July21
General Motors Vice Chairman Bob Lutz said in an interview this week that GM doubts the benefits of hybrids, but must build them to improve its public image. “Hybrids are technologically of doubtful benefit, and expensive, but necessary from a political and public relations point of view,” Lutz told Just-Auto. “Toyota has said, economically, hybrids make no sense. The reduction in fuel [consumption] does not pay for the technological content and cost of the vehicle so therefore economically it remains fairly nonsensical, so that’s the left-brain analytical argument.”
“The right brain is it’s the popular thing to do, many people believe that if we all drove hybrids the world would suddenly get cooler again and then it’s the patriotic thing to do because if you drive a hybrid you will no longer be funding the Arab terrorists, and so forth.”
“So, with all those beliefs out there, you have to do a hybrid for public policy reasons.”
“I don’t care how much money you get out but when you’ve got two drivetrains, the sophisticated electronics and a big lithium-ion battery, you’ve got cost.”
Lutz says diesels are also problematic. “The modern diesel is becoming more and more expensive as we have to have to gear up to meet Euro 5, which is very difficult.”
“Let’s not forget, a diesel engine is always going to be more expensive than a conventional petrol engine, that’s the laws of physics.”
In March, Lutz said GM is most enthusiastic about ethanol. “We think running the nation on E85 makes more sense than all the hybrids in the world,” he said.
How about building better cars Mr Lutz. I know you know that your company’s cars are mostly ****.
You are a car guy from way back. Here is a public image to correct: ‘GM builds mostly crap.’
If the diesel is so hard, why does GM have diesels in Europe? There are so many non-sensical things in his diatribe that I’m laughing at him. And when in the hell are some auto execs ever going to learn that people pay for sh!t that is overpriced and don’t blink. $200 for a pair of jeans. $650 for shoes, etc. We know about the costs of cars, just build them so they don’t look ugly and people will buy them. How F-ing hard is that to figure out?
I’d rather have a great car that is ugly than a good looking one on an old platform, which is why I won’t be buying a Caliber as it’s an ugly car on an old platform and has drum brakes
…and this thinking is another reason I’ll never buy a car from GM. E85? come on. Your relatives must be corn farmers looking for handouts.
Subsidise this, Mr. Lutz
It’s funny to read this from a man that has two jets.
Your all full of it
Thing is Mr. Lutz, when you do sell the cars it doesn’t really matter how expensive certain parts are. Until you figure out that its cheaper to put more money in a quality product that will sell because you’ll make a profit, we’ll be here waiting for a new leader at GM.
Wow, you guy’s sure know how to spew the B.S. !:-)
Why is it bunk when physic and economic truth comes from the mouth of an GM executive and not reported when the same truths come from the mouth of Toyota executive?
GM has a perception problem fueled by the media to overcome not a technological one.
Why is Toyota not get pounded by the mainstream media for its rash of recent recalls that total in the hundreds of thousands???
Why is Toyota will all its marketing genius (i.e. Hybrids) not able to penetrate the full size truck market?
And regarding the Jets…..so what if Bob has two….good for him. Elon Musk drove his McLaren F1 which gets 12mpg to the Tesla debut. If he would have drove an H2 which gets 12mpg, he would have been probably ridiculed.
I couldn’t agree more, stuart. GM is building some AWFUL vehicles. As a Chevy/Pontiac/Buick Marketing Director, it’s making my job increasingly difficult. You can’t market a vehicle nobody wants.
If it wasn’t for our trucks and the brand loyalty to them, we would be DONE. A forgotten fart in the wind.
WHen I first heard the news pertaining to the GM/Nissan partnership I jumped for joy! The possibility of exciting vehicles on our lot would/will be a LONG overdue breath of fresh air to the company.
I must admit the GM execs are starting to pull their heads out. Proof with vehicles like the 2006 Solstice and the 2007 Avalanche/Tahoe/Suburban. Those “gotta have it” vehicles.
