GM profits hit all time high

[idssteve]

Personally contend that 17th Amendment effectively disenfranchised State Legislatures' SAY. Further diluting Individual SAY, imo.

Seventeenth Amendment to the United States Constitution - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

Worth noting that GM's "secret sauce" included DEcentralization. Per Sloan's design.

Also worth noting was Sloan and Kettering's vision of alcohol fuels. They'd purchased distillery capacity and even cropland in prep. Then came "moronic" 18th Amendment and "popularly elected" Senate's override of Wilson's veto of Volstead act....

Boss Ket invented Ethyl corp as temporary fuel addititve until The People repealed prohibition. ??. Neither Ket nor Sloan ever dreamed "The People" would tolerate such moronic absurdity more than a couple years...?

Stranger than fiction? Lol

 

[SteinwayTransitCorp]

Ok barns are just great, now back to our regularly scheduled program

 

[idssteve]

Record profits are great. Depending. Not a first time event, for GM. Ever get a chance to read Delorean's "On a clear day you can see General Motors" ? Been decades since I read but recall he'd detailed how Estes demonstrated record profits for each division has he climbed the ladder. Profits derived by "gutting" each division? According to what I recall of Delorean's perspective?

Of course resulting in Estes promotion while Delorian followed cleaning up the mess? Clean up that manifested as record losses? Delorean's perspective as I recall.. Def worth a read as background for discussions about GM, imo.

 

[idssteve]

Given GM's history, I might expect caution with weird. Post war GM hasn't managed some of weird well. Can it get much weirder than EV?

Simply expecting consumers to inflate front/rear tires to different pressures on Corvair was deemed by a jury as unreasonable? 18 front and 28 rear was just too much to expect? The poor woman who'd lost her arm rolling the "weird car" taking a residential turn at 60mph+ with only 18psi rear just didn't understand front from rear? ?? According to her ambulance chasing attorney...? (Ralf Nader? Lol)

How many weird EV expectations will consumers "safely" tolerate?

A legitimate contemplation for engineers designing the things. Imo.

 

[SteinwayTransitCorp]

Given GM's history, I might expect caution with weird. Post war GM hasn't managed some of weird well. Can it get much weirder than EV?

Simply expecting consumers to inflate front/rear tires to different pressures on Corvair was deemed by a jury as unreasonable? 18 front and 28 rear was just too much to expect? The poor woman who'd lost her arm rolling the "weird car" taking a residential turn at 60mph+ with only 18psi rear just didn't understand front from rear? ?? According to her ambulance chasing attorney...? (Ralf Nader? Lol)

How many weird EV expectations will consumers "safely" tolerate?

A legitimate contemplation for engineers designing the things. Imo.

I think by pushing out the EVs before they are ready will only add to the (not me) attitude. Just look at Ford, the lighting has stopped production again until they figure out the fire issue again.

this is what happened when the government picks winners and losers, they always pick the looser.

 

[idssteve]

I think by pushing out the EVs before they are ready will only add to the (not me) attitude. Just look at Ford, the lighting has stopped production again until they figure out the fire issue again.

this is what happened when the government picks winners and losers, they always pick the looser.

LOL... losers lose. It's what they do. It's what they're best at. Losers can prove terrifyingly proficient at making everyone lose. They're that good at it. The only way losers can resemble winning is by making the other guy lose. IMO. If they were winners, they'd be too busy winning in business for messing with government. True winners inherently comprehend how much better a win is when winning against a true winner! The better the competition, the better the WIN!!

Unfortunately, governments ultimately prove most proficient at destruction. Threats of destruction can induce compliance. When threats prove inadequate...? ug

Learned early the proficiency of willing and eager collaboration. Even among vehement disagreement, assuring a simple SAY can unify a team in exquisite ways. In engineering by committee. NOT suitable under other conditions... imagine a boot with a "say" at Parris Island? lol Frog voice only say there... lol but then USMC's mission proves laser focused on making the enemy LOSE! What government does best? lol

EV is still steep learning curve. For EVERYone. IF, BIG if, we truly face a threat that truly cant wait for natural technological evolution, there might be a role for some sort of government activity. ? Big, BIG question. Credibility in all directions approaches zero. imo. BUT, BIG but, if reducing CO2 proves the goal, charging EVs with coal generated electricity seems utter lunacy? Coal generates twice CO2 as gasoline or diesel. 3x of natural gas? ∞ x of my off grid home system... lol

 

[SteinwayTransitCorp]

LOL... losers lose. It's what they do. It's what they're best at. Losers can prove terrifyingly proficient at making everyone lose. They're that good at it. The only way losers can resemble winning is by making the other guy lose. IMO. If they were winners, they'd be too busy winning in business for messing with government. True winners inherently comprehend how much better a win is when winning against a true winner! The better the competition, the better the WIN!!

