Hybrids fiction or fact?

Perceptions matter, fact's less so.
Lutz's comments on the Prius as a marketing coup and hybrid prospects.


Kevin A. Wilson
Hummer H2, Meet Molecule H2

By KEVIN A. WILSON

AutoWeek | Published 10/11/06, 2:20 pm et
“You approach this business rationally at your peril,” says General Motors vice chairman Bob Lutz. Not a surprising declaration from a proponent of such products as the Dodge Viper or Pontiac GTO, but he wasn’t talking about the irrational passion you and I have for such cars. He was talking fuel cells.

and:

Fuel cells are moving out of the realm of the research department and into the product-development side, out of Burns’ purview and into Lutz’s.

Apart from the considerable progress on the technology front, Lutz was clearly persuaded by the success of the Toyota Prius, not so much as a machine or even a profit center, but in giving its maker a public image of technological and corporate leadership. GM could have built hybrid cars at the same time Toyota did, but opted not to when it didn’t pencil out as a profitable venture. But what Prius did for Toyota wasn’t just measured on the bottom line.

“The public image of GM is [Hummer] H2; for Toyota it’s Prius,” said Lutz. “It’s ridiculous—the Chevy Aveo was the best-selling small car in the country last year, and Toyota makes the Sequoia, which doesn’t match our trucks on fuel economy—but it is what it is. We need to reestablish our position.”

Review of the Sequel is here: Chevrolet Sequel - AutoWeek: "Chevrolet Sequel
Can it become the real answer?"
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