I have a new business plan!

[MovieStuff]

I have decided that I am going to sell my all my telecine units for double their value. I figure I'll make a lot of money quickly off of customers because I will finance them at 5-10% interest with a down payment equal to what I'm selling them for now. Then, later, when my company looks like it is going to go under due to the eventual lack of customer interest in my overpriced product, I will simply go to the US Congress and ask for a billion dollar bail out, thereby protecting my employees' jobs and ensuring my continued method of operation.

I recommend that all of you that are self-employed to follow my lead. :twisted:

Roger

[Roster]

No. I think for your scheme to work, you must offer your units (priced at two times intrinsic value) with a no down payment (or very low down payment) plus a very favorable rate of financing initially (e.g. 4% or 5%), which then goes double or more six to twelve months later.

The theory is, you will attract budding filmmakers with no money whatsoever (sub-prime candidates) but who are stone cold certain that they will make millions in the future off of their brilliant and commercially successful films, enabling them to pay off the balance on their units (with ease!).

However, when these customers default, you will then have to repossess as many of the units as you can but their true values will be unknown due to wear and tear, among other variables.

And with so many used units in inventory, and all the holding costs associated with that, why build new ones, and so the downward spiral continues.

If you implement your plan, can we buy credit default swaps from Moviestuff as well?!

[reflex]

I'm still waiting for the Detroit Three to lay out how they're going to return to profitability.

Their plans hinge on marketing electric vehicles to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels. Apparently, no one informed them that over 60% of American electricity is generated by burning... fossil fuel. Oh well, their backup plan is to burn food instead. What could possibly go wrong?

[super8man]

At a buck seventy-five, I leave my car running just in case I might need to use it. I sure hope all those Prius owners are factoring in current prices into their "payback" schedule.

[reflex]

At a buck seventy-five, I leave my car running...

You're only paying forty six cents a liter?! Wow. I feel so ripped off.

[Scotness]

It's an interesting fork in the road for alot of businesses - can't afford to keep them going, but can't afford for them to collapse.

[Actor]

I have decided that I am going to sell my all my telecine units for double their value. I figure I'll make a lot of money quickly off of customers because I will finance them at 5-10% interest with a down payment equal to what I'm selling them for now. Then, later, when my company looks like it is going to go under due to the eventual lack of customer interest in my overpriced product, I will simply go to the US Congress and ask for a billion dollar bail out, thereby protecting my employees' jobs and ensuring my continued method of operation.

I recommend that all of you that are self-employed to follow my lead. :twisted:

Roger

Just don't fly to Washington in your private jet. :lol:

[aj]

At a buck seventy-five, I leave my car running just in case I might need to use it. I sure hope all those Prius owners are factoring in current prices into their "payback" schedule.

A little joke of course

The dip in the oil price will only be temporary. Unless this economic downturn would last forever. And even then the demand for oil is still rising. There is just too little available. But you are well aware as an industry expert.

BTW I don't own a Prius. Just an A3 TDi which easily does over 20km from a liter at 100km/h

[super8man]

Sadly, diesel is not on the table for consideration in a low carbon/lowGHG world (no matter what your viewpoint is). Diesel is proven better at pretty much everything a consumer wants (high torque in the operating range MOST people actually use around town (nobody uses 335HP in the city...what people want is TORQUE). I test drove a Honda/Acura station wagon with a 5 speed (diesel) and I could chirp into second any time...wow...talk about kick in the pants fun).

But, our refining system cracks more barrels into gasoline (of course, due to chemistry you get more gasoline than diesel) than refineries do in Europe. We export excess diesel to Europe and they export excess gasoline to the USA. A nice match.

And yes, way better engine efficiency and mileage per unit of energy (same thing) in diesel...but in California, diesel is not on the table of reducing energy usage in the transportation sector. You cannot buy a normal diesel sedan at the showroom...they talk like you can but you really CANNOT. So, even if you wanted to be more green, you can't. At least not in California.