Unfortunately, governments ultimately prove most proficient at destruction. Threats of destruction can induce compliance. When threats prove inadequate...? ug

Learned early the proficiency of willing and eager collaboration. Even among vehement disagreement, assuring a simple SAY can unify a team in exquisite ways. In engineering by committee. NOT suitable under other conditions... imagine a boot with a "say" at Parris Island? lol Frog voice only say there... lol but then USMC's mission proves laser focused on making the enemy LOSE! What government does best? lol

EV is still steep learning curve. For EVERYone. IF, BIG if, we truly face a threat that truly cant wait for natural technological evolution, there might be a role for some sort of government activity. ? Big, BIG question. Credibility in all directions approaches zero. imo. BUT, BIG but, if reducing CO2 proves the goal, charging EVs with coal generated electricity seems utter lunacy? Coal generates twice CO2 as gasoline or diesel. 3x of natural gas? ∞ x of my off grid home system... lol

The EV intervention reminds me of the government mandating dishwashers to use almost no water or dry dishes. So what happens people now run the machines on the longest setting (need it or not) and people are finding the hidden settings that turn drying back on. Never underestimate the stupidity of the government to screw things up

 

[idssteve]

The EV intervention reminds me of the government mandating dishwashers to use almost no water or dry dishes. So what happens people now run the machines on the longest setting (need it or not) and people are finding the hidden settings that turn drying back on. Never underestimate the stupidity of the government to screw things up

Yup. Much like the idiot "smart washer" the wife and i suffered with till I rebuilt an old eBay commercial SpeedQueen. I'd called home one day and she was doing laundry in the bathtub! Just to get the stupid detergent out. The phreeking "smart washer" proved utterly unusable. And to WHAT purpose? Save water? I had to navigate back roads due to flooding to get home! MY home optimizes water collection ANY way. I exercise my wells just to keep them "fresh". My electricity is FREE! WHAT use do i need a "smart washer"? That old SpeedQueen suits us fine. I even operated it with coins for a while. Lol. The wife didn't appreciate the humor.

Here's a tidbit of abject loser stupidity analogous to much MY clients are dealing with..

Court rules that inverter sizing guides grid connection

U.S. Court of Appeals rules that an 80 MWac/160 MWdc solar farm, with 50 MW of battery, meets Qualifying Facility status - 80 MWac or less - under PURPA.

pv-magazine-usa.com

 

[spARTacus]

The EV intervention reminds me of the government mandating dishwashers to use almost no water or dry dishes. So what happens people now run the machines on the longest setting (need it or not) and people are finding the hidden settings that turn drying back on. Never underestimate the stupidity of the government to screw things up

Not the best comparison, in my opinion.

Also, if people run their dishwashers on the longest water use setting just to do so, and they don't need to but they do anyway, well in my opinion that's just people being stupid.

I can see people looking for the hidden setting to run the heat to dry the dishes. Personally, in my house we prefer the "air dry and auto door crack open at end of cycle" setting. The dishes are dry when we are ready to empty the dishwasher and we don't have to use the electricity to have the heating element run. Regardless, I can see that some people might not have the luxury of waiting as long as we do before needing to empty the dishwasher. If that is the case, then those people have to simply be willing to pay the extra cost for the electricity.

 

[idssteve]

Not the best comparison, in my opinion.

Also, if people run their dishwashers on the longest water use setting just to do so, and they don't need to but they do anyway, well in my opinion that's just people being stupid.

I can see people looking for the hidden setting to run the heat to dry the dishes. Personally, in my house we prefer the "air dry and auto door crack open at end of cycle" setting. The dishes are dry when we are ready to empty the dishwasher and we don't have to use the electricity to have the heating element run. Regardless, I can see that some people might not have the luxury of waiting as long as we do before needing to empty the dishwasher. If that is the case, then those people have to simply be willing to pay the extra cost for the electricity.

