Sep 24, 2008

“The time is always right to do what is right.”--Martin Luther King, Jr. As you certainly know by now, Troy Davis was granted a seven day stay of execution so the the US Supreme Court can consider his appeal for a new trial. I am hopeful that they will see poor quality of the evidence that he was convicted on and will order a new trial. If that happens, it seems unlikely the prosecutors will have the evidence to convict him again. Speaking of doing the right thing, I wonder if the idiots running American car companies will ever learn? I heard an advertisement today for a GMC Yukon hybrid. In case you wondered, the Yukon Hybrid has a base MSRP of about $53,000. In case you wondered, the Yukon Hybrid get 20 miles per gallon. Not exactly the answer to our oil woes. Do you suppose that there are so many people clamoring for a Yukon that GMC has to pump out a hybrid version? The reality is that GMC wants to sell hybrids on their terms. The profit margin on these massive beasts is quite hefty, so they will continue to build them. The pickup truck and SUV market provides most of the revenues American auto manufactures rake in, so rather than mass produce cars that the market has told them we want, they continue to do what is best for them. The Toyota Prius constitutes over half of the hybrids sold in this country, but GM is building the Yukon/Tahoe. The joke continues to be on GM, Ford and Chrysler. Things in this blog represented to be fact, may or may not actually be true. The writer is frequently wrong, sometimes just full of it, but always judgmental and cranky

6 comments:

Coffee Messiah said...

I keep thinking of the 70s in Ca when after the energy crisis then, the electric car was being embraced by those in power in Sacramento. Alas, if you get a chance to see the documentary about who killed the electric car, it's fascinating to hear all the talk about electric cars again.

Especially, since we should have had them by now.

I mean, 35 or so years ago?????

Mystifying, life is and politics. ; (

Kurt said...

Please post a link to my nearest dealer.

Squirrel said...

Where is the choo choo post? Certainly the Sneedlets must own toy trains!!! I almost didn't post a train post, but then got inspired by CM.

Steve Reed said...

Now that's an oxymoron -- a "green" SUV!

Our auto industry is so clueless. Has been for decades.

edward said...

i want gas/ mileage comparisons !

10 lbs of awesome in a 5 lb bag said...

Keep in mind that it takes years for any car maker to release a new car to market. So the Yukon/Tahoe hybrid probably was in the works for some time before the big crash in the economy and spike in gas prices. And for people who are going to buy SUVs anyway, they're a good option, and probably don't cost GM all that much more to make (rank speculation here) than the regular truck.

Also keep in mind the situation that the Japanese car companies face - they're making cars that sell well in their home markets, and have a huge market to which to sell in the US. For US manufacturers, it's the complete opposite: huge home market that was buying up trucks as fast as the manufacturers could make them, small and difficult foreign markets that want smaller and more fuel efficient cars. When Toyota started acting like it was a company based in the US, it took it on the chin: the Tundra, tons of SUVs, you name it.