Moving To Ethanol E85; an Advantage for GM and Ford?
By: Lance Winslow
Will the move towards E85 Ethanol BioFuel give an advantage to GM and Ford over the Japanese Automakers, which have stolen huge amounts of market share in 2005? Is it fair for the United States to set forth policies to move these biofuels to larger markets than the Northern Midwest in order to propel such an effort?
Well, indeed it is good for the American People as it will prevent insane price spikes on oil due to issues with supply. If we bring E85 Ethanol to markets along the Pacific US Coast and the Eastern Seaboard will people partake in new E85 enabled cars with engines which can run either gasoline or ethanol or a mixture? If the US Automakers manufacture 1-2 million of such cars in the next two-years; will people buy them? The answer is yes, if they can get the fuel. Once the distribution is in place they will, you bet ya!
Would such a move help the US Automakers over the Japanese Automakers? The answer is probably short term, but remember the Japanese Automakers already have many hybrid vehicle models and all are out of stock, with waiting lists and well they just cannot make them fast enough either. I agree as an American that of course “Team USA” must come first, but should not be given an over the top advantage.
All policies and incentives must be equally administered and well, it must be fair for all concerned. After all the Japanese Automakers make many models in-country and do much assembly here and thus hire many Americans in states like; Alabama, TX, OH, CA and many more, which all have Japanese assembly, also neighbors in Canada assemble parts of Japanese cars too. So, we must be cognizant and a little competition, I am all for it. Keeps everyone honest and allows for faster evolution from drawing board to consumer. Ethanol E85 is good for our economy in the Midwest and smart thinking to keep oil prices competitive, as China and India’s demand for oil increases driving up World Oil Prices.
One last thing; GM and Ford must build cars that American’s desire if they are to stay on top of their game. Absolutely NO BAILOUTS, sink or swim, get busy or go home. This country was built on strength and it must remain so. Weakness and mediocrity are the only true evils in the human endeavor. If GM and Ford want to be number one again, they had better damn well work for it. This is not to say make it tough for them; make it as easy as possible and deregulate some of the debris in their way. But in the end if you fail to give the customer what they want, someone else will. So consider this in 2006.
Lance Winslow