GM green democracy - the Beat goes on

At a show known for dedication to environmental issues, Los Angeles hosted a litany of “Greener than thou” executive speeches that could even wear down the most devote solar-powered, Earth Day supporter. Many manufacturers had legitimate claims, rolling out intriguing technologies and models. Others made references to token accomplishments and promised to monitor market trends, while seeming to miss an entire inconvenient cultural and economic movement.

General Motors came out as the Jolly Green Giant, dedicating its corporate press conference to trumpeting its myriad green accomplishments and near-future plans. All good stuff, really. On its large stage, GM rolled out a series of new hybrid models, such as the Chevrolet Malibu, Silverado, and Volt concept. There’s no denying, GM is on a mission, and it includes the bold intent of making the Chevrolet brand the industry leader for fuel economy.

The ever-quotable Bob Lutz, GM Vice Chairman, Global Product Development, was the master of ceremonies, making such pronouncements as “There is no 100-mile-per-gallon carburetor...or other secret solution...that will solve all our energy and environmental problems overnight.”

In the green spirit, Lutz brought up the Chevrolet triplets, a trio of thrifty, micro-car concepts unveiled at the New York auto show. These vehicles represented great promise for direct customer feedback on their production potential. For all the auto show hoopla, in the end the manufacturers seek to influence and interpret public opinion. In the case of the triplets, consumers were invited to vote on their favorite model online. As of the press conference, 1.9 million votes had been tallied, with the Beat (green) leading by a strong margin.

Lutz’s scripted comment was, “And I'm glad to announce that the Beat gets our vote too...and we'll be building a car based on the Beat in the near future...at our Korean production facilities. It just so happens that this is the one we wanted to build from the beginning...so it's great to see the voting line-up with our thinking.”

It seemed like a casual aside, one that got a hearty laugh from the audience. However true the statement may be—and I do see the value in market validation—it saddens me that the peoples’ voice was diminished to an echo. In a later side conversation, one GM staffer mentioned voting 10 times.

This was a good week in LA for GM, made stronger by the Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid winning the 2008 Green Car of the Year honors. However, in the end it felt to me like a bad moment for democracy.

—Jeff Bartlett

Comments

[Vmartinek]

When is your organization going to recommend that Americans do away with air travel inside the US to help the carbon footprint and go to trains? Have you seen an airline radar map at mid-day? Looks solid red. Nothing will help as long as this is occurring.
One jet puts out more co2 in a one way trip than a medium city of cars in a day AND at high altitude.
One truck puts out the same amount as 5 cars and longer trips.
Cars are not the problem. Gas and oil is being used by trucks,planes, military and we export our gas to other countries but we are charged with using it. Iraq, N.Korea, countries depending on the US.

[monte]

I agree 100% with vmartinek and then some.Air travel on this planet is out of control.The amount of emissions of jetliners is astronomical.The amount of people doing leisure travel on any given day is astronomical and unnecessary.If we are going to clean up our planets atmosphere we need to start with the biggest problems first.So many things people take for granted are the very things contributing to mankinds demise.In my opinion,the only air travel that should be allowed in this fire drill of saving the planet is for non leisure,such as mail and high ranking government,and of course military.Period.ANY deviation from this and you know that what they are trying to control on the ground is a dead giveaway to government control of the people helping to set the stage for a world government.