The Oil Drum

63 comments on Peter Maass: Why Americans look the other way

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geewiz on December 18, 2005 - 9:55pm

Oh Boy!!! the 69 GTO (my fav), the 69 Camaro, and the Challenger R/T model. I adored those cars. Beautiful machines. The 2006 Auto Show in Detroit is expected to unvail next year a General Motors concept Camaro concept camaro

and Dodge will show a concept of the Challenger concept Challenger to compete with the Ford Mustang

The point i was trying to make with this is that there appears to be no concern for energy conservation at GM or Dodge, and GM just announced they were laying off 30-40,000 workers this past summer. So they plan to re-invent themselves with muscle cars? I bet these new muscle cars will be just as thirsty as the Hummer.
They (GM, Ford and Dodge) just don't get it. Honda and Toyota are leading the way on Hybrid technology vehicles, and trying to move away from gasoline based transportation in a hurry.

Rainwater was saying "most people buy an investment and wait for something to blow, I wait for something to blow and then buy".
Had we all been visionary back and bought those cars, we'd all be laughing all the way to the bank.

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joule on December 18, 2005 - 10:26pm

As far as I can tell, Detroit hasn't learned a goddamn thing since the 1970s, when the Japanese started eating their lunch. In my environmental consulting work I have had a number of encounters with both GM and Chrysler, and I can say that I was not impressed... to put it mildly. In both companies the only motivation appeared to be a negative motivation, i.e, don't make the higher-ups unhappy. Everything centered around that. Making good cars was a distant second to keeping the internal political machinery running smoothly.

I have absolutely no sympathy for Detroit, as they have continually shot themselves in the foot...over and over again. They seem to have a tremendous talent for consistently doing the wrong thing.

Just to add a little amusing historical perspective: as late as 1966 some high-level GM executive, commenting on the success of the VW Beetle, said something to the effect, "We know there is a hard-core bunch of weirdos out there who'll insist on buying a foreign car no matter what. Well, we don't particularly want their business."

He sure got his wish! So much for insightful forward thinking.