The Car Of The Future

Macro Man's tied up all day, so he thought he'd share this amusing video on the future of the American car industry, since there are a number of petrolheads amongst his readership. Thanks to reader Professional Gringo for passing this one along...

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H(oratio)
admin
June 3, 2009 at 8:40 AM ×

Coming from the land of the Mini Cooper, I am not so sure I would be speaking on the subject. Although we will soon have the geniuses who created the Fiat Mile (lira is it?) on our side.

I do find it interesting that El Presidente showed himself to not be entirely beholden to moneyed interests at 85 Broad by increasing capital requirements????? That's not the Obummer I know and love. Or perhaps GS is only upping the ante on Morgan and will repay their own TARP? This could be the start of a war with GS crowd, or a presidency that answers to the electorate. If war, I see the spoos at 600? And congratulations on the self referential consumer confidence con job. We had ours last week. I'm fading it.

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Anonymous
admin
June 3, 2009 at 10:44 AM ×

Entertaining, yes. Surprisingly witty and contains some grains of truth; a cut above the usual hysteria from the libertarian nutcases. But fundamentally wrong. Here's a interesting post from Jeff Jarvis about the US car industry

http://www.buzzmachine.com/2009/06/02/the-new-detroit-isnt-detroit/

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Anonymous
admin
June 3, 2009 at 12:12 PM ×

Wow, that video is profoundly humorless and stupid.

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Professional Gringo
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June 3, 2009 at 12:37 PM ×

Yeah, GM and Chrysler will soon join Amtrak and the US Mail Service as government success stories. I just can't wait until they're in charge of my doctor.

Lots of firsts happening these days. First president to ever own a car company, first president ever married to Yeti, first president to ever smoke Newports in the White House. Soon enough, Barry will come out in a general's uniform with a thousand medals and mirrored sunglasses.

If only I were a retarded transgendered unicorn cyclops centaur, I could make history in this administration. But being a white male is holding me back.

I'm feeling real hopey and changey this morning and the FX markets aren't moving. What? Have the London bankers rushed out to sign up for their new Pelosi metrosexual car?

And I chickened out of my sterling/$ short after it topped 1.66 last night. Bugger. I'm gonna need a side of carpet with this crap sandwich.

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Anonymous
admin
June 3, 2009 at 1:23 PM ×

The real sad part for me is that any of the models shown would be a step up for me.

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Donlast
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June 3, 2009 at 1:41 PM ×

"Wow, that video is profoundly humorless and stupid.."

That shows it hit home with someone. Nothing like satire to undress an emperor.

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Anonymous
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June 3, 2009 at 3:27 PM ×

Donlast -- lemme guess: Climate change / actual science skeptic?

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Greg
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June 3, 2009 at 3:37 PM ×

Anon 3:27 ... Isn't real science supposed to have a control case?

What planet are the enviro-terrorists using as a control for their "science"?


The western world spends billions (in aggregate) on radar, wind vanes and other weather sensing equipment -- but anyone being honest will tell you the five day forecast is little more than an educated guess.

Predicting the weather +/- 3 degrees 50 years from now? That's not science.


And as for all the global climate computer models -- anyone reading this blog after surviving all the CDO and ABS computer models knows that the computer isn't always right.

I distinctly remember several hundred "scientists" pressuring the United Nations to issue a formal report back in the 1970s, warning the world about the dangers of the new ice age that was starting.

That was supposedly "science" too.

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Anonymous
admin
June 3, 2009 at 4:03 PM ×

Professional Gringo, awesome comments, you crack me up.

...Keep the faith MM & Co.

P.S. Any chance MM will channel Jeeves and Bertie? Would love to see it.

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Professional gringo
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June 3, 2009 at 4:58 PM ×

The global warmers remind me of Lord Hummongous, spiritual leader of the savage roving sort-of gay biker-gangs in the movie Mad Max. They called him "The Ayatollah of Rock-n-Rollah" and he delivered daily prayers to his flock to kill, kill, kill all who stand in his way. But he claimed that he was fundamentally a man of peace.

Anyway that's another story and it's not fair for us to hijack MM's magnificent website to debate the biggest hoax ever perpetrated on mankind.

In the spirit of MM's past glory and clever insights (hey, the guy speaks my language), I would like to throw something out there for any stinging rebukes that anybody might wish to sling about.

I am betting that today is possibly a game changer for the major pairs from a technical and fundamental perspective that sets fair value for the dollar throughout the summer. I'd like to say open your eyes lads, it's right in front of you. But am I right?

