GM has many low-cost fuel efficient vehicles. Please review their entire product line before posting such articles.

For example,

- Chevy Cobalt XFE retails at $16,000 and gets 25city/37hwy
- Chevy Aveo compact is $12,000 and gets 27city/34hwy
- Saturn Astra is 24city/32hwy for about $16,500

All of these are MSRP and can be had for less at the dealer. Also, there are only a handfull of new cars under 10K right now, Hyundai Accent and Nissan Versa come to mind.

Your 70mpg Honda Civic, well thats a pipe dream because the truth is it gets 40city/45hwy. Respectable but certainly not 70mpg and if you compare apples to apples it retails at $23,500.

Please give the full background information before you write articles such as these. GM is working to change their image through their full product range and articles such as these only skew perception. Sure GM builds SUVs but Toyota also builds full-size trucks and SUVs, something I think many people forget.

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There are several reasons that GM doesn't seem to get it, and those arguments could be made and debated all day long; however, this article seems to be off in left field and uninformed.

First, the range on the Volt is closer to 400 miles on a total charge/full tank of gas, not 620. The tank is 8 gallons, so that is 50 mpg if you drive the car 400 miles without recharging it. If your commute is less than 40 miles a day and you recharge it every night, you're looking at not buying gas for months at a time.

Second, GM sells hybrids in several different segments. Honda has only had the Civic hybrid for several years now. The previous Insight hasn't been available for a while, and the Accord hybrid was more performance oriented (like the Lexus 600H) than fuel-economy oriented.

FYI...I drive a Honda Accord and and my wife has an Acura TL.

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It is also worth noting that the hybrid segment is a very small (approx 1%) portion of the automotive market. Don't pin GM's failure on lack of hybrids. As a former GM and Toyota employee, I can personally attest that it is way more complicated than that.

As for the rest of the article, how did you even get this published? I don't think there were any accurate price/mileage references for any vehicles you mentioned. I'd love to know where to get a 50 mpg car for under $10,000. Or better yet, your 70 mpg Honda for under $20,000. Maybe I should be smoking the same stuff you are.

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No bailouts for the big three-they have been having a gravy train for over 60 years-problem is those guys and the unions have been flying corporate jets and been having a great time-come on any employee that is making $76 an hour for working on an assembly line needs to be fired. Toyota and the rest are getting $26 an hour including all their benefits. What's wrong?-it sure doesn't take a Einstein to figure that out. All those people in Detroit ought to fired as well and let them start their own companies some place. Talk about a depression-they all have been overpaid for years and now it's time to stuff to themselves into the garbage can. They killed the chicken and no more eggs. Good luck and suffer!!!

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I am stupider after reading this.

I believe YOU don't get it.

The BANKING industry CAUSED GM and the other domestic automakers to be in their current precarious situation........ yet the BANKS are getting FREE HANDOUTS NO QUESTIONS ASKED.

Sales are slow due to the credit crisis, GM, Ford, and Chrysler need to borrow money from the Gov't to remain solvent until things normalize...... and everyone is giving them a hard time.


Why don't you move to TOKYO and star in some BUKKAKE MOVIES if you like the JAPANESE SO MUCH.

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Barbara: Like most that write or jump on TV as a pundit , you don't know what you are talking about. I will leave it at that.
If you worked for me, I would fire you for how little you researched, before you wrote this trash!

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Barbara,- - - Do you know the difference between a Latte and a lug wrench??- - - This has to be the most idiotic article I have read in months! GM might not get it but you are way out of your league sweetie!

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American cars are crap. I have 2 toyotas, 130K and 140k. Only changed tires,batteries, wipers, oil. IN 15 YEARS. No AC/Master Cylinder/Water Pump or transmission. Don't waste any more time or treasure on American cars, they are J-U-N-K. It is a binary situation, it is working or it is not. When I jump into my car, all that matters is that I can get to where I am going. American cars can not provide the security, for a reasonable price. J-U-N-K. So flame away UAW inbreds..

