Bob Lutz ready to say goodbye to Volt 'mali-mules'

Lutz originally wanted the Volt to be a pure electric vehicle

On Tuesday I was part of a group interview with Bob Lutz whom told reporters that originally he wanted the Chevy Volt to be a pure electric vehicle. However, John Lauckner, GM vice president of global program management, convinced Lutz that a range extended vehicle would be far better as it would overcome "range anxiety", which Lauckner believed would limit the success of the Volt.

Lutz also reiterated that he greatly dislikes the design of the Toyota Prius calling it "reverse chic" - so ugly that it has become cool.

More interesting, however, Lutz expressed his surprise that so many still doubt lithium's reliability. Lutz stated that tests are indicating that the Volt's battery pack could be far more reliable than originally expected, mitigating potential warranty costs to GM.

Finally, the mali-mule - the original Volt test vehicles - are soon to be replaced. By the end of the year GM hopes to have about 50 Cruze-mules that will be outfitted with far more E Flex electric drive components.

Bob Lutz: Why the Volt will not be delayed?

The Volt is Bob Lutz's defining moment

There has been a soft whisper among some journalists that GM's Bob Lutz was losing his passion for his role at GM. Considering his 75 years of age, that's no surprise. However, Bob Lutz isn't your average 75 year old, in fact, you'd almost swear he's more like 60, not 75.

Anyway, I've believed, since the Chevy Volt debut, that the Volt would be Bob Lutz's defining moment in the auto industry, and that the Volt could keep Mr. Lutz around at GM. At the debut of the Volt at NAIAS, Lutz alluded to such a fact.

Now, Mr. Lutz is officially talking retirement, but he is again confirming that he would like to retire after the Volt launches in 2010. "I'd like to see the Volt launched because I think that is an absolutely critical product," Lutz said in an interview with The Associated Press.

Sadly, I wouldn't be surprised to see Lutz leave GM before 2010, but I hope he sticks around. With his legacy on the line, Lutz might be best guarantee that the Volt won't be delayed, and I think Lutz's legacy is worthy of being defined by a game-changing vehicle like the Volt.

The Chevy Volt takes another baby step towards reality

Enough batteries for 2 Volts

GM, in theory, now has the ability to develop two fully operational Chevy Volt prototypes, as that is now how many batteries GM currently has in its possession. Recently, Compact Power delivered its 2nd battery to GM. A123Systems should soon be delivering its first battery to GM as well.

At the LA Auto Show, Tony Posawatz, vehicle line director for the Volt and the E Flex Drive, told me that GM would have a few fully functional Volts by the end of the first quarter of 2008. However, in a separate interview, Denise Gray, director of battery technology, confirmed that such a date would be difficult to achieve, but that her team was committed to making it happen. Finish....

The Chevy Malibu hybrid: GM's Big Mistake?

GM plans massive marketing blitz to challenge Camry

The Chevy Malibu is of critical importance to GM, thus the automaker will use a six-speed transmission with a four-cylinder engine to increase fuel economy. In addition, GM will spend more than $100 million marketing the Malibu in an effort to challenge the Toyota Camry.

That's great, but how much buzz would a full hybrid version of the Malibu have brought to GM dealers?

GM's Bob Lutz has essentially called the Toyota Prius a marketing coup. It's not that the Prius is breaking sale's records for any category outside of hybrid cars, rather it's the fact that the Prius is a PR machine. Even if the Prius isn't selling, it's still driving buyers into Toyota.

Moreover, while the Toyota Camry hybrid might only sell a little more than 50,000 units this year, I'll bet the Camry hybrid has also helped drive more buyers into Toyota.

So, why not a dual mode Malibu hybrid? GM's dual mode technology is ready to roll. Selling 50,000 Malibu hybrids in 2008 wouldn't just make GM the second best hybrid vehicle seller and validate GM's hybrids, it would drive incredible buzz to GM.

What's the deal? Can't GM compete?

Volt road ready this Spring?

Still, a long way to go

GM's Bob Lutz is a spin-master.

“I think that our No. 1 competitor has some problems with their technology, and I do think that it very definitely opens a window of opportunity for us to be first to market with a genuine plug-in hybrid,” Bob Lutz said at an automotive industry conference in Traverse City where the battery deal was announced.

While I believe that GM might offer the first "genuine plug-in hybrid", GM is also facing serious problems. For example, the Chevy Volt is still just a concept. It won't be road-ready - for testing - until the Spring of 2008, at the earliest. Additionally, if GM does produce the Volt by the end of 2010, as planned, the costs are expected to be very high. Thus, GM is considering a plan to sell Chevy Volts with optional battery leases to help make the cars a little more cost-effective.

But, back to Toyota's problems. Finish Volt road ready by this Spring

GM solidifies Volt battery partnerships

Agreement to speed up development?

The key to GM's future success will almost certainly be driven by the E-Flex platform - the powertrain that will power the Chevy Volt, for example.

They key to the Volt and the E-Flex platform is lithium batteries. Consequently, GM has solidified its partnerships with lithium-ion battery makers A123Systems and LG Chem.

"Breakthrough battery technology will drive future automotive propulsion, and the company that aligns with the best strategic partners will win. That's what is so important about this deal," said Bob Lutz, GM vice chairman of Global Product Development. "Whether you're talking about the Chevy Volt, a fuel cell or even a plug-in hybrid such as our planned Saturn Vue, we need to understand the fundamental battery cell performance."

GM cancels some concepts to focus on hybrids?

Bob Lutz at the the debut of the Volt at NAIAS

GM has now made fuel economy a major priority, according to product chief, Bob Lutz. Thus, some GM concept vehicles have been canned in favor of other projects, such as plug-in hybrid vehicles.

Once a major critic of hybrid vehicles, it appears Lutz has now staked his legacy at GM on such hybrids, especially the Chevy Volt. Yes, Lutz might believe hybrids are just a bridge to fuel cell vehicles and the hydrogen highway, but I can live with that.

Make it happen, Bob.

(Source: DetroitNews)

Rick Wagoner's biofuel credibility

Rick Wagoner and Bob Lutz shake hands at the Volt debut

So, Rick Wagoner wants to push the focus of Congress from fuel economy to biofuels? He his a master of such distractions - he helped make Congress believe in fuel cell vehicles, rather than hybrids, plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles for many years.

Kudos, Rick.

Nonetheless, many disagree with Rick's biofuel's assessment.

--> Finish: Rick Wagoner's biofuel credibility

Re: The hidden hybrid PR coup

Hybrid success is purely because of Hollywood?

GM's Bob Lutz, just a few years ago, claimed that GM could have beat Toyota to the Prius hybrid car by spending just a fraction of one year's marketing budget on such a plan. Instead, GM spent that money marketing a new line of large SUVs.

But who cares?

Instead, Fortune's Sue Callaway wants us to believe that the only reason hybrid cars are popular is because of a hidden hybrid PR coup in Hollywood. So, if you bought a hybrid, apparently, then you are a Hollywood-wannabe, Sue seems to imply.

While I don't doubt that some have bought hybrids because of some Hollywood-influence, is it really so hard for hybrid critics to understand that many whom buy hybrids are incredibly committed to issues such as global warming and foreign oil dependency? Sure such a purchase accomplishes little on a global scale, other than send a message and invest in the future.

Still, what message are gas-guzzlers sending? In what future does gas-guzzling invest?

How about the hidden PR coup that has enabled automakers to spend billions marketing the most extreme foreign-oil dependency-increasing gas-guzzlers - despite 9/11 and two wars in Iraq - because of profit, at the expense of U.S. soldiers and U.S. National Security. Now that's a real coup.

Sometimes GM is just pathetic

GM just makes me wanna holler

Back in January I was invited to attend the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, as a guest of GM - whom sponsored my trip. I had a fantastic time, and I met a great number of wonderful GM employees. Moreover, GM finally gave me something in which to believe: the Chevy Volt.

Unfortunately, as time has gone on, I have tired a bit of the never-ending hype around the Volt. Since the Volt is still 3 years away, I'm far more concerned about GM's current line of full hybrid vehicles - or lack thereof. While I saw, for example, a Yukon hybrid at both the Los Angeles Auto Show and the Detroit Show, I still have yet to see a hybrid Yukon at a GM dealership.

Seriously, can GM drag their feet any longer on hybrid cars?

I guess America should be happy that Detroit is at least developing hybrids, unlike a few years ago when Bob Lutz ridiculed hybrids or when he said that GM could have developed a Prius-like vehicle before Toyota using just a fraction of ONE year's advertising budget. But that was the past, right?

Now GM is on a new advertising campaign - one to convince Americans not to worry about CO2 emissions from autos because - according to GM - buildings cause more CO2. (Read the Press Release)

Fuel efficiency: GM just can't compete?

Are flex-fuel lies killing GM?

GM's Bob Lutz is claiming that President Bush's plans to increase automobile fuel efficiency could raise the cost of automobiles by $5000.00, according to the DetroitNews. Rather than increase fuel efficiency, Lutz claims increased availability of ethanol is a better solution.

I'm so tired of hearing about GM's ethanol plans. First, GM is using cheap flex-fuel technology as a loophole to violate CAFE. As a result GM can't even meet the CAFE laws created 20 years ago, let alone more stringent rules. Consequently, GM is using legal loopholes to avoid paying massive fines, while increasing America's foreign oil dependency more than should be allowed by law. Second, corn-based ethanol is not a good solution to resolving America's energy problems. Third, GM is an automaker, not an energy company, so focus on automotive technology.

While Toyota achieves record months of sales significantly helped by hybrid cars, such as the Prius, GM has yet to sell one full hybrid vehicle. Why? Why can't GM realize that fuel efficiency is becoming ever more a critical aspect of automobile manufacturing survival - possibly and probably the key to the automotive future?

The good 'ole days of gas-guzzling land yachts are over. Deal with it.

