GM Wants More Volts, Already Building More Trucks

"Akerson is trying to anticipate a rise in gas prices =97 GM believes oil prices could go as high as $120 a barrel, up from the current sub- $90 price =97 and what that might do to future demands."

Question is if that is a rise in the price of oil or fall in the price of the dollar.

For people in the US it does not really make a difference but for the rest of us it is important difference because it may not make much difference in our local currency.

Whatever the demand for the Volt seems to be growing and that alone is interesting.

"While the Volt has been on sale only for a month, GM wants to double production of the model by 2012, up to 120,000 units a year, according to Bloomberg. GM had planned to build 10,000 Volts in the first year and 45,000 in 2012; now it=92s 25,000 for 2011 and more than 60,000 units in 2012. GM is also exploring the possibility of adding the Volt=92s Voltec drivetrain to more models, such as a minivan, which we probably got a glimpse of with the Volt MPV5 Concept. "

For people in the US it does not really make a difference but for the rest of us it is important difference because it may not make much difference in our local currency.

******* If there is truth to the Standsberry Research stance, and if the dollar is replaced as the world reserve currency, then it will very much make a difference to the people in the USA.

I think you can hear, or download, Standsberry's points on

US government is bankrupt. Just that the chips haven't fallen yet but they will. If the US could not simply create/print money, they would be belly up by now.

Trouble is, creating money with no value is fraud. And generates hyper-inflation. And it will eventually collapse. Me, I have already moved money into Yuan as USDs are fundamentally useless other than short term trade.

How will this affect GM? Simple, Lithium and the Volt, lithium prices are going like oil, gas, copper -- all these comodities didn't go up, the value of the USD went down in a huge fraud of DC US Fed banking.

US is bankrupt.

We have basically know for decades that too many dollars have been printed.

Eventually the value of the dollars will come tumbling down.

Because they have not done so you might think they could stay high forever.

That is pretty much what people thought about the price of houses until recently.

The price of oil is going up up and up.

One of the questions is what happens when the dollars come back to the US from the east.

Will the dollar be replaced with new currency?

Will you get ever higher values printed on the dollar paper?

There is no magic behind this and it is sure as hell that this will happen.

It is only a question of when and how.

If you=92ve been to the grocery store, fast food restaurant or bought just about anything lately you know that the price has been going up =96 A lot.

But at the same time most of the expert =93Economists=94 are telling you that inflation is really low, and that it is actually declining. You know that they are full of shit, but they have numbers (statistics) to prove their point. All you have is the antidotal evidence of a smaller bank account =96 hardly scientific data.

Economists base their analysis on data collected from the Bureau of Labor and Statistics. One of the data sources is known as the Consumer Price Index (CPI) which basically just measures the cost of things you buy.

The CPI is used for all sorts of things. First and foremost, it is used to measure the rate of inflation. But it is also used as a benchmark tool for spending. The value of the Dollar, Social Security Payments, and Lending rates to Banks are all determined or adjusted by the CPI. So the CPI is a really big deal.

There is just one little problem, it=92s fake. For the last 40 years every president, including Regan, Carter, Clinton, Bush Sr. & Jr. have made changes in the CPI to effectively lower the perceived values of the CPI. Effectively, they are =93cooking the books=94. And of course not to be outdone, President Obama has now cranked up the heat =96 or to better describe it =96 has put a blow torch to it.

Actually, what I=92m reporting is old news. In a June 2008 article written by Dr. John Fisher in CBS (Moneywatch.com) =93changes over the past 40 years to the Consumer Price Index have not only provided a poorer reflection of true consumer costs but have actually harmed our economy. It may have even contributed a large measure to the real estate bubble as well as the collapse.=94

In the same article another economic analyst John Williams points out, =93If you were to peel back changes that were made in the CPI going back to the Carter years, you=92d see that the CPI would now be 3.5 percent to 4 percent higher. That is, it would now show an annual 7.5 to 8 percent increase instead of 4 percent.=94

That was before Obama got into office. Under the direction of Dr. Keith Hall, a Bush appointee, but with the endorsement of the Obama Administration, the Bureau of Labor and Statistics is at it again. This time they are making changes to how the numbers are calculated in Housing, Health Care (Medical) & Telephone Services. And once again, the changes will reduce the reported values of the CPI. In effect, inflation will go up =96 but the numbers won=92t.

The purpose of all this could not be more intentional. If the real (actual) inflationary numbers were reported, the national debt (because of the additional expenditures tied to the CPI) would quadruple overnight. Absolute panic would ensue and we would enter a Hyperinflation like never before seen in this country.

But you already knew that. You have seen and felt it in your wallet. It is why a =93value meal=94 now costs almost eight dollars but is also why the =93quality=94 of American Made goods has dropped to the lowest level in years. Higher material & ingredient costs force cheaper quality products. Or, as a counter to the higher costs =96 companies seek goods made overseas. So not only do the fake CPI numbers affect the cost of goods & services, it also forces the outsourcing of jobs to foreign nations.

The bottom line is that =93statistically=94 everything looks fine. Meanwhile the reality is quite grim. In 1940 the value of the dollar was equal to =85 you guessed it, $1.00. Today that dollar is worth less than ten cents. And this number is based on the CPI=92s own cooked books. Factor in the =93real=94 inflationary numbers and the dollar is actually worth about two cents of what it was worth in 1940. To put it another way, 2 cents in 1940 would get you the same thing as 1 dollar does today.

At some point, all the political spin in the world and all the fudging of numbers and statistics will no longer be able to conceal reality. Inflation will burst through the wall like a tank =96 it is just a matter of time.

So when is this going to happen?

Well this is actually already happening because some trade that used to be in dollars is changing to other currencies and the dollar is starting to go back home.

Many of the dollars went straight to china and created inflation there but those dollars are coming back and the chinese are buy buildings and factories.

Big part of GM is already chinese.

Standsberry predicts it will happen this year. He is either a bit alarmist, or prophetic.

Obama and his ilk say that they are now ready to begin responsible economic policy, but out of the other side of their mouths, they talk about the need to spend.

The American people graze about, assuming all will be okay, because liberals are in power.

We are an illiterate nation.

There is a lot of reporting about Egypt. One thing I did not know is that the US gives Egypt $2 Billion a year. The people of Egypt are dead poor and 75% of young men are unemployed. Where does all the money go?

******* I'm sure Mubarak has a place for it. In many cases that money is used to keep the military updated and the money is spent with the donor state. In other cases, a good bit of it, no doubt, finds its way into European bank accounts.