It’s the end of an era in Detroit...
At yesterday’s General Motors (GM) shareholders meeting, the company threw its business strategy into reverse gear. GM will chuck its heavy dependence on the truck, and go green instead... giving its alternative hybrid-electric car the go-ahead.
GM and the other big-three Detroit automakers feasted on the fast-growing market for pickup trucks and SUVs for years. But with gas now above $4 a gallon and climbing fast, big-rig drivers are mailing their keys back to the auto finance companies today.
I talked to no less than a half-dozen people in the past few weeks who are ALL trying to unload their big gas-guzzling trucks or SUVs.
One friend of mine drives a Chevy Suburban; GM’s top-of-the-line big-block road hog. She’s had it for sale over a month now… no takers.
Last weekend she stopped by the local Chevy dealer to inquire about trading-in (or down) to a more economical car, but even Chevy wouldn’t offer book value on the trade-in... So she’s stuck in the truck measuring her fuel efficiency in gallons to the mile!
GM Steers Clear of Heavy Metal Trucks
Anyway… back to the GM shareholder meeting...
Apparently CEO Rick Wagoner has finely seen the light... just before the runaway gasoline train ran him down. As recently as 2005, Wagoner championed GM’s heavy reliance on trucks and SUVs as a competitive strength for the automaker... ah, not so much anymore.
In its quest to stop bleeding red-ink, GM is backing-up its entire business plan. The company is shuttering 4 U.S. production plants – all of which built trucks or SUVs.
"Higher gasoline prices are changing consumer behavior, and they are significantly affecting the U.S. auto industry sales mix," says Wagoner... imagine that!
Instead, GM is looking to the future of the hybrid auto industry to save its bacon, and (maybe) return to profitability. GM is launching more hybrid cars this year than any other automaker.
How About 150 MPG in the Saturn VUE?
Now that $2 gas is gone forever, GM has very high-hopes for its plug-in electric hybrids, like the Chevy Volt and the Saturn VUE, which I discussed recently in a previous post (The Plug-In Solution to Sky-High Gas Prices).
GM should have made this switch years ago, rather than being asleep at the wheel and getting caught with so much heavy-metal inventory on its hands.
An especially shocking and telling revelation, GM is launching a “strategic review” of its legendary Hummer line of heavy duty trucks.
You may not find these battle-ready Hummers on GM car lots much longer – but be sure to look for sleek new plug-ins, coming to a dealer near you for the 2010 model year.
Commenting on its new poster-car, Wagoner said: "The Chevy Volt is a go. We believe this is the biggest step yet in our industry's move away from our historic, virtually complete reliance on petroleum to power vehicles."
Henry Ford made his Model-T flex-fuel capable over a century ago... it’s about time Detroit caught on!
Comments