Well, I wish GM has jumped a bit sooner with all of the doom and gloom out there. Would have done wonders for their fuel efficiency image. I remember well the dour pooh-poohing the minicars got from Bob Lutz right about when they were introduced, and the negative reaction here at GMI to his discouraging words:
Lutz: U.S. not a frontrunner to get a new Chevy minicar
Of course, there was the addtional statement:
"Unless something drastic changes, like gas prices going through the roof for more than a month, or a sudden fashion shift to tiny cars,"
I guess it was too much for me to hope for GM to lead and not wait for things to get really bad, banking on SUVs until the bitter end and then finally coming out and saying "Yes, it's bad enough now".
But we've seen spy shots of the "Beat" around the web, so I'm not so discouraged to think they've done nothing on this front. Then again, the "Beat" we've been seeing could be nothing more than a warmed over Matiz with Beat-inspired styling.
Still, I fear for anything planned out to 2010 or beyond. You saw it here first -
8/21/2005:
Do "Kei" Cars have a Place in a $3.00+ per gallon America?
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Who says saving gas (and money) needs to mean a stripper, rental grade Focus or Aveo? Or must require a pricey hybrid system? The answer I think is in small, nimble, fun to drive yet well designed and well-equipped cars like the 28/36 mpg MINI. But I say why not take that concept one step smaller (and cheaper)?
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And...
Time For a Smaller Car Standard?
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At the very least, such minicars might make a good stop-gap until GM and other automakers find a way to make Hybrid and Plug-In technology truly affordable to the masses in such a nightmare gasoline scenario. Not everyone will want to buy a $20,000-40,000 car for the sake of fuel efficiency, and just because we have safety laws between motorcycles and cars that (to me) make little sense, we should not be denied the option of affordable, 4-seater, fuel efficent cars that slot between motorbikes and today's U.S. automobiles.
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What's Hot - Do GM Dealers "Get it"?
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"But it's just an economy car, who cares about looks?"
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