My last thought on this rant here is fuel mileage. E85 of course is good in theory, but they better have a back-up plan. If the entire country is running on E85, I believe I heard that 97% of the land in our country would have to be producing corn for it work.
What’s also frustrating is seeing our new FULL SIZE vehicles with large V-6 engines getting approx. 32 MPG, while our “econonmy” Aveo gets only 35 MPG. Ummm…somethings not right here, folks. My thoughts would be, if you’re gonna build something to get good gas mileage, go all out and let it get 40. ANd DON’T tell me they can’t do it, the proof is in the GEO. Horrible car, I know, but it did what it was built to do.
Excellent point, Nate. Japaneese auto manufacturers seem to do no wrong. Toyota’s cost of ownership is actually HIGHER than most GM vehicles in the long run. ANd speaking of the long run; hybrids will usually take well over 100,000 miles to recoup the intial cost over the exact same non-hybrid model.
Lutz is right though. Hybrids are worthless. They “have” to build them to get the media off their backs.
He is right about the hybrids though… it just doesn’t make sense (financially or the other reasons listed).
Diesels fundamentally more expensive to build? Not that I ever understood… maybe with the new catalysts?
E85? Yeah, exactly… substitute Corn Lobby for Oil Cartel and you have the exact same problem.
You people do relize that GM still sells the most cars in the World. Lutz is right when he says financially dumb and worthless to make and sell hybrids. But the Political / Media machine you have to do it.
So what you’d like us to do, Mr Lutz, is keep on truckin’.
1500 miles per gallon @ $3 per gallon of gasoline vs 20 mile charge cost 5 cents.
Electric bikes typically travel at speeds of 10 to 20+ miles per hour and go up to 12-20 miles charge. Charging your electric bike for four to six hours uses 5 cents worth of electricity from common 110 wall outlets. The electric bike power can give you a break from pedaling or supply more power when you’re going up hill.
http://www.bicycles-electric-bikes.com/bike_to_work.htm
Forget GM, they’re done.
Build me a small, efficient car that gets me 50mpg, and I’ll be all over it. I don’t care if it only comes in a Hello Kitty/Macintosh version. I want one.
#15, you are fogetting two major points. Electricity (I don’t care how little you think it takes) comes from burning coal and oil. Hmmmmm, great idea genius!
Also, an electric bike!?! What the HELL are you going to haul around, or carry passengers on? The handle bars. Gimme a break.
Money and fuel saving strategies: Telecommute to work as much as possible, and walk or ride your bicycle for local errands when you can. When you must drive your car, accomplish as many errands during that ride as possible.
If you want to buy a car, consider getting a decent used car. Over the past decade, I’ve personally put over 150,000 miles on my current vehicle (a 94 Wrangler) which even features a “prior salvage” title. It’s the ultimate recycled vehicle, and it’s been aging very gracefully.
Of course with no warranty, you have to budget for the odd repair here & there… Over the years, I had to get new brakes, alternator, two cat convertors, shocks, an oil pressure transducer, two water pumps, a thermostat and a radiator, a couple of distributor caps/rotors & wires, but overall nothing serious. That’s not bad for 11 years of repairs; it’s really about what I’d expect except for the cat convertors. Zero problems with either the engine or tranny, and I lasted the first four years without a single repair.
Lately I’ve been driving only about 100 miles per week, and at this rate, it makes little difference that my SUV only gets 15-18 mpg. If I were to purchase a NEW vehicle, now THAT would be a true waste of environmental and financial resources. Since I’m hardly driving anymore, a new vehicle would die of rust before I would ever wear it out.
“Hybrids are technologically of doubtful benefit, and expensive, but necessary from a political and public relations point of view,” Lutz told Just-Auto.
Okay Mr. Lutz. If that’s your opinion, I would think it’s your duty to develop something superior, and prove that it is, in fact, superior. Are the words ingenuity or salesmanship in the GM corporate vocabulary? Why waste your time and resources on something you don’t believe in?
