GM’s initiative, unique in the automotive business so far, might save a business or two, or even more and it will eventually save GM itself.

Major automakers rely on module parts created from Tier 1, Tier 2 and so on. GM has announced the new provision which means GM will pay directly Tier 2 suppliers. GM is making sure Tier 1 suppliers won’t delay payments to Tier 2 companies and therefore those little companies won’t go bankrupt soon leaving everyone above them wanting more parts.

Will the trick work? Let’s hope it will! Other car makers should probably embrace it too. After all, that $5 billion Obama Supplier Support Program might not be enough.

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What would you do if it were up to you? Would you add $21 billion for GM and Chrysler considering they have received already $17 billion in government loans? According to a Gallup poll released yesterday, 72% of Americans say no to another loan. That’s an impressive percentage. More Democrats than Republicans favor additional loans although the majority in both groups is opposed to the idea.

Only 51% of Americans believe that the Big Three will survive which is 6% less than in December. So what will President’s Obama auto task force do? Will they offer more funds to GM or Chrysler, or are we to see these two filing for bankruptcy in the near future?

via Gallup

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It’s pictures like these that remind you how good you have it. If you drive a ten-year car that eats gallon after gallon of gas and if you keep complaining about it, then you should remember others don’t have the same options. If you depend on taxis and trains, don’t forget that others don’t have the same options.

In a consumer-driven world while we move from auto show to auto show in search of the newest and the most impressive cars, we tend to overlook images like this one. A mother and a son are using a cable system to cross a river in the Sichuan Province in China. The system has been put in place after last year’s May earthquake and it will stay there for quite a while. Let’s hope the cable system will still hold.

via WSJ

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It looks like missing airbags are at fault in 1 in 5 fatal accidents. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has reported that during 2001 and 2006, in 255 instances out of 1,446 fatal accidents, the vehicles either lacked replacement airbags after a previous accident or the airbags failed to deploy accordingly. In case you need to get a new airbag, do it now. It might have an important life in the future.
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Paul Newman was one of the iconic figures of the last century. He stared in a lot of memorable movies, he was a driver and a racer. He died at the age of 83 and it’s rumored that he has been diagnosed with cancer in 2007.

Besides numerous movies and his Newman’s Own food line which has raised more than $200 million in charity you would have to remember him for the driver that he was. His 25 year partnership with Carl Haas brought him various victories in Can-Am and Indy Car competitions both nationally and internationally.

No matter what he used to drive I always loved his movies. Rest in Peace Paul Newman. May you find your way on the other side as well!

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