On Politics, We Can Always See the Whites of Their Eyes.
GM Exec: Global Warming a "Crock," Hybrids "Feel Good" Cars
by: Bill Dupray posted: 2009-06-07 17:29:00
Viewed 831 times. 2 Comments.
I'm thinking that Bob Lutz, truthteller, is not long for the payroll of General Motors. After all, he is a Global Warming Denier, who, if this were the time of Henry VIII, would be burned at the stake as a heretic. But for now, it is nice to see at least one auto executive call BS on the Enviro-kooks.
The 77-year-old silver-haired, tanned and gregarious former Marine aviator rides motorcycles, pilots a helicopter that his GM colleagues say he lands on his driveway, once called global warming "a crock," and appeared on David Letterman's and Stephen Colbert's shows to banter about GM's hopes for the Volt. Just the new language associated with environmentalism irks him. He momentarily looks bewildered when asked whether the place of the modern vehicle is undergoing a change in the culture, whether in time Americans might chiefly appreciate a GM car simply for its "utilitarian" value, a reliable conveyor of riders from point A to B.Lutz raises his eyebrows. "Utilitarian?"
A car is not an appliance, he says. A car is not a washing machine -- the proof of which is that people do not lust after their washing machines. They lust after a beautiful car, he says. If you want reliable, go get yourself a refrigerator. A gorgeous car, he says, is an expression of power and yearning, especially for owners who hope the vehicles will inject excitement and romance into their otherwise mundane lives. "Show me a washing machine that can do that," he says.
And his disdain for the feel-good lefties, who think that having their car use less gas will somehow change the temperature of the planet, is palpable.
In early 2006 -- "much too late," he acknowledges now -- a troubled Lutz saw that driving a Prius constituted nothing less than a values statement for many of its owners, a means to bask in the perception of their own enlightenment. . . ."That's where Toyota did a very clever thing: The Prius had its own unique appearance," he says. "Just like the Volkswagen Beetle was ugly in the '50s, the Prius had a certain ugly chic about it that appealed to a lot of people, the same kind of trendsetters who'd bought the Beetles long ago because to do it was cool and showed you were not part of a materialistic society."
Here is where he made his mistake. If a substantial part of your customer base thinks that red shag carpet on the dashboard is very chic, and leaky sunroofs are a convenient way to save water at home by showering in the car on the way to work, and that purple cars with yellow polka-dots make birds less constipated; then you build that hideous piece of garbage and sell it to them.
Because just like a a gorgeous car "is an expression of power and yearning, especially for owners who hope the vehicles will inject excitement and romance into their otherwise mundane lives," nutball environmentalists are dead-serious about their silly global warming theories and feel a primal need to assuage their guilt and show others how self-righteous they are. It is all about pushing buyers' buttons. His buttons, and those of a majority of Americans, are pushed by big, powerful cars and trucks, the essence of America on four wheels. But ignoring the nutballs cost them their company.
Capitalists don't have the luxury of ignoring part of their potential customer base, because in a Capitalist society, you can be sure your competition will embrace them.
Tags: Obama,
Related Articles
- Tamar Yonah: Communist In The White House?
- Video: Angry, Bitter President Clings to Notion that his opinion Matters to GOP
- Jon Stewart: You set up the Presidential Podium and a TelePrompter in a 6th Grade Classroom?
- Obama: Taupe without Portfolio
Links to this post
Trackback url: http://patriotroom.com/article/gm-exec-global-warming-a-crock-hybrids-feel-good-cars/trackback
- GM Exec: Global Warming A “Crock,” Hybrids “Feel Good” Cars « PA Pundits – International
- Meet Bob Lutz - The Man That Could Have Saved GM | Vancouver Secrets
blog advertising is good for you
blog advertising is good for you
Publius' Newsstand
-
Senate Parliamentarian: Obama must sign bill as...
The Senate Parliamentarian has ruled that President Barack Obama must sign Congress’ original health care reform bill before the Senate can act on a companion reconciliation package, senior GOP sources said Thursday. The Senate Parliamentarian’s Office was responding to questions posed by the Republican leadership. The answers were provided verbally, sources said. House Democratic leaders have been searching for a way to ensure that any move they make to approve the Senate-passed $871 billion health care reform bill is followed by Senate action on a reconciliation package of adjustments to the original bill. One idea is to have the House and Senate act on reconciliation prior to House action on the Senate’s original health care bill.Views: 87 Comments: 0
-
House votes overwhelmingly to investigate Pelos...
The House voted Thursday to open an ethics investigation into what and when House Democratic leaders knew of allegations of sexual harassment against former Rep. Eric Massa (D-N.Y.). The House overwhelmingly backed a privileged resolution offered by GOP Leader John Boehner (Ohio) that will have the Ethics Committee look into what House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), and other Democratic leaders and staffers knew about allegations of sexual harassment against Massa, and when they became aware of the situation. The Republican resolution came amid reports that members of Pelosi's staff had been allegedly been notified of the situation in Massa's office as early as last year.Views: 76 Comments: 0
-
House GOP votes to ban all earmarks
This would be called leading while in the minority. The Dems only ban some earmarks. GOP bans 'em all.House Republicans approved a conference-wide moratorium on earmarks on Thursday one day after a House committee enacted a ban on for-profit earmarks. The Republican's moratorium is more extensive than the House Appropriations Committee's ban in that it applies to all earmarks for all members of their caucus. "For millions of Americans, the earmark process in Congress has become a symbol of a broken Washington," they said. "We believe the time has come for House Republicans to adopt an immediate, unilateral moratorium on all earmarks."
