China's Economy is #2 with a Bullet

Now it's official - as official as these things get, anyway. China now has the second largest economy in the world. China blew the doors off Japan and is on track to catch the USA for the #1 spot in about a decade or so.

China is already the world's largest car market. Going into 2006, China's car market was less than half that of the United States. In the Great Recession of 2009, China passed the US in car sales for the first time. The car market in China may be double the car market in the US within a couple years. Chinese sales are the big reason why General Motors has held on to its #1 global car maker position over Toyota. GM is much stronger than Toyota in China.

Half a Carbon Fiber Weekend with Jay Leno

In this video, Jay Leno is trying out a cool electric bicycle mostly made from carbon fiber. Can it really go 60 MPH? Not everything has to be practical.

Ed Whitacre Steps Aside as GM CEO
Daniel Akerson will be the New Guy

Ed Whitacre is resigning from CEO position of General Motors effective September 1. Will this require an amendment in the "red herring" prospectus that's floating around for the GM IPO? Yeah, I don't care either. Maybe that's why they're delaying their IPO. Kinda sorry to see Ed go though. He took GM from bankrupt basket case to billion dollar quarterly profit in a year. As Adam Sandler would say, "not too shabby." I don't know too much about Daniel Akerson, only that he was an executive at the Carlyle Group. You know the Carlyle Group's standards are high, they made Dan Quayle an exzecutive. Anyway, I tried to think of a good way to send off Mr. Ed, and I can't think of anybody to do it better than Lulu.

Does a Bear S*** in the Woods?
No, In a Toyota Corrolla

This bear was offered a job as the head of the UAW's union-approved-vehicles committee. Actually, he was probably just getting even for the Yogi Bear Movie.

GM to File Initial Public Offering (again) this Friday?

The Detroit News (among others) is reporting that General Motors has secured a $5 billion credit line, and it is planning filing for a public stock offering as early as this Friday. Although it's likely that the shares that GM registers to sell will be far fewer than what it would take to remove the United States government as controlling shareholder, a public offering would be the first step toward removing the stigma of the "Government Motors" moniker.

The Utmost Confidence in General Petraeus

The Huffington Post has a feature article on General David Petraeus's "media blitzieg" to defend the Afghan war. I have no special competence in determining how the war is going, but I'd feel a lot better if General Petraeus didn't remind me so much of Bruce Dern.

Yogi Bear (Movie) is Lamer than the Average Bear (Movie)

I grew up watching Yogi Bear. The new computer-animated/live-action Yogi Bear movie trailer is out, and it's bloody awful. I really respect Dan Acroyd, but he doesn't get the essence of Yogi. On the other hand, Justin Timberlake's Boo Boo is pretty good. (That guy needs a variety show, he can do everything.)

Learning the Dozens

Where's My Flying Car

In Russia - Occasionally

For No Particular Reason