The Ethanol Papers - Paperturn manuscript - Flipbook - Page 60
Last Tuesday night, Ford debuted its latest muscle car, the 2010 Mustang. Yes,
the Mustang has always been an American favorite, and the unveiling is obviously intended to blunt Chevrolet’s intended 2010 re-launch of Mustang’s longtime competitor, Camaro, but is this the right time to be talking about gasolineguzzling muscle cars…regardless of how relatively fuel-efficient the new Mustang may be.
By comparison, that same evening, BMW unveiled its electric MINI E concept,
a seemingly smarter move for these times. Even in its gasoline-engine version,
the popular MINI could be said to be an energy efficient home run; with an electric propulsion system it would be a grand slam: a desirable car with near-zero
harmful emissions.
On Wednesday, the first day of the LA Auto Show’s two press-introduction days,
when journalists would normally expect to see major presentations by General
Motors, Ford and Chrysler, GM and Chrysler were truant. Ford staged a modest
duo event in which they presented a 2010 Lincoln MKZ and 2010 Ford Fusion;
two vehicles that will probably have, at best, lukewarm acceptance by American
consumers. Keep in mind that in past years the Big Three would not just have
one overall brand presentation each, they would usually have individual presentations for their respective specific makes, i.e., Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick, Saturn, Saab, Ford, Mercury, Volvo, Chrysler, Jeep, and so on. Not having any
unveilings by two of the Big Three at North America’s second most important
car show (in the number one regional car market) spoke volumes.
Yes, it’s true that the heads of the Big Three were quite busy on Capitol Hill at
about the same time as the press-intro days. And certainly, any extravagant
presentation in Los Angeles would have been criticized as wildly inappropriate
and too AIG-like, given the reason why Wagoner, Mulally, and Nardelli were
before a Congressional Sub-committee. But instead of playing ‘poor-little-us’ it
might have been a grand opportunity to display the responsible action that
America (and some of congress) has been anxiously waiting for: Re-seizing the
initiative from foreign automakers to deliver products that we need and want, in
a timely and meaningful way (production numbers that are impact-full), and
work towards the elimination of the need for gasoline. Just one month ago,
General Motors did stage multiple extravagant product unveilings at the Paris
Motor Show. Surely they knew of their dire financial situation at that time. One
item that was presented by GM in Paris that could have been talked about in
Los Angeles was natural gas-powered vehicles: an environmentally friendly,
less expensive solution that is being offered in other parts of the world. Unfortunately, GM, along with Ford and Chrysler continue to deny this proven alternative to America.