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There are so many people out there that like to run down the auto worker and they don't know what they are talking about. I know part of the problem is from a few workers going around and talking about how little they do but that is a very very small number and human nature is to remember only the bad things they hear. I've worked for G.M. for 30 years and was low on the senority pole all those years and always had strenious jobs like 90% of my coworkers.Not a lot of people would do what was required of many of these jobs for minimum wage which is what these companies would have paid if not for the union. G.M. builds vehicles that people want. If the people change what they want then the auto companies will change what they build. Don't blame the companies for building what you wanted. The government gave the banks 28 times more money than the auto companies are asking for without asking them anything about how they are going to use it.So some had a party.Maybe people should think about this before running down these companies that are part of the backbone of our country. Also from an article I received in an email has some interesting info. Ford, Chrysler and GM's
contributions after 9/11An interesting commentary...You
might find this of interest:'CNN Headline News did a
short news listing regarding Ford and GM's contributions to the relief and recovery efforts in New York and
Washington.The findings are as follows.....1. Ford- $10 million to American Red Cross matching employee
contributions of the same number plus 10 Excursions to NY
Fire Dept. The company also offered ER response team se
rvices and office space to displaced government employees.2.
GM- $10 million to American Red Cross matching employee
contributions of the same number and a fleet of vans, suv's, and trucks.3. Daimler Chrysler- $10 million to
support of the children and victims of the Sept. 11
attack.4. Harley Davidson motorcycles- $1 million and 30 new
motorcycles to the New York Police Dept.5.
Volkswagen-Employees and management created a Sept 11
Foundation,funded initial with $2 million, for the
assistance of the children and victims of the WTC.6.
Hyundai- $300,000 to the American Red Cross. 7. Audi-Nothing.8. BMW-Nothing.9. Daewoo- Nothing.10. Fiat-Nothing.11. Honda- Nothing despite boasting of second
best sales month ever in August 2001. Isuzu- Nothing.13.
Mitsubishi-Nothing.14. Nissan-Nothing.15. Porsche-Nothing.
Press release with condolences via the Porsche website.16.
Subaru- Nothing. 17. Suzuki- Nothing.18. Toyota-Nothing
despite claims of high sales in July and August
2001.Condolences posted on the website Whenever the time may
be for you to purchase or lease a new vehicle, keep this
information in mind. You might want to give more consideration to a car manufactured by an American-owned and
or American based company. Apart from Hyundai and
Volkswagen, the foreign car companies contributed nothing at
all to the citizens of the United States ... It's OK for
these companies to take money out of this country, but it is
apparently not acceptable to return some in a time of
crisis. I believe we should not forget things like this. Say
thank you in a way that gets their attention..
Pass it on, I just did.

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Wow all I hear is a lot of anger and little understanding of what you are writing about. If you are that upset about domestic autos go buy a foreign car.I would also suggest you research the facts next time you do an article about something you obviously know little about.

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I have a difficult time believing this blog author completed more than 30 seconds of research prior to publication. She should literally be ashamed of herself professionally for her lack of preparation. Yes, the domestic automakers have made poor decisions, but the lineups from Ford and GM absolutely stand side by side w/ the best globally. A handout/bailout is defined by what is taking place w/ the banking industry, who provided ill-advised loans to uninformed consumers, bundled them into junk securities, and sold them to other banks. The insurance companies then created brilliant, complicated insurance policies protecting these toxic securites, and then collapsed when the securities turned sour. Our government is rewarding these practices with cash and no public scrutiny of the banks or insurance cos, while publicly de-pantsing the auto executives who's customer base has been devastated and nearly erased by the failed credit markets. Uninformed and illegitimate media like the author don't understand that these bridge loans (they will be paid back, unlike the banking cash infusions) will help stabilize domestic auto manufacturing, which employs, directly or indirectly, around 2.5M Americans. I do hope these loans are tied to structural changes, and I pray the domestic OEMs get it right. (disclosure: I am employed by a German owned OEM, but I know this is the right thing for our country).

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Well, it seem like almost all the comments are in agreement that the author didn't research this article. It seems that a few comments point out that the 3 Auto manufactories’ do produce competitive cars. It is true that the meltdown was not their fault. An auto is a high priced item for a nation where jobs in general are disappearing or are easily replaced by another person in a different country willing to work the same job for lower pay. To me the problem with giving them money is that they are hampered in making themselves competitive due to high costs of union obligations. Math is objective. If their competitors can produce a car at a cheaper overall cost than they will never be competitive. You need to level the playing field. The big three do produce cars in countries where the average employee makes less than they do here. (Mexico) so is that un-American or is it smart to try to compete with what the competition is doing. My observation also wonders how fair the CEO’s and other high level decision makers are in cutting expenses. How could they each travel by private jet with hat in hand asking for money because they are broke?
In all industries there is a huge discrepancy between what the top guys make versus the little guys. When times are good and such wages are truly earned no problem. But this is not the case and I argue it is somewhat un-American.
How could Richard Fuld be in charge of a firm (Lehman) that nosedives into the ground and yet walk away with at 400 million worth of pay while others who worked there their whole lives not only lost all their 401K money but were given zero dollars for compensation. It seems the real problem is the laws and the greed that allowed all this to happen. I hope change comes but I sense that it is like that song by ‘The Who’ ‘Won’t get fooled again’ ….”Meet the new boss, same as the old boss”. We need real law changes. For example Obama and the democrats got a lot Auto Union money campaign contributions so if true how can his decision be objective? Right or wrong I bet they get the money because nothing in the political process has changed that much and Obama owes them.

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I like to buy cars for $10 or less that get more than 50,000,000 miles to the gallon. Why can't Barbara Bartlein sell me cars like this? Because she still doesn't get it.

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Barbara you are clueless! Your obvious hatred of American cars is harmful and typical. How does one post an article without getting any of her facts right? For one they are asking for a bridge loan not a "handout"...the bailouts are to get them though the credit crisis. You know...created by the guys that are actually getting "bailouts". How about writing an article about them? However, I'm sure in your opinion and lack of a clue that would be GMs fault. GM has a lot to learn, but I don't think they are as far off as you want to convince us. If you actually got out of your chair and spent two hours doing some hands on research you would realize that, but I guess that would ruin your article.

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