GREEN BUSINESS: Nature’s Calling to General Motors?

Green, being the word of the day applies itself to every industry due to regulations and consumer demand for cleaner products. In the case of General Motors (GM), the only green they may ever see could be in the form of the grass that is covering their new home 6 feet under the ground in the graveyard of dead auto-makers.

We the people, now own General Motors, thanks to the bailout that brought GM out of bankruptcy. Since the taxpayers now own the company, the question remains: what have they done with our money?

The answer is for the consumer to decide, and they have. GM has been posting an improvement in sales this year over last year. In October, they sold 4% more automobiles then they did in 2008. There has, in fact been an increase in sales across all of the GM brands over last years’ numbers, though that may not come as too much of a surprise. Due to these positive numbers, there is a new sense of optimism, at least in the short term surrounding GM. For they too have begun to push their more environmentally sound autos.

GM offers a variety of hybrid models, everything from sedans, trucks to SUVs. 7 in all, these cars are to represent the future of the GM family in providing a healthier environment. Yet, due to the sales results listed on GM’s website, none of these hybrid models are what have been increasing sales. Instead, there has been a strong focus on the truck, SUV and crossover market. While there are hybrids in both the SUV and truck lineups that GM produces, they received no mention in the current production and sales release. This begs the question: when the future represents tougher emission standards (like those found in California), how much longer does GM suppose they can continue to produce automobiles that don’t match up? Hybrid cars, trucks, SUVs, crossovers, and any other variety of cars are the wave of the future. It seems as though GM cannot let the past be, and instead have chosen to focus on its history for producing autos, instead of its future.