Nihao comrade!

Earlier today I was flipping through the channels and found some weird program I've never heard of before, I think even PBS is more flashy than this show but anyways... A few reporters were interviewing a fellow named Michael Dunne author of: American Wheels Chinese Roads; The Story of General Motors in China. As the interview went on they discussed how apparently the Chinese will let an auto company in but the local government has a pretty large stake, almost half if i'm not mistaken, of control on the whole operation. Meaning that they share profits and to some extent even the technology. Apparently there are rumors that once they figure out how to build a Buick on their own they can kick out GM and end the partnership.

But to me whats interesting from all this is that since GM is still a quarter owned by the U.S. government, what we essentially have here is a nice camaraderie going on between the People's Republic and the U.S. tax payer. This sort of arrangement is more of what you would expect from South American Castro wannabe's, not one of Detroit's "Big 3". When we bailed out GM we essentially bailed out a state owned Chinese company along with it.
What's even worse is that recently GM purchased an estimated $400 million in shares of struggling French car manufacturer Peugeot-Citroen. The excuse is that GM will get "small car and hybrid" technology from the deal. Seriously? GM knows how to make small cars, they introduced the first 1.0 engine in the Brazilian market, just rolled out the Chevy volt and not to mention the partnership with Suzuki (Geo metro anyone?). So now the U.S tax payer owns parts of Communist and French state owned companies. But who's to blame? Congress, Bush and Obama all participated in Tarping GM so we can't blame a party. Perhaps deregulation? Maybe just ourselves for not keeping a closer eye on congress and fear politics.
But hey, at least its GM were talking about here, let the Chinese take all the "state of the art" Buick technology they want.

Credit to: Jonathan Karl http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2012/03/an-american-auto-bailout-for-france/

Brood of Vipers!

Got to spend the day at Willow Springs International raceway in Rosamond, CA. I was inquiring about the different racing school programs they offer and got to see a few fast cars on the track as well. Wish I could remember what association was there, I think it was West coast something rather.

 The school is called "Fast Lane" and is run by former racer and driving intructor Danny McKeever. The school is sponsored by Toyota and utilizes track ready Toyota Celicas, which you might have seen at the annual Toyota pro/celebrity races during the IRL Long Beach Grand Prix. Cost varies depending on what program you are looking for, they range from a $495 half day run to a complete 3 day SCCA license accreditation program. Its nice that Willow Springs has a small scale circuit called "Streets of Willow" where students start learning basic car control and after they get a better understanding they are eligible for programs at the full length track.