"If the entire U.S. vehicle fleet were replaced overnight with plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), the nation's oil consumption would decrease by 70% or more, completely eliminating the need for petroleum imports.

The switch would have equally profound implications for protecting the earth's fragile climate, not to mention the elimination of smog. Because most of the energy for cars would come from the elctrical grid instead of from fuel tanks, the environmental impacts would be concentrated in a few thousand power plants instead of in hundreds of millions of vehicles.

PHEVs could also be the salvation of the ailing American auto industry. Instead of continuing to lose market share to foreign companies, U..S. automakers could become competitive again by retooling their factories to produce PHEVs which are significantly more fuel-efficient than the nonplug-in hybrids now sold by Japanese companies.

Most important, PHEVs are not exotic vehicles of distant future. DaimlerChrysler has already introduced a PHEV prototype Sprinter van that has 40% less gasoline consumption than the conventionally powered model.

Click here to learn more about the Sprinter's PHEV technology.

"Each more than 100 years old, Ford and GM are victims of being successful for too long. GM has 476,000 retirees. Ford provides health insurance for 590,000 people at an annual cost of $3.5 billion. Both Ford and GM have health insurance costs of about $1,100 per vehicle. Neither Asian nor European producers are burdened by such costs."

I know some people go crazy about national health care but it is the only way out. I believe corporate America is also starting to like the idea. Then they will not have to pay the cost themselves. Just think -- all of GM and Ford's health care problems will disappear.

Regarding the enormous unfunded liability posed by Medicare and Medicaid, John added:

It comes down to one solution. Nationalize healthcare. Paul Krugman is always saying that using the cost per capita of Canada we could cover everyone in the US for what we currently pay. Why, 20% or more of the current cost is administration and then the profits of insurance companies. Seeing all the paper work flying back and worth from the insurance companies and doctors on my minor insurance company, I can believe this. So, now we have all the people covered and puff, we just wiped out $37 trillion of unfunded Medicare and Medicaid cost as well as covering 46 million (currently uninsured) Americans.

Then you say, what about the quality issue? Well, growing up on an air force base, I dealt with government health care till I was 21. It is satisfactory. Also, I have also lived in Canada and Norway, and the medical coverage was good and people seemed quite happy about it. I also could imagine the U.S. having some other top layer of coverage or something for those doctors that opt out of the system. In Cuba, which is a very poor country but with national health care, life expectancy is practically the same as the US. Embarrassing.