Car Co's won't sell us efficient models that they DO sell in Europe

[n2doc]

Why You Can't Buy This Car
By Warren Brown
Wednesday, March 7, 2007; D01

GENEVA, March 6 The Opel Corsa OPC is a little sports coupe that looks sharp, runs fast and gets 30 miles per gallon. It can be parked in the tightest of parking spots. It proves beyond any reasonable doubt that fuel-efficient cars don't have to be boring. And even at the stiff price of 34,664 Swiss francs -- about 22,000 euros in most of Europe -- Opel, the European subsidiary of General Motors, expects the Corsa OPC to be a big and profitable seller.

But Opel has no plans to bring that hot little number to the United States, where the Corsa OPC would list for about $30,000.

The reason: "Europe and the United States are two different worlds," says Robert Lutz, GM's vice chairman for global product development.

more:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/06/AR2007030601807_pf.html

So some wanker in a Detroit office decides for all of us that we just "won't buy" an energy efficient, sexy car model that sells well in Europe. No Wonder they are losing boatloads of money. Toyota and Honda didn't make that assumption....

[RaleighNCDUer]

1. Well, it might cut into the sales of their Big Fuckin Behemouth line,

and what do you expect them to do - return the oil companies' kickbacks?

[Cerridwen]

2. Whatever you do, don't rent and watch "Who Killed the Electric Car?"

unless you have your blood pressure well in hand. If you want to see GM's "concerns" about the "lack of market" for energy efficient cars, then do, watch the video.

GM has quite a bit to answer for.

[n2doc]

4. Believe me, I've seen it

My wife commented afterwards "No way are we EVER buying a GM car again". She has cooled off since but it is a powerful movie.

[Cerridwen]

6. D'oh! I should have known

:D

I'm with your wife; though I've not yet cooled off. The problem, there isn't one auto manufacturer that's "clean" enough to purchase from. I'm starting to wish I knew how to build my own car, fer cryin' out loud.

[leveymg]

3. Since the 1930s, GM has been controlled by Standard Oil (Exxon-Mobil, et al.)

The majority of the William C. Durant's (GM's founder) shares were bought out by the DuPont chemical and Rockefeller interests right after the 1929 stock market crash. Standard Oil of NJ (Exxon) was in turn interlocked with a German chemical firm, I.G. Farbin.

What should that tell you about why we're kept locked into low fuel efficiency vehicles?

Wouldn't you feel safer riding high in that nice 6,000 pound Suburban over there? How about a Hummer? They're marked-down and ready to roll!

[AValdoux]

5. My daughter's Toyota Yaris

When my daughter decide on her first NEW car, it was a Toyota Yaris. It is their entry level ($15,000) sub-compact car. She wanted a Toyota and it was the cheapest, also it gets 30+ mpg. When she went to a dealership in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. She was told it would take a few weeks to find one. Even Toyota seems in on this. The car had been heavily advertised in TV ads when she made her decision, so I thought we could just go pick one out. She didn't get to pick her car, she basically took the first two-door the dealer could find.


AValdoux

[bighughdiehl]

7. but but but.....

If we adopt the Kyoto protocol it'll just ruin our economy! Huh....GM going under...nah, you didn't see that...even though we did.

[bananas]

8. Can you buy them on ebay and have them shipped? nt

[yourout]

9. Ford sells a Diesel version of the Focus in Europe.

When Low sulfer diesel is totally phased in it may be sold here in the USA.

<http://uk.cars.yahoo.com/23052006/45/ford-focus-1-8-tdci-lx-21.html>

At least one of the other big three has prototype diesel hybrids in the 70 mpg range.

[gravity]

10. If there is a market for energy efficient cars in the US

Then car companies would sell them since its a profit oppurtunity.

The problem in a America is that gas is much cheaper than in Europe so there is less incentive to buy the smaller economical cars.