Opel, Vauxhall and Saturn

So, I read in today's Wall Street Journal that GM is backing out of the deal to sell Opel. I have to say that it's a good idea. Several of the more innovative GM cars to come out in the US in recent years are re-branded Opels. Also, it's hard to be a global car maker if you're writing off a continent.

I'm of course disappointed that the Saturn sale fell through. I still think that if the electric car crowd wants to get serious about moving vehicles, buying Saturn was a golden opportunity. On a personal note, I own a Saturn Vue hybrid. Since I bought it on a zero percent interest and it will soon be paid for, I will be keeping it for a while, but it would be nice to not have an orphan vehicle.

I guess you win some and you loose some.

A Late Rant

Every once in a while I find myself mentally re-enacting arguments from the past. The last couple of days, I found myself reflecting on Obama's decision to not buy any more F-22 fighters. When the decision was announced several months ago, the Usual Suspects were upset that Obama was betraying America or some such. This got me thinking, and a rant eventually (late, I know - sue me) crystallized. Since it's my blog, you get to read it.

The most plausible near-term threat to the US is a war with China. Now, this site tells me the Chinese have "about 1,300" fighters. That's a lot. However, the US has:

409 F-18s (US Navy)
238 F-18s (US Marine Corps)
685 F-15s (US Air Force)
145 F-22s (as of August 2009)

For a total of 1,477 first-line air superiority fighters, as per wikipedia. If we went to war with China tomorrow, we could trade them fighters one-for-one and still win.

In the mean time, we are actually at war with Iraqi insurgents, the Taliban and Al-Queda. These enemies field a combined total of zero combat aircraft. In fact, these forces are totally at the mercy of an aircraft that would be hard-pressed to defend itself against a Cessna flown by a guy armed with a .45 semi-auto.

Tell me again why we need more F-22s?