Bailout Watch 66: When You've Sold Something…

Robert Farago
by Robert Farago

Stop selling. To be fair, it’s no surprise GM NA Prez Troy Clarke Troy felt obliged to respond to The Christian Science Monitor‘s anti-bailout ed. “Years of mismanagement, high executive salaries, and overly generous worker benefits have indeed hurt the Big Three… Detroit is no more deserving than many other US industries – textiles, furniture, toys – that have failed to compete well against foreign companies.” In response, Clarke quickly trots out the usual arguments: GM provides American jobs, GM’s [drug on the market] alt power cars help U.S. energy independence, climate change is a bitch, Mars is in retrograde, etc. And then we’re off in uncharted territory. For one thing, Clarke confirms the memo on the Volt’s non-ICE rechargable batteries. “The Chevy Volt, an electric vehicle that will go on sale in late 2010, will deliver 40 miles of gasoline- and emission-free driving on a single charge and hundreds more miles by using a small gas engine to generate additional electricity.” For another, he’s already talking about widening the federal loans’ retooling remit. “The capital raised through these loans can be spent on such efforts as increasing our nation’s R&D in advanced batteries and alternative fuels, and retooling our factories to build new vehicles that use these advanced technologies.” As for proof that GM has the brains for the job… “Nearly a century ago, GM introduced the automobile self-starter, a technological breakthrough that banished the hand-crank forever. As the Volt demonstrates, GM is still at the forefront of advancing automotive technology.”

Robert Farago
Robert Farago

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  • Robert Farago Robert Farago on Sep 24, 2008
    HarveyBirdman : I think GM took aim at the Christian Science Monitor because it published an editorial several weeks ago arguing strongly against the bailout. Whether Troy Clarke mailed his editorial to every newspaper that ran an anti-bailout editorial, well, who knows. That answers that question. Amending text. Tx.
  • Joeaverage Joeaverage on Sep 24, 2008
    As in, the Volt will be obsolete by the times it hits production? And the Camaro... Hope this means they are going the extra ten miles to get these products right.
  • Yankinwaoz Yankinwaoz on Sep 24, 2008

    I was always under the impression that it was race car drivers who came up with most of the safety features of cars. Rear View Mirrors, seat belts, roll bars, etc.

  • Joeaverage Joeaverage on Sep 24, 2008

    The race guys invent it but it has many times taken the gov't to force auto makers to put these features into their consumer vehicles. Sometimes that is good and sometimes that is bad. On one hand I want a safe car and on the other hand I want a lightweight car without the modern car's bulk and complexity. Yeah, I want my cake and eat it too. Yeah, I'd buy a new '84 VW Rabbit 'vert or GTI if it was available (without the modern bulk). I'd travel in my airbag equipped Honda though leaving the VW for my second car duties.

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