The auto industry said Monday that lawsuits over vehicles' greenhouse gas emissions could eventually force manufacturers to eliminate big SUVs from the market in California, an assertion denied by environmental attorneys and the state air quality board. "If we lost (in court)," said Dave Barthmuss, General Motors' spokesman for environmental and energy affairs, "certain vehicles could not be offered for sale -- vehicles that consume more fuel than others. There would be fewer SUVs and we might not be able to offer them for sale in California. It could spell the end of the big SUV in California." http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c...BAGG5MKVEJ1.DTL
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Beryl Octet @ Nov 28 2006, 04:25 PM) [snapback]354938[/snapback]</div> I can hear the "government intrusion" BS right now......
This time around, GM should wake up and smell the coffee. What a cop out. Again with wanting to ace out California. Remember in the movie, 'Who killed the Electric Car', the EV1, the most innovative vehicle yet, was theirs to meet the challenge of California environmental laws, until they scuttled it, admittedly after automakers pressured California to reduce the emission standard. They aren't getting blasted out by Toyota for no reason. They still can be a respected and innovative American automaker. There is no question in my mind that they have the capability and the technology to make large SUVs hybrid if they will just adapt. These days, what's good for the environment is good for business.
If auto manufactures would just build hybrids and put bigger Li-ion packs in, the price would come down and you could have a PHEV100 in a Hummer. Any size car would be possible and the price would keep falling as factories came on line to meet demand. It is not that the SUV would be in danger, but that the oil sales would be! Yes it is expensive now but very doable. How about we start with PHEV10?
