Lutz: Hybrids Will Be Form Of GM Corporate Advertising

[Perian]

Link: http://yahoo.reuters.com/financeQuot...9562421_newsml

"Robert Lutz acknowledged the world's largest automaker has lagged in the development of hybrids, which twin a gasoline engine to an electric motor and batteries to boost fuel economy.

"That will change very quickly as we roll out our various categories of hybrids, but right now we're not where we ought to be," he told reporters at a GM event here.

Chief Executive Rick Wagoner has said in the past GM will not make unprofitable vehicles. However, Lutz said there is now an appreciation at GM for hybrids as a form of corporate advertising to show a company is technologically and environmentally advanced.

"If you have to do some and lose money on them, we have to consider it as another form of communications expense and I think Rick accepts that and the board of directors accepts it," Lutz said."

[tama z71]

good logic.

[AdmiralViscen]

GM isn't as in the dark as people like to say they are.

[asim]

Toyota did this a long time ago.

[shiznannigan]

Originally Posted by asim

Toyota did this a long time ago.

So did GM... they called it the "EV1". Yeah, you had to plug it in. But what are the environmentalists talking about these days? Plug-in hybrids!

[AJR]

This just makes GM look so far behind the pack, but it has to do this so I guess the sooner it gets the hybrids out the better.

I can just hear the public say, "It's about time GM, where have you been the last 5 years?"

[kenmi]

If immigration continues to explode out of control (our own government's fault) it won't matter if we all ride tricycles. The air will simply disappear as the country has more occupants using more energy than is available

[Mr. Burns]

If Gm is bringing large expensive tahoe hybrids first then thats not the way to go. they need to get as much people into GM hybrids as possible and the average shmoe cant afford to buy a gmt-900 hybrid like they can buy a prius. they need to release something like the cobalt hybrid first, they were stupid in that they didnt, and the new GMTs arent going to be much help in terms of advertising for corporate image if the only people who can buy them are the wealthy minority.