community - Local History Archives

GROSSE POINTE NEWS, DECEMBER 4, 2008
BIG
NEWS
THREE:
Wanted
products
Continued from page 8A
fering extravagant economic
Asia and Europe crawled out of incentives.
the postwar rubble and hit their GM has 7,000 dealerships,
stride when American industry many of which are protected
was growing fat and lazy. from closure by antiquated
Since then the import brands state laws. Toyota has 1,500.
have expanded their fleets to While anyone who covers the
compete in every market seg­
industry can come up with any
ment, complete with U.S. factories.
The Detroit Three lost
their virtual monopoly in full
size trucks when Toyota got serious
about the Tundra, and
Nissan rolled out the Titan,
both built in southern U.S.
states hostile to unions and of­
The 2011 Chevrolet Volt
number of blunders by the
Detroit Three, building unwanted
products is not one of
the biggies. Not anymore. That
PHOTO COURTESY OF GENERAL MOTORS
was a completely different era.
Part of their recent trouble
came because they built vehicles
people did want. Until a
year ago, they had a hard time
supplying enough Yukons and
Silverados for a market flush
with cash and credit. Toyota
and Nissan were fighting hard
for a piece of the action. When
pump prices spiked, all of the
makers were caught with fleets
of gas guzzlers that few buyers
could afford, even if they wanted
them.
But were the automakers to
blame for high fuel prices?
There's a good argument to be
made that the U.S. invasion of
Iraq—a government action—
and related world instability
contributed to the soaring fUel
prices that endangered not only
the auto industry, but the world
economy.
That's not to say that GM didn't
have plenty of high quality,
fuel efficient cars. With 20 models
that get 30 miles per gallon
or more, GM offers more than
any other maker. They also offer
the most hybrid vehicles,
ranging from the Malibu
Hybrid to Cadillac Escalade. If
you want conventional frugality,
there's the dutiful little
Chevy Aveo, which, at $12,120
costs about $2,000 less than a
Toyota Yaris.
If it survives, GM will produce
plug-in hybrids within a
couple of years that should allow
most commuters to go to
work and back without running
their internal combustion
engines at all.
GM still catches a lot of grief
for scrapping the electric EV1
in 1999,butthetwo-seaterwas
believed to have cost GM
$80,000 per unit and could only
be leased, not sold. It was a
costly boondoggle briefly mandated
by one state—
California. Nonetheless, GM
soldiers on with development
of the Volt, a hybrid designed to
run primarily on battery power
that might enjoy better success,
but certainly won't save the
company.
GM is also playing a key role
in the development of so-called
"Intelligent Transportation
Systems" that will make driving
safer and more efficient.
Cars that drive themselves are
not that far off. Eleven years
ago, GM linked eight Buick
LeSabres electronically in a
system called "platooning."
Drivers at the event known as
Demo 97 did not have to touch
the accelerator, brake pedal or
steering wheel,
GM's sophisticated OnStar
communications system is also
seen as a bargain basis for future
communication between
vehicles. The system would also
provide 360-degree visibility
and would cost much less than
the government's proposed $3
billion to $ 10 network.
GM could be the beneficiary
or the victim of government action,
but the government has
been deeply involved in the automotive
business for most of
its existence, from catalytic
converters to air bags, which,
by the way, GM pioneered.
Should the U.S. government
lend taxpayer dollars to the Big
Three? We're talking about a
loan here, not an outright gift
like the hundreds of billions of
dollars we have poured into
Iraq, including $9 billion in
cash that simply disappeared.
Some respected economists
argue that bankruptcy may be
the only way for GM to hack
the Gordian knot of contracts,
laws, regulations and debts dating
back to an era of black and
white TV But GM questions
whether the world's largest automaker
could survive bankruptcy.
Who would trust a warranty
or parts supplies for a
company that might not be
around next year?
If you're occupying an ivory
tower or a talk-show microphone,
you have the luxury of
debating economic theory. If
you are among the one out of
10 workers who depend on the
auto industry for your daily
bread, the question is a little
more immediate.
At the end of the day, GM
may go under, taking much of
the world's economy with it. To
think that they survived the
Great Depression, but perished
in their 100th year would be a
bitter pill to swallow. But let's
hope historians don't blame
their demise of the brand on
cars that "nobody wanted."
Richard Williamson is a
writer for Scripps Howard
News Service. He can be contacted
at motorfriend@sbcglobal.net.