Policy
European insurers quit covering Ford and GM suppliers
Soaked in bad news, GM and Ford received yet another dousing when their three big European credit insurers dropped them this week. Euler Hermes, Atradius, and Coface have all refused to write policies for suppliers trading with both automakers. The three giant insurance companies control more than 80 percent of the world's credit insurance (insurance companies typically pull their coverage when a client stops proving insurers with enough information to calculate a credit risk, or their overall risk profile has deteriorated). Without their credit cover, suppliers will be forced to either trade uninsured, cease trading, or ask for payment up front. Supply issues aside, this news only compounds the automaker's problems as it also weakens investor confidence, already completely slumped.
read more »The Boy Who Cried 55: Drivers Ignore Too-Low Speed Limits
From the Autopia Unintended Consequences Department comes this dispatch from Tippecanoe County, Indiana: Drivers don't pay attention to speed limits that they think are set too low.
Fred Mannering, a Professor of Civil Engineering and Economics at Purdue
University, attributes this disregard for speed limits to the
much-maligned 1974 Emergency Highway Energy Conservation Act that set
speed limits to 55 mph on all interstate highways. "It decoupled the
speed-safety association," Mannering told Wired.com. "Now, there are
some roads where the speed limit should be posted as 45 but they end up
getting posted at 35 because they expect people to go faster," he said.
NYC Cabbies Win A Round In Fight Against Green Cabs
Mayor Michael Bloomberg's plan to make every cab in the Big Apple a hybrid or clean diesel by 2012 has hit a big pothole with a judge's ruling that only the feds can set fuel efficiency rules.
What Obama Might Do for Aviation
The aviation biz is on the edge of its narrow coach-class seats waiting to how president-elect Barak Obama and the Democratic majority in Congress address the laundry list of issues facing an industry that's losing money faster than a rube playing three-card monte.
It's Time for Drive-Thru Voting
Unprecedented election-day turnout could leave voters waiting hours to cast their ballots -- some have called the situation a new poll tax. Others say it's simply a colossal pain in the ass and an excuse to skip the electoral process. If the system is maxed out by voter turnout approaching 60 percent, what will happen if 80 percent of the electorate shows up at the polls, as is expected in some states?
Bush Administration May Open Its Wallet for Amtrak
We're not sure what happened. Maybe George Bush swung by the Tiger Mart one day for some Cheetos and noticed that gas is $3.50 a gallon. Maybe Cheney freaked out when he found out how much it would cost to gas up the F-150. Whatever it was, it must have been a big deal, because suddenly the Bush administration is willing to spend some money on rail.
FAA Airport Slot Auctions Illegal. Now What?
It's not the most exciting news we've heard this week, but for those of us who fly regularly, it's important.
New York Plan Would Hand Bridges Over to the MTA
Here's a riddle for you: what do you get when you cross two big bridges, one nearly insolvent transit authority, and a mayor who recently saw one of his major policy plans shot down by antagonistic legislators. According to one New York City official, you end up with a win-win.
read more »No Priuses Allowed at Hybrids and Harleys for Obama Event
In an attempt to criticize John McCain's economic policies and apparent unwillingness to support "buy American" restrictions including Harley-Davidson motorcycles for the Secret Service, a group of American-made hybrid car owners and Harley-Davidson riders rolled into downtown Grand Rapids, MI on Tuesday. The only stipulation for participation? Hybrids had to be American made, meaning no Priuses were allowed.
read more »
Bookmarks
