The Oil Drum: Local

Last month, we introduced the Ford Global Challenge, through which Ford sponsored six student teams from around the world to envision and build a 21st century replacement for the Model T Ford, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary. The aim was to keep it cheap and simple while meeting sustainability challenges.

Well the winners have now been announced, and the 'T²' Air Powered Car from Australia's Deakin University was joint winner with the '2015 Ford Model T' from Aachen University in Germany.

The US auto industry has not been particularly good at building car models that are well suited for fuel efficiency. The cheap oil boom they experienced in the 1990s combined with the easing of truck fuel economy standards created Minivan and SUV lines that are distinctly ill-suited for rising oil prices. As a result, a peak oil related economic transition is already underway the auto-industry. President Bush added today that they should not look to the Federal government for assistance.

In an interview with The Wall Street Journal published today, President Bush said that G.M. and Ford executives have not asked him for federal aid and that he would not look favorably upon such a request. Mr. Bush said he would instead encourage the automakers to build "a product that's relevant. I would hope I wouldn't be asked to make that decision," he told The Journal.

We'll see about that when the moment comes that Ford or GM has to file some sort of backruptcy, which could be as early as this year.