robs cadefish of their sight, who rigs every Oscar night?
Who holds back the electric car, who makes Steve Guttenberg a star??
WE DOOOOOO!!! We dooooo..... - sodade, on 06/16/2009, -2/+33Thanks to corporations like GM.
- SubEl, on 06/16/2009, -1/+31That is NOT what a typical NYC subway station looks like. Try again.
- antespo, on 06/16/2009, -0/+30Regardless of how the NY MTA stations look, I would prefer they invest in more trains as opposed to making a station look pretty. I just want to get from point A to point B without having to wait a half hour for the 6 train during rush hour.
- foofightrs777, on 06/16/2009, -1/+31I ride the NYC subway and that station seems like a more extreme case to me.
- chockster, on 06/16/2009, -0/+30"It's also far older than what's available in other countries."
Same goes for the London Tube, yet in recent years it's seen a huge number of improvements. I'm not saying you can directly compare the two, but the Tube is old and is being steadily improved. The NYC subway is old and is being steadily closed off. There's no investment. - carbonfilament, on 06/16/2009, -1/+31caption should read ATYPICAL NYC Subway Station.
NYC subway is great. Runs 24 hours and has enormous coverage. Only problem is the increasing price. - EelfinnTy, on 06/16/2009, -4/+33The title and description make this sound like something that happened recently. The dates the article give are 1920's to the 1960's. Not trying to defend GM they need to go bankrupt, but it's a bit misleading.
- MalarkeyPN, on 06/16/2009, -24/+52Black text on gray background? MY EYES!!!!!!
Still worth reading. ***** GM. - Manther, on 06/16/2009, -2/+29You're a respectful idiot. "For Europe, as hard it was, implementing it was easy" ??????
It would have been very easy for the United States to have the best public rail system throughout the entire country if they had embraced it when it was young, and used it properly. Unfortunately, like with too many other areas of innovation, there were people out there with money who were against the idea, and they managed to pay all the right people to get their competition out of the way... The U.S. has all the resources it needs to do whatever it wants, we just have to recognize corruption, and not fall for the false walls it tries to put in the way of intelligence. - Suricou, on 06/16/2009, -2/+29Welcome to politics. Why do you think the republican party invested so much effort into creating the promoting 'faith-based initiatives?' It's standard political practice to find an excuse to divert tax money to those who support you.
- TimDigg, on 06/16/2009, -8/+34Why don't they just let competition foster in a free market?
/s - Balanced, on 06/16/2009, -0/+25I've used it the last few times I was in NYC. It's not that bad, at least int he stations I was in. is till prefer the DC Metro for general cleanliness and quality of ride, but I acknowledge that the DC metro has a tiny fraction of the track the NYC system has to cover.
- Manther, on 06/16/2009, -7/+31I doubt that, if given the choice between spending a years salary on a car, then paying continuous maintenance and operation costs on that same car, and spending ALMOST as much as the maintenance and operation for the car on public transportation, people would have chosen the automobile way back then. They were already used to walking or riding a horse and carriage, and the train was awesome and state of the art.
The only reason I own a car today is because I don't have public transportation available to me where I live and work. If that changed, I'd be more than happy to ditch that money pit they call an automobile.. - Hetman, on 06/16/2009, -7/+30Do not even talk about NY. Chicago has the worst public transport in the entire country. It is awful.
- wendelgee2, on 06/16/2009, -3/+26If by "screwed" you mean that we'll have to change things a bit...then yes, we're all going to die.
- mouthbreether, on 06/16/2009, -3/+26You're looking for the "perfect" business model? I'm sorry, there is none.
People are greedy and will violate trust in order to gain power. Always.
It would be better to have these same people fail miserably for making poor decisions than to have a government back them no matter the consequence. - Innuendo24, on 06/16/2009, -6/+28Proof the free market does not give you the most options. Corporations will always act in their own interest, and the public has little to no say. Even if you didn't buy GM cars they damage is done.
- wendelgee2, on 06/16/2009, -1/+23(See also: Budweiser)
- jcostom, on 06/16/2009, -0/+22Not even close to typical. More like the worst station in the 5 boroughs. Where is that mess anyhow?
- wassim2k, on 06/16/2009, -14/+36Our whole society and the design of our towns and cities are built around automobiles. We're screwed without them.
- dehn, on 06/16/2009, -2/+23A big company bought out its competition and then destroyed it. No one should be amazed by this because it happens everyday in some form or another.
- gcathey, on 06/16/2009, -3/+24That still doesn’t make up for them purposefully destroying the trolly and light rail systems that are many times more efficient than hybrid buses. They did it to Tulsa too. We used to have electric trollies downtown until GM lobbied to switch to their buses back in the 50's.
- getoffmybridge, on 06/16/2009, -9/+29Free market at its finest
- SpinningHead, on 06/16/2009, -2/+22They accumulated enough wealth through other ventures to manipulate the market and manufacture demand. That's why there will never be a truly free market. Corporate America would like to thank you for buying into their ideas about deregulation though.
- inactive, on 06/16/2009, -2/+22Thankyou for demonstrating why companies should be regulated.
Because they have their own bottom line at heart, not the consumers. -
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