I’ve blogged a lot about the economy and its effect on the automobile industry, but what we haven’t really delved into is the cars themselves, and namely, which ones are the safest. A few names come to mind in terms of safety: Volvo, BMW, Mercedes Benz, Toyota – these are the major European and Japanese auto makers, sure, and they make a great product. But some of the choices for the best cars to be in when you get hit (or hit something) might surprise you.

The 2009 Audi Q7 is probably one of the best choices. It earned five stars by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), comes with front side airbags (with complete pelvis protection included), whiplash protection for both the driver and the passenger, and energy-absorbing protection under the instrument panels for protection of your legs. Other cars that have been rated highly by the NHTSA include the Saturn Vue, the Volvo XC90 (see, Volvo’s really are safe!), and the Mercedes-Benz M Class.

But, the average consumer is typically more concerned about price than safety in this troubled economy, and that’s understandable. Most of these cars, sans the Benz and the Volvo, ship under $20,000, which will put your wallet at ease. Not only that, but most of them have gas mileage of over 20 MPG, while the Volvo gets only 16 MPG. This isn’t necessairly a bad thing, however, because it is much safer. If I were picking which car I’d buy for safety and price, hands down it would be the Saturn Vue, with roughly 30 MPG it’s one of the most consumer-friendly cars on the road today.

If you want, you can shop around some more. I’d do that.

Alright, we all know that Clinton presided over one of the largest economic expansions in US history and brought welfare levels down to their lowest level in 33 years. That’s quite a feat, considering where he had picked the country up, and in a way Obama is much like Clinton in that regard. However, the recent economic turmoil has plunged a lot of people into chaos – we won’t need to explain why, at least not again.

Cue Clinton. Here he is, stating that the economic stimulus package that Obama is pushing through is a good thing. This is in the face of a whole bunch of conservatives who believe, quite astutely, in the contrary. I think that it’s safe to assume that Clinton may know a thing or two about the economy, and how we can fix it. Needless to say, Obama is having a difficult time finding time to do anything, what with all of his appointees bowing out of their jobs. But who can blame them? Look at what Obama has inherited from Bush: horrible economy, unwinnable war…it’s no wonder no one wants to help him, the job is too immense!

But, rest assured, that the auto industry is still somewhat secure, at least for the time being. Obama’s stimulus package will pump some much-needed money into the auto industry, allowing it to (hopefully) expand and grow, and that’s something that we can all look forward to. So don’t forget, in the coming years, to buy American, because it will be better. You can quote me on that one.

There’s a lot to be said about the electric car. It doesn’t go far, it doesn’t go fast, but it’s cool because it doesn’t run on gasoline and it goes just a bit faster than your grandmother’s electric wheelchair. But Tesla Motors, pioneers in the field of electric vehicles, have created a wealth of innovative new concept and actual vehicles that can, theoretically, replace gasoline for good. The first electric vehicle they built, an electric roadster called the Tesla Roadster, sells for about $125,000 and can go upwards of 300 miles on one single eight-hour charge. They’re also building a 4-door sedan, which would compete with BMW and Volvo’s luxury sedan lines, which could go about 400 miles on an eight-hour charge, and cost only $60,000.

But those dreams might not be a reality. The company is facing huge financial cuts across the board, and some are thinking that they might close their doors by 2010. Not helping matters is California’s support of hydrogen fuel cells, another major contender for the coveted #1 alternative energy spot. Tesla is headquartered in the Golden State, and is working hard on bringing its products to a wider consumer base in the US, including plans for six new service centers in Washington, Oregon, California, and others.

Keep an eye on this company, because if they don’t fall hard, they won’t fall at all. Tesla is poised to be the next big thing to hit America, and if we can get off our duffs and really start caring about not only the planet but about how we, as human beings, choose to live our lives, then that Tesla Roadster (and their sedan model) will be the cornerstone to a new way of life. That may be a bit over-dramatic, but still, we all can dream, can’t we?

Alright, so the stimulus package, straight outta Obama’s new-deal-esque plans for reforming the United States, has just passed the House. In case you aren’t familiar with the American legislative process, the bill now is up in the Senate, where they will deliberate a bit and vote to pass it or not. If it passes the Senate, it goes to President Obama, and he’ll either sign it into law or he’ll veto it, but at this juncture he’ll be doing the former as opposed to the latter. Then, it’s law. If it doesn’t pass the Senate, it’ll go back to the House to be redrafted, reworked, rewritten and revoted on, then it’s back to the Senate again.

Pretty redundant, huh?

The cool thing about the American legislative process is that it’s somewhat difficult to pass controversial bills, or things that might piss a lot of people off. Obviously, there have been mistakes, namely the Smoot-Hawley Tariff and the Embargo Act, but those were a long time ago and aren’t really worth thinking about in this context. What we should be focusing on is where that money is going, and with all the changes going on in the bill, who knows where all that money is headed? All we know is that some of it better be going to Detroit.

Detroit is in trouble, folks. You know it, they know it, I know it, Obama knows, Britain knows it, the guys on the ISS know it – it’s just the way it is. We’ve talked about this enough to realize that, and there’s going to need to be reforms if we’re going to fix it. But we need money first, and the only way that Detroit is going to get money is from the government, so let’s all hope that Detroit gets some of that stimulus package, because it could possibly be nighty-night for the automakers there if they don’t. And we all know what’ll happen to this country if the companies in Detroit go down, so let’s not think about it.

So the French government has decided to give Renault and Peugeot-Citroen a 7.5 billion euro bailout, with an interest rate of 6% (well below market values), so as to protect the company from layoffs. Which is good. Laying people off is bad. But the second part is to give them incentive to produce low-emission vehicles, which sounds like a great idea on paper, right? But it gets better. The auto makers are promising to not close any factories in the country for the duration of the loan, which could be years, and they’re committed to getting out of this temporary – but crippling – economic crisis.

France finally got it right. They’re giving them a loan – what a concept! This isn’t a bailout, it’s not a subsidy, but a full-on loan, complete with interest and everything. And the auto makers are dedicated to creating better, more fuel efficient, cleaner vehicles, which is something else that American companies just won’t do. Now, we’ve spoken about the complete farce the auto industry in America is, but we haven’t really compared it to some of the other major (and minor, in this case) auto makers. Let’s take Toyota. Toyota recently posted a multi-billion dollar loss last year, but they aren’t compromising the products they are putting out in order to sell more vehicles; rather, they’re taking more progressive steps, offering incentives to their consumers and making vehicles that leave a much smaller carbon footprint.

This is what American auto makers need to do. Revamp the business model, make cars that we want to buy, and stop being greedy corporate thugs. How hard can that be?