I've brought up the specter of dwindling oil supplies when attempting to shed light on recent decisions by GM and other car companies, so it was interesting to see this paragraph in a recent letter from Shell's CEO:

Now, if you're an automaker who's faced with a critical decision on spending hundreds of millions (or even billions) of dollars on an engine or an platform, you need to make sure that the investment will have an opportunity to pay for itself over the next decade or two. 2015 isn't that far away, and it certainly doesn't leave enough time for a new V8 or RWD large car to pay for itself if indeed we're about to run short of liquid petroleum. Just something to think about.

I look forward to the insults and personal attacks that I'm sure are now on their way

 

maybe good for Ethanol and the Volt

 

STFU you tree hugging sonuvabitch!! GM is teh suxor for killing the V8!

 

HAHAHAAHA, yeah, what HE said!!!

I'll be happy to buy a volt w/ a Mr Fusion.....right after I get my C6 paid off.

 

in 2015 well see how it rly is...

 

Yup, everyone's talking about CAFE, but I would love to know what GM's 5-10 year projections for gas prices are. $5/Gal is fairly likely.

IMO, the market is going to force their hand before the CAFE rules really hit (this also happened in the early 80s).

 

The only problem with predictions like this is that in the late 1970's, lot's of folks who were supposed to be "in the know" were predicting that the world would be out of oil by the end of the 1980s.

I'm not saying this new prediction can't be right; but it certainly should be taken with a healthy dose of skepticism.

 

Sounds like posturing to inflate oil prices.

 

With the recent discoveries in the Artic circle, Brazil and Cuba, to name a few, I'd say he's posturing and parsing his words to justify higher prices........but sell me a Volt anyway.....

 

agreed

 

Lets go switchgrass ethanol!!

 

Yup, could very well be.

 

Except Shell doesn't have market power. Market power now resides in the hands of nation-states.

 

BUT hasn't GM already got all bases covered? I mean the hydrogen cell is viable and virtually production ready, GM just needs the infrastructure (oil companies to invest in emerging technologies). Am I right?

Or am I talking turkey?

 

Anyway, I never believe what the oil companies are telling us. They have a poor track record for telling the truth.

GM wouldn't place too much credibility on what Shell Oil Co are releasing as public information. If the world was running out of oil, there would be a different way of releasing this information. I just can't imagine the world would run out overnight, or in 5 years, for that matter.