"Kruse will be replaced by Micky Bly, who has been director of hybrid vehicle integration.....More recently, the Volt integration work has also been part of Bly's responsibilities." Is this good or not ?
how could it be bad?? a change in leadership on a program that at best can be classified "in neutral" and could be classified as "in reverse" with a program like that, i believe change is the FIRST option
he was in charge of the program, all decisions ultimately went thru him. sure he has to answer to someone, but if i am paying someone to get something done and all they can do is bring me unacceptable options, what am i gonna do??
It makes sense to me. Consider the MPG benefits of a Prius, Civic Hybrid, or Ford Fusion Hybrid versus the MPG of a Malibu or Suburban hybrid. The current leader of hybrid technology at GM has failed. It is time to dismiss him from his job and get someone else in there that has fresh ambition and will actually make something happen that will be on par with the competition. I will always remember when gasoline was at $4.00 per gallon and I walked onto a Chevy dealer lot to look at the Tahoe hybrid and realized that it only got about 3mpg better than the non-hybrid version. When I mentioned it to a group of salesmen that were talking amongst themselves, they all laughed and said "Yep. It's only about 3mpg better." When you have employees laughing at their own product, something is wrong.
And yet, in part this is an artifact of how badly MPG serves us as a guide. If I travel 100 miles in a Yaris vs a Prius 100/33= 3 100/50 = 2 I have save 1 gallon in 100 miles But in a full sized pickup Gas 100/15 = 6.66 Hybrid 100/18 = 5.55 I have saved 1.11 gallons every 100 miles but 18 vs 15 does not LOOK as impressive as 50 vs 33 in MPGs
An 18 mpg vehicle carrying one passenger on a city errand sucks fuel, hybrid or not. In fact, at about 3 times the rate of a Prius. And yes, I have heard all about that trip last year when the suv was loaded to the brim.
Jimbo, that's the exact same logic Lutz used a couple years back to explain why GM was focusing less on hybrids and high-efficiency vehicles and focusing instead on garnishing 1 - 2 mpg from their biggest guzzlers. Mathematically, it makes perfect sense. However, I would rather see people who honestly don't need those guzzlers trade them in for something more efficient. There should be a government program for that.
Tony to some degree you are preaching to the choir, I own a Prius. But I support the idea that every segment needs reduced dependence on petroleum. Just like the idea that every single city dweller needs to own a Smart car to improve parking congestion, the idea that every single driver needs to be in a Prius to reduce petroleum usage ignores the reality that individuals have differing priorities. My agricultural friends feel they need a vehicle that says F-150 on it. Better and better Prius will not help that, they WILL buy a work truck. (There are 3 Prius in a community of 18,000. I assume we are the non farmers) I bemoan the fact that GM never completed the Saturn Vue Two Mode Hybrid, the car I really wanted was never sold. In 10 years when I am in the market again, perhaps some small SUV/station wagon will be hybidized, for now a hatchback is as close to my ideal as I can get.
