Sorry, just because limbaugh, palin, hannity, etc. tell you something doesn't mean it is true. Try to not use the ideological lens on every issue. Check out this leftist website http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/12/1206_041206_global_warming.html Read about deforestation http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-warming/deforestation-overview.html But seriously, any fool that gets turned on by burning things needs to be in an asylum and probably is to deranged to do anything unless they are instructed by Limbaugh.

Does anybody research the use of industrial hemp to make bio fuel or is it off limits?

Once again you make ideological arguments and present them as facts. 1. Al Gore is a scientist. Just because Rush, Palin and Gingrich tell you he isn't doesn't make it so. Many great political leaders were scientists... Franklin and Jefferson being two examples. I think it is funny that your leaders tell you to reject science based on ideology. 2. Depleting all of the planet's natural resources is destroying the planet. Cutting down all of the trees or burning all of the fossil fuels are examples of destroying the planet. 3. I could give a crap about what is good for you. Your dream of burning oil because you think it will bring you happiness is just about the saddest thing I have ever read. Maybe stuff like this makes you popular at the tea baggin parties but it is sick.

ejj you have demonstrated that you are ruled by ideology instead of facts. You obviously do NOT have the right to burn as much energy as you want (clean air laws, CAFE, etc.), but why would you want to do that anyway? Does it really make anybody happy to drive a Hummer? No doubt there is a selfish Limbaugh mindset of "the earth is mine to destroy" but as a society hopefully we will reject this. As far as national security... who exactly are you securing the nation from? Don't live in fear of your shadow. As far as your description of "the essence of free market consumerism & capitalism." Please read Adam Smith's The Wealth of Nations... you have really missed the point. Free market economics are based on the theory of each individual pursuing their own best interests in turn creating the most "good" (market equilibrium). It is theoretical and its assumptions are impossible to achieve (information is symetrical?) Burning all of the energy just because you like fire is selfish and childish. Rush Limbaugh and Sara Palin don't care because they are dumb. You do not have to listen to the idealogs... the information is out there to make an informed choice.

I like the idea of using a by-product like corn stalks.

GCC, the Nikkei link doesn't work (needs login). Does it describe the smart grid? Will they actually recable the town to make good use of distributed energy production?

ejj and toppatom, can you explain how a free market economy works? I promise you that Rush and Hannity have no clue so when you repeat their lies you sound foolish. Do you really think that buying oil from one corporation versus another corporation makes any difference to the US economy? Heed the words of SJC. The energy stored in oil should be stretched out over centuries instead of being burned as quickly as possible. We have a responsibility to future generations not to destroy every freaking resource we can get our hands on, just for the fun of it. Conservation and fuel efficiency are a big part of the answers. Arriving at your destination in a car that get 12 mpg versus 50 mpg does not increase your level of happiness. Drill Baby Drill is a sara palin political slogan for people at her IQ level. You can see who it works on. ejj, the use of the term "ChiCom" is not only racist, but it is ridiculous. The leaders of this country (both political parties were involved) "outsourced" as much of our industrial production to China as they could. In the span of about 15 years we have lost a huge percentage of our industrial capacity. The Chinese government is no doubt totalitarian, but to call them "commies" is nonsensical. What you should be calling them is competitor. There are a lot of them and now they want energy as well.

ejj, listen to Rush Limbaugh much? Chi coms? Have you been in a Wal Mart in the last decade? SJC, you are right on. Think of the stupid people in America that cut down every damn tree they could get their hands on in the late 19th early 20th century. What will people 100 years from now think about us? When Rush Limbaugh spouts every day "the us government will not allow offshore drilling", the mouth breathers do not understand that this is a democracy and some smart people like SJC do not want to burn everything just for the sake of burning it. Funny how he supposedly hates "Chi'Coms" but he takes their advertising dollars.