I recently purchased a Toyota Camry, I have made a lot of calculations to see if Hybrid Camry or v4 Camry would be more convenient. I have found out with the average estimates. I needed to drive my Camry 6 years and around 15K miles a year in order to save the money that I would need to pay for the amount that Hybrid spends over v4 Camry. So In that sense buying cars with smaller engine makes more sense than getting an electirical engine car which costs bunch.
This is why I no longer own a GM vehicle and have no plans in the future to own one again.
Mr Lutz statements are stolid arguments against change, imagination and a desire to do anything but the status quo. It is very telling as to why his company fails and the Japanese companies thrive.
My money goes to the innovators and the builders of quality. My days of buying “Wal-Mart” cars are over!
Yes, most of our electricity is created by coal burning plants, but what makes more sense, a coal burning plant which can be regulated and monitored easily for emissions, or millions of individual engines idling in traffic and having to check all these vehicles in bi-annual smog emissions testing. Somehow I think our money would be better spent on the centralized generation of power rather than trying to maintain the vastly distributed model.
GM will change its tune when Toyota debuts their new 94 mpg Prius next year.
Mr. Lutz instead of trying to build up your image when don’t you try bringing out an alternative if you believe hybrids are no good. Do you still want to be accused as producing bad cars? Whay don’t you try working on hydrogen, it is gaining popularity and has the potential to be an alternative fuel.
http://www.hybridcarnews.org/entry/can-hydrogen-fuel-cell-vehicles-save-americans-from-the-fuel-crisis/
um… IF a hybrid uses less energy (production and driving) over the life of the car, wouldn’t that be a good’nuff rational for its choice?
Airbags and ABS cost more. GM lagged on those too.
When I first saw GM’s new commercials touting hybrids, ethanol based vehicles, and the first time they’ve ever mentioned anything about the “great” gas mileage their cars get, trying to be seen as eviro/eco-friendly, I instantly called bull****. And now I find this article. GM wants to make cheap cars. And cheap cars involve low technology, which results in cars that are not fuel-efficient.
Ethanol is not the right way to go either. Lutz could give jack-**** about the environment or MPG. Ethanol is the next cheapest, highest profit-margin way to make cars. Just because it’s a gasoline alternative does not automatically make it efficient, or cheap as fuel. I see GM hasn’t changed.
Hybrids don’t make sense? they only cost a couple of thousand more (for now), and can double fuel performance. Fuel prices are already quite high and you are deluding yourself if you think they won’t considerably increase further. Its also worth considering prices for fuel in the US are much lower than in most other countries. It makes economic sense to develop for foreign markets too.
after such comments I’m more enthused to make sure my next vehicle is a Hybrid.
[...] Lutz: GM building hybrids for good press [...]
GM=the Decline of ROME… i mean Detroit.
he may be right, it may not make economic sense to make a hybrid right now, it may not be the most profitable thing to do, and they may take 100,000 miles to recoup your cost. I may be naive but when im purchasing products i look at more than just the cost to my pocketbook, what about the cost we all will pay in the long term? hybrids wont stop this mess weve made for ourselves but its a step, if we wait for the perfect solution, well, sorry, its not going to happen overnight. electric bikes? not for all the time, but my brother has 3 kids and loves his, if he’s running around town, library, errands, small shopping, etc.. it saves hime heaps of money, and heres a crazy idea, maybe we should get off ourfat asses and try riding a regualr bike or walking.
oh, and personally i dont care what the V.C. of G.M. thinks, as long as the people push for hybrids you’ll make them, a better alternative, or become irrelevant.
as for me, ill stick to my 75mpg 6$ a month in insurance vespa imitation, cost 1200$, goes 50mph and the chix dig it =)
If Mr. Lutz were 20-years old. Who would hire a man with his attitude and “we are not för the customer” attitude?!
Is it age, money or good looks that make some peaople get away with almost anything?
In EU, this men are the laugh of the day.. . They are as ignorant as the old “moderate” fat cats of the media industry. They have forgotten about the customer a looong time ago.
