CHEVY "VOLT" THE "ELECTRIC LEMON"

New York Times cartoon 7/31/10

click image to enlarge













"The Chevrolet Volt, the first mass-market electric vehicle from General Motors Co., will have a sticker price starting at $41,000 when it hits showrooms this year, but it was the attractive lease offer that the automaker announced Tuesday that grabbed the attention of industry analysts.

Chevrolet plans to offer a lease program on the Volt with a monthly payment as low as $350 for 36 months plus $2,500 due at lease signing..."---L.A. Times

MASCOTS IN THE NEWS: Porky Pig Pummeled

Two off-duty employees of Six Flags of America took a photo with the Porky Pig character just after 2 p.m. They then punched the mascot in the head 10 to 15 times. They were ejected from the park, fired, and face assault charges.

INDUSTRY AGAINST TRANSPORTATION: Rail Zeppelin

Rail Zeppelin:
German rail car capable of attaining speeds of 144 mph in 1931
"The failure of Schienenzeppelin[German name for Rail Zeppelin] has been attributed to ...fierce competition between Kruckenburg's company [small] and the Deutsche Reichbahn's [large, dominant] separate efforts to build high speed railcars..."---Wikipedia

"Build a better mouse trap, and the world will beat a path to your door?"

INDUSTRY AGAINST TRANSPORTATION: Monorails

Monorails:

"The conventional rail industry has established a stronghold, and monorail is often discouraged by [transportation] consultants."---Monorail Society

Note: The monorail image is not in the U.S.

More to be added to this post soon

"Build a better mouse trap, and the world will beat a path to your door?"

INDUSTRY AGAINST TRANSPORTATION: Streetcars

The Death of Streetcars:

"American City Lines was one of many consortia formed and owned by General Motors, Standard Oil of California and Firestone Tire that systematically dismantled private streetcar lines, often after buying them as in the case of the Los Angeles Railway and replaced electric trolley service, sometimes partially with buses. The move came to be know as the Great American Streetcar Scandal."---Wikipedia
"What's good for GM, is good for America!"

MASCOTS IN THE NEWS (First in a series)

Roger meets Little Caesar @ K-Mart in Kona on 7/3/10