| Welcome to The New Coffee Room. We hope you enjoy your visit. You're currently viewing our forum as a guest. This means you are limited to certain areas of the board and there are some features you can't use. If you join our community, you'll be able to access member-only sections, and use many member-only features such as customizing your profile, sending personal messages, and voting in polls. Registration is simple, fast, and completely free. Join our community! If you're already a member please log in to your account to access all of our features: |
| Obama orders GM and Dodge out of NASCAR; This gov't intervention is over the top! | |
|---|---|
| Tweet Topic Started: Apr 1 2009, 09:29 AM (261 Views) | |
| Kincaid | Apr 1 2009, 09:29 AM Post #1 |
|
HOLY CARP!!!
|
http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/hot_lists/high_performance/motorsports/obama_orders_chevrolet_and_dodge_out_of_nascar_car_news?cid=327 I think this article could have been perfect without the disclaimer. Probably worried about lawsuits from Southerners claiming heart attacks if they didn't spill the beans. |
| Kincaid - disgusted Republican Partisan since 2006. | |
![]() |
|
| The 89th Key | Apr 1 2009, 09:31 AM Post #2 |
|
Sadly enough, I actually could see this happening. |
![]() |
|
| Red Rice | Apr 1 2009, 10:21 AM Post #3 |
|
HOLY CARP!!!
|
They pulled the story. Looks like it did cause some good ol' boys to keel over. |
|
Civilisation, I vaguely realized then - and subsequent observation has confirmed the view - could not progress that way. It must have a greater guiding principle to survive. To treat it as a carcase off which each man tears as much as he can for himself, is to stand convicted a brute, fit for nothing better than a jungle existence, which is a death-struggle, leading nowhither. I did not believe that was the human destiny, for Man individually was sane and reasonable, only collectively a fool. I hope the gunner of that Hun two-seater shot him clean, bullet to heart, and that his plane, on fire, fell like a meteor through the sky he loved. Since he had to end, I hope he ended so. But, oh, the waste! The loss! - Cecil Lewis | |
![]() |
|
| Riley | Apr 1 2009, 10:29 AM Post #4 |
|
HOLY CARP!!!
|
Obama Orders Chevrolet and Dodge Out Of NASCAR With their racing budgets deemed “unnecessary expenditures,” GM and Chrysler are ordered to cease racing operations at the end of the season. BY JARED GALL, 2009 In a move sure to spark outrage, the White House announced today that GM and Chrysler must cease participation in NASCAR at the end of the 2009 season if they hope to receive any additional financial aid from the government. Companies around the globe—Honda and Audi, to name two—have drawn down racing operations, and NASCAR itself has already felt the pinch in the form of reduced team spending. A complete withdrawal from America’s premier racing series is expected to save more than $250 million between GM and Chrysler, a substantial amount considering the drastic measures being implemented elsewhere. “Automakers used to operate on the principle of ‘win on Sunday, sell on Monday,’ but the Auto Task Force’s research just doesn’t validate that as true,” said the statement from President Obama. While fans have decried the Car of Tomorrow for heavily limiting what little personalization the cookie-cutter series had previously allowed to participating manufacturers, and drivers have slammed its brick-like aerodynamics and unpredictable handling, even the governmental oversight committee sees that the full-scale regulation of the cars leaves the manufacturers very little space for research and development. “NASCAR is a racing series that regulates down to the smallest detail of the cars, where a car badged a Chevrolet or Dodge differs only marginally from a Ford or a Toyota. There’s no technological development to speak of.” The statement goes on further to say the same demand will be made of Ford if it asks for government assistance. “In order to receive this money, corporations must demonstrate they will spend it wisely. Racing has been said to improve on-road technology, but frankly, NASCAR almost flaunts its standing among the lowest-tech forms of motorsport. NASCAR is not proven to drive advancements that transfer from the racetrack to the road, and this nation’s way forward does not hinge on decades-old technology. We need new, and we need innovation.” The President realizes this will be an unpopular call, but stands behind the decision, saying, “This is an obvious cut to make, but it is not an easy one. This administration is not ignoring the tremendous sentimental value and emotional appeal NASCAR holds for so many Americans. But now is not the time for sentiment and nostalgia; now is a time for decisive financial action. If our automotive industry is to emerge from this recession intact, then these difficult decisions must be made.” Both Chevrolet and Dodge see the move as only temporary, and fully expect to resume racing in NASCAR as soon as they have stabilized and the government’s hand in their operations is minimized. “There is nothing really to say at this point,” said one representative, who wished to remain anonymous. “We’ve been doing this since the beginning, and we always assumed we’d be doing this until the end. Heck, nobody ever thought to think that there would be an end. But we ain’t done. As soon as this is over, we’re taking back our spot at the top.” NASCAR officials remain tight-lipped about the call, but sources say series president Mike Helton and team managers are exploring several options, including other manufacturers to fill Chevrolet and Dodge’s vacated positions. Given the company’s recent interest in motorsport and the steady cash-flow and V-8 engine provided by its new Genesis sedan, sources indicate that NASCAR is pinging Hyundai to gauge the Korean company’s interest in occupying a spot in NASCAR. “Toyota was not well-received their first year in the sport, nor was their first season an easy one,” the source says. “But they learned, they applied the lessons, and they have proven very competitive this year.” If Hyundai does indeed join the series, there will no doubt be a steep learning curve, and the move would leave Ford the lone domestic battling a pair of Asian makes in America’s most popular racing series. We wonder, however, how long NASCAR could hold that title without two of its most storied participants. |
![]() |
|
| ivorythumper | Apr 1 2009, 10:53 AM Post #5 |
|
I am so adjective that I verb nouns!
|
Pussies. |
| The dogma lives loudly within me. | |
![]() |
|
| Kincaid | Apr 1 2009, 01:25 PM Post #6 |
|
HOLY CARP!!!
|
From now on I'll only read Scott Ott. |
| Kincaid - disgusted Republican Partisan since 2006. | |
![]() |
|
| jon-nyc | Apr 2 2009, 02:53 AM Post #7 |
|
Cheers
|
I thought the Feds would break this contract too: |
| In my defense, I was left unsupervised. | |
![]() |
|
| Jolly | Apr 2 2009, 05:52 PM Post #8 |
![]()
Geaux Tigers!
|
There is a reason W traveled with 2 physicians and O travels with 6... |
| The main obstacle to a stable and just world order is the United States.- George Soros | |
![]() |
|
| George K | Apr 2 2009, 06:05 PM Post #9 |
|
Finally
|
What I'd guess: 1) One Internist 2) One General Surgeon 3) One Neurosurgeon 4) One Trauma Guy 5) One Infectious Disease Guy 6) A Shrink
|
|
A guide to GKSR: Click "Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... " - Mik, 6/14/08 Nothing is as effective as homeopathy. I'd rather listen to an hour of Abba than an hour of The Beatles. - Klaus, 4/29/18 | |
![]() |
|
| George K | Apr 2 2009, 06:12 PM Post #10 |
|
Finally
|
Oh, a gaspasser too. |
|
A guide to GKSR: Click "Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... " - Mik, 6/14/08 Nothing is as effective as homeopathy. I'd rather listen to an hour of Abba than an hour of The Beatles. - Klaus, 4/29/18 | |
![]() |
|
| « Previous Topic · The New Coffee Room · Next Topic » |







4:41 PM Jul 10