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How To Make Hundreds Of Millions Without Even Trying

Last week, we shared with you an ingenious method of the U.S. Department of Justice to contribute to the deficit-afflicted holdings of the U.S. Treasury. The method involves shaking down foreign companies who grease the wheels to get deals in even more foreign lands. Or who even think about greasing the wheels. Caught between European laws and U.S. laws, these companies pay and promise to sin no more.

Bertel Schmitt Mar 29, 2010

Recent Comments

TheMrFreeze So basically no manual transmissions in US cars after 2029.I just raised one finger in the general direction of NHTSB's main office. Guess which finger it is!
TheMrFreeze Wife drives a Fiat 500 Turbo 5-speed (135hp vs. 160 in the Abarth), it's a lot of fun to drive and hasn't given us any headaches. Maintenance on it is not as bad as you'd think for such a cramped engine compartment...Fiat did put some thought into it in that regard. Back seat is...cramped...but the front is surprisingly roomy for what it is.I honestly wouldn't mind having one myself, but yeah, gotta have a manual trans.
Bkojote Tesla's in a death spiral right now. The closest analog would be Motorola circa 2007.The formula is the exact same. -Vocal CEO who came in and took credit for the foundation their predecessor while cutting said efforts behind successful projects.-A heavy reliance on price/margin cuts and heavy subsidies to keep existing stock moving. The RAZR became a $99 phone after starting out as a $399 phone, the same way a Model 3 is now a $25k car.-Increasing focus on BS projects over shipping something working and functional to distract shareholders from the failures of current products. Replace "iTunes Phone" (remember that?) with "Cybertruck" and when that's a dud focus on "Java-Linux" the same way they're now focusing "Robotaxis".-Increasingly cut away investment in quality-of-ownership things. Like Motorola, Tesla's cut cut cut away their development, engineering, and support teams. If you ever had the misfortune of using a Motorola Q you're familiar with just how miserable Tesla Autopilot is these days.-Ship less and less completed products as a preview of something new. Time and time again at CES/Trade Shows Motorola was showing half-working 'concept' devices. The Cybertruck was announced 5 years ago yet functionally is missing most of its features- and the ones it has don't work. And I mean basic stuff- the AWD logic is embarrassingly primitive. A lot of Tesla hyperbole focuses on either he's a 4D-chess playing genius visionary or all of Tesla's being propped up by gov't mandates. But the reality is this company hasn't delivered any meaningful product evolution in the better half of this past decade.
Pig_Iron Stellantis is looking for excuses to close plants. Shawn Fain just gave them one. 🐹
SCE to AUX Unresolved safety issues are a good reason to strike.

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