Lutz responds to Volt doubters

GM's Bob Lutz getting out of the Volt concept at NAIAS debut

On Friday I wrote about GM's Chevy Volt doubts, based on a DetroitNews article. Late Friday, Mr. Lutz also responded to that article, saying that GM was 100 percent committed to the Chevy Volt plug-in hybrid.

Good. Yet, while Lutz is a bit testy about GM doubters, can he really blame them? GM's history regarding hybrid cars and electric cars isn't great. While GM has claimed to be committed to this path, GM still has yet to sell one dual mode hybrid. The Volt, on the other hand, is at least 3 years away.

GM can continue to lobby the faithful with words, but until naysayers actually feel and touch real GM hybrid vehicles and next-gen vehicles, such as the Volt, words just won't be enough.

Some new juice on the Volt plug-in battery

Rick Wagoner and Bob Lutz at the Volt reveal at NAIAS

GM is continuing its policy of transparency regarding the Volt plug-in hybrid. Today Beth Lowery, GM's VP of Environment and Energy, provided an update regarding the battery of the Volt. Unfortunately, most recent Volt updates have simply been reiterations of previously released information, and this update wasn't any different. Hopefully, some real juice on technological progress isn't too far away.

Read Mrs. Lowery's post.

The Volt IS NOT an all electric vehicle

The first production Volt almost certainly won't be an all-electric vehicle

What's up with the Reuter's staff?

"General Motors Corp has set a target for production of an all-electric car in 2010, GM’s product chief and Vice Chairman Bob Lutz said on Tuesday."

Really, an all-electric vehicle? I guess the Volt is an all-electric vehicle if you only drive 40 miles or less per day for the life of the vehicle. However, for most consumers, the Volt will be a plug-in hybrid vehicle that can use electric power for many trips, but that will also utilize gasoline or flex-fuel for extended trips - extending the range from 40 miles to 600 miles. Then again, what's 540 miles?

Yes, the Volt could become an all-electric vehicle in the future, but its first iteration almost certainly will not be an all-electric vehicle.

Good job Reuters!

Lutz confirms Volt plans in Geneva

GM's Bob Lutz again confirmed the plans for the Chevy Volt at the Geneva Auto Show - the same plans Mr. Lutz has confirmed in several recent interviews. Basically, GM is shooting for a 2010 Volt, the Volt design will become more conventional, and batteries are the key. Unfortunately, no new info. Read the Reuters story.

Chevy Volt Update or PR?

Bob Lutz updates the FastLane Blog about the Volt

A few weeks Bob Lutz told the DetroitNews that GM was going to be transparent regarding the Chevy Volt. In the course of that interview, Mr. Lutz also provided a few interesting Volt updates.

Yesterday, Mr. Lutz posted many of these same updates on GM's FastLane Blog. Lutz claims, some cynics accused us of pulling a PR stunt, saying the Volt is simply an attempt by GM to “greenwash” the public and would never be a real vehicle. The truth is just the opposite — we are treating Volt just like any other vehicle we do, giving it a dedicated development team and designating resources for it. With that in mind, I thought I’d take a moment to update you on the program so far."

Ultimately, Mr. Lutz didn't offer much new information regarding the Volt compared to the DetroitNews interview. He did, however, briefly mention progress on the Vue plug-in hybrid and he also used the Volt as another chance to talk fuel cells - GM's real passion. Unfortunately, to me, this post felt very much like a publicity stunt. For those whom don't follow the auto news quite as closely, however, it might feel more sincere.

I guess I'm just a bit jaded over GM's hybrids. Why not highlight these Volt updates at the launch of the Yukon hybrid? Oh yeah, where is the Yukon hybrid? How about some transparency on GM's dual mode hybrids?

Lutz describes Chevy Volt hybrid development

Bob Lutz exits the Volt at NAIAS

In clean and green circles there have been serious questions about whether the Chevy Volt hybrid is a real idea or just a publicity stunt. Quite frankly, clean and green consumers neither like nor trust GM. For this customer segment GM is best known for gas hogs and for killing the electric vehicle.

Yet, has GM turned a leaf with its Volt concept?

According to Bob Lutz, we'll know within 3 years. More important, GM is going to be "transparent" with the Volt development process, letting the media and consumers know about both important progress and important setbacks of the Volt's development.

Lutz recently stated that since there are is "not mystic technology involved" in the Volt concept, the production of the Volt is now "basically a development effort". As a result the Volt could, and probably will, adapt and evolve from the show car presented at NAIAS and other auto shows.

--> Read the rest of Lutz describes Chevy Volt development

The Prius Effect? Only to those with the loser effect

GM saw a joke in the Prius, Toyota saw the future

The 'Prius effect'. That's what competitors have labeled the success that hybrid cars have provided for Toyota. Boy, it's sadly comical how losers look for excuses in everything, and the Prius effect is a prime example of that 'loser effect'.

"We didn't appreciate the image value of hybrids," concedes GM's research and development chief, Larry Burns in a BusinessWeek interview. "We missed that."

That's not the only thing GM missed!

This 'Prius effect' statement has also been echoed by both GM head Rick Wagoner and by GM product guru, Bob Lutz. Even worse, Bob Lutz claimed that GM could have beat Toyota to the Prius, if they had used a fraction of their billion dollar marketing budget for this purpose. Instead, GM spent the money advertising the virtues of its foreign-oil-dependency-increasing gas-guzzlers.

Obviously, a much better investment, at least in terms of "image value" at that time. (Read more of the Prius Effect)

Great Bob Lutz, Volt Concept Interview

In the past I've thought that GM's Bob Lutz was an out-of-touch, old-school jerk. In fact, I once even referred to him as Lutz the putz after he called hybrid cars stupid and claimed that GM could have developed a Prius-like vehicle with a fraction of one year's marketing budget.

After having seen Bob Lutz in person - in action - I've changed my mind. I was completely impressed with Lutz's candor, his almost vulgar honesty. Bob Lutz doesn't mince words, he doesn't try to soundbite every statement into the perfect marketing jargon. Lutz simply says it the way he sees it. With Lutz, what you see is what you get.

I honestly believe that Lutz is incredibly excited about the Volt electric concept vehicle - the most important concept in GM's history in my opinion. Lutz even admitted that the Volt was the most exciting project in his 40 + year career in the automotive industry at the debut of the Volt. Recently, Lutz explained his excitement to Forbes.

"It’s a radical departure for GM, and it’s exciting because it’s not a sure thing — there’s a possibility of failure here. I’d put the risk rate at 10 percent. It’ll keep me around for another three or four years, just to see how it turns out."

The whole article is an excellent read for anybody that is interested in learning more about Lutz, or anyone that is wondering whether GM is serious about the Volt.

--> Read Q&A: Bob Lutz charges up on the Volt

More momentum gaining in Congress for increasing CAFE

"There is a dangerous amount of momentum" in Congress behind tougher corporate average fuel economy regulations, General Motors Corp. Vice Chairman Bob Lutz said Tuesday at the North American International Auto Show. (more)

Of course, what costs will Congress be willing to accept to achieve an increase in CAFE? Will Congress risk tens of thousands of more auto jobs in Detroit to increase CAFE? That seems like political suicide.

Regardless, I say before Congress increases CAFE, extend tax credits for hybrid vehicles. Also, make buying a hybrid part of the small business tax credit. Give American companies some R&D money to develop lithium-ion technologies - the kind of technologies that have the ability to make any proposed increase in CAFE child's play.

--> More on increasing CAFE

My thanks to GM

If not for GM's sponsorship, I would not have attended the North American International Auto Show, which was an absolutely outstanding experience on many different levels. Of course I was very thankful to see the debut of an incredible concept, such as the Volt electric. This is the type of car that Hybridcarblog.com and Soultek.com exist to promote, so I was happy to see GM becoming more serious and more real about such vehicles - and I believe GM is dead real about the Volt.

Just as awesome was the opportunity I was given to speak with designers and other top level GM executives regarding the Volt. Myself and a few other bloggers were even given a few exclusive moments with Bob Lutz.

Quite simply, the access to information and knowledgeable people, plus the absolutely unmatched hospitality, was a truly unforgettable experience.

---> Full Story

GM shocks NAIAS

When GM offered to pay my ticket to the Detroit Auto Show, I was excited. Sure, I was interested in GM's electric concept vehicle, the Chevy Volt, but I was really interested to see the FT-HS. Unfortunately, I won't be able to see the FT-HS hybrid until tomorrow, but I don't even really care right now.

Nonetheless, the Chevy Volt electric completely blew me away, and I MEAN completely.

This beautifully designed, super aerodynamic electric-gasoline hybrid vehicle, rather than gasoline-electric hybrid, is simply astounding to behold, and GM car tsar, Bob Lutz, adamantly stated that GM is absolutely serious about producing this vehicle. In fact, Lutz called the Volt the most exciting project he's ever been involved with in his 40 plus years in the auto industry.

While this vehicle is a concept vehicle, there is a visible path to this electric auto's reality. It starts with the dual-mode hybrid powertrain, then a plug-in dual mode hybrid, then the Volt. GM is already working towards the plug-in hybrid and the technology behind plug-in hybrids will help power the advancements needed in lithium battery technology - a key to Volt success.

It's going to be a few years before this concept has any chance of hitting the real streets of America, but the Volt electric demonstrates that GM is heading in the right direction. Hopefully, they won't become too distracted along the way.

Did GM kill the electric car?

Who killed the electric car? That is the question, at least according to the movie of the same name. Yet, in reality, did anyone really kill the electric car? Is it fair to blame a company like GM, the company most associated with killing the electric car, for the death of electric cars? Are electric cars even dead?

In just a few days, GM will debut a Chevy electric concept vehicle at the North American International Auto Show. In the last several months both Bob Lutz and Rick Wagoner have claimed the automotive future to be electric.

So, how could GM have killed the electric car if the automotive future is electric?

Perhaps, GM simply killed one version of an electric vehicle, one bad adaptation of an electric vehicle in the evolution of electric vehicles.