Hey #36
Look in the mirror mister environmentalist. Catalytic converters cause you to burn more fuel but have less pollution. It’s not a simple equation like you say. How about motorcycles mostly and lawn mowers. Burn less fuel but pollute way more than cars.
Lutz point was Americans are quite visibly willing to spend more money and throw out economics to feel they are being environmentally friendly. However they are not in any great number willing to verify that they are actually doing anything useful.
Don’t get me wrong Lutz said nothing remotely useful in how to be environmentally friendly. He just said we are not trying to make cars better but we want people to have the impression we are.
Hybrids are uneconomical, but they could easily become economical.
All they have to do is add an external charging feature. Electricity from the power company is cheaper than gasoline.
The power can become even cheaper than that with a solar garage. That is, solar cells covering or near the garage, charging batteries all day long. When you get home, you plug in the car, and charge it up from the solar energy you’ve been collecting all day.
“The reduction in fuel [consumption] does not pay for the technological content and cost of the vehicle so therefore economically it remains fairly nonsensical …”
Let’s see what the cost of gasoline is in, say, two or three years. I think he’ll eat those words.
“We think running the nation on E85 makes more sense than all the hybrids in the world.”
Really? Cost to produce ethanol is higher than its selling price … never mind the oil used in inputs there.
“Nate” (#10 above) … “GM has a perception problem fueled by the media to overcome not a technological one.”
Dude, Toyota has a better history over the past 20 years. They deserve present credit.
When GM has wheels coming off Hummers and roofs flying off “Vettes in the new millenium, I’d say the perception problem speaks for itself, even after two decades of ****.
The Caliber is built on an old platform??? You’re full of crap. The Caliber is the first car of the DaimlerChrysler-Mitsubishi GS platform. The CVT transmission is brand new, as is the world engine jointly designed by Chrysler, Mitsubishi, and Hyundai.
Looks are subjective…but the Caliber has had the strongest launch of any domestic vehicle in over five years.
It is still a piece of crap compared to the competition Dave
How strong was its launch compared to non-domestic nameplate launches Dave? And it still has rear drum brakes and most magazines say it is ****, and when i test drove it the lack of sophistication and finesse made me cry for US auto makers
HillyBilly I own a 2003 Evolution VIII which has a viscous center differential and a front open diff. The only thing the computer controls in that car is the ABS and various engine management necessities, much like any other car. 2005 and up Evolutions have an electronically controlled center differntial and although they handle better than the 03’s and 04’s it’s not by a large margin. I believe you are thinking of another car, maybe the nissan skyline GT-R?
thats a nice car u have, and the nissan skyline gtr is also nice, and they r coming out with 1 that will have 450 horsepower
too # 24 I did vote with my Dollars and I bought a 2006 Chevy Trailblazer with the 5.3 V8 w/DOD and I love it!!! lol
somebody already posted: “It’s funny to read this from a man that has two jets.”
Maybe he has the same opinion (that having two jets is bad for the environment and his self-image) and wants to compensate? Chances are he’s had to spew a lot of crap his whole life to get this far in his career and feels guilty. Wants to do something to help the world, so he tells it not to waste money to build dual-drivetrains and big batteries to save a little gas.
This article REAKS of arrogance on Bob Lutz’s part. I take back everything I ever said about Bob.
He fits PERFECTLY with GM…
Welcome to GM’s revival of “That Arrogant 70’s show” when GM thought they were unstoppable and would be unaffected by the influx of japanese imports offering more economical transportation at the time.
Look how great things turned out since then huh?
Good Bob, don’t build Hybrids. Keep crankin out those Hummers since the buying public is a bunch of moronic tree huggers anyways. And that war in the middle east, rising gas prices is all just a passing fad.
Gas will be down to 99 cents a gallon by September, just you wait everyone. GM is the smart one here.