Harvey, do you know if the bailout projections show car sales increasing to 2003 levels anytime soon? If it were my $$ I would assume 2009 levels for the next several years and the average selling price per unit dropping by about 1/3 from today's average selling price.

Is a law banning sales of Kei cars a weird conspiracy? Car companies sell what can get licensed. A Tundra can be licensed, a Honda Zest cannot.

Peter, Penske ordered 150k Smart cars and they are complete and utter crap... and they cost $15k. Mini is a good car but $25k??? It took Ford 2 years to get the Fiesta US street legal. Ka and Fiat 500 are basically the same car, we'll see how long it takes them to get over here. Panda sells for about $10k now and it is a cool ride, again we will see how long it takes to get it here. My point was that US manufacturers need to develop this segment. If Honda offered a Zest for $10k, all kitted out with turbo and 4wd... they would sell a bunch of them. American consumers have not had the chance to buy this segment because the wonderful management of the big three thought big cars= big profit. Lets turn our engineers on to the problem of building the best class of small car that they can. Small car does = small margin, so local manufacturers should have an advantage (even if the local manufacturer is Honda and Toyota.) Americans need to change the mindset that their car is an extension of their manhood. A car is a utility vehicle used on the public commons. We as a democracy have every right to limit GVW and horsepower.

Please re read the posts toppatom, I advocate a change in the law that would allow US manufacturers to build small vehicles. My point was that Japanese manufacturers had a big advantage because they own a segment (roughly 35%) of their local market. Furthermore these small cars spur innovation and brand loyalty, something US manufacturers need badly. When was the last time the US companies could dream about owning a segment. You missed the point and incorrectly cited "Kei cars constitute less than 1/4 of Japan’s market per Rush’s website http://www.greencarcongress.com/2009/05/japan-april-20090530.html#more" toppatom 5 hours ago. Come on toppatom, you visit a site called GREENcarcongress, i think inside you must secretly be a hemp mumu wearing hippie... come on over to our side and advocate for thriftiness...

HarveyD you always make the relevant point.

Ex you are sadly correct about auto manufacturing all over the world. No western or japanese manufacturer is in good shape right now because they are all structured to build a lot more cars than people can buy. I think small cars that are inexpensive are the short term solution for our manufacturers. Peter, you make a good point but buying used cars does nothing for manufacturing (except for parts). I think many people would agree with you but there is a chunk of the market that would purchase a new small car for $10k. Nissan is doing well with its stripper Sentra. If people had a choice of buying a new car that gets 50mpg for $10k or a $30k Prius that is bigger, many would probably choose the small car. From an environmental standpoint, less resources used = good news. US manufacturers closed off this market with some stupid red tape regulations. How else can you explain why KA and Fiesta are good enough for EU but not "safe" enough for the US.. DUMB. If a motorcyle is "safe" enough then why not a Kei car?

poor old toppa tom. The GCC article cited Manufactured in Japan, not sold in Japan. Look at the JAMA website that GCC cited http://www.jama-english.jp/statistics/production_export/2009/090529.html Read more carefully next time! I do appreciate that you cited a good source though. I can see your effort to learn. They sold 236k cars in Japan in April... about 100k were Kei cars. Get out your slide ruler and try to calc that % yourself... it is more than 25% ;) Is there any reason we can not manufacture small cars in the US? And from a normative economic policy standpoint, small kei cars would benefit everyone in the country... except old toppa tom and his hero rush limbaugh.

By constraining the size and engine capacity the Kei cars spur innovation by forcing manufacturers to increase performance (safety, mileage, etc.) within strict parameters. With our public roads being choked to death, these small cars offer a real solution. A marketing benefit of the Kei car is that they are an affordable mode of transportation that help build brand loyalty. Do inexpensive cars have a future in the US? I think some city streets should limit access to only Kei cars or electric cars. If we required drivers aged 16-21 to only drive Kei cars how many lives could be saved? Yes Peter, I am for real. So are small, inexpensive cars. Anybody who thinks that US consumers are any different than Japanese, European and Indian consumers needs to get a passport and a plane ticket. If Americans have a chance to purchase a new Honda Zest for $9,000 that achieves over 50MPG they will flood the dealerships.

