Stop the Idiocracy: Automobile Industry

Showing posts with label Automobile Industry. Show all posts

Monday, August 24, 2026

Shattered interdependence

$A stark editorial illustration visualises an economic rupture between Canada and the United States. The Canadian side is rendered in glacial blues, dominated by a fractured maple leaf, electrical pylons, ice and deposits of mineral resources. Across a glowing fissure, the American side burns in industrial orange, crowded with smokestacks, factories, assembly lines and unfinished vehicles. A tilted gilded frame containing turbulent storm clouds hangs ominously above the divide. Barrels and raw materials accumulate along the frontier, while severed electrical lines spark overhead, symbolising disrupted trade, energy interdependence and supply chains as two closely integrated economies are forcibly pulled apart.$

image generated via ChatGPT

Ontario Premier Doug Ford threatens to cut critical minerals and electricity to the former US over Trump's forthcoming tariffs. {AP 24 August}

https://apnews.com/article/canada-trade-trump-ontario-53c4f83c8365c14b372b314396ae8179

FTA: In the AP interview, Ford said Trump had “declared war, economic war against his closest friend and ally” before invoking Reagan, whose opposition to tariffs Ford previously featured in a television advertising campaign aimed at Americans.

Ford noted that Trump keeps a portrait of Reagan near his desk.

“He’d be throwing up on him from the picture if he knew what was going on, spinning around in his grave right now,” Ford said. “He should maybe take that picture off the wall and move it somewhere else. Because right now, Ronald Reagan would be disgusted with President Trump.”

Ford’s comments came after Prime Minister Mark Carney walked away from trade negotiations with the Trump administration late Friday, saying Washington demanded too much in exchange for tariff relief. The United States imposed 50% tariffs Saturday on about $20 billion worth of Canadian goods, while Carney announced dollar-for-dollar retaliation beginning Sept. 8.

Ford said “everything is on the table” if the dispute worsens, including cutting off electricity and critical minerals from Ontario. He also called for Canada to consider using oil and potash as leverage.

“I’ll cut them off,” Ford said of critical minerals. “You won’t get a grain of sand out of Ontario.”

Critical minerals are increasingly important to U.S. national security and manufacturing. The Pentagon has sought more secure supplies of minerals used in military aircraft, missiles, munitions and electronics as Washington tries to reduce reliance on China, which dominates the mining or processing of several strategically important minerals.

Ford specifically cited high-grade nickel shipped to the United States and uranium refined in Ontario.

“What would they do without the high-grade nickel that we ship down to the U.S.?” Ford said.

Ford said Canada should consider increasingly severe retaliation if Trump continues targeting Canadian industries, including oil and potash, while Ontario could raise electricity prices or stop sending power south.

“We power 1.5 million homes and businesses,” Ford said. “Everything’s on the table. I’ll do whatever it takes.”

linktr.ee/arthurnewhook

🪐💔 #QueSeraSera 𓅨 🕈

Saturday, July 18, 2026

Charging ahead no longer

A highly detailed illustrated image in a classic adventure-comic style portraying a glamorous red-haired woman standing beside a champagne-gold contemporary electric saloon in a luxurious indoor garage. She wears a sleek, floor-length ivory evening gown with subtle gold trim, an elegant asymmetric neckline, and a dramatic thigh-high slit revealing one leg. Resting one hand lightly upon the polished bonnet, she faces the viewer with a poised, confident expression. Warm golden lighting washes across the vehicle’s sculpted bodywork and reflective paint, while bold ink linework, rich hand-painted colours, and carefully rendered textures evoke the timeless sophistication of vintage illustrated storytelling blended with modern automotive design.