Lest we forget, even Toyota had a hard time finding enough batteries to produce 100,000 Toyota Prius hybrid cars just a year or two ago. Since electric vehicles require even greater battery capacity than hybrid cars, should we really be surprised electric vehicles didn't take America by storm?

Even Toyota, a company consumed by efficiency, has claimed that plug-in hybrid vehicles are not yet ready for mass-production. Plug-in hybrids offer very near electric car performance, but with the option of using conventional fuel when needed - significantly increasing the appeal of 'electric' vehicles.

Thus, is Toyota killing the plug-in hybrid electric vehicle?

Even today, hybrid vehicles could fade away for a number of years, particularly if gas costs decline for a couple of years. Yet, the dangers of foreign oil dependency won't go away because gas becomes cheaper. On the contrary, the dangers of foreign oil dependency will probably increase.

Inevitably, the only way hybrid cars, plug-in hybrids or electric vehicles are going to go mainstream in the next decade is with significant political help, as well as consumer help. Consumers have to be willing to share some risk - to pay now and save fuel later. Politicians have to help consumers afford to buy these foreign oil dependency fighting vehicles.

Will consumers and politicians rise to the challenge, or will we again be blinded by temporarily cheaper gas?

GM's hybrid vehicle plans finally confirmed, or just pie-in-the-sky public relations?

Yesterday, after hearing Rick Wagoner describe the future for GM I wrote, "Unfortunately, however, GM's future plans are still pie-in-the-sky. Almost everything is still something GM is working on. When you consider that GM has been working on fuel cells for about two decades, how seriously can you take the automaker?" (more)

For example, GM announced they were working on a Saturn Vue Plug-in Hybrid Vehicle, yet they gave no timeline for when such a vehicle might be available. In fact, Wagoner said such a vehicle would be dependant upon clearing some technological hurdles regarding lithium-ion batteries.

Bob Lutz, product guru for GM, sees lithium-ion technology still about 3 to 4 years away. So, was the LA Auto Show a publicity stunt meant to achieve some positive P.R. while also providing a 3 - 4 year window where nothing has to happen?

Sure, Wagoner did describe plug-in hybrid vehicles as a "top priority" for GM, but he also gave himself a back door by noting the serious technological hurdles of plug-in hybrid technology.

While, GM is also close to finally offering its dual mode hybrid vehicles, it appears that GM is extremely committed to SUVs and is using hybrid technology, including plug-in technology, to provide green credentials for even its largest SUVs.

Consequently, I'm not sure if I'm really any more optimistic about GM than I was before I began to hear the I-car rumors. Nonetheless, I'm willing to give GM the benefit of the doubt - for now.

GM is supposed to go into more detail regarding these new developments at the Detroit Auto Show. There, hopefully, we'll also catch a glimpse of the new I-car.

If the I-car is actually a car and not an SUV, I'll be very impressed and much more hopeful.

GM to discuss its hybrid future today?

Today we find out a little more about the rumors that have been flying across the Internet regarding GM's turnaround plans. According to the Detroit News, GM's CEO Rick Wagoner is going to stress GM's new commitment to "energy diversity" - using "a variety of advanced technologies and fuels that emphasizes the use of electricity to power vehicles."

While GM has already announced plans to develop dual mode hybrid vehicles, the real buzz and speculation is regarding the I-car. The I-car, otherwise known as the icon car, is meant to emphasize GM's commitment to its green revolution, and most believe the i-Car is a plug-in hybrid vehicle that will be displayed in early 2007 at the Detroit Auto Show.

Still, this is pure marketing, pure buzz.

Already Bob Lutz, GM product engineer, whom not too long ago ridiculed the hybrid movement, has stated that lithium-ion technology - the key to plug-ins - is still 3 to 4 years away. Moreover, the Detroit News reported that "Wagoner won't commit to building a plug-in until the company can overcome technical hurdles and improve battery technology."

Hopefully, however, this isn't just a public relations move, but truly a new beginning for GM. I guess only time will tell.

-- See also - GM working on Saturn Vue plug-in hybrid vehicle

GM to launch hybrid vehicle marketing campaign

GM is preparing a new marketing campaign to promote its hybrid cars and other clean vehicles. Yet, GM's first full hybrid vehicles - first real hybrids - probably won't be available for sale until late 2007 at the earliest.

It sure is irritating - for me at least - when Bob Lutz states that GM could have already developed hybrids simply by using a fraction of one year's billion dollar marketing budget, then markets their hybrids before they even have any real hybrids on the road.

All you do is talk, talk, talk?

(Source: Car&Driver)

Lithium hybrid revolution 3 to 4 years away?

While you can't buy a plug-in hybrid vehicle today from any of the major auto manufacturers, you could buy a Toyota Prius and have that hybrid vehicle converted into a plug-in hybrid vehicle, but why would you do that?

Full hybrid vehicles, such as the Prius or the Ford Escape hybrid, have the ability to run completely on electric power, as well as the ability to generate electric power. In current hybrid technology this typically happens at lower speeds such as in stop-and-go or slow-and-go traffic, and this feature is one of the primary reasons hybrids are so fuel efficient.

Nonetheless, current hybrids have a limited ability to store energy because NiMH batteries in hybrids only have so much capacitiy.

Lithium ion batteries, on the other hand, enable a hybrid to extend this storage capacity, however, simply driving the hybrid probably won't generate enough electricity via regenerative breaking, etc to fill the batteries to full capactity.

Thus, why not plug the hybrid into an outlet and top the batteries off? Doing so with today's plug-in prototypes enables these hybrids to travel up to 40 miles on electric power alone, a distance greater than the average American commute.

This is the potential of lithium ion battery powered hybrid vehicles, and this is what has GM preparing to show off a prototype plug-in hybrid vehicle in early 2007 - probably at the North American International Auto Show. Still, according to GM's Bob Lutz, the real potential of a plug-in hybrid vehicle is still about 3 to 4 years away.

Lutz told The Detroit News that GM estimates it will take three to four years "to convert from 'power' lithium batteries to 'energy storage' lithium cells," which would allow vehicles to travel farther distances.

Imagine the ability to travel 100 miles on electric power alone with technology which will probably be available in just 3 to 4 years. Imagine the effect such vehicles would have on foreign oil dependency. Imagine adding a a few solar panels or a small wind turbine to your garage and powering your plug-in hybrid with completely green electricity.

So why just imagine it? Why not make this a reality?

Buying today's hybrid cars helps invest in this future. Additionally, we must put pressure on Congress to offer more incentives to both automakers and consumers for developing and buying these types of vehicles. In the long run, these investments in the future will more than pay for themselves.

GM already toning down its i-Car campaign?

About two weeks ago I made a post about GM's i-Car, a car many believe will be some type of plug-in hybrid vehicle. According to unconfirmed sources at that time, the i-Car campaign would be launched some time before the end of the year as a challenge to Toyota and its hybrid cars. Then, earlier this week, Bob Lutz told the AutomotiveNews that the future was all electric vehicles powered by fuel cells. In the interim, Mr. Lutz claimed a plug-in hybrid would probably be the best solution, and the reality of the i-Car campaign seemed, well, real.

Suddenly, it seemed GM was preparing to completely reinvent itself. Finally, I thought, finally.

Perhaps, I got a little too excited a little too quickly.

While the LA Times is reporting that GM is going to launch an electric vehicle prototype next year, there are already questions about how serious GM actually is about the i-Car program, at least in the short term. Maybe, now that Democrats have control of Congress, GM believes it can rest on E85 and flex-fuel vehicles for several years rather than actually doing something great.

GM set to go hybrid, then all electric?

So, GM is canceling their hydrogen fuel cell program? Well, not exactly, but it appears GM is finally beginning to understand that the world doesn't have to wait for hydrogen fuel cells before getting serious about fuel economy and pollution.

"What started as a fuel cell project is now an electric vehicle project," GM's Bob Lutz told the Automotive News recently.

"A series hybrid could run primarily on electricity from lithium-ion batteries, with an engine as backup to replenish batteries, Lutz says. The backup engine could be a diesel or gasoline internal combustion engine. Backup energy also could come from a fuel cell."

Of course, Toyota has claimed this same idea for a number of years, although their approach is a bit different. Even fuel cell makers have been calling for plug-in hybrid vehicles because they make a smaller, cheaper fuel cell stack much more cost effective to add to a vehicle.

Still, the costs of the batteries, fuel cell stacks, etc for either an all-electric fuel cell vehicle, or a plug-in hybrid fuel cell vehicle, will probably be very high for several years and maybe even a decade or longer. Which is why current hybrid technology is so important.

If not for current hybrids, GM wouldn't even be having this conversation. If not for current hybrids, plug-in hybrids wouldn't even be a buzzword in the auto industry. If not for current hybrids, there wouldn't be enough upside to develop lithium-ion batteries for automobiles.

Today's hybrid vehicles, with today's hybrid technology, are an investment in lithium ion batteries and in fuel cells, in addition to being a way to begin to reduce foreign oil dependency and global warming emissions. With today's hybrid vehicles we can begin changing the world TODAY.

It's about time GM has gotten with the program. Let's just hope this revelation isn't just hot air! America, the world, needs GM to do the right thing now more than ever.

Foreign oil dependency makes America stronger!

Do you think foreign oil dependency makes America stronger? In today's world, isn't that a stupid question?

Yet, it seems many Americans either believe that cheap foreign oil is good for America or that it poses little threat to America's National Security. Otherwise, how can the continued purchasing of gas-guzzlers be justified? How can the lack of hybrid vehicles from 2 out of 3 of Detroit's automakers be explained?

I often criticize GM for its lack of leadership in fighting foreign oil dependency. Does my criticism stem from my perpetual hate of anything GM? Absolutely not. It stems from the immense power GM has to take a leadership role in fighting oil dependency coupled with GM's refusal to do so.

