I think that's a little on the harsh side. Even with a 33% price break on $3 gasoline, it would still be cheaper to drive a 30mpg GreenLine vehicle than a 15-18mpg truck-based SUV, especially considering that the fuel savings are permanent and the price break is not. That said, this price break does not make the big SUV competitive with the smaller BAS-equipped vehicle. Even moderately thoughtful consumers will see this and shop accordingly.

We have to look at this from the perspective of GM's management. Like Martin keeps saying, new technology takes years to put on the road. We all want to see that, but GM needs to stay alive so that they can fund this development. This means drawing consumers by whatever means necessary and financially viable to vehicles on which they can make money.

Like it or not, GM's management is not out to save the world. They are out to stay in business. It's not that they don't "get it," it's that they have other things to worry about that preclude the ability to be as rapidly adaptable as we would like. They will move with the market at the quickest pace that they can manage.