The 2009 Portland Auto Show at the Convention Center Feb 6-9,illustrates
how the economy has weakened the automotive industry. In an era of $4 a
gallon gas and bottomless bail outs and loans to banks and automotive
manufacturers and, increasing unemployment the industry is in retreat.
The big three American automakers were there in force. GM brought
everything but the VOLT, using an interactive display with a multimedia
show geared to explaining to the public the goals of the company.To
explain this they hired a magician/comedian who ran a show on the hour to
fairly weak crowds of not very motivated attendees. In this display the
multimedia program explains how GM is moving forward toward alternative
fuel sources, mostly in Bio Fuel and the use of Ethanol E-85. The
performance was wonderful, especially for the kids in attendance, but the
bottom line was or to phrase it differently.
Where's the Beef? or in this case What's the big deal? Apparently GM has
bought an ethanol plant? Looks like more corn folks, not switchgrass, or
even hemp, nope just more corn, it helps the farmers...sometimes. Of
course the wonderful multimedia program included pictures and details of
the car that may just save GM from bankrupcy, too bad it wasn't in
attendance, and that car of course is the DOLT, no wait the VOLT.
I'm rooting for the dunderdogs, the fat cats at the big three automakers,
I want the VOLT to work, I want the auto companies to survive and thrive,
but I like most of the country do not want auto's with crappy gas mileage,
or big thunderous SUV's clogging up the freeways with a single passenger.
So what do we get? More of the same. GM touts that as a manufacturer they
offer more vehicles that get 30 mpg or more. I am not really impressed.
They could do much better. In fact they will have to. I shouldn't go off
on GM as Ford and Chrysler were no better, and neither were the others,
they seem to miss the point. Last year Volkswagon had a big trailer filled
with interactive displays explaining how they were very green because
their diesels were so clean. Because of the new low sulfur diesel
emissions laws, VW only had one car last year which met the standards, it
was the Toureg the large V-10 diesel. Sure you can retrofit it to Vegi
car, but really at maybe 20 mpg is that worth VW spending all that money
on the biodiesel trailer, maybe VW was just positioning it's self as the
biodiesel leader for the future, so you would have thought that one year
later they would have a slew of new lower emissions diesels sipping fuel.
Not so, all they offer is the new Jetta in diesel, next year the Rabbit
and the new Beetle will be back in diesel production. Those TDI's are
golden,they get GREAT gas mileage, 40-50 mpg or more, take that Prius.In
fact the new Toyota Prius is up to 50mpg from 46 last year, I'll take it
but I'd rather see 70mpg.
The N. American Auto show in Detroit featured vehicles from China
including one by BYD the upstart hybrid electric car manufacturer.
Portland is not Detroit, so we don't get to see those cars until they are
closer to the market. I suspect the big three automakers will do
everything they can not to see Chinese cars hit our shores anytime soon,
of course they never liked the Asian car makers anyway. Maybe next year
we'll get to see some of those cars, and all those air powered cars we are
just hearing about. Maybe we'll get more hydrogen fuel cell cars, maybe VW
will have more diesels, maybe we'll see the VOLT...
The top floor of the convention center was all about those cars in the past
including an all electric 1917, and the very first Honda 600, which looks
like the SMART car, only it was made more than 30 years ago. That was when
Jimmy Carter was president and following the oil embargo of the 70's
ordered the auto makers to increase mpg. When that 600cc Honda hit the
market it was not that well received, it looked cheap, and well like a
death trap.
So the automakers re-tooled and brought us the Pinto, and the Vega, and
the Chevette, and countless others. The question is now can these same
companies learn from the mistakes of the past and produce the auto's of
the future, or will it just be the same old story?
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