[Kosh]

It's done, only Chevy, GMC, Buick, and Cadillac remain, Pontiac is being discontinued and everything is being sold off. The US government appearently still has %61 ownership.

[Sushi]

The US government apparently still has %61 ownership.

Which hopefully they will sell off and get rid of as soon as possible.

I can dream, right?

[Blue Lion]

I really don't think they have the time or desire to run a car company.

[jdjtcagle]

 

I really don't think they have the time or desire to run a car company.

Hopefully...

[Liberator]

I really don't think they have the time or desire to run a car company.

OMFGBBQROFLCOPTER!!!!!

Right, you realize that now that they have a car company, they can set the standard however they like and make "enviromentally friendly" automobiles, they'll go about 20 mph and look like:

Did I mention that they'll be about as safe as the average egg carton in a collision.

[General Battuta]

*headdesk*

Liberator, go read a book. Actually, go read 'Who Killed the Electric Car'!

[Blue Lion]

I really don't think they have the time or desire to run a car company.

OMFGBBQROFLCOPTER!!!!!

Right, you realize that now that they have a car company, they can set the standard however they like and make "enviromentally friendly" automobiles, they'll go about 20 mph and look like:

Did I mention that they'll be about as safe as the average egg carton in a collision.

 Unless I'm wrong (wouldn't be a first) they can set standards anyways. They don't need to own a car company to do that.

[Ford Prefect]

I wish that even half of the things Liberator is afraid of had any chance of coming true.

[Liberator]

No you don't Ford, I promise you don't.

[Kosh]

I really don't think they have the time or desire to run a car company.

OMFGBBQROFLCOPTER!!!!!

Right, you realize that now that they have a car company, they can set the standard however they like and make "enviromentally friendly" automobiles, they'll go about 20 mph and look like:

Did I mention that they'll be about as safe as the average egg carton in a collision.

You do realize the biggest reason they got into this mess was because the made crap no one wanted, right? The total US marketshare of the Big 3 combined together at the beginning of this year was below %50.....

[SpardaSon21]

I still find Obama's claim that he doesn't want to own GM spurious.  The fact that as President of the U.S. he is the controller of 61% of GM stock kind of refutes that.  Despite saying he doesn't want to, any command decision relating to GM will still have to deal with the 800-pound gorilla that has 6 out of 10 seats on the board of directors.  Unless the U.S. government abstains from any voting, they will end up running GM.  I hope the U.S. government finds a buyer for their share in the next month of two.  Any longer, and the fact they will still own a large share of GM will again refute the "I don't want to run GM" statement.

[redsniper]

Tesla Roadster

[NGTM-1R]

I still find Obama's claim that he doesn't want to own GM spurious.

Because it fits with the pretty pictures in your head, instead of the fact that they really don't; the company's a ****ing mess, probably unsalvageable, and the reason that the US government had to own so much of it to save the company is because nobody else wanted to and still doesn't.

[Nuclear1]

GM I hope this time around will realize why it failed so badly in the first place. They've been outdone by Asian and European automakers in fuel effeciency and vehicle maintenance, and they've paid the price. It's good they've finally gotten rid of some of their worst brands (Pontiac and Hummer especially) and decided to focus.

As much as I'm sure they don't want to, they need to focus on fuel effeciency, hybrids probably being the best choice. If only they would follow through on their previous efforts to make the Silverado line more compatible with ethanol, they could have easily taken the #1 spot at least in trucks.

[WeatherOp]

GM I hope this time around will realize why it failed so badly in the first place. They've been outdone by Asian and European automakers in fuel effeciency and vehicle maintenance, and they've paid the price. It's good they've finally gotten rid of some of their worst brands (Pontiac and Hummer especially) and decided to focus.

As much as I'm sure they don't want to, they need to focus on fuel effeciency, hybrids probably being the best choice. If only they would follow through on their previous efforts to make the Silverado line more compatible with ethanol, they could have easily taken the #1 spot at least in trucks.

Actually, I think if they don't focus on hybrids and just make very efficient gas powered cars, they could make a lot more.

I've owned a Chevy Colbalt since last summer, and I love it. Not the most fancy car ever, but it's pretty tough and I average 37mpg on highways. Also considering I spent like 1/3 the price of a hybrid on it makes it even sweeter. GM just didn't capitalize on these things, until Honda and Toyota had them whipped.

[Mongoose]

A small part of me hopes that, if GM can get their act together somewhere down the line, they'll bring back the Pontiac name for something like a limited run Firebird.  It's a shame to see a classic emblem have to bite the dust.

[Blue Lion]

I just laugh when these guys are like "Obama wants to run GM!"

He is President of the United States. There is really no more powerful job and people think he has hard on to run a ****ty car company that sucked so hard the government had to buy 60% of it.
This whole election was a red herring. His true dream was to take over GM so he can force us to buy only tiny crappy cars.

[perihelion]

Actually, I think if they don't focus on hybrids and just make very efficient gas powered cars, they could make a lot more.

Frankly, I agree.  I'm not terribly impressed by the current incarnation of hybrids.  They are better than a lot of the alternatives, but the whole concept was castrated at birth.  I like the idea of having an electric drive with an internal combustion generator on the same vehicle.  I do NOT like the idea of having the combustion engine pull double duty as a secondary drive when the electric one can't cut it.  That makes the system far too complicated and introduces inefficiencies that chip away at the whole point of having a hybrid in the first place.

What I really want to see is a "hybrid" with a turbine generator and purely electric drive.  The great thing about turbines is that you can run them extremely lean, especially in a constant-load situation.  If all it is doing is charging a battery or ultra-capacitor, it should be able to run a fixed-speed fixed-load for optimum efficiency.  Run lean enough, the flame temperature becomes low enough that nitrogen chemistry isn't as big of a problem and your NOx emissions go way down.

Don't tell me we don't have electric drives that can keep up with normal street and highway driving demand unassisted.  I've seen racing electric cars that will kick a normal street car's ass clear into next week.

[Liberator]

Those racing cars are fixed track vehicles for all intents and purposes.  They're designed for a certain enviroment in certain conditions; IE flat terrain with a certain type of pavement.  The problem with public roads outside of cities is they are typically fairly hilly away from centers of civilization.  So the design for someone that lives in Idaho or Montana or even Norther California is going to be very different from one that works great in cities.  Internal combustion is the only practical energy source for rural enviroments, and all things being equal, most of the world is still rural.

[Kosh]

Frankly, I agree.  I'm not terribly impressed by the current incarnation of hybrids.

The hybrid concept is ok, but the implementation was botched. The plug-in hybrids do a much better job, since they run soley off the battery FIRST before dipping into the engine. The BYD F3DM is supposed to be able to go 100 km on a single charge, although the tests was assuming a speed of 52 kph. Still, way better than the Prius.