Ultimately, I would gladly buy a GM hybrid vehicle - as long as it was a full hybrid vehicle. Unfortunately, GM just doesn't have any full hybrid vehicles available yet.

Why?

Well, just a few years ago important GM executives, such as Bob Lutz, publicly ridiculed hybrid vehicles and those automakers investing in them, which is particularly offensive since billions of taxpayer dollars were given to Detroit to develop similar vehicles back in the 90s.

Sure, GM has been claiming the future will be fuel cell vehicles, but they've been saying this for decades and they might be saying it a few more decades before it is a reality. Still, everything that can be done to fight oil dependency today, needs to be done today.

Quite simply, today, the hybrid vehicle is the best course of action in the war on oil dependency. The hybrid powertrain by itself is already efficient and will become even far more efficient. More important, however, the hybrid powertrain enables the integration of clean diesel, flex-fuel, electricity, hydrogen and fuel cells into the same powertrain.

Today's technology, such as a clean diesel hybrid, could produce vehicles that are 50 percent more efficient than today's vehicles. What are we waiting for? Too expensive? No way! There are enough subsidies already being wasted on big oil and other pork barrel legislation to provide the tax incentives needed for consumers to make clean diesel hybrids cost effective.

But, clean diesel hybrids are just one slice of the potential hybrid pie. In areas where ethanol makes sense, flex-fuel hybrids could be built. Add plug-in technology to both diesel hybrids and flex-fuel hybrids and you might only have to fill up on trips greater than 40 miles.

Imagine only filling your vehicle up a couple of times per year.

In the Southwest, such plug-in hybrids could make solar power far more cost-effective, enabling homeowners the ability to power their homes and their automobiles. Imagine never paying an electricity bill nor to fuel your automobiles. How's that for fighting global warming?

Of course these vehicles could also eventually develop into hydrogen powered hybrid vehicles, or fuel cell hybrid vehicles, but foreign oil dependency could be ended without either of these innovations. We don't have to wait for the holy grail, fuel cells. We just have to start demanding action right now.

To be fair, it's not as if GM is evil and Toyota is a saint. Neither automaker is doing enough. Nonetheless, considering the trends of the last few decades, such as previous oil embargoes, Katrina, global warming, and 9/11 isn't it finally time to say enough is enough?

And I say, it's especially time for GM, the most important automaker in America and one of the most important American companies, not to just act, but to take the lead. GM has the kind of loyal following to buy these war-effort vehicles and the political power to force the government to assist with subsidies and tax incentives for these war-effort vehicles.

Instead of using that billion dollar GM marketing budget to market gas-guzzlers, market the fight against the war on foreign oil dependency and global warming. It's our GM hybrid vehicle, it's our national security.

I don't think there is a company that could do more for America than GM if GM began to look at foreign oil dependency and global warming as a war, a war that GM was leading the battle against at ALL costs - even bankruptcy. That is simply a battle that GM would not and could not lose today.

Bob Lutz has admitted that GM could have taken a FRACTION of their YEARLY marketing budget to develop a hybrid to rival the Toyota Prius. Yet, they willfully continue to chose to spend that money marketing gas-guzzling - even AFTER 9/11. Stop!

Before 9/11 most Americans had their heads buried in the sand regarding the consequences of America's addiction to oil. Sometimes when something is so good, it's just better not to ask questions. After 9/11, however, there is no excuse not to act. Now America needs GM to do the right thing more than ever.

If 9/11, Katrina, Iraq and all the threats about global warming are not enough to get America to realize it is time to change, what will it take? Would the deaths of 10,000 or 100,000 citizens be enough? Do we need a third world war, or the loss of a major city, such as New York? Would that finally be enough?

Then again foreign oil dependency has nothing to do with 9/11, Iraq or global warming, right? Foreign oil dependency makes America stronger!

Russia puts Western oil 'supplies at risk'? Join the hybrid revolution.

"A former government adviser has warned it is "only a matter of time" before BP or Shell faces a bid from a Russian state-owned group such as Gazprom which could threaten western oil supplies. Professor Peter Odell, an energy economist, says ExxonMobil is also vulnerable to a Chinese takeover as the large UK and American stock-listed oil groups lose their influence in global markets." (more)

If it isn't OPEC seeking a bottom cap of $55.00 per barrel, it's China and Russia and state-owned oil companies threatening the price of gasoline.

Fortunately, Congress has passed tax incentives for hybrids that protect GM and Ford, rather than incentives that seek to achieve change as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, protectionism isn't what GM needs, it needs a good kick in the ass. GM's biggest problem these days, apparently, is a lack of Hummers according to Bob Lutz, not tax incentives for hybrids.

Hummers are far more important than foreign oil dependency.

Besides, what would ending foreign oil dependency accomplish anyway? A less complicated Middle East? Putting an important part of the American economy back in the hands of Americans?

Obviously, achieving oil dependency wouldn't be easy, it would require the kind of technological revolution which would create new jobs, new industries and new markets. What a waste!

The technology behind hybrid cars offers such a revolution. Hybrid technology can make any vehicle 20 - 30 percent more fuel efficient, today, whether that vehicle is fueled by gasoline, diesel, ethanol or even hydrogen. New software and new batteries will double the fuel efficiency of today's hybrids in just a few years. Then plug-in hybrids could also increase hybrid performance while creating an ideal platform for the introduction of small fuel cells into the automobile.

Unfortunately, hybrid production doesn't result in the huge profit margins many automakers covet - hybrid vehicles only make the world a better place. And Hummers, it seems, are much cooler than making a better world.

Gasoline and oil costs might drop in the short term, but the long term is filled with too many risks not to act as quickly as possible.

GM's naive, monopolistic and capitalistic fuel cell vehicle plans?

"Hydrogen fuel cell-powered vehicles could hit showrooms as early as 2011 and the technology will revitalize General Motors, GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz said as he delivered a hydrogen concept car to be test driven by Camp Pendleton Marines over the next few months." (more)

Hmmm. So, why will fuel cells revitalize GM more than any other automaker?

For decades GM has successfully lobbied the government not to increase fuel economy standards because such a move would interfere with GM's fuel cell development. For decades, GM has told the government, zero emission fuel cell vehicles were just around the corner. Now, once again, GM's fuel cell vehicles are just around the corner - at least according to GM execs.

Should we believe them this time, or has GM cried fuel cell one too many times?

Every major automaker on the face of the planet is working on fuel cell vehicles, and most of these automakers, as well as most automotive experts, claim that cost-effective fuel cell vehicles are still more than a decade away, at least. Other experts claim it will take at least two decades or more. Some experts claim it might never happen.

I think it'll happen and here's why.

Recently, fuel cell developers have started to dig the idea of plug-in fuel cell hybrid vehicles. For years now, Toyota has claimed that its hybrid vehicles were the beginning of their fuel cell vehicle platform. Even GM engineers have admitted that their fuel cell vehicles will also be fuel cell hybrid vehicles. This is because fuel cell vehicles will almost certainly require an electric drive, and hybrids offer that electric drive.

Yet, hybrid cars are too expensive for GM, but we are to believe that in a couple of years GM's fuel cell hybrid vehicles will not be? I'd like to see the numbers behind that kind of bean-counting!!

In fact, the idea of plug-in fuel cell hybrid vehicles might call into question the entire idea of the 'hydrogen highway' - and the foundation of GM's fuel cell vehicle program.

O.K. current hybrid vehicles are not the answer to the world's problems. I'll willfully admit that as FACT. Still, next generation hybrids, such as those powered by lithium batteries will almost certainly, easily, achieve over 100 mpg, and plug-in capabilities could extend this efficiency even further.

More important, plug-in hybrid vehicles could receive additional power from small fuel cells. Utilizing a small fuel cell would be far more cost-effective than using a large fuel cell - at least in the short term. Consequently, this could be the quickest way of both ending foreign oil dependency and investing in fuel cells, but the upside doesn't end there.

If you can have a fuel cell in your car, why not in your home? Such a fuel cell could be powered by natural gas, or, in many areas of the U.S., by solar power.

Imagine all of California's homes and vehicles powered by solar-powered fuel cells with excess energy stored in advanced lithium-ion batteries? Would places like California really even need a hydrogen highway?

Why not dare to dream? Why does GM only envision the future as just a subtle offshoot of today's world, of today's energy paradigm? In reality, does America really need a new multi-billion dollar hydrogen highway? Maybe GM does, but America might not.

I'm sure the monopolistic, capitalistic, corporate-lobby-controlled politicians can easily be sold on this idea, but we THE PEOPLE, should demand more. The hydrogen highway might be great for corporate America, but is it really so great for the people of America?

Michigan Study: Fuel Efficiency Best Way Forward for Detroit

According to a study by the University of Michigan, fuel efficiency is the best way forward for the Big 3 to increase profits and to maintain jobs. (more) While large SUVs have been the most profitable vehicles for the Big 3, this trend, the report claims, cannot and will not continue. New automotive technologies must be utilized, even though they will be expensive in the short term.

"Deploying new technologies takes time and money to accomplish, and time and money are in short supply in Detroit. While management is currently focused on cutting capacity through massive layoffs, they need to undertake a deep transformation to much more fuel-efficient fleets to avoid going under. The dilemma the Detroit automakers face is that while they may believe that they cannot afford to make fuel economy a high priority, in actuality, it turns out that they cannot afford not to."

I say it's just a matter of priorities and vision. As GM's Bob Lutz has claimed, GM could have beat Toyota to hybrid cars by using a fraction of their yearly marketing budget for hybrid vehicle development, instead of for marketing gas-guzzlers.

Army: Forget fuel cells for now, hydrogen hybrids are better

Because of the cost barriers around fuel cells, the U.S. Army is working with Quantum Technologies to convert today's hybrid cars into hydrogen hybrid cars. Currently, the project is using the Ford Escape hybrid platform. Since most engineers believe fuel cell vehicles will be hybrid vehicles, I wonder if Bob Lutz still thinks that hybrids don't make business sense?(More)

Could ultracapacitors be the key to hybrid cars?

