The Cars President Obama Wants...

I think it was safe to say that this was coming at some point, as it fits with the 'green' agenda that this particular administration finds to be very important (we'll cover the 'green' issue separately). Today, we need to talk about a business model. The first goal for GM - since you and I are now paying for their company to remain in business - should be profitability. Making 'green' cars that have (historically) low profit margins and small market shares is not the path to making money.

And here is the conflict: by far, GM's most profitable vehicles are it's full size SUVs, which are hardly the Sierra Club's cars and trucks of choice. So, should they be producing green cars for some future potential profit, or cars that have potential for profit now?

I honestly don't think it matters what GM makes at this point, they have too much dead weight in the form of union contracts, pensions, and benefits. Most of the people getting paid by GM don't work there anymore. But the sad part is that profitability doesn't matter to the government which decided to "bail out" GM in the first place. This company is being used to promote very liberal policy - in this case, 'green' policy. And you and I get to pay for it.