Let's talk about the 'driver shortage'.

Very true. My record proves it: in the first 3 years I collected 5 different moving violations, speeding, u-turns, also 10 other non moving violations: bald tires, illegal parking, log violations, seat belt etc. I got away with my CDL revocation by spending money on lawyers and amending them to some minor infraction. In addition I jacknifed in WY, turn over in IL, feel asleep in MI and went off the road luckily unscathed. Also bumped into a a new BMW at a toll both,.... all in the first 3 years - oh boy I was a shame and deplorable. Thank You Lord for not letting me kill anybody! - a young, IT "professional" fired for disorderly conduct at the work place, unable to impress anyone else with my "nice" resume, thinking the trucking was the answer. It was in a way, but after 10 years everything calmed down. Last 5 years not a single ticket, not a single warning on my DOT inspections. What do i do differently? Hard to say. I guess it is experience and learning on mistakes. Even though it is easy to get CDL not everyone is cut out for this. I was not for sure, I always loved it though.

 

He can start by making it harder to ship jobs out of the country, especially to Mexico. That's why I wouldn't buy a Ram pickup or Freightliner I'd have to go with the Ford or Pete just on principle. Rewarding companies that mfg in the US is something the end consumer can do.

 

I thought Ford was made in Mexico too? I wanted that ramn rebel trx concept . On the bright side, Ford pickups are looking very nice these years. Might have to switch my wants towards them

 

Ford Super Duties are made at Kentucky Truck Assembly in Louisville. F-150's are made in Kansas City.

Ford sells vehicles worldwide so they have plants all over the world but trucks are made here. The big ones like the 650/750 are made in Avon Lake, OH which is an old Freuhauf plant.

 

I still like dodge/Chevy though.

 

I'm not a huge ford fan either but I have to admit they do things right. No bailout money. They make their rigs here and they aren't owned by the Italians.

 

Here is the Ford loan from DOE. Ford is able to pay a dividend to it's shareholders, but has not paid back the loan yet.
http://www.energy.gov/lpo/ford

The DOE issued ATVM loans to both Ford and Nissan North America to retool their factories to produce more fuel-efficient and electric vehicles. In September 2009, the DOE issued $5.9 billion to Ford to upgrade facilities in Illinois, Kentucky, New York, Michigan, Missouri, and Ohio. DOE officials boasted that the funds helped Ford manufacture and sell its Ford 3.5-liter V6 EcoBoost®-equipped F-150 truck. They tout that EcoBoost trucks save drivers money because of improved fuel efficiency and also take “another step in helping our country become more resilient against the threats presented by climate change.” Nissan’s involvement with the ATVM program is similar. In January 2010, the DOE issued a $1.45 billion loan to build a battery manufacturing plant and retool existing factories to expand the development of its electric vehicle, the Nissan LEAF.

Ford and Nissan are well-established companies that have market capitalizations of $48 billion and $36 billion, respectively. Drivers value energy efficiency and saving on fuel costs. If Ford and Nissan thought these investments and retooling of manufacturing plants were a way to meet market demand, they should have been completely privately financed outside the DOE. Additionally, the government mandates efficiency through its corporate average fuel economy standards. The government should not be forcing efficiency through mandates in the first place, but they should not be subsidizing companies through loans or targeted tax credits to meet those targets.

 

This sounds like a bit of a separate topic and a lot of opinions about what Ford (or Nissan) should or shouldn't do to me. It doesn't seem comparable to the TARP loans that GM and Chrysler took to prevent them from going under. If you're trying to insinuate the Ford and Nissan are actually bad company's too then fine, you win. Everybody's entitled to their opinion.