As you point out, individual cost / benefit considerations vary for EVERY use case. Obviously, since MY electricity and heat has cost zero for 30 years, I simply cannot care less how much energy finds its way back into the universe I borrowed it from. Several windows have not been closed for those three decades.. Sipping coffee in stocking feet while watch snowflakes melt and evaporate on solar heated back porch slab proves most relaxing. Lol

We DO anticipate POTENTIAL for water rationing. Very VERY slim potential in MY region. Drought can happen. Rain captured from rooftops and solar panels is only transiently "borrowed". The sooner it gets back to the universe, the minimum our impact. We utilize five insulated stainless 1000gal milk storage tanks salvaged from dairy operations after forced obsolete by IL "mandates" late 90s. Never drained more than one at a time JUST to achieve freshness thru turn over. Garden appreciates turn over day.. Most of that storage capacity assures fire fighting contingencies. No muni fire hydrants "out here".. Potable treated via proprietary process but age old cistern approaches apply.

We don't use dishwashers. Never saw the value. But, WHY should we wear soapy clothes just to drain water saved when tanks get flushed? ??

I've interacted with many muni sewage treatment operators. Quite a few point out the need to dilute "effluent" with city water. Water saving appliances have increased need for additional dilution during treatment. What's gained? For THOSE scenarios?

There ARE scenarios needing water conservation. High desert? High rise NYC? Etc. How does "trickle shower" in MY scenario benefit ANYone? My TIME is worth MUCH more than the damn shower water at MY home. I've developed my own shower nozzle. Btw. (leveraging diesel spray tip formulas to optimize impingement energy. Lol.) That gets the soap OFF! Saving time for productive pursuits? Such as serving clients? Lol

Thing about mandates is that ONE size never optimally fits ALL. Even militaries issue individually sized footware. Lol. Recognizing that optimizing individual productivity CAN optimize collective productivity? Something GM once understood? Something USA once understood?? Something Robespierre never understood? Lol

 

[spARTacus]

...Obviously, since MY electricity and heat has cost zero for 30 years, I simply cannot care less how much energy finds its way back into the universe I borrowed it from...

Sure, but even for you with your free electricity and water, I assume you never have a desire to run something more than you actually ever need to, as such is only going to lead to earlier wear out and breakdown.

For others who don't enjoy free electricity and water like you do, well I guess if money is no limitation for them then they don't care either if they spend more than they need to. However, that's still stupid in my books since for them they could easily just divert that waste of money to better otherwise help society or someone/thing else than wasting it.

 

[SteinwayTransitCorp]

Sure, but even for you with your free electricity and water, I assume you never have a desire to run something more than you actually ever need to, as such is only going to lead to earlier wear out and breakdown.

For others who don't enjoy free electricity and water like you do, well I guess if money is no limitation for them then they don't care either if they spend more than they need to. However, that's still stupid in my books since for them they could easily just divert that waste of money to better otherwise help society or someone/thing else than wasting it.

First no one wants to run the machine longer than than have to, they do it because it no longer cleans. Two just because you can does not mean you should. Another good example you must go electric while we cripple the grid by forcing the shut down of coal/oil/nay gas/ nuclear long before we are ready. PJM one of the largest grid operators in the US keeps sounding the alarm, but the green morons only see the hear and now not down the road.

 

[spARTacus]

First no one wants to run the machine longer than than have to, they do it because it no longer cleans. Two just because you can does not mean you should. Another good example you must go electric while we cripple the grid by forcing the shut down of coal/oil/nay gas/ nuclear long before we are ready. PJM one of the largest grid operators in the US keeps sounding the alarm, but the green morons only see the hear and now not down the road.

You should have said that initially, as to why you stated folks ran their dishwashers longer.

As for the rest, I'll stick by my earlier post that I think it was a poor choice of comparison you used, or at best a poor way you tried to communicate the two situations as associated to each other as examples.

We know from all your earlier posts that you don't like Green and EV and think it's all stupid. However, I don't think the last two posts you made have helped you with making your case.

 

[idssteve]

Sure, but even for you with your free electricity and water, I assume you never have a desire to run something more than you actually ever need to, as such is only going to lead to earlier wear out and breakdown.

For others who don't enjoy free electricity and water like you do, well I guess if money is no limitation for them then they don't care either if they spend more than they need to. However, that's still stupid in my books since for them they could easily just divert that waste of money to better otherwise help society or someone/thing else than wasting it.