One of the main concerns regarding hybrid cars for many potential customers is the life of the hybrid battery pack. Additionally, it is the hybrid battery which significantly limits or increases fuel economy, especially in urban driving. Thus, many hybrid vehicle proponents are very interested in lithium-ion technology. Such technology has caused Toyota to believe that a lithium-ion powered Prius could achieve more than 90 mpg. While lithium will be a great technology, it isn't the only technology. For example, Maxwell Technologies, is developing ultracapacitors for hybrid cars, which help manage the electrical load of batteries. Such technology not only extends the life of the hybrid battery, but results in better fuel efficiency and even lower emissions. Despite the beliefs of some geniuses, such as Robert Lutz, hybrids do make business sense - at least if you are thinking about the future.

A Quick Fix for Gas Guzzlers: Has Detroit Lost its Mind?

Yesterday, Thomas Friedman of the NY Times asked, "Is there a company more dangerous to America's future than General Motors? Surely, the sooner this company gets taken over by Toyota, the better this country will be," in the article A Quick Fix For Gas Addicts. Of course, GM's Bob Lutz questioned Friedman's mental state, "the majority of Americans, not being extreme liberals, and harboring a deep-seated distrust toward the media, will see his piece for what it is: the product of an unusual, but not altogether well, mind." David Cole, head of the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, added, "The liberal philosophy is we ought to not be buying GM SUVs and instead buying Toyota Priuses. That's their perfect world but it's not the world in which we live" (more). So, Mr. Cole, instead of hybrid cars, the conservative philosophy is that we all drive Hummers, kill all Muslims in the Gulf states so we can take over their oil fields to have enough oil to fuel all of Detroit's gas-guzzlers?

Level Field Institute isn't Level Headed

Starting today the Level Field Institute, founded by American automakers, retired automakers, and dealers are going to attack claims that foreign automakers provide American jobs.

I say stop complaining about foreign cars and start lobbying Detroit to build cars that foreign car buyers want. Not everyone in America wants a gas-guzzler or a truck and many are offended by how little effort and concern, over the decades, that Detroit has put into fuel efficiency.

Fuel cell, blah, blah, blah.

Moreover, it's terribly ironic and hypocritical for the American auto industry to expect Americans to protect American jobs when it also means increasing foreign oil dependency.

I have long believed that American companies, not Japanese, should have marketed the first hybrid cars. I can hear Bob Lutz now, "Hybrids don't make business sense!"

Well, then, why are you now building them, Mr. Lutz? Not to mention that Americans provided $1 billion tax dollars for the Big 3 to build them in the 90s. For Mr. Lutz, it makes much more sense to spend billions every year marketing the American virtues of guzzling foreign oil rather than investing in fuel efficiency. Now that's American leadership!

The Big 3 should have one cause today, ending foreign oil dependency. Yet, today, GM and Ford success, even survivability, is still hinged upon the success of today's worst gas guzzlers.

Stop blaming Americans for buying foreign cars and start making America a safer and cleaner country. If GM and Ford had cars that equaled the capabilities of the Prius, they would sell better than the Prius.

I know, I know, they just aren't profitable, foreign oil dependency is so much more cost effective.

Why gas-guzzling is great!

What's better than a gas-guzzling SUV that can go offroad?

A more powerful, even greater guzzling SUV that can't go offroad. It's pure guzzling pleasure, a message to the world that the price of gasoline means nothing, nor does common sense.

Now that's saying something!

As for global warming and foreign oil dependency, those are just treehugging conspiracies - every real American knows that.

That's why I can't wait for the new muscle cars from Ford and GM, so I can fly by those granola-eating Prius and Civic hybrid drivers. They act like they are saving the world. Give me a break, they aren't making a dent in foreign oil dependency. That's why I buy GM products, they understand America. Just look at Bob Lutz.

"There's enormous good will for the glory days of American cars, when they really were American and didn't try to be Japanese or German," says GM car czar Bob Lutz.

Gas guzzling is the essence of America. Since we're the best in the world, we can do whatever we want. Besides, if I wasn't using so much gas, those people in the Middle East wouldn't have any money and that would breed real terrorism. The truth is gas-guzzling helps fight terrorism. The richer we make those people the less they'll want to kill us.

I'm the real American. America is about choice, even if it is a stupid choice, such as buying a hybrid car.

Be a real American, buy the biggest gas-guzzler you can find! Together we can change the world!

I have had enough "hybrid hype"

I am so tired of the phrase "hybrid hype".

Today, I read the article, Amid Hybrid Hype, a Lonely Advocate of Fuel Cells, that finally pushed me over the limit.

"It matters not that, in the automobile industry, hybrids generally are regarded as an interim step toward cleaner, more fuel-efficient technologies, such as hydrogen fuel cells."

"Gas-electric and diesel-electric hybrids are of the moment. The news media love them. Toyota Motor Corp., the biggest purveyor of hybrids, gets lots of greener-than-thou credit for promoting them. There's a buzz; and where there's buzz, there are politicians; and when you mix buzz and politics together, you get policies, which beget certain permutations in business."

Wow, not long ago, GM's Bob Lutz also called hybrids a poor business case, which he now admits was a mistake. Ironically, GM has also admitted that its fuel cell vehicles will inevitably be fuel cell HYBRID VEHICLES.

If hybrid technology is an integral piece of fuel cell vehicle technology how can you call hybrids an "interim step"? If GM and Toyota, the two biggest automobile companies, are going to develop fuel cell hybrids, then hybrid technology cannot be labeled "interim".

Of course, there is a buzz around hybrids. Why shouldn't there be?

9/11, Katrina, global warming, and high gasoline prices have made many people decide the time for action is now and hybrids provide that action today. It isn't just about what the Toyota Prius hybrid or the Ford Escape hybrid can achieve today, but what they could achieve tomorrow.

Plug-in hybrids can achieve 80 mpg and other experimental hybrids, with advanced lithium-ion batteries, have achieved more than 250 mpg. If we invest in today's hybrid vehicles, this can be the future for tomorrow's hybrid vehicles.

And, speaking of hype, where are the real world fuel cells vehicles? They aren't even a reality yet. Today, the average fuel cell vehicle costs $1,000,000.00 and there are still technology barriers, not to mention fueling obstacles. Yet, GM has lobbied the government since the Nixon administration not to raise national fuel economy regulations because fuel cells were just around the corner.

Let's face it, it isn't implausible to suggest that it might be 2 more decades before cost-effective fuel cell vehicles are available - if ever. If hybrids are hype, then fuel cell vehicles are pure fantasy.

So,we should wait two decades before taking foreign oil dependency or global warming seriously because fuel cells will save the world in two decades? Nothing like putting all your eggs in one basket.

Still, even if you want fuel cell vehicles to develop as quickly as possible, short term investing in hybrid vehicles might just be the best way to make that happen, unless of course GM and Toyota aren't going to be part of the fuel cell revolution.

Perhaps gasoline and diesel hybrids are a bridge to fuel cells, but to call them an "interim technology" simply doesn't make sense.

Inevitably, hybrid technology will also help power fuel cell vehicles, and it might just turn out that advancements made in gasoline and diesel hybrids help make fuel cell hybrids a reality much sooner than expected.

Re: "GM drawing on the past as it attempts to speed development of hybrids"

I was just reading AutoWeek's article, GM drawing on the past as it attempts to speed development of hybrids, and it seems that GM is even more dysfunctional than I have previously thought.

Saying something like that can be dangerous because, in America, there are many devout GM followers. While I criticize GM quite often, it's not because I think GM is technologically inept. I think GM is corporately inept. When it comes to technology I think GM is just as capable as any other auto maker. It's vision where GM is lacking, and that boils down to corporate leadership.

Having said that, I think that GM is even more dysfunctional than previously thought because of the double talk coming out of Detroit. How can GM's Bob Lutz state that hybrid cars don't make economic sense when GM's Larry Nitz, a 30-year GM veteran and executive director of GM's global hybrid powertrains states, "Fuel cell vehicles are always fuel cell hybrid vehicles because they have battery packs. The same people that work on the hybrid batteries work on the fuel cell batteries. The same people that do electric motor controls for the hybrid system do motor controls for the fuel cells, too."?

So, the future IS hybrid vehicles, even to GM? So, why the lies and deception? Is this the model for corporate America? Is this the model for success?

Perhaps GM is just too old of a company, run by an ancient belief in the good ole boy's network. The rich might still run America, but average Americans aren't as blind as we used to be, and change is inevitable.

Toyota has been making the fuel cell argument in support of its hybrid vehicles since it started selling the Prius hybrid car. I've often stated that Toyota is laying out the fuel cell vehicle future right now, with every hybrid it puts on the road.

On the other hand, hybrid critics have long stated that fuel cell vehicles, not hybrid vehicles, are the future. Yet hybrid technology is integral to the fuel cell vehicle. Thus, the more work that is done on hybrids - even gasoline electric hybrids - the faster fuel cell vehicles become reality.

So, what exactly is the point of hybrid critics?

Let's be clear about another thing. Pure hydrogen vehicles ARE NOT the future, and if GM believed, or still believes, its path to fuel cells would begin with pure hydrogen vehicles as an interim step to fuel cell vehicles, then GM really sucks.

Pure hydrogen vehicles just aren't all that fuel efficient. That's a fact. Ford has noted that the best way to create fuel efficient hydrogen vehicles would be to create hydrogen hybrid vehicles. Once again hybrid technology is a critical component.

Yet, GM's boldest hybrid move to date has been hybrid lies.

Now I realize that GM has legacy costs that make R&D more difficult, and that is a serious problem, so serious that it's going to cost at least 30,000 their jobs. Nonetheless, GM has a multi-billion dollar yearly marketing budget. Couldn't some of that have been used for R&D, especially after 9/11?

