" Now are you Kool Aider's still Happy you Voted for this Ridiculous Change??? What a bunch of crap!! The Government running (Ruining) the Car Industry when they can't even run their own Cafeteria, Social Security, MediCare or Postal Service Properly or at even a Profit. Now There's some real incentive to buy American from Democrat Motors. How many want to own an Obama Hussein Hybrid ??Thank God "My Ford Motor Company" didn't take any of the/our Government hand outs and told The Government to cram it!! They'll keep on making what Amercians want and will continue to BUY. Hot Rod Mustangs, F-Series 4 x 4 Pick ups, Explorers, Expeditions and Navigators!! Now Just imagine how well this New Government will do running the Banking Industry (You saw what the Dem's did with Fanny Mae & Freddie Mac) and Now they think they can Run The Healthcare Industry??If this wasn't so Disasterous it would be the best comic strip ever!!! "

" GM didn't make this decision, the White House did. Jenson is obviously high on the list of Republican financial supporters, just like 90% of the Chrysler dealerships that were closed. Isn't anyone starting to wonder why there is so much fear of government all of a sudden? Maybe it's all that hope and change.

But it's okay, because Obama has so much charisma. "

" If there hadn't been government money GM would have been bankrupt and many more dealerships would have been closed...that may still happen. GM's problems do not stem from the government but from 30+ years of horrible product decisions. "

" Gasoline is $3.00 a gallon again, that's why gas hog cars are disappearing.

It is 'just the facts' that GM is broke and retrenching dealerships. No bailout would mean even fewer dealerships.

Close attention to comments by dealers losing franchises involved shows their sales don't justify having separate buildings for those cars. These dealers are not closing because they have other car lines selling better than the names being closed out.

There were many horse-drawn carriage manufacturing retrenchments when the automobile came along. You can't find a 'horse-drawn carriage dealership row' anywhere in California today.

My wife and I own hybrids and we are not interested in cars that doesn't get 50MPG or better, because that is the best hybrid technology available now.

Fair warning to automakers and dealers; our family is really in the market for a full-electric car to replace one of our hybrids when the time comes. Fully 100% of our driving needs would be met in our two-car family with one hybrid (or plug-in hybrid) and one full-electric car.

'Better Place' plans to be making battery-exchange cars available for 'early-adopters' and fleet testing in 2010, and largely available in 2011.

Since no 'American Mis-Management' automaker is making a full electric 'battery exchange' car yet, the number of 'American' dealerships available in Napa is irrelevant to us.

Hello, American carmakers! It's time to get with making plug-in hybrids and full-electric cars.

Hello, Napa dealers! When we see a plug-in hybrid on your lot, or, even better, a 'battery exchange' electric car, we will be there to buy.

Otherwise, we will be going where we can find what we're looking for.

~Ruff "

" Whoa, Cowboy!?!

Do you REALLY believe that the White House has a map of dealerships in Napa they want closed?

I suspect the price of gasoline, back at $3.00 a gallon and rising is more to blame than a White House cabal to close car dealerships.

~Ruff "

" Of course! Since we can't post links here, you'll have to do the research yourself, if you're at all interested. 88% of Chrysler dealerships closed were (1) top Republican donors, and (2) not the worst producers, notably some of the highest producers. The one at the top of the closure list was owned by a Republican Congressman's family in Texas, and had a high sales record for it's 82 year history.

It's just more Chicago-style politics meant to stomp the opposition into oblivion. It's surely giving much satisfaction to Democrats, just like the bully on the playground giving bloody noses. Some fun for the bully, huh. "

" Well for what its worth how do we transport our kids in those hybrids there is NO room & what about our pets (dogs) how will they fit in the back seat HELLO, how do we tow our toys? How can they tell us what to drive and with all the big rigs on the road some of those hybrids are a death trap it scares me!
Is this a free country or did things change while I was sleeping? "

" I love Cowboy's conspiracy theories. Don't blame the failure on the fact that Buicks are crappy cars (do you know ANYONE who drives a Buick?) but blame Obama. Because he has the time and energy to "get back" at Republican donors. I am sure that is his highest priority. Please.... "

" Heres some food for thought.

