Liberal Talk Radio

I’m still a bit shattered by the results of the mayoral race.  Nickels was a sophisticated, cosmopolitan leader who understood growth and what that means for Seattle.  Was he perfect?  Not at all. Nonetheless, Democracy (in this case, the torch’n’pitchfork “any bum but this one” variety) works its magic, and we’ll have a new mayor [...]

Now this is just over the top:

Is it possible that the need for candidates to prostrate themselves at the altar of Detroit means that the majority of American politicians haven’t yet realized what most other Americans have known for decades, namely that American cars are crap? Gutter John actually wins a point for owning foreign vehicles, but loses 12 points for [...]

I know we’re in rough economic times (but not a recession dammit) and trying to cut costs is part of doing business, but it seems to me that once you’ve booked record orders for your industry-leading airliner design, the last thing you should do is drive your chief union of manufacturing employees to strike.

Is screwed. They’re getting out of the leasing business because their gas guzzlers have such little resale value, they’re not worth taking back at the end of the lease. Auto makers have not yet begun to feel the full brunt of the change in consumer driving habits. One of the Big 3 will be toast [...]

Maybe you trust this man to make smart environmental policy? I wouldn’t: Representative Anthony D. Weiner, Democrat of Brooklyn and Queens, drives a 2008 Chevrolet Impala, leased for $219 a month. Representative Michael R. McNulty, a Democrat from the Albany area, gets around in a 2007 Mercury Mariner hybrid, a sport utility vehicle, for $816 [...]

Apocalypse Tom owns a 2004 Subaru Impreza WRX, an all wheel drive pseudo sports car that goes faster than Tom reasonably needs to drive and allows him to go over Snoqualmie Pass in winter weather that keeps everyone except chained-up semis and Tom at home. The WRX has a 15.9 gallon gas tank, and requires [...]

Chatted with the Prof a bit about this last night with respect to American Airlines, but it looks like Alaska’s also grounding some MD-80s. for testing The bad news, is that Alaska is grounding some flights. The good news is that Alaska apparently ony has 9 — that’s right, nine — MD-80s left in their [...]

I found myself watching Who Killed the Electric Car? last night, and it’s quite an interesting little movie. One thing that’s hinted at in the film, but not really fleshed out, is the idea that electric cars are a really, really disruptive technology. Like any disruptive technology, they create a whole new class of winners [...]

And it’s helpful to remember that, you know, our entire freakin’ economy is based on trucking: Ricardo Caraballo was having a familiar American experience at the filling station the other day, groaning as the pump clicked up, up, up. By the time he finished it read $505, and his tank was only half full. A [...]