^
Sarcasm off
I want to know how he is being do Arrogant. Where does Bob Lutz say that he wants to be fuel effeicient? All I see him saying is that the only reason GM should do it is for Imiage purposes. Toyota builds SUV’s and Trucks that get the same or worse MPG as GM. But since Toyota makes the Prius they are such a fuel efficient company. The Aveo could get 50 MPG but the gearing ratio is set up to be able to move. You know for real world driving. Not the simulated driving that Toyota and Honda uses to get great gas milage. The only ones that sound arrogant are the ones that are trying to bash Lutz, you just can’t see it through the cloud of Smug. LOL @ South Park
“Hybrids are technologically of doubtful benefit, and expensive, but necessary from a political and public relations point of view,”
Doubtful benefits lke 50 - 60 mpg on cars like the Prius, HCH, and Insight. The next Prius promising 94mpg. Add in cleaner emissions and the benefits go beyond economics. People who want to conserve a few gallons every time they fill up find these benefits more important than the money in their pocket. These people are customers, give em what they want.
“The right brain is it’s the popular thing to do, many people believe that if we all drove hybrids the world would suddenly get cooler again and then it’s the patriotic thing to do because if you drive a hybrid you will no longer be funding the Arab terrorists, and so forth.”
Again, even if you don’t believe in these benefits, these people are customers, give em what they want.
It is not economically feasible to buy a 6 ton Suburban for some trophy wife to drive back and forth to the hair salon. It’s also not economically feasible to purchase a GM product that you will take a bath on in resale. But people do
Lutz may want to rethink the hybrid strategy now. Toyota and Honda are now putting incentives on their Prius and Accord Hybrids. They seem to have a very limited supply but yet need incentives?
GM has more cars that get better than 30mpg than anyone else. Their new trucks are more efficient than anyone else. There is a new Aveo coming.
Sniffing your own farts, I see.
Morons.
So yeah, http://www.nasioc.com was here
The majority of you posters are clueless.
i sure have noticed that the majority of people that5 dont like gm r the ones that r clueless
Mr.Lutz is absolutely right. Hybrids are a commercial bubble. The real life gas savings are( compared to higher sticker price)almost non-existant. From the enviromental standpoint the used batteries will be a huge problem, that is why anybody that is in this hype do not even mention it.
I found the ones that DO like GM are ignorant
No, Toyota needed to rethink their pricing strategy. The more batteries that are available, the more supply of hybrids, the lower the cost. Most are still a hot commodity for the people who think saving a few gallons is worth the extra cost even if some of you think it’s not worth it.
Most of you morons seem to thing that GM is the only one that sells SUV’s and Trucks. Nissan, Toyota, Honda, etc all sell and market gas guzzling SUV’s that get worse gas mileage than GM’s, yet no ones says **** about that. You do realize that GM has over 30 vehicles that get 30mpg or more. But I’m guessing you morons are to busy drinking Japan Inc’s Koolaid to see that.
BTW: Hybrids sales are down.
Why oh why will none of you hybrid people look at the big picture. Yes, I agree, you WILL see signifact initial savings in fuel costs. However, we’ve covered the fact that it WILL take you upwards of 100,000 miles to recoup those initial purchase costs. Now, you say it’s financially responsible to purchase a hybrid. But let’s be realistic here. There’s not many people out there who own the same vehicle for 100,000 miles. It get’s traded, breaks down, get’s totaled. Whatever. Even if you DO trade it in, the next person to purchase that vehicle will have to drive it for another 100,000 to make up the cost difference over a standard gas engine. PLUS, let’s not forget the reliability factor. Now, i’m not saying that hybrids aren’t reliable, but like ANY new product, they have nothing to base their vehicle’s life on. ESPECIALLY with new technology, I for one would be a little wary.
Can one of these Hybrids tow my show car and trailer? Heck even the cooler and all of the stuff that I take with me to a car show. What about towing a camper and all of the camping supplies? How much grocieries can you load in one of those hybrids, You know like when my wife spends $200 at Krogers and another $200 at Wal Mart? How comfortable on long trips? I am going to be doing my 5th 6+ hour trip outside of car shows for the year. I mean I know I am only averaging 18/19 mpg in my Trailblazer around town, But I like it.