Waste not want not. lol Most frequently we waste one thing in effort to conserve another. That's life as a mortal. Which of the things is valued most? Individual interpretation. If i have other things i'm being paid for devoting time and attention to, diversion of valued time and effort into saving a few pennies of water, machine wear, etc might become "penny wise and dollar foolish" choices? I might elect to just set the machine to longer operation simply to assure its job gets completed satisfactorily without further diversion of MORE valued resources like time and attention. Wasteful? yes. Most wasteful of available choices? ??

Like i said, we don't use domestic dish washers so i really enjoy no personal experience for comment. My similar experience is restaurant work in my youth. Efficiency of THAT thing proved irrelevant to its mission... satisfying state health inspections. lol

I DO pick a bone of contention with these so called "efficient" laundry machines. We don't like wearing soapy clothes. We don't like investing more time and attention into nursing desired performance from the things than i spend with MANY clients! Wasteful of water and electricity as it is, our old renovated commercial SpeedQueen demands next to zero frontal lobe effort! Toss in clothes, sprinkle detergent, close lid, push button. Return 30 minutes later and move CLEAN, soap free, clothes to equally simple SpeedQueen dryer. WHILE serving clients with a single thumb phone! lol


BTW, a LOT more folks could enjoy "free" electricity... It's really not THAT hard. It's really not so expensive... depending. I figured breakeven of initial investment at about 8-10 year mark. Gravy since then. The more i hear of friends' recent utility bills, the more i appreciate "free". Freedom from bills. Freedom from guilt for leaving a window open. lol.

 

[spARTacus]

Waste not want not. lol Most frequently we waste one thing in effort to conserve another. That's life as a mortal. Which of the things is valued most? Individual interpretation. If...

Ok.

 

[app_Developer]

As usual IMO, the truth is not found on the extremes. Market economies are great, but they have certain limitations. Ecosystem inertia is a big one. Going all the way back to the Roman Empire (and even before that) it’s been understood that governments have an important function to play in this. We wouldn’t have trains or shipping if not for private *and* public initiative. We would still have polio and diphtheria as common issues for most people in the world. The jet engine exists because of massive government investment *and* appropriate and necessary regulation. The quiet and efficient ones we all enjoy today are because governments insisted on them (major credit to the EU for leading the world on this). Listen to an old school low-bypass 737 one day if you want to know what private industry does when they’re left to do whatever they want. Or look at a newer 737 for examples of what happens when government oversight doesn’t go *far enough*.

I wasn’t convinced of the science behind the push for EV’s in the 1980s or 1990s. Or early 2000’s. But it is now 40 years after the first scientists and researchers started warning us about the need to shift our technology forward. 40 years.

40 years of studies by countless thousands of people in dozens of countries. Two generations at this point. People don’t love change, I get that. (I used to race, I hate heavy cars, I own 5 sports cars still today. I get it.) But the governments of Japan, Korea, Europe, US, Canada, are aligned in the right direction. I think that’s a very, very good thing. Again, change isn’t fun and I understand the reflexive human reaction against it. I get that. But this is important enough that we should push past that IMO.

GM and other companies have opportunities to make big profits along the way. Good for them. I don‘t begrudge them that at all, and I think profit motive is a great way to get private industry aligned with public needs. Much wealth was created with the emergence of railroads and even with the emergence of gasoline and diesel powered cars. Good for them. If you believe there will be more of that, invest in the right companies (worldwide).

 

[spARTacus]

As usual IMO, the truth...

You must be a programmer, since you speak logically.

Just joking/poking, since I've heard many people speak logically and not logically, regardless of what they do for a living and being app developers or programmers or not, and there are many opinions about some of this.

 

[Chuck Finley69]

You must be a programmer, since you speak logically. Just joking/poking, since I've heard many people speak logically and not logically, regardless of what they do for a living and being app developers or programmers or not, and there are many opinions about some of this. ============================================Kamala, is that you?

 

[spARTacus]

....====Kamala, is that you?

Sorry, doesn't compute for me for this situation for whatever you meant. You'll have to be more specific.

 

[Chuck Finley69]

Sorry, doesn't compute for me for this situation for whatever you meant. You'll have to be more specific.

I was joking that your post had a bit of the famous Kamala word salad going on.