[OKC] See the USA in a Chevrolet but no longer a Pontiac

[Shauna Struby]

Opinion piece from Jim Roth in today's Journal Record .

 

Opinion 

Roth: See the USA in a Chevrolet, but no longer a Pontiac

June 8, 2009 

GM long epitomized the American corporation. It was the unquestioned,
unchallenged leader of the auto industry. Dinah Shore sang "see the USA in
your Chevrolet" and we did. The ads touted American things like baseball,
apple pie, hot dogs and of course Chevrolet. Cadillac set the standard for
luxury. Other products claimed to be the 'Cadillac' of radios, widgets or
whatever. A couple of guys breezed down Route 66 in a Corvette on our TVs.
Everybody wanted one.

On June 1, GM declared bankruptcy. What happened? 

What happened is clear. General Motors ignored foreign competition. GM had
dictated to their customers what they should want - large chrome-laden gas
guzzlers belching CO2. They failed to anticipate that when the competition
offered smaller, high-quality, economical vehicles, the American public
would forsake their behemoths.

The UAW assumed that the GM pockets were so deep that they could ask for the
sky. GM was so confident in their dominance that they acquiesced. Congress
failed, for decades, to pass legislation that would have required GM to
improve quality, gas mileage, emissions and safety. These are the things
that allowed foreign competition to thrive.

What's next? In a press release from GM, the historical bankruptcy was
described as a "fast track to competitive future." Remarketed as the "New
GM" on their Web site, a 30-second spot contains the following voiceover:

"Let's be completely honest, no company wants to go through this, but we're
not witnessing the end of the American car. We're witnessing the rebirth of
the American car. General Motors needs to start over in order to get
stronger. . The new GM is going to be: fewer, stronger brands. Fewer,
stronger models. Greater efficiencies. Better fuel economy and new
technologies. Leaner, greener, faster, smarter." 

A GM blog says, "In the near term, we can use compressed natural gas (CNG)
in internal combustion engines. Midterm, natural gas will create electricity
for future models. In the long term, natural gas can make hydrogen for fuel
cell vehicles, either at the filling station or in homes." GM is focusing on
liquefied petroleum gas, a mixture of butane and propane gas. LPG reduces
nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide and CO2. New options like plugging into the
electricity power grid are now on the GM radar.

More here ::: http://bit.ly/MPy3U 

 

 

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.sustainableokc.org/pipermail/okc-sustainableokc.org/attachments/20090608/daeafea5/attachment.htm>