VDC, you got me. I didn’t know that. That would explain why everything seemed so weird.
Looks like I’ve been successfully “spoofed” by Jt. A tip of the hat to you, my friend.
“They’re from Silicone Valley, where new business models are considered a part of the natural world.”
I thought we were talking about cars! Being from Silicone Valley, they are probably far removed from the natural world…
Geez, all of a sudden carriage returns don’t work for paragraph breaks. Always something with this site it seems…
@the same mountainbike–You wouldn’t be the first person who was fooled by The Onion!
While their material can be funny, it is often somewhat obscure, and thus can lead people to take it seriously if they were expecting a real news story.
In fact, Fox News has humiliated themselves on a few occasions by reporting “factual” news stories that they got from The Onion. Later, of course, they have had to issue a retraction for the false reporting. Of course, that leads to the question that is frequently asked:
Does Fox News actually employ fact checkers, as news organizations are supposed to do?
Does Fox News actually employ fact checkers, as news organizations are supposed to do?
Fact checkers??? That’s for other networks. Fox not only has been caught many times with extremely false news…they also have at times made up their own news.
If anyone is interested in reading about the gullibility of the folks at Fox News–and their fans-- here are a couple of links:
Fox news and BOGUS stories…
Nevermind fact checkers. Fox needs to employ a few hypocrisy checkers.
The venom toward Fox on this thread is so thick it could be spread on bread. I find that sad. Fox is no less honest and conscienscious than NBC, CBS, ABC, or any of the major networks. Dan Rather should have made us realize that. IMHO anyone who thinks their news program of preference is any more honest than any other is living in a fool’s paradise.
@"the same mountainbike" I recall one incident where The Onion reported that the US Congress was going on strike until we built them a Capitol with a retractable dome. Chinese media picked up on it and reported it as real. So, don’t feel bad at getting fooled by them 
http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/U-S-satire-tricks-Beijing-paper-Satire-fools-2829911.php
@ok4450 I too seriously doubt that Tesla would have objection to other car companies selling cars this way. The direct-to-customer model is not really a competitive advantage from a “can I get customers to buy this thing” perspective. But it is an advantage from a “I can’t afford to put a dealership up in every city” perspective. Tesla’s customer-buying advantage is that it’s selling a, frankly, revolutionary car that is both electric and a car that you’d actually enjoy owning and driving. Something that can’t be said of the Leaf.
Fox is no less honest and conscienscious than NBC, CBS, ABC, or any of the major networks.
I listen to a lot of different news stations from NBC, CBS, BBC…and I see NOTHING that comes close to Fox. If you could show me some examples I’d like to see them.
You young guys . . . Have you never heard of the War of the Worlds and the panic that ensued? Gullibility has not yet been stamped out and me thinks might have gotten a little worse with the internet spewing official facts on everything.
Actually I click through them all. It seems like Fox has done a lot more with bringing on guest commenters and many times both sides at the same time. I really don’t see that much on CNN. CNN has been running the airline disappearance almost 24/7 whether there is any news or not and pretty much has ignored other news stories. MSNBC is a complete joke now and might as well just be on the white house staff. With Pierse Morgan leaving, maybe CNN can get back some of its credibility-just think we need fewer British commenters and reporters and more US ones. Certainly not like the days of Cronkite when all three networks had a pretty good news staff.
The Fox channel gives you pre-digested news. News should be totally objective and factual; I can from my own opinions and interpretations.
Like food, news is best when it’s not pre-digested.
I heard about it…and have listened to the transcript…and heard about the aftermath. But I don’t think anyone here is old enough to actually hear the live broadcast.
It seems like Fox has done a lot more with bringing on guest commenters and many times both sides at the same time.
Fox has brought in guest commentators from the other side…and MOST of the time they are NOT allowed to even talk…and are constantly interrupted.
Here’s a famous one that’s very recent…
Not too sure about CNN…but BBC…and MSNBC have had numerous times with opposing views. They are actually allowed to talk and not interrupted every 2 minutes.
The manufacturer- dealer relationship is governed by Federal not state laws in an attempt to ensure that you will have a place with trained technicians and parts available for 10 years after the car was made. This is not the first lawsuit over the issue and it won’t be the last.
