keep it up!

 

Yes please do keep it up! I don't know one single person, who has ever even heard of the busses GM has out there,.......not one. And further, if I mention yota's massive recalls, same story there. Yet GM has a recall, or any trouble what-so-ever, and everyone and their brother knows all about how, "GM is going out of business", the bias is just ridiculous. And if it didn't **** me off so much, I guess It'd be funny, but its not. It's actually pretty sickening, how many Americans can just turn their backs on GM, and just accept yota as the new American brand..........well not ME, I never will. Sorry for the rant guys, but if ever there was a topic that gets me steamed it's the media, and how they treat GM. I was great to hear from Scott again, I was getting a little worried myself!

 

Yes, please, keep it up--and have them make commercials out of each and every point in your original post. Because people are not getting it.

 

Like I said before, going after all electric cars is an insanely terrible idea. Unless the production of electricity is cleaned up, all it does is redistribute the problem to a different area.

Otherwise, a good article.

 

Scott,

As alot of people have put here. The question remains. WE KNOW GM has done alot more. But what about the people out there? The General PUBLIC??

Like stated and echoed, GM needs to make commercials stating this. The E85 commercials were good start and should of been on every commercial. Any commercial aboutthe SS brand should carry the E85 tag at the end if its offered. Whole commercials about the Bus and commercial stuff being run on fuel sipping vehicles should be mentioned but are not.
GM needs to get this out to the public and fast.

 

I don't doubt that. But these are not mass-market vehicles that consumers can buy and get real world experience with. If the goal is to eventually replace the the 17 million gasoline vehicles sold in NA each year (which still account for the bulk of transportation fossil fuel consumption), then Toyota is currently way out in front.

Honestly, you cannot compare GM's "mild" hybrids to the Prius; they simply are nowhere close in terms of sophistication or advanced technology. I agree that hitting the highest gasoline consumers such as trucks and SUVs gives the most benefits, but in terms of technology available to consumers, GM's efforts thus far fall well short of Toyota's.

I don't get the hype over E85 vehicles. It's not like it's rocket science to beef up the fuel system to accomodate ethanol blends so IMO it's hardly worth bragging about. Then there's the questionable economics and environmental benefits of ethanol. To me, GM bragging about E85 is far more about public relations than Toyota's hybrids are.

I agree. In a way it's like the beginings of the auto industry at the turn of the 20th century. Lots of competing nascent technologies, lots of infrastructure questions, and lots of politics. I would hate to have to bet a corporation's future on just one horse. Probably the one common denominator will be electric drive or assist of some sort, and again, Toyota's got the jump here.

 

hype..its less dependant on foreing oil, helps the enviroment, and helps the farmers of this country. E85 could make us self sufficiant again as far as fule needs. More so than electic hybrids. Its not new tech and therefor dont need the "do hickeis" that Toyota is claiming. It is still an engine people will recognize and know how to fix. and the thing about it is almost any car now can be fitted with it and not that hard to do. Can a car become a hybrid as easy??

 

seriously man E85 imagine you putting your yard waste out to the trash. but instead its picked up by a truck that takes it to a pant that converts it to ethenol for say city or goverment truckts to run on. Buses and so on. Its so easy to do just gotta get people out of the hybrid thought and into something that will help this country more than just by MPG.

 

Caps, you really need to do more research on ethanol. It's been debated on this forum many times so I'm not going to rehash it here, but suffice it to say it's not like you can put your trash in a machine and ethanol comes out the other end. Even with corn the best estimates are there's maybe 20% new energy in a gallon of ethanol. Then there's the whole issue of whether we want to tie our energy dependence to one of our main sources of food. Can you imagine what would happen if we were dependent on corn ethanol for our transportation as well as our food, then some kind of disease wipes out the corn crops?

 

He's not talking about the "mild" hybrid current Vue (though it is pretty impressive, with a 27/32 mpg rating) or the first hybrid "contractor's special" Silverado.