See, this is all you get - a gas engine...

http://www.kbb.com/kbb/NewCars/PricingR ... spx#survey

So, with gasoline now down to $1.65 locally (diesel runs about $2.40), people will not switch to high mileage cars...and the downturn in the economy will have people holding onto their cars longer. This means that any attempt to reduce GHG in the transportation sector will not happen as quickly since the cars will not turn over...In my travels, Canada has much older cars on the roads on a daily basis than California...mostly, I think, because their purchasing power was so poor. But now, we are noticing that people have resumed their speeds on the freeways to 70+mph (people really did slow down to 65mph at the peak of $3.75 gasoline. Bigger trucks are back on the road again too. And the new cars don't seem quite so popular (in California, new cars don't use license plates for about the first 30-45 days or more until the plates arrive in the mail...so they are easy to spot as you drive around).

There you go. Cheap gas...old cars...fewer jobs...no diesel cars...dang, we can't even use less energy even if we wanted to...

[super8man]

direct link for crappy picture:

http://www.outriggercanoe.com/mypics/gasprices.jpg

[S8 Booster]

not quite right Mr. SuperV8Man
here is the California diesel: http://world.honda.com/news/2008/408011 ... EC-Engine/

shoot.....

[super8man]

With respect, 10-1 Honda decides against it with the economy as it is...and like I said, it is 2008 and you STILL CANNOT buy a diesel in the state...hard to believe but true.

"Acura will introduce the new i-DTEC clean diesel engine to the North American market in 2009."

Note, you show me a California dealership with a 2008 or 2009 DIESEL (not a truck) and then I will cede the point.

Cheers,
Mike

PS - I doubt you will ever find one but that's just a conspiracy theory!!

[Jim Carlile]

Super 8 man's right-- I haven't seen a diesel around here in years-- I think it was some old smoking Mercedes sedan someplace. And where can you buy the fuel?- I saw it at one station a few months ago, I forgot where, and it cost considerably more than regular gasoline !

I don't know-- diesel's a hassle-- all that glow-plug time. It never caught on in the West at least, and when a few cars did sell they just raised the price of the fuel !

[aj]

I don't know-- diesel's a hassle-- all that glow-plug time.

Don't want to high jack this OT thread

Modern diesels are just as comfortable as any other car. Cold weather is no problem. Plenty of pull and maintenance cost are much lower these Volkswagen/Audi TDi need service only every 30.000km.
As said easy over 20km per liter at 100km/h More near 25km.

Diesel is cheaper then Gasoline (benzine) here. (1.00 vs 1.25 Euro per liter dd 8 dec) But diesel have higher license costs per month. As these drive more km/month.
BTW there is of course plenty duties in both prices. But then, there are no toll roads. And only 2 privately funded tunnels with toll. Maintenance levels are also much better then most places too. In the last five years I would say only Japan and Denmark had equal quality. Only yesterday very nearly broke a wheel and/or axis on a pothole on a road in Bruxelles.

[super8man]

AJ is right...the new diesels are incredible...sign me up for a Audi A4 with the 3.0l diesel. WOW.

As for old diesels, they perhaps forever tarnished diesel's common knowledge when Pontiac built diesel engines but used gasoline V8 blocks to do so...the blocks cracked and were never designed for diesel. Between that smokin VW Rabbit diesels (and every Mercedes Turbodiesel/Diesel I see on the road), the public hates diesel...to say nothing of the smell of diesels. Heck, even Thomas the Train has a diesel in it's series called "Dirty Diesel."

And you have to factor in the higher efficiency of diesel compared to gasoline in order to compare prices on a dollar basis...And I sure liked the idea of having 600 miles in a tank at any given time. Having driven electric vehicles and fuel cell cars like the Mercedes A320, I can tell you that having only 80 miles "on a charge" is pure misery. It's like having a cell phone whose battery goes dead at the end of each day...really gets old after the first week...