Having test diven a Civic hybrid, you cant tell the difference from a normal civic.
it was said above you’d have to drive 100,000 miles to make up the extra cost in fuel. don’t you think it would have a higher trade in value though, as someone will pickup where you left off? eventually the car will do more than 100,000 miles (though i think you’ll find it will be a lot less as fuel prices continue to go up). I think a Hybrid would be a must for Taxi drivers, company reps, etc…
By not investing now, GM will be left behind.
[...] * VP of GM: “Running the nation on E85 makes more sense than all the hybrids in the world.” Yes, let’s switch from one market-driven fuel to another, rather than… oh, forget it. I’m too mad to make snarky, liberal comments. >:( [...]
Unfortunately, every commodity will be market-driven.
Jack:
“don’t you think it would have a higher trade in value though, as someone will pickup where you left off?”
no. I would not want to buy a higher milage hybrid and shoulder the additional costs of replacement parts on an out-of-warranty vehicle. $$$$$$$$$$
“I think a Hybrid would be a must for Taxi drivers, company reps, etc…”
Econo-cars with expensive replacement parts and a high cost-per-mile as high mileage fleet vehicles? You must be joking, or just ignorant. There is a reason that the body-on-frame vehicles dominate this market… reliability under the most abusive conditions imaginable.
He/they just don’t get it. It’s not only about the money. It’s also about who you want to do business with. Would you pick a kid earning college money or a known drug dealer casing neighborhoods to paint your house? How about if the drug dealer offered to do it at a lower price? At some point, your car purchases should satisfy your transportation requirements, and let you bolster the companies that you want to see move forward. The values of the companies that succeed influence our lives, environment, and politics. Do you want to advance the oil cartels in the mideast, and their US partners, or the new battery companies and electric motor manufacturers, and local electrical powergrid utilities and their renewable electrical power projects? The technologies you choose will also attract industry investment. Do you want R&D engineers working on batteries, electric motors, electric power? Or on internal combustion engines spewing yet more CO2 - turning solid form carbon into airborn carbon dioxide. Ethanol still launches carbon into the air - and is not all that cheap. Long term, new energy sources will be in electricity, not liquid fuels. But this is America. We can have it all: fast cars, hot showers, cold beer, a clean environment for our kids, and an economy where we only have to deal with countries we like. All it takes is imagination, ingenuity and determination - renewable resources in plentiful supply here in this country.
I think the reason GM doesn’t like hybrids and electric cars, or any new technology is because they never had the forsight to develop it themselves, or have the engineering know how to do it themselves.
That is also the reason why they claim E85 is the solution, there is only a minimal investment to be made and they can continue to use their antique engines.
OK, I have a question.
WHY THE HELL IS IT THAT HYBRIDS HAVE TO MAKE ECONOMIC SENSE?
Does GM talk about the economic sense of building a 400+ hp Corvette? Do they talk about the economic sense of a Cadillac Escalade?
NO.
In the last New Cars Guide from Motor Trend (I think it was them) their only comment on the Honda Insight was “Two seats is not enough”
Huh, seemed like two seats were enough for the Miata, and every other two passenger sports car out there. There is a huge double standard that is applied to hybrids and other eco friendly cars. Cars in general do not make economic sense, they are a liability, not an asset. They do nothing but lose value and consume resources if you look at them from a purely economic stand point.
I drive a hybrid and it actually does make sense for me. It does not for everyone. However, if you look at it from a societial stand point instead of the individual, they do make sense. If we can improve our fleet MPG even slightly, the overall benefit to the country would be huge. But why would we want to think of others when we can drive an Urban Assault Vehicle?
By the way, GM lost a customer in me. I had ALWAYS driven GM products and actually did not think they were that bad. But in 99 when the Insight came out I was sold. I waited until 2005 for GM to come out with anything that was even remotely similar. Nothing, I finally bought a used Insight and have not gone back. When it came time to replace my wife’s car after an accident. I didn’t even consider anything from GM.
