111–120 of 402 posts
This reminds me very much of the taxi model; where the driver is going to start the shift in the hole and has to work their way out of it.
"G.M. will also work with Lyft to set up a series of short-term car rental hubs across the United States, places where people who do not own cars can pick up a vehicle and drive for Lyft to earn money. Daniel Ammann, president of G.M., will join Lyft’s board of directors." This reminds me very much of the taxi model; where the driver is going to start the shift in the hole and has to work their way out of it.
I'm glad we bailed them out so they could wildly speculate on tech startups.
So you're saying a stagnant company in a stagnant industry that almost died should remain stagnant and not try anything risky at all? It's not wild speculation for GM. They most likely have ways to work together. It's unlikely a completely passive investment.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
GM's financial arm was GMAC, which, while bailed out during the financial crises, eventually rebranded and IPO'ed as Ally Financial. The US Treasury made a ~ $2.4 billion profit on a $17.2 billion investment: https://www.treasury.gov/press-center/press-releases/Pages/j...
On a risk-adjusted basis, that's a pretty mediocre return.
"G.M. will also work with Lyft to set up a series of short-term car rental hubs across the United States, places where people who do not own cars can pick up a vehicle and drive for Lyft to earn money. Daniel Ammann, president of G.M., will join Lyft’s board of directors." This reminds me very much of the taxi model; where the driver is going to start the shift in the hole and has to work their way out of it.
I'm glad we bailed them out so they could wildly speculate on tech startups.
The bailout was massively profitable for the government and every penny has been repaid. Investing in innovation is exactly what a company like GM should be doing and our tax dollars are in no way involved in this. Edit: didn't make money on GM http://www.reuters.com/article/us-autos-gm-treasury-idUSBREA... Made lots of money overall: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/20/business/us-signals-end-of...
1. http://www.reuters.com/article/us-autos-gm-treasury-idUSBREA...
I'm glad we bailed them out so they could wildly speculate on tech startups.
The bailout was massively profitable for the government and every penny has been repaid. Investing in innovation is exactly what a company like GM should be doing and our tax dollars are in no way involved in this. Edit: didn't make money on GM http://www.reuters.com/article/us-autos-gm-treasury-idUSBREA... Made lots of money overall: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/20/business/us-signals-end-of...
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Not being pressured to carry cash is a suboptimal experience? I refuse to carry cash. If I were to take Uber, I'd have drivers one-starring me and giving me a bad reputation for not tipping them. With Lyft, I can tip in the app and avoid all that mess.
You're not supposed to tip Uber drivers, that was one of the main selling points of Uber. The fares are higher than yellow cabs to compensate for that.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
GM's financial arm was GMAC, which, while bailed out during the financial crises, eventually rebranded and IPO'ed as Ally Financial. The US Treasury made a ~ $2.4 billion profit on a $17.2 billion investment: https://www.treasury.gov/press-center/press-releases/Pages/j...
>The US Treasury made a ~ $2.4 billion profit on a $17.2 billion investment Factor in the interest USA would have saved by paying down the national debt instead. Additionally, consider what private investors would have returned with the same investment and what they would have paid in tax on personal income if they had never been taxed that $17.2b instead. They won on this one, we can point at the various Solyndras t…
The average interest rate on the debt is 2.43$, we have around $17 trillion debt, and you're talking about a $17 billion paydown (0.1%).
The amount of interest saved would be around $400 million per year. The profit on the GM bailout was $2400 million, so it would have taken 6 years for the decreased interest to total 2.4 billion.
>we can point at the various Solyndras the USA has bet on and lost while we are at it.
Can you point to the value of the hundreds or thousands of engineers and employees of failed new energy startups that received invaluable real world training and experience who are lending those talents to other companies.
Think about NASA and the 18 billion we "piss away" down that black hole every year, and the huge benefits that we derive from their work and the experience that those who work there gain.
Not every investment the government makes has a return in next-year-dollars.
“From a G.M. perspective, we view this as much more of an opportunity than a threat” - G.M President Something you don't hear big corps talk so about start-ups very often. It's promising.
I can't see the opportunity for them, on the other hand I can see the threat, if autonomous cars become ubiquitous then why would you bother owning your own? Also if rental becomes the dominant model then customers aren't going to worry so much about those expensive extras where car manufacturers make their profits.
Anything requiring a truck (60% of new vehicle sales) will not be something that you use as a automated vehicle that is for rent. You really are ok with ordering up a driverless car that I will take off-road and load up with scrap materials from a house remodel and send off, driverless down the road with my trash hanging out the back?
I really love the idea of driverless cars and I can see the stars in the tech worlds eyes. Be realistic about what your average American does with a vehicle though - it's not a daily commute up and down sandhill road to sit in a nice office.