It's not about 'forcing' demand; it's about anticipating it. Thinking a few years down the road so that you'll have the products ready to sell people when they want them. Toyota did it and is shovelling the Priuses out the door as fast as they can make them. GM is content to sit on its fat arse and build SUV's. That's why we're just barely figuring out hybrid techology (or licensing it) while Toyota is on its 3rd generation.

Let's see, gas is an upward spiral with no end in sight. Will people still be wanting those obnoxiously huge Tahoes and Expeditions 5 years from now?

Who cares? Look at all the money we're making now!

The Prius is an anomaly, the other similar hybrids are not selling well. The Prius sells well because it's the automotive equivalent of the Coach handbag, you can't miss what it is. It shouts what it is and people love that. The hybrids that look like normal cars don't sell for **** as it's not the technology or the efficiency that sells it, it's the image. Using it as an economic example is dishonest. Lets talk the civic hybrid, how's that selling (hint: it looks like a normal civic)?

Argue about hybrids if you like, but hybrids aren't the point.

The point is that GM is a bloated company with no one in charge who seems to be able to plan ahead and foresee the market. Why should they when they're getting rich now? Or they were last year anyway...

ianc

My brother has a 2007 GMC 3/4 Ton....fully loaded he paid $43,000 for it, it has 800miles on it (yes ONLY Eight HUNDRED), it is sitting at the dealer as the rear main seal is spewing oil all over his brand new concrete driveway, much to the disgust of his (hot) wife...So GM are also causing family feuds too!

This is part of the reason GM is loosing money hands over fists..cars like the Pontiac AssCrack!
http://www.edmunds.com/pictures/VEHI...81-396x249.jpg

Yasin

Yes, good thing Porsche don't have problems like this *cough* rearmainseal *cough*.

And in case you didn't read the article, the car side of GM is MAKING MONEY. It's the finance side that caused the loss.

I'd venture to guess you calling his wife "hot" might also cause a few family feuds. ;)

Just like Porsche, right?

We need to build our own car company.......

I could lose $39 billion for a fraction of what GM execs make :)

Actually, I think she is going to try to save your bacon. Undoing the brilliance of the last six years would be a good start. The implication that Democrats waste money is rather old hat when they left office with a treasury surplus.

Strip and Spend,Spend,Spend is what is happening now. It's only trickle down from the great sucking up.

Strip and Spend. Your buddy.

Donger's head hurt.

Candy gram.