.jpg "The End of Hummer")
With car sales down across the board, General Motors CEO Rick Wagoner announced that GM will close four truck and SUV plants, limit production of large vehicles, and refocus on manufacturing smaller vehicles.
Wagoner told the AP that the
Wagoner also announced his intention to introduce a plug-in electric car, the Chevrolet Volt, by 2010.
Over 70 percent of the auto industry’s bread and butter is earned by sales of S.U.V.s and trucks. With the industry following Americans’ lead in downsizing, I wonder if our switch from large to small cars will be the first step in a cultural shift away from excess and toward a culture that values the simple and sustainable over gruesome glut and greed.
Photo via flickr by spanaut.
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Kudos to Butler! I’ve been without a car by choice for ten years now, and my story is about the same as hers. I only hope the rise in gas prices will help others make the same healthy, money-saving choice.
I just have to ask. What do you do in the winter? You can’t possibly tell me you ride your bike on icy roads and take that baby out in the winter.
Josh – should she take the baby further and faster on the ice, by car…
Cars are much safer, not to mention climate controlled.
Yes, like Josh, I have to wonder: what does she do to protect the baby during sub-zero temperatures? And does she ride with the child in the bike trailer along icy streets without bike/ped lanes?
Believe me, I’d love to get rid of my family’s car. But it’s pretty hard to do that in a subarctic climate, especially if you have small ones. And friends all over town.