Let's face it, in hindsight, GM and Ford should have started taking fuel efficiency seriously in the 80's and 90's - not just because of gas scares, or political problems in the Middle East, but because of simple market share. When does year after year of declining market share finally make you think, huh, maybe we should try something different?

Yet, even after 9/11, GM is still barely doing things different. In many respects, GM's very survival is still dependent upon gas-guzzling vehicles. High gas prices, too bad. Foreign oil dependency, too bad. Helping to finance terrorism, too bad. Polluting the environment, too bad. That's GM today.

Unfortunately, it's average Americans, not rich shareholders and corporate executives, that will pay the real price for this ineptitude.

A major American failure: The hybrid vehicle

I was reading the article The Hot Hybrids published by E: The Environmental Magazine that was reposted by MotorTrend.

The article opens, "With $1 billion in taxpayer money poured into the Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles in the 1990s, Detroit's Big Three developed a trio of hybrid vehicles (with both gasoline and electric drivetrains for maximum fuel economy). The resulting prototypes were shown off at auto shows, but the domestic automakers were steadfast in their refusal to actually produce these consumersubsidized eco-cars."

Always good to see tax-payer dollars hard at work! So, it took a billion tax payer dollars for Detroit to decide there was, "No market for them," and they were, "too expensive to build"? That's just great!

Well, a decade later, U.S. monthly Toyota Prius sales can surpass Audi, Volvo or Saab monthly sales, and the sales potential of the Prius still hasn't fully been tapped. Currently, supply simply cannot keep up with demand.

So what, the critics of hybrid cars say, it's just all the treehuggers and that market will soon run dry. It's just marketing hype they claim.

Fine, maybe it is hype, but couldn't GM use a little marketing hype?

The DetroitNews published an article this weekend called Black October: How one month changed the course of the auto industry. "It was the pivotal event in the month that may be remembered as the industry's Black October, when the vulnerabilities of Detroit's automakers were laid bare in dramatic fashion."

The American auto industry is in serious trouble and that trouble will resonate - has resonated - throughout the American economy, and the worst is yet to come.

Hybrid cars might not be the dominant vehicle of the future; however, in light of the connection between terrorism and foreign oil, global warming, hurricanes, and high gas prices, average Americans have become interested in hybrids. This interest takes them to Toyota and Honda dealerships because consumers are starting to feel like maybe they do have a choice. Maybe there is a difference.

Ultimately, hybrid technology might be expensive, but it is expensive because it requires some of the most advanced automotive technology - it demands invention and innovation. Since the potential of technology, quite simply, has few limits - technology can and will advance.

Hybrid cars utilize this kind of technology that can and will advance. Sure diesel, or biodiesel might compare fairly well with hybrids today, but hybrids are only an emerging technology. Experimental hybrids prove that the potential of hybrid vehicles has barely been tapped. Additionally, hybrid technology can also utilize the advancements made in diesel, biodiesel, hydrogen, or even fuel cells - in addition to hybrid advancements.

In today's world the potential of technology must be chased, and it must be chased ALL the time. For too long the American auto industry has succeeded at maintaining the status quo, rather than driving the technology of the future.

Some might say GM is a fuel cell leader - they are pushing the future, the real future. Maybe, but GM has been promoting this fuel cell future since the Nixon administration. When are real results required? The future cannot always be an excuse for doing nothing today.

When it comes to technology there is always a better, more efficient way to do things. If always finding a better way to do things isn't driving the core of a business, then that business might use technology, but it isn't a technological leader.

For too long, Detroit has used technology to maintain the status quo, not to innovate automaking. The success of the Toyota Prius has changed everything, and the bar has been raised. There is no status quo, there is only innovation.

GM's Bob Lutz once said that GM could have developed a competitor to the Prius by simply diverting a fraction of ONE year's marketing budget to such development. Actually, GM should have just used it's share of the billion dollars of tax payer money with which it was paid to do this.

If hybrids are just hype, why will EVERY major automaker be offering a selection of hybrids within just the next few years? That's a pretty expensive exercise in futility if they are just chasing hype.

Inevitably, hybrids demonstrate the complete failure of the American auto industry. Let's hope they can change, they OWE it to us.

Do GM's hybrid vehicles demonstrate fuel cell lies?

GM won't really have any major hybrid presence until around 2008, yet GM has stated numerous times that its fuel cell vehicles will be a reality by 2010. "We believe we can design and validate a competitive fuel cell propulsion system by 2010," stated Lawrence D. Burns, G.M.'s vice president for research and development recently (more).

So, why is GM even developing hybrid vehicles? If GM can develop a "competitive" fuel cell system by 2010, then there is no need for hybrid vehicles, right? Even GM has stated, "Hybrids could be another niche, low-volume technology that is nice to have," according to Mr. Burns.

I guess GM is just a hybrid poser? "Toyota is at this moment skimming off all the altruistic people who are doing it for the birds and the bees and for energy independence," Bob Lutz, G.M.'s vice chairman, told reporters in Detroit in September.

Oh, excuse me for caring about energy independence and the environment, you putz, I guess those are just silly issues to GM?

Mr. Lutz has also stated that GM could have developed hybrids at a cost of a fraction of its YEARLY marketing budget. That's right, for a fraction of ONE year's marketing budget, GM could have helped fight FOR the environment and AGAINST foreign oil dependency, but GM chose to invest in INCREASING foreign oil dependency and environmental damage.

Is that an example of American corporate leadership?

GM has been telling the U.S. government that fuel cell vehicles were just around the corner since the Nixon administration, and GM has likewise cited increased U.S. fuel economy as a roadblock to its fuel cell outcome. Thus, after decades, fuel economy in the U.S. has gone nowhere, as have GM's fuel cell vehicles.

Good thing increased foreign oil dependency hasn't had any costs to America!

If GM can achieve its 2010 fuel cell goals, it will be decades ahead of the rest of the auto industry and it will salvage itself and America. However, if GM fails to meet its fuel cell goals, then it will have failed America as no other American corporation has ever failed America.

For now, I'll wish GM the best of luck, but if they fail, heads MUST roll - there can be no more excuses from GM.

American hybrids: A lack of leadership

Yes, Ford has the Escape hybrid, but it isn't nearly as coveted as the Toyota Highlander hybrid, and neither are nearly as coveted as the Prius.

So what's the problem? Leadership.

Lately Ford has blamed the "predatory" practices of Japanese automakers for their lack of hybrid production. (more)

Excuse me? As soon as a Toyota hybrid hits a dealership it is almost sold. The Escape hybrid can last for weeks, even longer. More important, if not for Toyota the hybrid supplies Ford needs wouldn't even be available. Ford is using the supply channels that Toyota created.

GM, well, GM just keeps talking. A few years ago GM thought hybrids were nonsense, then they were a good marketing story, but a poor business story. Now GM is trying to bolster it's hybrid efforts. "Right now, we're not where we ought to be (on hybrids)," said Bob Lutz, GM's vice chairman and product development chief, acknowledging that it's hurting consumer perceptions of the company.(more)

Not long ago Mr. Lutz even admitted that GM could have used a sliver of its yearly marketing budget to finance the development of hybrid cars. Instead, GM chose to market the Hummer and Tahoe.

How could American automakers have been so blind to the importance of foreign oil dependency, to fuel efficiency? Is doing the right thing impossible for American corporations? Is money more important than the safety of the people?

Leadership requires vision and tough choices. The lack of American hybrids reprints a void in American corporate leadership, and if it doesn't change, it will represent the downfall of America as well.

Fuel cell vehicles versus hybrids, Part 1

The'Hydrogen Highway' has been touted by American automakers, especially GM, as the answer to America's energy problems. Unfortunately, the hum of hydrogen and fuel cells has been in the air for decades, yet the reality of the hydrogen highway might still be decades away.

Even worse, lobbyists from GM, on numerous occasions, have coaxed American Congresspeople not to enact stricter fuel economy regulations because such actions would interfere with the development of fuel cell vehicles. Essentially, the huge profits margins that GM makes on foreign-oil guzzling SUVs would be reduced and this would cut into fuel cell development.

Thus, America's national fuel economy is no better now that it was in the 1980s, and with more and more Americans driving, our need for foreign oil regularly increases.

When Toyota and Honda began developing hybrid cars, American automakers laughed and ridiculed them. Only about a year ago, GM's Bob Lutz joked that hybrids make a nice marketing story, but a poor business story. Since, GM spends almost $3 billion per year on marketing, I'll assume Mr. Lutz knows a lot about marketing.

Yet, I wonder if Mr. Lutz still thinks hybrids are a poor business story? Toyota continues to rack up month after month of great sales - without incentives - as the Toyota Prius hybrid and Toyota's Hybrid Synergy Drive rack up 100,000's of sales. GM, on the other hand, loses more than $1000.00 per vehicle when averaged across its fleet.

Don't worry, GM tells us, fuel cell vehicles are just around the corner to the save the day. Never mind the fact that fuel cell vehicles cost almost $1,000,000 per vehicle, that they won't work in cold climates, that there isn't any place to fuel them, and numerous other issues.

Still, GM says don't worry.

The hybrid leader, Toyota, also believes very heavily in fuel cells, but Toyota believes hybrid vehicles are a natural transition to fuel cells. In fact, Toyota hopes that much of its current hybrid powertrain will be the foundation of its fuel cell vehicles.

Still, lately, I find myself wondering, are fuel cell vehicles even that important?

While current hybrid technology isn't enough to solve America's oil crisis, what about the next generation of hybrid technology? Plug-in hybrids, for example, can make current hybrids, such as the Ford Escape hybrid or the Toyota Highlander hybrid, significantly more fuel efficient. Moreover, other experimental hybrids have been demonstrated to achieve as much as 250 mpg, at a cost that is significantly less than fuel cell vehicles.

This has prompted cities such as Austin, Texas and states, such as Pennsylvania, to seek ways to help fund experimental hybrid vehicle development.