Thank goodness these manufacturers have the Kei cars to fall back on. The Americans should learn from this and call their legislators and demand an American Kei car that is 100% American built. Kei cars are an innovation catalyst for the industry and our manufacturers have been left behind. The readers of this blog are opinion leaders. You can make a difference!

The American manufacturers should push legislators for an American Kei car. This market segment is 1/3 of the Japanese market and it is an innovation catalyst for the Japanese car industry. poor old toppatom is still pushing for hummers built by slaves. Hey toppatom, instead of looking at rush limbaugh's website for research, go to a university library and search peer reviewed articles. That is what the GCC editor does. I appreciate that you want to come onto this website to learn, but you must open your mind to new ideas. Car manufacturing and economic development should not be about ideology.

Hey Winter, sorry i just reread your post. Congress and the unions are to blame for GM and Chrysler going bankrupt? How exactly is our democracy to blame? if only GW Bush had abolished congress and unions we would all be ok... is this your point?

Winter you are incorrect in blaming unions for lousy automobiles. Germany and France's workers make more money, have higher security and more power than US workers, yet their auto companies are not going bust (yet). While we can design cars that need minimal human touching, somebody will always be needed to fasten something on a car. The reports about $100 per hour workers or $2,500 of labour per car reflect retiree benefits that the company owes whether it makes another car or not. The MARGINAL cost of labour per US car is between $500 to $1,000. The worker haters are going to have their wishes come true. Private sector workers who were promised pensions and retiree health benefits are about to get screwed. Winter, do you really think that the unions were too powerful? It looks to me that they were not powerful enough to protect their rank and file. In fact some would say they sold out the rank and file.

MIT? Who are they? Rush Limbaugh and Exxon Mobil say that global warming is a lie... who are you going to believe? The jury is still out right? OK toppatom, have at it with your Al Gore rant. This is obviously his fault.

toppatom, blaming the worker's union for the manufacturers problems is nonsense. Go to you local community college and take a business course. I know that Rush blames the unions but think about it... do unions design products? The problem with our economy is not that union workers make too much money. This is easy for Rush Limbaugh and Goldman Sachs executives to say but it is not true. Remember, we have had this discussion before. It takes less than 20 man hours to build a car. Less than $1,000. Actually, less than $500 goes to labour (and don't start repeating lies about retiree health benefits, this is the marginal cost of labour). If you seriously think that the US can afford to lose the largest industrial component of the economy and replace it with VCR (hello 1980) and the TV (hello 1950) production then forget community college it is to advanced.

toppatom, what does the eminent (i think you meant imminent) demise of the US auto industry have to do with mileage requirements? And PLEASE quit with your Al Gore hate. It is not his fault that human caused climate change is a problem. Try to think for yourself instead of repeating your Rush Limbaugh nonsense. The US car industry is NOT going away. Innovate you boneheads!!! To the auto engineers who read these comments, quit getting your asses kicked in the marketplace. Create the next VW Bug or Model T. Give the world a $5k car with more technology than an iPod. The technology is out there. Our roads are the commons. We do not allow people to drive M1 Tanks on our roads and we shouldn't allow King W Ranchers, Landcruisers and Expeditions for personal transportation.

The story was only missing one final sentence... these engines will not be sold in America. Maybe VW has a v10 they can sell here.

Oh gee, Joseph T says that you can only sell 500 and he is such a friggin genius. I mean his diatribe on the evils of Algore (just like limbaugh tells him to say it) and global warming has me convinced. PUTZ Way to go Fisker, I hope you sell 5,000 of them and become an advanced transportation leader. Innovators are always attacked by the small brains. I am going on to their website and putting down a deposit for one. They will probably go up in value after they are on the market for a year or so and people see how great they work.