generated via ChatGPT

Projections for electric vehicle sales in Trumpistan are slashed significantly. ‘Full withdrawal of federal regulatory support for electrification in the U.S. is the biggest factor’. {Yahoo! Finance 11 July}

https://finance.yahoo.com/energy/articles/us-electric-car-outlook-tumbles-200700626.html

linktr.ee/arthurnewhook

🪐💔 #QueSeraSera 𓅨 🕈

Tuesday, May 16, 2023

Insane prices for new and used vehicles amid inventory shortages, and in a post-pandemic economy, have Americans driving their older cars for longer periods of time

stock photo

‘The average age of a passenger vehicle on the road hit a record 12.5 years this year.’ Even after automakers are able to return production to pre-pandemic levels, all of the other costs that go along with car ownership are only going to continue going up, so I do not foresee this trend ending anytime soon. The basic necessities of modern life are being rendered unaffordable and unattainable for the average person, and America is the most car-dependent nation on earth. Public transportation is virtually non-existent outside of major cities (or even within certain urban areas.) Infrastructure is collapsing all around us. How are people going to get anywhere when owning a car is no longer possible? Horse and buggy? {AP 5/15}

Friday, February 11, 2022

The White House puts the screws to weakling Justin Trudeau, demands Canada crackdown on trucker blockades at the border

Cole Burston/Getty Images

Disrupting the lives of ordinary citizens is not a legitimate form of protest. Rather, it is terrorism, and these truckers ought to be treated as terrorists. But pretty boy Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has his thumb up his ass, sitting back and doing nothing. These petulant bullies are already causing great harm to the economies of both Canada and the United States, and they are beginning to inspire copycat protests in the U.S. and around the world. It has to be stopped. -

The Canadian government is coming under increasing pressure from the United States to resolve anti-vaccine mandate protests that are impacting the economy in both countries with border blockades, including a 5-day shutdown of the vital Ambassador Bridge.
The “Freedom Convoy” by Canadian truckers opposing a vaccinate-or-quarantine mandate for cross-border drivers, mirrored by the U.S. government, began with the occupation of the Canadian capital, Ottawa. The truckers then blocked the Ambassador Bridge earlier this week, and shut down two other smaller border crossings.
The closure of the bridge, North America’s busiest international land border crossing and a key supply route for Detroit’s carmakers, has halted some auto output and left officials scrambling to limit economic damage. (Read more)

Friday, September 3, 2021

Hurricane Ida: Owners of flooded cars may be unable to recoup their losses, even with insurance

Shutterstock

NBC News -

Residents across the country are still mopping up from the remnants of Hurricane Ida, which hit the Gulf Coast before sweeping up into the Northeast, leaving parts of New York City and its suburbs under water this past week.
Dozens were killed, many after being trapped in their cars by flood waters. News and social media from across the New York-New Jersey region show cars that were abandoned along major highways as well as neighborhood streets.
The flooding from Ida caps a summer season that has left many parts of the country waterlogged. That, in turn, has created major headaches for car owners — and car buyers. Thousands of vehicles have been seriously damaged or completely ruined. But many owners soon could find that, despite carrying insurance, they are out of luck when it comes to recouping their losses.
In the months to come, meanwhile, some of those flood-damaged vehicles may show back up on the used vehicle market through an appropriately named scam known as “title washing.” Someone buying one of those vehicles could be in for a number of headaches.
When a vehicle is submerged, it is subject to developing all sorts of issues, starting with mold. Body panels and other components can rust. Water can damage engines. And then there are all the electronic circuits that control everything from power windows to a car’s safety and infotainment systems. They can suffer intermittent or complete failures.
"A car that's been in a flood, with the engine emerged for any length of time, will never be the same," said Carl Sullivan, a veteran inspector for California-based AiM Mobile Inspections.
Drying out a car as quickly as possible, especially if it’s been submerged in salt water, is critical, Sullivan and other experts stress. They also warn drivers not to immediately try to start up a vehicle after a flood, especially one where water might have gotten into the engine. That could lead to a catastrophic failure known as hydrolock. Instead, find a repair shop trained in dealing with water damage and have the vehicle towed in.
Motorists should take detailed pictures that can help support an insurance claim. Unfortunately, many owners discover too late that their coverage doesn’t include flooding.
“If you want to be covered for flood damage of your car you’re going to need comprehensive coverage which takes in acts of god such as hail damage or flood damage,” said Mark Fitzpatrick, an analyst with website MoneyGeek.
If your vehicle is new and still covered by a loan or lease, Fitzpatrick noted, you likely carry comprehensive insurance, as it’s normally required as a part of your agreement. But older vehicles that have been paid off, he added, often have just the more minimal insurance coverage most states require. In that case, repairs — or even the replacement of the entire vehicle — may have to come out of pocket. (Read more)