Praise for GM
I read somewhere last year that the "average line worker" at an automobile plant in this country (U.S.) is 48 years old. It's no wonder American car companies are so conservative about the cars they make. With the labor costs for a 48-year-old workforce (most of whom have almost certainly been working there for 20-30 years), the company cannot really afford a failure, such as building hybrids that they're not sure people are going to buy.
So I'd like to applaud GM for their recent buyout offer. The offer applies to 113,000 of the hourly workers at its plants. It covers regular buyouts and early retirement offers. It allows the company to achieve cost reductions quickly, and to cut production capacity as well, considering that the buyers just aren't there.
Hopefully this will allow the remaining workforce to hunker down and do something bold and innovative. I like the fact that they're also promoting the E85 concept, too. When I think about it, I realize that that could have a much bigger impact on weaning us off fossil fuels for driving. And it will be a home run if they can develop the biodiesel to maybe work with waste instead of with corn grown specifically for the purpose. Now, if they could make an E85 hybrid.....
6:57:01 PM 
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