News: GM's chairman - "small cars don't work in this country"

[cfg83]

From small minds come no innovations.

CarloSW2

[Peakster]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

I'm driving a tiny GM car (okay, so Suzuki did most of the drivetrain engineering), and I'm happy with it.

Wow, I always thought that our cars were 100% Suzuki designed and engineered, and then GM sold them to North Americans under their brand. Isn't it the same with the Daewoo (whoops, I mean Chevrolet) Aveo as well?

My personal favorite GM small car is the Pontiac Fiero (the smallest Pontiac in 1984). I mean the car weighed 2,500 pounds, had a massive 2.5L engine that was just as sophisticated as a boat anchor, mated to a 3 speed automatic, had a drag coefficient of 0.37-41 (depending on whether the pop-up lights were in use), and yet the car STILL managed 27-38 MPG(US)! Plus they sold over 180,000 of them the first year

Come on, don't tell me that they can't sell small cars with good FE. Today they could make the same car weigh 2,000 pounds, have a 1.0L engine (maybe even a plug-in hybrid), and a Cd of 0.25.

[SVOboy]

Originally Posted by Peakster

Wow, I always thought that our cars were 100% Suzuki designed and engineered, and then GM sold them to North Americans under their brand. Isn't it the same with the Daewoo (whoops, I mean Chevrolet) Aveo as well?

I was under the same impression.

[WaxyChicken]

Ironic... GM produced the drive to large vehicles by selling them and advertising them to people who didn't want them (around the same time as the EV1). now they say they don't know how to do the same thing with small cars? The industry needs an enema.

[MetroMPG]

Originally Posted by Peakster

Wow, I always thought that our cars were 100% Suzuki designed and engineered

The '95 and up design that you and I have was built at CAMI in Ontario and only sold in North America, if I'm not mistaken. I don't know how much design input GM had in the CAMI deal.

Wait... Yes I do:

GM Warren (the same folks who did the Prizm) established the hardpoints and styled the car; Suzuki did the design and engineering. - source

[DifferentPointofView]

Well, I kinda do think that it does make sense. I mean, in America, small cars Vs. SUV's, which ones STILL sell the most % of the automotive pie chart than the other? For some strange reason people in the US still want to buy the biggest SUV they can find, despite the consistently raising gas prices. Some of you have halfway said that if we have an SUV it's all hog wash bull crap when people try and make hybrid SUV's because all they are trying to do is make it seem like they are "trying" to do something with fuel economy, and if they really want to do something about it, make more small vehicles that actually produce good mileage at over 40mpg. That is what we want riiight?

Well, despite that or not, people are still gonna buy honking SUV's, and we can't MAKE them buy a small car if they don't want to. It's their money, and they can do whatever the hell they want with it. SOOO if we can't get them to buy a small fuel efficient car, Make them buy a Honking SUV that gets 25+ MPG highway. Sure, it's not 40+, but if they were getting 15mpg highway before, why in my book that saves LOTS more gallons of gas than a few buying 40+mpg vehicles. The Technology is already out there. The Chevy Suburban has an optional V8 that shuts off half it's cylinders while it's Idling and on the highway. That alone can save you $$$ if your constantly sitting at stoplights.

Can we get people to buy a small efficient car? yes. But it will take gas to become $$$$$ insead of $$ to persuade people. We've already done that in europe. but right now, people aren't convinced just yet that those big comfy SUV's are out of their reach.

In my oppinion, I think that the US should Use a little propoganda and say gas will shoot to $13.45 by april 08, that will get people trading in their huge SUV's for small efficient cars, but not the "it scares the BLEEP out of me" $4

[Peakster]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

The '95 and up design that you and I have was built at CAMI in Ontario and only sold in North America, if I'm not mistaken.

Oh neat. That would totally explain why I saw TONS of pre-1995 suzuki-clones in Jamaica this holiday season, but not a single one with the post-1995 styling.

[SVOboy]

But they still sold them in japan, right? I wonder if the design was different? I know they're still selling them, but it's not like there's much to compare the design to.

[Peter7307]

Sorry but if that is the limited level of thinking by the people running the company GM deserves to lose their market position.

This is exactly the same moronic arrogance that gave the British motorcycle industry away to the Japanese in the sixties and the the small car market to the Europeans and Japanese in the seventies.

By the way I drive a GM product (or the local division of GM) and have done for may years but blinkered thinking is blinkered thinking and will not go unpunished.

Cheers , Pete.

[Silveredwings]

They wouldn't say that if they wanted small cars to work in the US. It's all about the perception of perception... and how they can manipulate what they can.