Larry Silvey
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I've always wondered if General Motors realized that it was in the driver's seat in 1996 when it released its electric car,
the EV1, or if it was just trying to live up to its image of the world's largest automobile manufacturer. Clearly, it was
the unequivocal leader for this new technology at the time. It had developed the highly-innovative EV1 that showed a great
deal of promise as a mass production vehicle. But according to the producer of the documentary movie, "Who Killed the Electric
Car," GM bowed to pressure from the oil industry and others, recalled all of the EV1s and had them crushed. With most people
at the time considering electric vehicles a lark, the availability of cheap gas and the huge profits that could be made from
selling trucks and SUVs, there was little incentive to continue to pursue an enterprise that was at the very least challenging,
if not outright wasteful in an era that fed the status quo.
The GM story oozes with irony. First, GM finds itself in the position of trying to reinvent itself with the Chevy Volt, a
breakthrough plug-in electric car. If it would have pursued the development of the EV1, it would be the market category leader
today and would have boosted its overall status as an automobile company. The other irony is that GM is on the verge of bankruptcy
even though it is building some of the best cars it has ever built. In fact, it is no stretch to say that it is building some
of the best cars in the world.
Although the Chevy Volt is a technological marvel, it can't save GM by itself. Unfortunately, it will be priced at $40,000,
a figure too rich for most consumers. For those attracted to environmentally friendly cars, there are many other choices that
could be more attractive. For instance, a fully-loaded, proven-alternative vehicle, the Toyota Prius, can easily get 50 mpg
and be purchased for $30,000. Honda just introduced its latest version of the Insight, essentially a smaller Prius, which
is priced around $20,000. Moreover, there's a Chinese battery manufacturer that most Americans have never heard of that will
introduce a $22,000 plug-in electric vehicle in 2011. For the record, it's name is BYD.
As The Washington Post recently reported, Bob Lutz, GM's vice president for global product development, admits that it may have been better for GM
to launch the Volt under the Cadillac brand. The psychological gap between those willing to sink 40 large into a Chevy versus
a Cadillac is wide and deep. Further supporting the thought, The Post reported that Tesla Motors and Fisker Automotive — which will both sell luxury electric sports coupes — have targeted affluent
consumers who are environmentally minded. The thought is that they can successfully sell fewer units for the time being and
then launch mass market versions later once the technology has paid for itself, much like what the electronics industry has
done over the years. Remember how expensive a CD player or flat-screen TV were when they first came to market? Having said that, a Volt badged as a Cadillac may be viewed as a cheap Cadillac. GM went down that road before in the '80s
when it introduced the Cadillac Cimmaron, which was just a thinly-veiled Chevy Citation. For those who don't remember, the
Citation wasn't a very good Chevy, let alone a Cadillac.
Will the introduction of the Volt under the Chevy brand turn out to be a blunder? Time will tell, but I left wondering if
a better plan may have been to offer the 2011 Chevy Cruze in a hybrid version, followed by a plug-in version. To me, this
strategy would help keep GM moving forward in an economy that will be tenuous for the next several years. More irony: since
GM missed fulfilling on its plug-in electric vision 13 years ago, it may need to postpone that vision to help save itself
today.
Fortunately for the aftermarket, the Volt, as well as hundreds of other models, will not affect it negatively because the
trend for consumers to keep their vehicles is likely to continue. That won't always be the case. I just hope the aftermarket
has the vision to understand this instead of using hindsight as its measure.
Anyone out there sitting on Cimmaron inventory?
Larry Silvey is a 26-year veteran of the automotive aftermarket.