Yet, GM is still at least a couple of years away from hybrid passenger vehicles. While GM still has time to get into the hybrid race, I cannot help but wonder if they are even serious about the move. Rather, it seems that GM has risked its entire future on proprietary fuel cell technology.

Hopefully, GM will succeed, but what if they fail? GM is not just risking the failure of GM Corporation, but of an important source of American jobs, and an incredibly important part of the American economy.

Katrina, the strong likelihood of future hurricanes, and the threat terrorism - let alone rising global demand for oil - demonstrate the extreme vulnerability of America's energy sector and the dangers of gas-guzzling.

Can fuel cell vehicles really be developed quickly enough to solve this vulnerability, or must America - in the short term - focus on second generation hybrid technology, plug-in's and other experimental hybrid vehicles?

This will be the focus of Part II.

Are GM and Ford responsible for the 911 attacks?

"We're hooked on oil from the Middle East, which is a national security problem and an economic security problem," George Bush acknowledged while defending his stance against the Kyoto protocol.

Yet, America still can't do anything about foreign oil dependency, but Brazil could? That's technological leadership.

When push comes to shove, American automakers are dependent upon America's foreign oil dependency. While GM's Bob Lutz is gloating about June's light truck sales - further extending America's dependence upon foreign oil - terrorists are making plans to disrupt the oil supply. (More)

The GM FastLane Blog is a Blogging Contradiction

I've read several articles applauding the FastLane Blog of GM, especially one by BusinessWeek. So, two days ago I read an entry posted by Bob Lutz bragging about GM's success in some customer satisfaction surveys and made a response (more on this).

Anyway, I think I wrote a very honest post, yet 48 hours later, it is still not on the GM blog. Isn't that some kind of blog contradiction? Why blog if you are not going to post in real time?

I'd suggest for everyone to check out their LAME review policy, but they don't deserve the traffic! (And what is BusinessWeek's connection to GM?)

Re: "And Another Survey Says ..." by GM's Bob Lutz

I checked out GM's FastLane Blog and commented on the entry "And Another Survey Says..", to which I say big deal.

----------------------------------

Nice blog.

I don't really care what these surveys say and only current GM supporters will be influenced by them.

While I might still be a fringe perspective, quality fuel efficiency is my most important criteria when judging a vehicle (I don’t mean an econo-box).

If GM had a vehicle to compete with the Prius you'd have your biggest advocate. And it isn’t just me. Survey after survey has shown that the far majority of Toyota customers are interested in purchasing a hybrid. This is a bigger issue than just the perception of quality and reliability.

Many GM supporters claim buying American cars is economically important for America. I agree, but America's dependency on foreign oil is equally as important - the greatest threat to America's National Security according to growing numbers of CIA and NSA officials and ex-Directors.

An American-made hybrid car to rival the Prius, a freedom fighter, is where I want to invest my money. The H2 will never be a freedom fighter, even if it makes GM a stronger company.

Until then GM is just talking and survey after survey won’t change my opinion about that.

Detroit's problem with hybrid cars

I know most people don't hate hybrids, in fact, I'm sure most Americans don't even know such cars exist. That's why it seems so funny that some automotive writers, pundits, and consumers seem to hate hybrids.

John McCormick of the Detroit News writes today in his defense of the Detroit auto industry, "Critics who deride Detroit for missing the boat on hybrid vehicles also miss the point. It's true that certain Japanese automakers have scored a public relations success with their hybrid models, but whether their sales penetration will ever amount to more than a few percent of the market is doubtful, according to respected industry forecasters."

The truth is that there are many respected industry forecasters forecasting a wide-range of scenarios, including predictions of hybrids becoming 30% or more of the market. Everyone knows the future is unpredictable.

Additionally, I don't think any critic believes hybrid cars are THE REASON for Detroit's problems, but an example of the lack of Detroit's technological leadership - decades of declining marketshare predate the spawn of hybrids.

Even GM's Robert Lutz has noted how GM could have taken a small chunk of their advertising budget per year and funded their own hybrids. The sad truth is that GM's R&D investments indicate that GM values marketing more than technology.

In reality, almost every critic has focused on the legacy costs of health care and pension funds as one of the most important problems with Detroit, in addition to an over-dependence upon badge-engineering - the antithesis of technological innovation. Ultimately, it is a known fact that Japan reacts to market conditions much faster than Detroit in production and upgrades.

The only thing that reacts quickly in Detroit is the Union anytime fair concessions are mentioned, or when a Marine with a Bush bumper sticker parks, legally, on a Union lot.

But let's get back to the point.

Recently, Bill Gates told an audience of automotive executives to focus on technology to solve the problems of the automotive world.

Hybrids have pushed automotive technology to another level. Yes, it is very true that other technologies might emerge, but it is also possible that the hybrid powertrain will be the key to fuel cell vehicles - while significantly reducing pollution and foreign-oil dependency TODAY.

Even Mr. McCormick states, "Microsoft founder Bill Gates, in Dearborn last week, was right when he said that technological expertise would be critical to Detroit's future."

While gasoline-electric hybrids might be an interim technology to the automotive future, there is an excellent chance that other hybrid vehicles, such as diesel-electric, hydrogen-electric or fuel cell-electric, might be the hybrids of the future.

Hybrid vehicles are an emergent technology with the potential to make huge gains in efficiency and power compared to gasoline, diesel, or hydrogen engines by themselves.

Sure, hybrid vehicles are a technological gamble, but hybrids are only one battery breakthrough away from instantly making today's gasoline engine technology completely inferior.

That's not that much of gamble, and it is certainly a better gamble and investment than new a line of SUV advertisements.

Laptops and mobile phones were once crude, slow, and offered little battery life. Yet, much of the same technology that is revolutionizing mobile computing and communications, is the same technology that can revolutionize hybrids.

Case in point, the first Toyota Prius does not compare with the current Prius. Huge advancements have already been made in Toyota's Hybrid Synergy Drive in just the last few years, and the next few years will bring many more advancements. In 10 years it is easy to imagine hybrids twice as efficient and twice as powerful as today's hybrids, at cheaper costs - and that's probably a conservative estimate.

Then again, gas will probably drop back down to $1 per gallon as peace in the Middle East erupts into prosperity for the entire world, and no one ever questions the reign of the SUV again!

More hybrid vehicles.

Buick and Pontiac: Good business or just sizzle?

In a discussion describing some of GM's problems to investors, Bob Lutz stated, "Buick and Pontiac are both damaged brands that have suffered from years of harvesting with very little reinvestment." (USAToday)

I guess when you spend a billion dollars a year advertising, there isn't enough profit left over for real investments?

Bob Lutz has stated that hybrid vehicles don't make business sense, but provide nice marketing buzz.

Are the Buick and Pontiac examples of GM's good business sense or just sizzle?

Maybe they are just an example of why GM is failing America?

GM, Chrysler increasing hybrid partnership?

Typically, statements containing GM and hybrid cars revolve around GM's Bob Lutz ridiculing hybrid vehicles. Sure, GM is producing some hybrid buses, but where are the passenger automobiles? Recently, GM and DaimlerChrysler announced a partnership to develop hybrid technology, and GM has stated that it expects to have hybrids available in late 2007. Now there is talk that a third automaker is about to join the hybrid project. "There are discussions under way. They are very lively and very serious," Dieter Zetsche, Chrysler group CEO, said last week after a speech here. "I would not be surprised if within this year we would come up with an additional" partner. (AutoWeek)

The great GM failure: The hybrid automobile

GM is in trouble. Marketshare is declining, earnings are diminishing, and their cars continue to lag foreign cars in reliability, safety, and overall customer value. And Ford isn't far behind.

Forbes Magazine's Jerry Flint writes in Cruch Time in Detroit "The structure seems designed to keep finance men up and everybody else down. It's impossible to find anyone on the car side, barring Lutz, who can actually get anything done."

Unfortunately, even GM executive Robert Lutz, has downplayed innovative technologies, such as hybrid cars, calling them a marketing success, but a business loser. Lutz is to have us believe that GM, like Toyota, should have spent $1 billion creating a line of hybrids only as a marketing ploy to give the appearance of environmental concern.

Interesting marketing ploy Toyota has created with its Prius hybrid car. Demand continues to grow, and at least 100,000 will be produced for 2005 alone. That might not be a blockbuster hit, but it sure is interesting. More important, it provides momentum for Toyota's growing line of hybrids.

Early demand for both the Lexus RX400h hybrid SUV and the Toyota Highlander hybrid has been so great that Toyota has had to push their release dates back.

In fact, the first half of this year's intended Lexus hybrid SUV production has already been pre-ordered and it still doesn't go on sale for a month. Based on early previews, this will probably be the hottest luxury vehicle on the market in terms of performance, safety, style, and intelligence.

Next comes the Highlander hybrid this summer. Currently, the Ford Escape hybrid is the only hybrid SUV on the market, but it was built on leased Toyota hybrid technology. Toyota's hybrid SUV will be built on proprietary technology, and this should enable Toyota to offer a pricing discount over Ford - if wanted. Such a move probably won't be cost-effective this year, as demand is almost certain to dwarf supply.

Yet GM hybrids are, minimally, a couple years away. Still, GM has a great opportunity, as does Ford, with trucks and larger SUVs, but the longer they wait the less their opportunity.

GM has to acknowledge that neither hydrogen, nor fuel cells, can arrive quickly enough to save either Ford or GM. Both must lead in the automotive technology of today, not tomorrow. Trucks and SUVs have buoyed American automakers for decades, but after decades, the technology is little changed.

This must end.

Hybrid F150s, Silverados, Tahoes and Yukons, if offered today, would create not only immense buzz, but sales, and it would give many American consumers something in which to believe. Many Americans want to do something to help the environment and end foreign oil-dependency, they just want to do it in a truck, especially an American-built truck.

Saturn isn't going to save GM, only automotive leadership can do that, and that will require immense change.