I think he is talking about the dual mode hybrid system, since he mentioned the Tahoe (which has never had the "mild" hybrid setup available). The dual modes start coming out for the '08 model year, and they are every bit as impressive as the Prius, if not more so.



Tahoe hybrid (dual mode) comes first, this coming year as an '08 model, I believe. Vue Greenline (based on the just unveiled '08 Vue, not the current body style) and the Silverado, etc. will follow close behind.

 

I thoroughly enjoy reading Mr. Settlemires posts and input, just as I enjoy reading every GM executives thoughts and input, but...we here on the Internet, on this site, on GMI, on C&G on TheGMSource, on any web-site. We are enthusiasts. Our opinions do not count much in the grand scheme of things.

Mr. Settlemire is doing a good thing in stating what is being said, however....to me it's more of the "same old, same old" GM. Let me first defend myself.

I'm 23. I'm from a third generation GM/UAW family. It started with my grand father so many years ago. Since, it has trickled on down to three of my uncles, my father and finally my brother. 5 Olivers have helped GM along the way to building better, profitable cars.

However, to say that GM did not know about what "was coming" 8, or 9 years ago is just ridiculous. Personally, I find it appalling that GM plays the underdog roll.

I find it especially interesting that GM continues to make anti-Toyota remarks in the public and the press from TOP GM executives, including Bob Lutz, the guy I credit for saving GM, when in reality, agreement after agreement, vehicle after vehicle, decision after decision is made to CONTINUE working with Toyota in nearly every aspect of production.

When Zarella was made King at GM all we heard of is "whats coming." Well...here we are and the "whats coming" has already came and gone. Zarella had the CTS as his only success, and that's about it.

Usher in the era of Wagoner. I'll admit, back when I ran the show at C&G..I didn't like the guys ideas or his way of going of things. Much of that had to do with my immaturity regarding the business and who was out there trying to poison the pot, per say. However, Wagoner has done the impossible. He has turned GM around from a multi-billion dollar loss to a company that is roaring mad with new products (from Lutz) and key cost-cutting measures, INCLUDING very important concessions from the UAW, lets for forget that.

I'm ranting now, but I'll say this.

We've been hearing about "what is coming" for many, many years. Personally, I got my "what is coming" when I purchased the Pontiac Solstice late last year. It's the car I dream of and the quality has been everything I knew it would be. For many, the "whats coming" has also came and we've seen GM's market share stabilize.

I guess in short, I find it awfully critical of GM to come out and throw hay makers against Toyota when we (GM) consistently work side by side our #1 enemy. For myself to truly believe that GM is going head on with Toyota, I'll have to actually see it to believe it. NUMMI is a joke and a waste of time.

Now, I must get ready for work. I hate the early shift.

 

Red
I believe GM needs a GMfacts.com sort of thing.
I know that Toyota just donated about 550 acres to San Antonio for parks. It sure does make folks simpathetic towards their products. What has GM done? Where can I see GM participating in my community?
Things like this should be addressed on this webpage.

 

I believe GM has gotten a "brown" reputation not because of their products, but just because of a series of bad PR blunders. First they killed the electric car program in such a way that it made them look like "bad guys". Then they launched their new full-sized SUVs right around Katrina when gas prices were through the roof.

Yeah, there were good reasons for what they did, but this "green" thing is a lot more about image than reality.

As for the Prius, even if GM had thought of it first, realistically they could never have sold it. Prius built on Toyota's sterling reputation in the small car market, and sold to people (Toyota customers) willing to spend a lot of money on a fuel efficient compact. GM was still selling the stone-age Cavailer when the Prius came out.

So, from a marketing standpoint, it makes perfect sense for GM to start with their SUVs, because that's a proven market for them where they have an enormous reputation and no problem getting a good price for the vehicles.

 

Why not?

 

That makes a lot of sense.