The discussion about bailing out the Big Three has been couched in terms that imply that the Big Three represent the complete future of the automotive business in the U.S.  As I have suggested, if they are to be bailed out they should be given money based upon measurable metrics.  I have also suggested that they represent thinking from the 20^th century, the century of the internal combustion engine, which is not the future of automotive transportation this century.

I am for providing help for the Big Three assuming they come up with an intelligent plan for spending tax payer money. …

In the last column here, I suggested that any bailout of the Big Three include alternative energy metrics against which the three companies compete for better loan repayment terms.  In the week since that column was published there has been much discussion about whether America can afford to allow its’ auto industry to go down the tubes.  This implies that the Big Three represent the totality of America’s automotive production.

Of course there are the U.S. based factories of the German and Japanese manufacturers, which, while they produce cars here, are controlled and largely owned by other countries.  These factories have …

Recently, I wrote about the Big Three Auto companies and how they need to change, and change their product lines if they wanted to stay “big”.   Since those columns there has been even more evidence that these companies are struggling to keep up with current realities.  Additional plants have closed, the production of trucks has been dramatically lowered, the projected number of vehicles to be sold this year has been lowered and now Chrysler has gotten out of the leasing business because the resale value of the big vehicles leased has plummeted.

Earlier in the year I …

Two weeks ago I said that I would be writing several columns about transportation in the U.S. This is the final one of that series, at least for now. In the life of this blog I have written about the future of transportation and what it will and should look like. I am sure I will revisit the topic again as it is one of the most critical transitions this country will have to make over the next ten years.

In January, I wrote about high speed trains with the recommendation that they become a cornerstone …