Views: 52 Comments: 1
-
Gallup: Record number of people believe Global ...
There is lots of good stuff in this poll. Support for the Warmists is dropping off a cliff (or off a melting glacier, if you prefer).Gallup's annual update on Americans' attitudes toward the environment shows a public that over the last two years has become less worried about the threat of global warming, less convinced that its effects are already happening, and more likely to believe that scientists themselves are uncertain about its occurrence. In response to one key question, 48% of Americans now believe that the seriousness of global warming is generally exaggerated, up from 41% in 2009 and 31% in 1997, when Gallup first asked the question.
That increase to 48% is fully 7 points higher than last year, which was also a record high.Views: 80 Comments: 0
-
Dem Rep Holden (PA) - No
The good part is the breadth of his No - read on: Holden, D-17, voted against the health care reform bill last year. However, another vote will likely be held soon, as the House appears set to pass the Senate's version of the bill. Johnson and others believe Holden is likely having "his arm twisted" by Democratic leaders eager to turn his "no" vote to a "yes" vote the second time around. However, in a telephone interview Wednesday night, Holden said his position will not change. "I will not vote for the Senate bill," Holden said. "It makes significant cuts to Medicare and Medicaid ... and the restrictions on (federal funding for) abortion are not as strong."Views: 59 Comments: 0
-
VA set to outlaw individual mandates - 34 more ...
The Virginia General Assembly has given final approval to a bill that would make it illegal for the government to require individuals to purchase health insurance, a measure intended to conflict with Democratic efforts to reform health care in Washington. Thirty-four other states are weighing similar legislation to block the individual mandate, which is an element of bills that have passed both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. But Virginia is the first state to complete legislative action on such a bill.Views: 82 Comments: 2
-
0-3 Obama says a "yes" vote worth a presidentia...
These people stop at nothing to buy what they want: "At the same time, Obama intends to lobby wavering House Democrats to vote for a Senate version of the legislation and to support the subsequent reconciliation process, which Republicans have characterized as an unjustified use of majority power. Among the rewards Obama is ready to offer, White House officials said, are election-year visits to competitive congressional districts, where a presidential appearance can bring in hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign funds."Views: 63 Comments: 1
-
NYT won't report on the anti-Israel funders beh...
Typical. Shameful. FTA: The story being ignored is the Im Tirtzu campaign to expose the New Israel Fund’s connection to the defamatory Goldstone Report via its funding of groups that spurred the creation of and then contributed harsh commentary about Israel to the UN document. Originally founded as a student organization to counter anti-Zionist activity on campus, Im Tirtzu publicized revelations about the NIF-Goldstone ties in provocative ads across the country. The campaign began in January and has already prompted moves in the Knesset to intensify oversight of foreign political entities financing groups in Israel.Views: 53 Comments: 0
-
Presbyterian Church elders are poised to defame...
Speechless: A special committee of the U.S. Presbyterian Church is set to release a report on the Middle East that embraces parts of a manifesto by Christian Palestinians who call for an end to Israel as a Jewish state. ... "The phrase 'the right of Israel to exist' is a source of pain for some members of our study committee who are in solidarity with Palestinians, who feel that the creation of the state of Israel has denied them their inalienable human rights." The committee says the U.S. ought to employ "the strategic use of influence and the withholding of financial and military aid in order to enforce Israel's compliance with international law and peacemaking efforts." No similar tactics are recommended against Hamas, which fires rockets at Israeli homes and schools. Not against Iran, which pursues nukes and dreams of erasing Israel. Not against Hizbullah.Views: 50 Comments: 0
-
Blind, anti-Semites: European Parliament backs ...
Go pound sand, Europe. May you live long enough to regret this day. FTA: In a move likely to worsen EU ties with Israel, the European Parliament urged its 27-member states Wednesday to monitor the Israeli and Palestinian probes into alleged war crimes in Gaza. The parliament also called on Israel to immediately open border crossings with the Gaza Strip, saying its blockade is worsening the humanitarian crisis there.Views: 36 Comments: 0
Get Your PR Button!
More Articles By Bill Dupray
- House votes overwhelmingly to investigate Pelosi and Hoyer, the most ethical leaders ever
on 2010-03-11 with 76 views - Despite Pelosi's denials, taxpayer-funded abortions appear 8 times in Senate bill
on 2010-03-11 with 105 views - House GOP votes to ban all earmarks
on 2010-03-11 with 52 views - Gallup: Record number of people believe Global Warming is exaggerated
on 2010-03-11 with 80 views - Obamacare hurting employees' coverage before it even passes
on 2010-03-11 with 152 views - House Dems Try to Pass Obamacare Without a Vote
on 2010-03-10 with 105 views - Another new poll shows Rubio with staggering 46 point lead over Crist
on 2010-03-10 with 64 views - Kyl says GOP has the votes to stop some health bill fixes in the Senate
on 2010-03-10 with 77 views - Best and clearest explanation of Democrats' reconcilation problems
on 2010-03-10 with 232 views - Supreme Court Takes ‘Informational Privacy’ Case
on 2010-03-09 with 81 views
Toyota only developed the Prius to sell more SUVs, trucks, and Lexus V8s. Americans fell for it. Suckers. Prius sales are down 45%, btw.