Honda has produced a graph about their new Honda Insight that suggests that making the Insight is only marginally more energy-hungry than making a normal car. And that the slight difference is more than negated by the resultant fuel savings.

Hmmm. I would not accuse Honda of telling porkies. That would be foolish. But I cannot see how making a car with two motors costs the same in terms of resources as making a car with one.

The nickel for the battery has to come from somewhere. Canada, usually. It has to be shipped to Japan, not on a sailing boat, I presume. And then it must be converted, not in a tree house, into a battery, and then that battery must be transported, not on an ox cart, to the Insight production plant in Suzuka. And then the finished car has to be shipped, not by Al Gore, to America, where it can be transported, not by wind, to the home of a man with a beard who thinks he’s doing the world a favor.

Why doesn’t he just buy a Ford or GM which is made from local components, just down the road? No, really — weird-beards buy locally produced meat and vegetables for eco-reasons. So why not apply the same logic to cars?

At this point you will probably dismiss what I’m saying as the rantings of a motor head, and think that I have my head in the sand.

~Continued "

" That’s not true. While I have yet to be convinced that man’s 3% contribution to the planet’s greenhouse gases affects the climate, I do recognize that oil is a finite resource and that as it becomes more scarce, the political ramifications could well be dire. I therefore absolutely accept the urgent need for alternative fuels.

But let me be clear that hybrid cars are designed solely to milk the guilt genes of the smug and the foolish. And that pure electric cars, such as the G-Wiz and the Tesla, don’t work at all because they are just too inconvenient.

Since about 1917 the car industry has not had a technological revolution — unlike, say, the world of communications or film.

But now comes the need to throw away the heart of the beast, the internal combustion engine, and start again. And, critically, the first of the new cars with their new power systems must be better than the last of the old ones. Or no one will buy them.

And here’s the kicker. That’s exactly what Honda has done with its other eco-car, the Clarity. Instead of using a petrol engine to charge up the electric motor’s batteries, as happens on the Insight, the Clarity uses hydrogen: the most abundant gas in the universe.

The only waste product is water. The car feels like a car and best of all, the power it produces is so enormous, it can be used by day to get you to 120mph and by and by night to run all the electrical appliances in your house. This is not science fiction. There is a fleet of Claritys running around in California as we speak. "

" Sassy1, no one is telling you how to transport your kids. If you have two children, there should be no problem transporting them in a smaller vehicle. If you have more, well than that's your choice. Children are expensive, especially if you feel you must use a big 15 mpg SUV gas hog vehicle for transportation. Gas prices WILL undoubtedly increase substantially in the future. It's your choice to have a big family and a big car to facilitate it. Live with it. No one is telling you what to do. Don't expect handouts or price manipulations for the choices you have made, though. "

" Vocal-
I don't think Sassy was asking for a hand-out, but simply stating that those of us who DO drive large suv's/trucks get criticised for it. I completely agree that we choose how many children we have, and also that we CHOOSE what car we drive, but we shouldnt be given slack about it! Personally I LOVE my suburban that only get 13 miles to the gallon! I love it as much as you love your hybrid/small"fuel efficient" car! Also after reading the safety reports and crash ratings on small cars, I will drive knowing that my family has a much better chance of walking away from an accident if God forbid we were ever involved in one!
By the way does this discussion remind anyone else of an episode of South Park??? "

" Sassy...we're on our way to no longer being a free country. Government control of our largest institutions will be the end. "

" By all means, let's make the environmentalist happy and get those plug in electric cars...then we can count the brown outs on a daily basis. And while we're at it, lets make sure we curtail the water for the Central Valley for those really important Delta Smelt. After all, they're only farmers and it's some of the richest growing property in the country. Brilliant!! "

" Where to start with this one. In regards to local Ferrarigtc. I would do a bit of research before you dive into the buy local campaign regarding cars. many "foreign owned" cars have lots of domestically manufactured and engineered components and many domestic cars a build around foreign manufactured and engineered materials. About the only thing that delineates a foreign or domestic car company is where the corporate headquarters is otherwise much of its products, engineering, staff and tax revenue may be overseas.