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Macro Man
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June 3, 2009 at 5:32 PM ×

PG, I would really take exception to the view that global warming (or climate change, to give it the now-accepted term since the Earth's temperature quit rising) is the 'biggest hoax ever perpetrated on mankind.' Organized religion, after all, has a five-thousand year head start.

Either way, global warming and religion are topics probably best suited for the pub. As for a potential sea change in the dollar....well, maybe, maybe not. Frankly, it really doesn't matter what you and I think...the only opinions that matter are the blokes at SAFE, CBR, SAMA, et al. If they keep buying EUR/USD every day, I have a sneaky suspicion that it will keep going up (unless the SPX really craps out, in which case all bets are off.)

Whether they will or not....that's the tough bit.

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Steve
admin
June 3, 2009 at 5:40 PM ×

Stupid question: Do you know if there is a good, liquid future on 5-year Gilts? I am active in G M9 but am looking for something shorter.

Cheers

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Greg
admin
June 3, 2009 at 5:48 PM ×

Yeah, having been discredited, now the global warming quacks have re-branded their psuedo-science as "climate change". Any real scientist would know the climate has always been changing -- Earth's history has been MUCH warmer and MUCH colder.

This delusion that the recent past (climate "stability"?) can be linearly interpolated indefinitely into the future is a classic example of behavioral bias.

The willingness of so many people to believe in "low volatility" climate conditions, as well as low vol economic conditions is evidence of some rather flawed thinking.

Experienced traders know not to be net short gamma - especially not severely leveraged short gamma.

Excavations have proven that the entire state of Florida (in the U.S.) used to be 10-15 feet underwater. The Sahara desert and central Australia used to be forest. The ice man recently found in Switzerland had green vegetation in his stomach and wasn't wearing much clothing -- showing that area wasn't always under ice.

Similarly, companies like GM, RBS / ABN Amro, and Dai Ichi bank (remember them?) ***USED TO BE*** viable companies.

The same flawed thinking that allows people to accept global warming nonsense also makes them susceptible to thinking home prices can only rise. After all, the computer model tells us it is so

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Professional gringo
admin
June 3, 2009 at 6:41 PM ×

Yeah it figures you'd throw a monkey wrench in my deal MM. Drat.

I just think it's time for the major pairs to stand on their fundamentals and prove they're worth these prices. But at the same time I can't gird my loins enough to hold any position too long under these conditions.

Merkel takes a shot at the Fed, BOE and the Coneheads over at the ECB. Turbo Tax Timmy G. on his knees in China and laughed at by kids. Helicopter Ben lectures congress on checkbook balancing 101. Everything showing overbought, QE galore, historically low interest rates, horrid unemployment. Enough already.

Anyway, I caught a significant portion of today's dollar strength here in bizarro world. Enough to negate all of my rock headed moves of the last 24 hours and I'm out.

And feeling flush I might add. Maybe I'll splurge on some adult macaroni and tequila over at the Food Shack tonight.

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Anonymous
admin
June 3, 2009 at 7:55 PM ×

Steve, only the long gilt future on LIFFE for now, although I'd hardly call that good and liquid...apparently LIFFE will be launching a 5 year soon though, have heard as early as this month. Plus exchange traded gilt options. Now that will be a nice liquid market I'm sure.

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Anonymous
admin
June 3, 2009 at 11:22 PM ×

The Clinton/Gore administration said cigarette smoking was bad, effectively poisoning people... but they didn't want to ban this poison -- they wanted to tax it.

Al Gore's Global Warming scam was born of this. Gore wanted to tax oil companies, but he couldn't sell a tax increase. So he decided to rebrand his tax increase as an environmental issue.

Global warming (which is unproven and contradicts the UN's earlier attempt at quack-science) is bad ... the only way to fix bad things is to tax them. Hence, we need to tax the oil companies, and place carbon taxes on everything.

Global warming advocates are just socialists in drag. Problem is, they are too stupid to realize it

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Rhys
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June 4, 2009 at 5:31 PM ×

I don't think a car like this is going to have to be forced upon the American public. "The power of small" is becoming a reality completely on its own.

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RN
admin
June 5, 2009 at 1:23 AM ×

Wow, unreal.

You should be ashamed of posting that.

I love all you people who criticize, but don't offer any better solutions.

Disgusting.

That's the last I read of THIS blog.

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