Matthew Engel

General Motors, where art thou? The once premier American motors company is now lying in ruins, begging for money. What happened? What is going on??

What happened was the SUV. The sale, retail, and resale value of all sport utility vehicles has plummeted south. For SUV owners, I am very sorry. For some SUV owners it is even necessary to have these cars, for work related transportation. But for the vast majority of drivers, large off-road vehicles are completely unnecessary. The vast majority of owners never (or perhaps once) take their SUV off-road for its intended use, instead using it to scare people on the highway while tailgating. This is not a practical use of our Earth’s natural resources. These trucks require roughly 50% more fuel than the average mid-size sedan to travel the same distance, and roughly 100% more fuel (or double the amount) than their compact, light weight, economy, or hybrid counterparts.

In addition, the cost of fuel in the United States is somehow subsidized. I do not pretend to understand how this happened or why, but gallon-for-gallon gasoline is roughly half the price in the United States than in Europe or even the Middle East. The worldwide market for these commodities is so extremely volatile, relying on gasoline alone for our nation’s transportation needs is a very risky proposition.

Finally, American automakers have seen the light. And as they lie in their deathbed, I ask why? Why has Chevy, GM, and Ford waited until just now to introduce these technologies into the mainstream markets? Why are you just beginning to engineer and mass produce electric vehicle technologies? Is it because hybrid or electric cars are stigmatized? The 2004 Honda Insight. The 2006 Toyota Prius. Not the most beautiful pieces of automotive engineering I have ever witnessed. Yet the insight can get an incredible 66mpg on the highway and 57 in the city!! I find it unusual that when the 2008 the Honda Insight was finally redesigned, it looks identical to the Prius. These cars are acceptable, but certainly not works of refined beauty.

And in 2009, we have the Chevy Volt. From its long awaited announcement at this year’s LA Auto Show, the Volt is the first ‘cool’ looking mainstream hybrid car. I could sit here and criticize the technology under the hood, but I will not. Instead, I will compliment Chevy on taking its vision, our vision, one step further and creating the first beautiful electric vehicle. Thank you!!