As to Sassy and others comments in regards to a hybrid not accommodating the needs of a SUV this is true but the point is it is not supposed to be a direct replacement it is one factor in a changed lifestyle that departs from the bug car with mom dad three kids and two dogs. On another note i drive a small station wagon that easily fits my 4-5 people and my two dogs while getting around 30 mpg. Not the 50 of a hybrid but substantially better than the 15-20 mpg. It's simply a matter of learning to live with a little bit less. "

" Than k you aaanapa I wasnt asking for handouts & dont feel sorry for those who have kids its not mine or your business. As for the vehicles WE all drive I feel the same its nobody's business and it is a FREE country right now! I feel alot safer in my truck then those hybrid and I have the right to protect my family on the road too.
No slack here ... South Park yeah thats it !!!! "

" fedupinnapa how big are those 2 dogs? Im not going to smash anyone because like I said before its an individual choice all Im saying is we worked to hard for a free country freedom of speech freedom to drive what we want to... so now there going to tell us to we have to live with a little less so THEY can have the luxeries we work so hard for and now we cant enjoy them ... whats wrong with this picture? can I babble some more "

" I find it very interesting that people blame Obama for GM's woes and the closing of dealerships. Don't people realize we voted with our wallets!!! When gas prices approached 4.00, was there a stampeed to by SUV and trucks. No, the fall in sales charted like a cliff. People, you all, stopped buying the cars. Why? They were too expensive to run and the quality wasn't there. When GM said they were going broke, did the masses run over to a dealership and buy GM cars? I tried to listen for the stampeed, but again, the silence was deafening. If the product GM and Crysler made was worth saving, the public would have stepped up and bought the product. Instead they bought something else. So whose fault is it? The White House?? Give me a break. GM its time to wake up and smell the coffee. Build a product people want to buy "

" As the proud owner of a new Escalade (as well as a small car) I am inclined to give my two cents. There was no stampede when I bought my BIG SUV in late 2008 but I had been in the market for sometime and the current situation provided for deep discounts for me. I hated the situation for others but took advantage while I could (much like real estate investing these days). For those who say GM doesn't put out a good product I would have to say you are wrong. I did my research and test drove them all. I don't have a bunch of kids or dogs to haul around but I wanted an SUV. It's my preference.

As far as the collapse of GM you should look to the collapse of the housing market. Yes, it is all tied together. When people had their 0% rates, 100% financing and ARMs there was plenty of money to buy new cars. Some people took out equity from their home every year. SPEND...SPEND...SPEND...Then burst!!! There goes the bubble. Homes foreclosed, cars repossessed and certainly no money to buy new. Was GM perfectly managed? Not by any means but they were producing what the public wanted. SUVs. You would not have seen the collapse of GM and many others if the government had not turned its head on the corruption in the mortgage market and on Wall Street. Somebody should have been paying attention...I saw it coming just didn't understand the extent of the devastation we would endure. "

" Cowboy you can post links here so why not give us the links you have ...or just mention the sources to back up your claims..... "

" Here's the truth. GM is bloated with unions, and retirement bennies! They counted on selling large vehicles for decades. They were wrong.
The government has sealed their death, what has the government ever ran correctly?

Oh and by the way wait till they run our healthcare!!!!!!! "

" Sassy- 75 lbs each... Big enough? Who said They are telling us to do anything the action is voluntary I think we are a bloated disgusting over consuming society that lives to consume in place of enjoying the bounty that we have right in front of us. So I am voluntarily trying to own and consume less so I am not burying this country in pointless waste. I am proud to be an American but maybe we need to learn that you do not need everything you want. It's the pursuit of happiness not the pursuit of stuff. "

" Give me a break guys. He says GM is only 5% of his sales. That is why they are going out of business. You buy the car you need. If you have 8 kids you buy a car that can carry 8 kids. The dollar is the almighty decision maker. And the trend is to do and spend less so car companies who cater to those trends are the ones surviving right now. "