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  •  The problem here (none / 0)


    US manufacturers are getting hit because they are not used to provide energy-efficient products. So higher energy prices are likely to lead, among other consequences, to increased imports and more "restructuring" in the industrial heartland.

    Americans won't buy this type of thing until they absolutely have to. This is where gov't intervention would help. Both parties are to blame for this

    by SteveLCo on Thu Sep 29, 2005 at 04:57:25 AM PDT

    [ Parent ]

    •  To get gov't intervention (4.00 / 3)

      you need public pressure / support for it. Now is the good time to drum it up.

      "Make a quick buck - save energy. Here's how"

      could be one of the slogans. and it applies both to consumers and companies.

      European Tribune / The Oil Drum / EA2020

      by Jerome a Paris on Thu Sep 29, 2005 at 05:18:47 AM PDT

      [ Parent ]

      •  Frame it in capitalism. (none / 0)

        One of the biggest hurdles to overcome is the belief that the market will just correct this on its own. I'm not convinced that that's the case, especially when so many costs are not in fact built into capitalism - pollution cleanup costs, for instance, medical care for those suffering from respatory illnesses.

        If we can find a good way to market this not as regulation but as companies paying for what they use, as true capitalism in action, I think we have a better chance of getting it past the American public. Also, it has the advantage with that frame of being the truth.

        Street Prophets Livejournal Feed

        by Expat Briton on Thu Sep 29, 2005 at 08:26:09 AM PDT

        [ Parent ]

      •  My point concerning this is... (none / 0)


        you need public pressure / support for it. Now is the good time to drum it up.

        There WON'T be any public pressure/support for it until a crisis is at hand. Government really needs to lead on something like this. Unfortunately the turds won't and the dems are too timid to try.

        by SteveLCo on Thu Sep 29, 2005 at 01:21:43 PM PDT

        [ Parent ]

    •  Not just the Feds... (4.00 / 2)


      State government can help here too, and in many states we have a much better chance of getting action than we have in trying to get the Feds to act on anything.

      by ericy on Thu Sep 29, 2005 at 05:31:26 AM PDT

      [ Parent ]

    •  That´s not totally true (none / 0)

      Americans not buying it, I mean.

      An American label: Made in Germany

      Who is the biggest exporter of German-made washing machines to the United States? Not Miele or Bosch-Siemens, or any other German manufacturer. No, it's Whirlpool, the American appliance maker proudly reports.
      ...
      The necessary technology existed in Germany when Whirlpool decided to sell front-loading washers to Americans. So did a trained work force and a Whirlpool factory already making a European version of the front loader.
      ...
      Almost two million of the front loaders have been sold in the United States since 2001, at $1,200 apiece, and as demand rises, so do the shipments across the Atlantic.
      ...
      Maytag got into the front-loader market first, in the 1990s, but soon stumbled. Its Neptune model, engineered and made in the United States, suffered from a high repair rate. That gave Whirlpool's Duet front-loader an advantage, Fettig said; his company avoided the pitfalls by adopting the already kink-free German technology.

      Maytag, in a statement, said that it, too, has resorted to globalization to get back into the game. The newest model "is made in South Korea through a technology and manufacturing partnership with Samsung," Maytag said.
      ...
      The high-end, $1,200 model will continue to come from Schorndorf. The smaller Mexican front loaders, on the other hand, will be for the majority of American consumers and will be priced several hundred dollars less.

      by Detlef on Thu Sep 29, 2005 at 06:16:26 AM PDT

      [ Parent ]

      •  Whirlpool now owns Maytag (none / 0)

        n/t

        by jmmcgowanjm on Thu Sep 29, 2005 at 07:59:03 AM PDT

        [ Parent ]

        •  Not according to their website (none / 0)

          Maytag's "Our Company" page

          Supreme executive power derives from a mandate from the masses, not from some... farcical aquatic ceremony!

          by imatlas on Thu Sep 29, 2005 at 01:25:56 PM PDT

          [ Parent ]

          •  Whirlpool buys Maytag for $1.7bn (none / 0)


            BBC NEWS | Business | Whirlpool buys Maytag for $1.7bn
            US household appliance firm Whirlpool signs a deal to buy Maytag - the company
            behind the Hoover brand - for $1.7bn.
            news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4174888.stm - 30k

            Whirlpool has a huge plant in Ft Smith AR., where my inlaws live.

            I keep up with their activities.  They also make appliances under the Sears Kenmore label.

            Cheers, James

            BTW -the websites of these Corps can be very slow in updating.  

            I bet Chevron still makes it a bitch to find any info on their Typhoon Deepsea Platform which was destroyed.

            by jmmcgowanjm on Fri Sep 30, 2005 at 07:30:21 AM PDT

            [ Parent ]

      •  A comment on the Neptune (none / 0)

        The Neptune washers really are crap.  I own one, and it's been repaired multiple times.  Maytag lost a class-action suit over the Neptune, and even then the negotiated settlement wasn't that great for those of us who bought one.  Mine has burned out components on its main control board 3 times now, and that's a $200 part if you're paying for it out of pocket.

        We'll definitely have to consider the Duet when the extended warranty on the Neptune runs out.  The reasoning for our purchase of the extended warranty, which covers 100% of parts & labor for 3 years, was that it was much cheaper than replacing the washer outright.  Otherwise that piece of crap would have been on the curb the next day.

        More on topic, the economic trade-offs for energy efficiency just kill me.  Until the $500 washing machine is as energy and water efficient as the $1200 washer, average efficiency will continue to be dragged down by the low end of the market.  Same thing with cars.  Seems like affordable refrigerators have gotten much better, though.

        -AG

        "Watching George Bush trying to govern is like
        watching a monkey trying to f**k a football."
        I'm a libertarian, pro-2A capitalist Democrat.

        by AlphaGeek on Thu Sep 29, 2005 at 10:59:35 AM PDT

        [ Parent ]

        •  I was totally surprised (none / 0)

          by the $1,200 price.

          That must be the absolute top model!
          Or they´re gouging you in the USA.
          Front loaders in Germany start at around $300.
          Including one Whirlpool model. :)
          I suspect you could get a really good one here at $600.

          (I bought my washing machine back in 1993. IIRC back then it costed around DM 1,000. A "better" one because it already included enery efficiency and water saving measures. It´s still working without any repairs.)

          by Detlef on Fri Sep 30, 2005 at 07:16:14 AM PDT

          [ Parent ]

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