Bob, just stick to building the best vehicles in the business. These anti-GM sheep will eventually wake up and realize that they have been driving ****boxes when they could be driving a superior GM offering instead. Just keep up the good work and don’t worry, those morons driving anything other than a GM product are just jealous of your success
Lutz is correct. Hybrids do not make sense at all. And, he is a car guy who has more knowledge about cars in his little finger than all the posters here have in the total of all their bodies. All you hybrid owners had better trade them in before they need new batteries, or be prpared for a very large bill. As far as saving the environment, cars keep getting blamed for all the pollution, but it is not so. Modern cars are pretty clean, and getting better all the time. Hybrids are nothing more than a “feel-good” marketing ploy, a stop-gap measure before we finally get to real alternatives, like fuel cells.
GM is the best company ever, toyota hybrids is for people that like the smell of their own fart.
I like to smell and lick butts.
Hybrid cars are a nessasary step in the right direction. If major car manufactures invest in technology to free our dependance on gasoline, and bring awareness to the public, we are moving in the right direction. Who knows what the outcome with be, electric, hybrid, e85, fuel-cell, etc, but we are better off then we where 10 yrs ago and moving in the right direction. Mr. Lutz may not understand the role he is playing in the future of transportation, but hopefully our childrens generation will see the benefits.
[...] Is it possible that hybrid vehicles are the auto industry’s secret grassroots public relations effort? A calculated, grass-roots, astroturfing event aimed at making motorists feel so cool that they actually buy hybrid vehicles and support the big automakers who produce them? Perhaps, if you listen to General Motors Vice Chairman Bob Lutz who as much as admitted that hybrids are a clever public relations campaign in a recent interview reported on LeftLanenews.com. “Hybrids are technologically of doubtful benefit, and expensive, but necessary from a political and public relations point of view,” Lutz told Just-Auto. “Toyota has said, economically, hybrids make no sense. The reduction in fuel [consumption] does not pay for the technological content and cost of the vehicle so therefore economically it remains fairly nonsensical, so that’s the left-brain analytical argument. The right brain is it’s the popular thing to do, many people believe that if we all drove hybrids the world would suddenly get cooler again and then it’s the patriotic thing to do because if you drive a hybrid you will no longer be funding the Arab terrorists, and so forth. So, with all those beliefs out there, you have to do a hybrid for public policy reasons.” [...]
I don’t own a single GM car. It’s not because I hate them, because I don’t. It’s because I feel most of their cars have no passion. They are not interesting. I know some people may not feel this way but it’s my opinion. I’m sure most of you aren’t salivating over the thought of owning an Impala. On the flip side the new Corvette is outstanding and amazing.
I also don’t know much about any of GM’s new offerings except the Corvette and I am not really interested because a lot of my friends owned GMs in the past and they weren’t very reliable (Camaro, I’m thinking of you!). If there is some GM car I must be missing out on please let me know.
One more thing I don’t understand at all is how people say buying a Honda or Toyota is not supporting America. Please cut that crap out, there are Subaru, Mitsubishi, Honda, and Toyota plants not too far from me and they are supplying jobs to Americans. Just so no one gets really excited and yells at me for not having an American car we have a Chrysler and we HAD multiple Ford trucks and cars (our Lightning’s engine literally exploded, which is too bad because I loved that car).
gm had the ev1 a long time ago and no one wanted they went to the scrap heap.
After the bad hurricanes, FEMA advised people to carry spare fuel in their vehicle in case they were stranded in traffic jams.
I contacted FEMA and wrote that a hybrid vehicle consumes no fuel when it is not moving, and is very efficient at low speeds.
It is our responsibility to conserve energy. We can buy a hybrid. We can follow Brazil’s example and produce alcohol for fuel.
They also offset the gas sucking lineup of trucks and SUV’s that you seem to be drunk on Putz. How many do you have in that lineup, 30? 40?
And your continued devotion to gas guzzling with full on brands like Hummer is admirable… if your freakin ExxonMobil.