GM attacks hybrids in latest ad

I think that GM dismissed the hybrid technology for hydrogen fuel cell. Not bad in it's self but not ready for prime time (with apologies) and now they are covering their tacks. It is sad to see a US firm sinking. Why can't US business look towards the future? Why can't the US economy no longer look to the future. I despair. The organization for Civil Engineering gave the US infrastructure a D-. We once were the model for Civil Engineering.

 

i show off the horsepower of the prius.. or maybe i should be saying Volts i love passing people who think they are fast on the highway. i mean.. i go slow.... .... like today.. a gmc truck.. riding behind me as if he's fast.. ok.. i pulled out and the race was on.. damn that thing is slow...

 

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Naah, they still sport "SoreLoserman" stickers around here.

I have several Prii running around here but zero bumper stickers on them.

Dedicated liberals drive Volvos around here. There has to be one somewhere with a fading Dukakis sticker.

What is actually new in bomper stickers is the one where the Bush counties in America are all in red. Which is most of the land area of the nation, and there is a lot of that.

 

when i first started reading this post, i thought it was either a joke or an exeggeration. it appears that it is neither.

frankly, i am shocked that GM has resorted to completely undisquised mud-slinging in its campaign now.

wow, desperate measures for desperate times. i guess they might be antiscipating troubles selling their 10 mpg pickups when gas hits $3 a gallon this summer you think?

 

Not to mention it's HP and milage are much less than the Hybrid Accord. Honda should, if they feel so inclined, do a counter advertisement. Something like...

Guy1 in Ion at traffic light, talking out window to guy next to him.. "Isn't that one of those hybrids?"

Guy2 in hybrid Accord: "Yeah..."

Guy1 with smirk: "I love that 0-60 in eventually times that hybrdis have."

Light turns green, Accord lays down smokes and the Ion driver looks confused... they pull up to the next light

Guy1: "I thought you said that was a hybrid! I've got 140hp, how'd ya do that."

Guy2: "I have 255hp. Hybrids aren't slow as mopeds anymore, mofo."

Okay, except for that last bit, it's perfectly doable.

 

I know I haven't been here long, but I may as well step into the middle of it :guns: .

First thing, it was just intended to be a funny commercial. Just take a deep breathe and relax. They are just poking fun at your car, not your spouse or mother

Second, I just have to react to all this admiration for Toyota because they happen to be the leaders in the hybrid technology. Toyota is the Walmart of carmakers. A company which (except for the Prius ) has produced a series of dull and uninspiring cars defined by a lack of defects rather than an abundance of quality. Their greatest innovation has been in management techniques which have allowed them to squeeze cost while improving manufacturing quality. Perhaps only the Korean makers have a worse sense of design. Compared to an engineering driven company like Honda, they are a bunch of bean counters. Unfortunately consumers are voting with their wallets and saying that what they want is dull and defect free.

Yes, GM is in bad shape right now, and if they don't get weaned off of selling all those pickups and Suburbans they are going to sink. They are still a core part of this country's economy and it is important that they get their act together and remain strong. I simply cannot cheer for a company like Toyota to stomp them. It would be a dull world indeed when it is dominated by companies like Walmart and Toyota.

Regards,
rickdm

 

Toyota = Wall Mart. OK I will accept your thesis for now but I need more support for it than you have provided. This is a new thought for me, but considering that one of the hospitals in Seattle have sent senior staff (includes doctors and nursers) to Japan to learn from Toyota on how to run a hospital system I am interested.

 

Toyota=Walmart??

is this also supposed to be a joke?

 

When I say Toyota=Walmart, I do not mean it in a completely negative way. Walmart has figured out how optimize their distribution and inventory control systems, and leverage their size with their suppliers to make sure that they are going to be very difficult to compete with on a price basis. I think Toyota has revolutionized the car company/parts supplier relationship so that they are able to optimize the quality and efficiency of their manufacturing operations. I only wish there was more engineering and design passion in that company, because they are the kings of manufacturing. Clearly someone was passionate about hybrid technology and the Prius is the result. I just wish this passion was more evident in the rest of the product line.

Regards,
rickdm

 

ok i can actually see your reasoning and you do have a point but to me lack of defects is what quality is all about.

and you may think they have no imagination or maybe dont take design risks like other car companies, but they took the risk to do the hybrid when no one else was willing to even attempt it.

also im afraid that i cant fault Toyota for building cars that appeal to the masses without compromising their commits to the environment. to you, that may mean boring or "models without risk" but at least their walk matches their talk

 

Unless I'm mistaken, Honda has also offered hybrids for quite a few years now, and I believe both Honda and Toyota started their efforts at roughly the same time. So they both took the risk.

The difference is Honda has spirit. Honda is to Toyota what Audi is to Buick. Hondas are fun to drive... even the 4 cylinder Accord can be a blast to hustle through corners. I've yet to drive a Toyota which has inspired the same feeling of... well.. fun. Even the Celica isn't as much fun.

 

in my mind, honda still doesnt have a real hybrid.

iow, they played it safe. used an existing model with the exception of the Insight which imo is a joke and their sales figures back up my opinion.

the only reason you dont design a model from the ground up is because they didnt have faith in the technology and considering the technology they are using, i dont blame them. dont get me wrong, its still head and shoulders above anything the big 3 is doing with one possible exception, but its still only a half measure.

That is the difference between the best and the good. Toyota did what they did because they KNEW their technology would work.

 

No offense, but you're a bit of a Toyota fanboy, at least from this post... let me explain further...

What's wrong with playing it safe? The Civic and Accord are perhaps the finest cars in their classes (only the Passat gives the Accord a run for it's money). I know the Camary is nice, but it's a bit of a Buick. Why wouldn't you put hybrid technology into two of your best cars? And the new Civic hybrid, out this fall, is supposed to get Prius like economy... so who knows. IMA isn't as good as Ford and Toyota's systems, but it's still better than nothing.

And for the moment, Toyota is stuck with Ford. They've both got exactly *one* hybrid for sale. Honda has 3. Toyota will have their Highlander this fall, and Ford will have their Fusion. Who's taking the risks exactly? I'd wager the riskier play is having 3 out already.

 

HSD was not a redesign of the Hybrid system. It is the original system reworked for more mileage, better performance, and lower emissions. The single biggest change in these systems is in the controller, and the voltage capacity of the electric motors. Toyota went to the added effort to make the HSD system modular, so they could expand it across their product line.

Toyota is not in the red on the current model, and was profitable from the start of the production run.