Will GM be up to it?

Toyota taking big loss on Lexus RX400h hybrid?

An article by Dan Neil, Lexus' math triumph, claims that the cost of the Lexus RX400h hybrid is well below the cost of production. Like, GM's Robert Lutz, Neil is wondering whether Toyota is moving forward with hybrids, just for the marketing.

The article also notes that Toyota is trying to find ways to make more than the 24,000 Lexus hybrids allotted for the U.S., of which 12,000 are already sold.

GM SUV sales plummet in January

GM, bear of the hybrid car market, execs such as Robert Lutz, have questioned the business story of hybrid cars, even claiming that the Toyota Prius, the Ford Escape hybrid, and the Honda Accord hybrids are nothing but marketing hype.

Yet, preorders for the very expensive Lexus RX400h hybrid have even surpassed the Prius, and hype around the Toyota Highlander is even greater.

GM hype? TrailBlazer sales down 46 percent, Envoy plummets 51.8 percent, and the Rainier drops 26.9 percent, but GM will not be undersold, and will slash prices even further on some of its once, best-selling vehicles (More from DetroitNews).

Bye, Bye.

For an auto company with low profit margins in its automobile segment, that also finances its business with its financial arm, GM doesn't sound like a very good business story to me.

Maybe GM should listen to the EV1 protest.

3rd Party Hybrid Investment, Still Hype?

GM exec. Bob Lutz has characterized the story of hybrid cars as mostly hype and slick PR. Toyota, Lutz would have us believe, spent billions of dollars on hybrids - as most of the industry ridiculed them - for PR?

That's quite a risk for an auto-manufacturer almost obsessed with manufacturing efficiency.

One of the biggest reasons Japanese cars have better resale value in the United States compared to American-made vehicles is due to reliability. Ultimately, many analysts believe this difference is caused by one thing, efficiency.

The Japanese simply embrace a manufacturing process built around trying to increase efficiency. They constantly ask, How can we get from point A to point B more efficiently - where cost is not always the deciding factor.

Therefore, the Japanese manufacturing process has become more flexible and adaptable.

Thus, Toyota would not invest in new technologies, such as hybrids, because they were PR motivated, but because they envisioned such technology would be more efficient in the long run.

And as third-party manufacturers and suppliers start investing in hybrids and competing with each other - innovation, increased efficiency, and cheaper prices are sure to follow.

Therefore, this weekend's top news stories are all the more important.

Sanyo's increased NiMH battery production is just the beginning, as the company ramps up for what they see as a burgeoning multi-billion dollar market in just the next couple of years (more on this story).

And Toshiba sees the same forecast for the hybrid market, offering to spend almost $100 million to produce semiconductors for Toyota hybrids in just the next two years to secure a share of the hybrid market (more on this story).

All this PR must be getting really expensive.

"Hybrids are an interesting curiosity" says GM's Lutz

I've gone off on GM executive Robert Lutz before, but I'm going to do it again.

"Hybrids are an interesting curiosity and we will do some," says Lutz, "But do they make sense at $1.50 a gallon? No, they do not."

This statement exemplifies everything wrong with American corporatism - everything is about short term profit, even at the expense of American lives.

Is 30 percent better fuel-efficiency on a small car really important?

Ask the fathers and mothers of soldiers killed in Iraq that question, Mr. Lutz.

Hybrid cars like the Toyota Prius and the Honda Accord hybrid are important because they demonstrate that America doesn't need to be dependent upon foreign oil.

Apparently, however, that's not important to you Mr. Lutz?

Fortunately, vehicles like the Toyota Prius and the Accord hybrid, pushed American auto companies into action. Thus, Ford released the Escape hybrid, and significantly more fuel-efficient hybrids are on the way.

The Toyota Highlander hybrid and the Lexus RX 400h hybrid will soon offer American consumers three different hybrid SUVs, with more soon to follow. While I am not a huge SUV fan, I am huge hybrid SUV fan when compared to a standard SUV.

The point is, without hybrid cars, there never would have been hybrid SUVs.

Yet, there will not be a hybrid SUV from GM until 2007 or 2008.

While Mr. Lutz can continue to putz around his company's complete lack of environmental concern, or lack of worry for American soldiers, more and more Americans have had enough.

Yes, Mr. Lutz, to many of us hybrid cars are worth the extra cost, even if gas is only $1.50 per gallon. Terrorism, pollution, global warming and Iraq, Mr. Lutz, make cheap gas insignificant if that cheap gas leads to billions of tax-payer dollars being spent on wars and military machinery to "protect" our oil interests.

If cheap gas and conventional automobiles mean that 1000s of young Americans need to die to ensure GM's poor business practices will continue to be profitable, then yes, I absolutely demand a hybrid car, Mr. Lutz.

And it's not just me. Millions of Americans are more than willing to spend an extra few thousand dollars to help save one American life, let alone thousands, sir.

At some point, Mr. Lutz, doing the right thing is more important than money, even for a huge multinational corporation like GM. Ignore that fact at your own peril.

So hybrids aren't good business Mr. Lutz?

Several times on this blog I've posted quotes from GM Executive Robert Lutz, who argues that hybrids are only "emotional" or that they don't make "business sense".

Now Mr. Lutz, General Motor's "new-car czar" according to BusinessWeek, is making risky moves to save Saturn.

Lutz, who recently claimed that hybrid cars such as the Toyota Prius and Honda Accord Hybrid don't make business sense, is creating a Saturn Sky Roadster to save Saturn.

This is the kind of move that makes sense in the world of Lutz.

Now, Saturn does have a history of buyer loyalty, so I can understand trying to save Saturn, in fact I agree with saving it. Business sense requires taking care of loyal customers, but let's play with some numbers just for fun.

Saturn is already losing $1 billion per year, and another $800 million is to be spent to update Saturn production.

Recently, Lutz argued that a $100 million investment in hybrid cars didn't make business sense. So, investing almost a billion more in something that loses a billion per year is an example of good business sense?

Even worse, the new Sky Roadster will sell for more than $20,000.

The Toyota Prius lists for $19,000. The Prius is incredibly fuel efficient and offers great performance and comfort for four - there is more leg room in the back of the Prius than the Ford Escape hybrid.

The Roadster might be a very good vehicle, but it will certainly not match the technological advances of something like the Prius. In my opinion, one car exudes the future, the other the past.

Not long ago, a struggling Nissan was taken over by Renault, and our Mr. Lutz stated that Renault could have just as easily thrown the $5 billion into the Pacific Ocean and end up with the same result.

Just six years later, Nissan has the highest profit margins in the auto industry.

Regardless of what happens to Saturn, I feel good about Lutz's negative statements regarding hybrids. Based on his Nissan predictions, hybrid cars are sure to dominate the market even faster than the most optimistic hybrid adopters.

Join the Soultek Hybrid Car Buyer's Club to stay informed on hybrid vehicle issues.

How can GM think hybrid cars make no sense?

GM executive Robert Lutz not only thinks all hybrids are just PR hype, he believes hybrid cars make no business sense. Only hybrid trucks and SUVs, argues Mr. Lutz, make sense because the cost of hybrids is too high to justify a 30 percent gain in fuel-efficiency in cars.

While Toyota disagrees, Mr. Lutz is sure not to gain any new environmental credentials with that kind of cost-justification.

Yet, Mr. Lutz has tried to argue "For Toyota, it(the Prius) was a huge, huge, immeasurably valuable PR coup."

A huge PR coup?

Isn't successful PR and marketing part of a successful business? Isn't that why GM will spend about $300 billion on marketing this year alone?

Apparently, that is not part of Mr. Lutz's business sense.

Hopefully, not all GM executives have the same business sense as Mr. Lutz.

More hybrid cars.

GM "Missed Boat" on hybrid cars

Hybrid cars are just an emotional piece of marketing, according GM vice chairman for product development, Bob Lutz.

"We business-cased it, took a hard, analytical look and thought the engineering and investment were irresponsible vis-a-vis our shareholders," he said. "We failed to appreciate what Toyota has basically treated as an advertising expense."

Really. An advertising expense?

Yet, not only does Toyota maintain that it makes money off every Prius it sells, but that hybrids are the powertrain of the future for Toyota. Additionally, Toyota is also making money off leasing its hybrid technology to Ford, for use in the Escape hybrid, and Nissan will also be using the technology for its Altima hybrid.

Perhaps it might be nice if GM focused on customers, just once, rather than shareholders. GM vehicles are created for customers, not shareholders.

"From a strict business proposition, this is not where we would make an investment," said Lutz. "It's not clear that you'll ever be able to recapture the cost of a hybrid in the pricing. But what we forgot in the equation was the emotional aspect of it."

Hmmmm, Mr. Lutz. I guess the fact that Toyota credits the Prius as a main reason for overtaking more of GM's American market-share wasn't an important consideration in your decision making criteria?

Maximizing profit in the short term, at the expense of the long term doesn't sound like rationale investing.

In hindsight, "we should have said, 'We'll lose $100 million a year on hybrids, but we'll take our advertising budget of $3 billion, make it $2.9 billion and treat it as an advertising expense,' " he said.

"Toyota very cleverly has used hybrids to gain an improved perception of the brand."

Improved perception, Mr. Lutz? Two words for you, sir, Resale Value. Toyota has it, you don't.

"Since we've made a major commitment, I don't want the market to go away."

Why not if hybrids are only a marketing ploy? Why keep wasting 100 million per year on marketing your weaknesses?

It's really pathetic that GM and Mr. Lutz just can't admit mistakes. It took Toyota 9 years to really make the Prius a winner. That kind of innovation and development is certainly not some marketing ploy, it's responsible R&D.

American automakers, such as GM, didn't miss the boat on marketing the perception of a better product, they missed the boat on creating the best automotive products.

That's not what you expect from the world's largest automaker. Of course with that kind of leadership, or lack thereof, GM won't maintain that title for long.

More 2005 Hybrid cars.