After daimler-Benz took over Chrysler there was a long period when they wouldn’t release and Chrysler specific codes to independant repair shops until the Feds forced them to.
Then the Jeep dealers had to deal with angry customers who bought Jeeps with “lifetime guarantees” when customers couldn’t get their cars fixed after a parts supplier went out of business and no one else had made the part. Don’t remember what the part was but I think it had something to do with the ABS.
Speaking of electric cars, I see they are making very nice cars out of Fiskar Karmas by putting Chevy V8 engines and transmissions in them.
@the_same_mountainbike, thanks! Go back and read it again. Isn’t it hilarious? The funniest, and saddest, thing about this piece is that it is entirely believable. Buy your own Congressman. All the rich guys do. I guess you don’t remember when @Whitey originally posted the “report” a year or two ago. It’s indelibly etched in my mind.
@TwinTurbo, you get the booby prize! It’s "Silicon Valley"n named after the element silicon. Silicone is a family of compounds with many uses. It most famously is used to augment the anatomy of people of the female persuasion.
Would be kinda nice,to get the “infernal combustion engine” out of the automobiles one of these days,the fact is people are worse about charging batteries then they are about filling up with gas and getting their hands stinking and dirty from the fuel dispensers,I guess People are not ready for maintenence free transportation(though some treat ICE engined cars as such-I dont enjoy changing oil or changing sparkplugs) the advantages of an electric auto are so obvious,but I guess people like racket and the 20-25% range of electric cars are a deal breaker right now.
Electric stuff has been ready for a long time,but it might require a lifestyle change and people apparently arent ready to do that in Cowboy America,wake up America the coffee is burning.
Leave Tesla alone,I feel sorry for the people of New Jersy-Kevin
I don’t feel an ounce of empathy for Tesla. Think about it: you have a company that gets every tax break imaginable, competes on a warped playing field…and they’re STILL losing money (on their cars)! All Tesla actually makes a profit on are emission “credits” that they sell to other automakers. Now, just thus once Tesla is forced to play on a level playing field…and they cry a bunch of crocodile tears? Puhlllease!
Joe, the playing field you refer to has been so bastardized toward the will of the dealers and the manufacturers that it no longer represents free trade. We, the consumers, pay for that. We pay for the franchise mandated multimillion dollar renovations, the franchise mandated multimillion dollar computer system. The legislation that is the subject at hand prohibits free trade, prohibits the creation of new and more competitive business models. If the dealers cannot compete with the new business model, than they too need to change.
Commerce laws are supposed to protect consumers against predators that would strongarm any trying to enter their market to where free trade was not possible. They are not supposed to protect the bullies. What we have here IMHO is auto dealers using the laws in the same function as the mob uses henchmen… to prohibit free trade. God forbid we should buy from purveyor using a different (and IMHO more honest) business model.
The laws are supposed to protect the free market; not eliminate it.
The issue of the use of tax dollars by automotive manufacturers is… well, to claim that Tesla is unfairly using tax breaks (which all the manufacturers manipulate to their advantage) when we just went through things like “cash for clunkers” and the GM bailout is, well, extremely unfair.
Some years back, stoves, refrigerators, washing machines, etc. as well as television sets were sold by dealers. These appliance dealers have now mostly disappeared from my area and the big box stores like Lowes handle a lot of different brands of appliances. There used to be exclusive dealers for different brands of televisions–RCA, Philco, Zenith, Sylvania, etc. Television sets are now sold at WalMart, Target, and other such stores. These places contract out the service work. I bought a television set at Target and it had a problem while still under warranty. I called number listed by the manufacturer and s service technician came to my house a day later. He installed a new circuit board in less than 10 minutes and then played with my dog for half an hour.
There are now automobile dealer groups. One dealer will have a Ford franchise with a showroom in one location, a Toyota franchise in another location and probably a Buick-GMC someplace else. With electric cars on the horizon that require minimal maintenance, I can see the day where we do buy a car in a store at the mall or a big box auto store. The service will be farmed out on contract to independent shops just as the servicing of appliances and televisions is now done.