Doom and Gloom: A Big Al Rant
by BigAls87Z28
www.gminsidenews.com
It is that time again, that time where the media has a field day with the fact that General Motors, the largest auto maker in the world, could go up in smoke. Before June sales numbers were released, there were predictions that GM would be 24-30% off of last year, some serious numbers! That on top of the fact that GM only makes SUV's and trucks which are not being purchased due to the fact that oil prices are through the roof, that GM must be in some sort of trouble! I mean, they lost 34 billion dollars last year!
GM could go bankrupt and total fall apart as Toyota rises to be King of the Autoworld! This is just the gist of what I am watching and reading from many main stream media sources. Oh how I loved the fact that everyone had Toyota ahead of GM and that is was going happen; it was in the bag because GM does not make a single car, only trucks. Any cars that they do make, they are made from tin foil and rubber bands that have V8's in them that drink gas more so then the trucks.
No way could GM have had a better sales month then Toyota, the maker of the world-saving Prius and Yaris. But in fact, GM did do better. Not that either of them did well, no one thought that GM could have pulled it out. Which brings me to my point, even though GM is #1, its #99 in the minds of the world? Its the underdog, the one that does not have a chance.
This same mentality applies to its vehicles. No way could GM make a hybrid system that could be better then Toyota, right? No way can GM make fuel efficient vehicles without using hybrid technology because GM does not know how. The fact that GM has some of the most fuel efficient cars on the market now still does not penetrate the minds of those who still believe that GM has not changed since the 1970's. No one seems to be picking up on it, or no one wants to believe it. I watched CNN, and they were shocked to find out that GM did better than Toyota, the maker of "such economical cars like the Prius and Yaris" to have such a down month?
It did not enter their mind to bring up the fact that Toyota just launched a brand new full sized truck and a full sized 8 passenger SUV that is powered by a 370hp V8 engine that drinks gas. Nor did CNN bring up the fact that Lexus, home of the Luxury Hybrid, also has a variant of this fuel hog SUV. Nope, they picked out the fact that GM did well even though they rely on their SUV sales, while Toyota's Green cars did not do as well. People are ready to put GM in the coffin well before the results are in. I guess high gas prices only effect American car companies, not foreign.
Another little thing that got me going was the press splurge all over the FCX Clarity from another Green-Team, Honda. Now while Honda does not possess the same blood thirsty desire to be #1 like Toyota, when they released their hydrogen car, it was too much fanfare and awe as if no other company has been working on hydrogen vehicles for decades. Press coverage of the cars was vast and deep, talking about how Honda is changing the world with its gas-free vehicles!!
An amazing feat, but something that GM has been doing for a few months now with a fleet three times the size of the Clarity in three cities in the US. GM's fleet of Hydrogen Equinox's did not draw nearly the same attention or news coverage as the FCX did. Why is that? I have yet to find a good reason why, but it bothers me greatly. Is it because the FCX is a unique car while the Nox is a restyled version of gas powered models? Or is it just the fact that it’s another anti-GM thing. Now I hate to sound like a tin-foil hat wearing conspiracy theorist, but you got to wonder why GM did not get the coverage that Honda got?
Let us not forget the downplaying of GM's biggest car since its incorporation in 1908. The one car that has drawn a lot of press, the one car that every one’s eyes are on. No, I’m not talking about the Camaro...yet....but the other Bowtie, the Chevy Volt. Now, I have heard just about every single thing that has come against this. Even other car makers are coming out against this car. The battery packs seem to be the main focus of the attention. That, and the price of the car. During the press days at the New York International Auto Show, Tahoe and yours truly were there for the big press question session in where hybrid nuts and members of the press could ask questions to Bob Lutz and several of the Volt's engineers.
They talked about battery packs as if that was not the problem. They said that they had to stop development on the battery packs because they kept coming up with new ideas, new technology, and it was holding back the rest of the development of the car. They talked about second, third and even fourth generation E-Flex cars and the types of technology that is out there TODAY to make it happen. There is a massive shift towards this, as lithium ion batteries become a major part of regular and mild hybrid systems. But this still does not stop the press and media from trashing the car saying that the battery technology will not work, that it’s not going to happen, that there will be problems. Let us also not forget that this will be a Chevy.
Somehow Chevy equals cheap and only for poor people, but perhaps that is how this is all linked together. Some people think that having a Chevy badge on a car of this magnitude, a car that will be a game changer for vehicles of the future, will not wear a wreath and crest, will not have tri-shields, no professional grade, and no arrow heads or planets. It will wear one of the biggest icons in the world, the Chevrolet Bow Tie. And that would not be all that bad, but when you bring up the price, there is an instant "IT WONT SELL!" that tends to be screamed out. The rumored price of the Chevy Volt will be around $40,000. This is a rumor, based on some more spouting from the mouth of Bob Lutz, as pricing has not been determined. But even with this rumor, the flop word is already being used.
I could not help but go back to the movie "Who Killed the Electric Car" and recalled several people on there saying that people wanted this car, an all electric car. Well now that gas prices are through the roof, GM has developed a car that gives you electric power but three to four times the range of the EV1, and you do not have to keep it plugged in to a wall all the time! I guess that at $40k, people might change their tune. Do not forget the government rebates that could come with this car, and that is only with the current administration’s approval. Imagine if the next administration were to increase it, or even doubled it to American made hybrid vehicles?
What a fantastic way to show your patriotism as well as help boost the American economy while reducing fuel consumption by giving $10,000 in rebates to someone who purchases a Volt. That 40k car is now 30k! For the US Government not to invest into this technology, this innovative thinking that is going during the doom and gloom GM era, would that not help strengthen our economic and technological power here in the US? Could it be possible that like it was in 1941 when the government asked for GM, Ford, Chrysler and other auto makers to band together and produce weapons and tools for the war afford, that when GM is in need that the government could lend a hand, helping build confidence in both GM and the US? Working together, toward the future, is not that always a tag line for some political commercial?
Is GM dead in the water? I do not think so. GM like everyone else is going through tough times. The economy as a whole is crumbling but it is not done yet. Like the people of this country, GM has not yet given up on the future. Through all this, they are making better and better vehicles; cars that will help improve and advance the state of the automobile into the future. It is going to need time, and that might not be something that GM has, but this economy will soon shape up. It always has. A change is coming in the White House with either candidate bringing new ideas, or at least they say so, to help rebuild this country. GM has not given up hope, and they will continue to produce better and better vehicles for the future.
Thank for reading my rant.
Big Al