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Originally Posted by Delta Flyer
This will not make economic sense in the short term for GM.
General Motors needs to do better PR on fuel economy. The perception goes beyond people on forums like this that GM is dismissive of gas mizers.
What if Waggoner, Lutz, York, said GM put too many of their eggs in the SUV/Truck market? What if they said they regret snubbing the hybrid, and tried to educate the public about the two-mode system? What if they said they wanted to get serious about taking back the sedan market from the Accords and Camerys?
I know martinjlm has pointed out that GM has vehicles that have good FE in their class.
While GM wrestles over the next five years to get labor costs in line and weather the storm, a good PR campaign in concert with new products that will offer good FE will change minds over time. The perception won't happen overnight, but at least make the effort.
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Delta Flyer,
I'm with you 100% on the perception thing. That's what landed me here on this newsgroup in the first place. I see and hear the
misperceptions and feel compelled to dispute some of them with data. GM does have to do a much better job of managing a consistent PR message. That's starting, but there's still a long way to go. I could tell you about how much time, brainpower, and energy went into the "Live Yellow, Go Green" campaign, but I'd get in a lot of trouble
. Suffice it to say, it was not an ad agency that came up with the idea, the campaign, or the slogan. It was a group of some of our most forward thinking, ambitious, young newcomers who were asked by leadership to come up with an idea to correctly position the E85 story.
Perception is a big reason why you are able to maintain the opinion that GM is snubbing the hybrid market. If you look in our showrooms, you could easily come to that conclusion. On the other hand, I've been in several meetings on hybrids with Mr. Lutz and Mr. Wagoner and heard their opinions on where we should be with hybrids and by when. It's different than what's portrayed in public via selective sound bites. I also know more than a handfull of people who have been working on hybrid technologies for years.
Keep in mind that most vehicles that are hitting the ground today were basically finalized for powertrain content two and a half to three years ago. Since the Green Line is launching in about a month, that means that commitment to do it had to have been solidified in 2003. Work would have had to start on it significantly before that. Likewise, the commitment to significantly improve the fuel economy on SUVs that were already leading their segment in fuel economy had to be committed to years ago, not just as a result of Katrina.
If Wagoner and Lutz were as against hybrid technology as some people
perceive them to be, the Green Line would never have seen the light of day. What Mr. Lutz has said on ocassion to raise the ire of hybrid afficionados is that in his opinion, clean diesel technology is a more efficient and effective alternative. I doubt he's the only one with that opinion. He has also said that GM will be very judicious in where and how we deploy hybrid technology because the economics of the technology don't support free expression deployment. That's just common sense. Don't set yourself up to lose money on every product. As you have noted, the PR machine has to be and is being kicked into gear. Excellent product is flowing through the pipeline. To the extent that perception is changed and supported by product, we think we can get there.
Peace,
Martin