24 Is The New 28

From the New York Times:

But S.U.V.’s and pickups are fast losing popularity in the face of $3-a-gallon gasoline, while the car market, dominated by foreign manufacturers, is growing.

Mr. Lutz sees hope in the fact that the company seems to have stabilized at just under 24 percent, versus the 28 percent that executives vowed to attain when he first arrived, even donning lapel pins with the number.

“Twenty-four is the new 28,” Mr. Lutz declared, given the company’s decision to pull back on rental car sales and huge incentives, as well as the intense industry competition.

How many minutes after Bob says something ludicrous do you think it takes for his brain to realize that his mouth said it?

My guess is 6. And a half.

Bob Lutz Drives New Malibu- Shockingly, Likes It

The Saturn Aura took North American Car of the Year honors last year. The Malibu is right there. Of course, that's me speaking, and I may be biased! We'll see what the media have to say. Let us know what you think… more info on the Malibu can be found at here.

More blathering by the czar right here.

So you don't say? Bob Lutz thinks the next 'Bu' is a fantastic machine. Shocking. In other news, Ferrari believes the Enzo is the best sports car in the world, and BMW thinks that the new M3 is the best all around entry level luxury sedan in the world.

People actually take this stuff seriously?

Bob Lutz To The World- No Really, We're Serious, I Promise!

http://fastlane.gmblogs.com/archives/2007/03/gm_charging_ahe_1.html

I knew it wouldn’t be long before the naysayers came out.

We’re not unplugging anything. We revealed the Chevrolet Volt, our electrically driven concept vehicle, to much praise at the Detroit show in January. We said we knew we had a tough challenge to see it through, but that we’re committed to the program.

...

I’ve said before that this is not a publicity stunt, but it’s as if people don’t want to believe it if we give them anything short of a guarantee of Volt delivery… with an exact date, time and sticker price.

So speaketh Sir Bob The Magnificent, so proclaimeth the nattering masses that call themselves GM diehards.

When Lutz gets defensive like this, one has to laugh. For all of his business acumen and past creative genius, the man has a serious chip on his shoulder. What were the odds that he would portray the reporting of the words of HIS OWN PEOPLE as being some sort of biased mandate by the journalists of this world? Slam dunk guaranteed, and the man didn't disappoint. It's become the new mantra at GM- us against the world, even when we're the ones who've gotten ourselves into this mess.

Bob- no one would have demanded build dates and such from GM if YOU AND YOUR STAFF hadn't opened your traps about a 2010 target. No one would have reported about GM backing off of their Volt hype if you all hadn't told the press to temper their Volt expectations. See where this is going?

Sometimes the answer is right in front of you Bob. I suggest you look there first. There is not witch hunt against GM- make a decent product like the Lambdas, or a spectacular product like the Z06, and the witch hunt somehow ceases. Flap your gums in the wind like a flowing American flag, and you'll get called for it.

How GM May Have Muffed Up An Easy Win.

Concept cars are always an interesting gamble for a manufacturer. Sometimes they're legitimate sneak peaks at future vehicles. Sometimes they're pie in the sky exterior design exercises covering humdrum mechanicals. Sometimes they're purely engineering exercises. And sometimes they portend a revolution.

At NAIAS in Detroit this year, GM portended a revolution. Somehow evading the embargo breakers, they unveiled a concept that actually caught a lot of people by surprise- the Chevrolet Volt. Not only did it have concept styling, but it had one hell of a futuristic premise- the kind that portends a revolution: a purely electric vehicle charged every so often by an internal combustion engine. Such a simple premise, and yet one that hadn't been broached by the industry yet.

Theoretically, a vehicle like the Volt would erase gasoline needs for anyone travelling less than 60 miles in day. Drive it less than that, and all you'd have to do is plug it in when you got home. Easy, quick, painless. Heck, drive it 100 miles, and you'd only be using the small and economical gas generator for 40 miles. 40 miles for 100 miles is a great tradeoff no?

The problem with all of this was that, well, GM didn't preview a revolution. Yet.

Rather, they previewed a possible revolution. If things went perfectly the way they wanted them to. If battery technology got to a certain capacity point. If the battery technology got cheaper. If the battery technology increased the amount of recharge cycles it could endure. That's a lot of ifs. It's an especially large amount of ifs when you realize that in the last 100 years or so, battery capacity and flexibility has only increased 8-fold, which is rather piddling considering we've been trying to extract more power from batteries for some time now.

Of course, GM did nothing to dissuade the positive press. And why would they? The Volt did evreything they could have imagined, and more. In one fell swoop, GM became the darling of NAIAS and a feel good old fashioned example of American ingenuity once again leading the world. And read carefully- that is EXACTLY what they wanted. The press, enamored with their story, buried the news about how this was not feasible at all unless a lot of ifs were satisfied in the middle of their stories. Headlines sprung forth that inferred that the Volt would be ready quickly. Again, GM did NOTHING to dissuade this. Bob Lutz even gave interviews saying that the battery technology was 90% there and that GM should have the vehicle by 2010.

But things seem to have hit a snag.

Instead of being forgotten and relegated to the dustbins of auto shows past, the Volt idea has lived on. It's a testament to how good of an idea it is really.

And now, after all the thunder and lightning, GM is trying to cool down expectations.

From the Detroit News:

The enormity of GM's challenge was evident last week when it called journalists to a backgrounder to explain the technological hurdles facing the Volt project -- and reiterate that it can't guarantee the futuristic car will ever hit the road.

Isn't that a pile of BS? Two months ago, they had no problems letting imaginations run wild. Now, they're backing up quickly. So if Toyota/Honda/InsertBrandHere comes to market with a plug-in hybrid before GM, they will have basically advertised the idea for free at NAIAS this year. And with rumours of the next gen Prius being a plug-in, this may very well be the case. And don't even try to imagine the backlash against GM if they don't get this thing to market at or close to 2010- after the EV1 debacle, they'll be crucified. And they will have done it all to themselves.

At the very least, this whole situation continues to exhibit just how much trouble GM really is in- with no united message, and the same old 'wait till next year' approach to both their vehicles AND now their concepts, has GM changed?