Recently, I wrote about the Big Three Auto companies and how they need to change, and change their product lines if they wanted to stay “big”. Since those columns there has been even more evidence that these companies are struggling to keep up with current realities. Additional plants have closed, the production of trucks has […]
It was just reported that, as expected, there are now more Internet users in China than in the U.S. As of last month there were 253 million Internet users in China as compared to 220 million in the U.S. What is striking is that in just the last year, the number of new users in […]
There have been many cultural changes so far in 2008. Some of these changes are in response to the rapid increase in the price of oil and other commodities. Some of these changes have been due to technological innovations. In both cases new behavior patterns are being established that will, to some degree become permanent […]
The economy has clearly become the primary subject today in America. It has become so not only because of all the issues discussed in the prior column, but also because it has also become the number one issue for voters in this significant election year. In the “Forecast for 2008” column on January 9th of […]
In my columns of forecasts for 2008 I made clear and distinct predictions about debt, the housing market and the stock market. Debt On January 1 I wrote: “The key economic word for 2007 and even more so for 2008 will be “debt”. It is debt that is the true economic issue for the individual, […]
Regular readers know that I have long predicted the current price of oil and that we are now moving through Peak Oil These subjects were included in my “Forecast for 2008″ To quote from that January 9, 2008 column: “In 2008, gas will, for a period of time reach $4 on the national level. A […]
Two weeks ago I said that I would be writing several columns about transportation in the U.S. This is the final one of that series, at least for now. In the life of this blog I have written about the future of transportation and what it will and should look like. I am sure I […]
GM, Ford and Chrysler represent to a large degree the Industrial Age legacy of manufacturing in the U.S. “What was good for General Motors was good for the United States” was, for decades in the 20th century a very true statement. The manufacturing might of America post WWII was an economic miracle and the apotheosis […]
The fact that you know what I mean when I write the two words “Big Three” points to the power of Detroit and U.S. automotive marketing in the last half of the 20th century. The fact that they are no longer the big three in terms of sales in the U.S. points to the reality […]
The two trend lines are the decline in gasoline consumption and the decline in miles driven. These two are obviously connected and are obviously caused by the price of oil. For the first time in close to 30 years, we have something to be proud of when it comes to our driving behavior. Two different […]