GM responds to new CAFE standards

It appears as if GM is ready to accept the current CAFE legislation waiting to be decided by Congress. In a statement on the General's media site, Rick Wagoner writes,
"There are tough, new CAFE standards contained in the energy bill before Congress that pose a significant technical and economic challenge to the industry. But, it's a challenge that GM is prepared to put forth its best effort to meet with an array of engineering, research and development resources. We will continue our aggressive pursuit of advance technologies that will deliver more products with more energy solutions to our customers."

The release goes on to detail GM's current environmentally-friendly accomplishments, which include the company offering "more vehicles that achieve 30 mpg on the highway," and having "produced over 2.5 million E-85 capable vehicles to date--more than any other automaker." It also says that GM sees ethanol as the "best near-term solution" to reduce gasoline consumption. Yeah, we chuckled at that one, too.

And then there are hybrids, which GM plans to roll out at an average of one every three months over the next two years. We're quite sure that GM has the means and, lately, the desire to do the green thing. The only uncertainty is whether they'll deliver substantially, and in ways that customers want. Their ace in the hole is, of course, the much anticipated Volt. If Lutz and his crew can get it out when promised, as promised, then 2010 will be the year of The Great Leap for GM in terms of brand perception, and, most likely, sales.

[Source: GM]

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