Two of the biggest automakers in the world, GM and Chrysler, were fine with making average cars, while heavily promoting big heavy models which consumed quite a lot of fuel. After the recession hit, things weren’t so pretty and the US government decided to bail out the struggling corporations and task them with making new vehicles which will be attractive to the consumers.
This doesn’t mean that the Obama administration is forcing GM or Chrysler to make electric vehicles or more fuel efficient ones, as the head of the auto taskforce, Ron Bloom, revealed to Reuteurs that: “We obviously would be very happy if Chrysler and GM were making lots and lots of high mileage cars. It’s not a prerequisite. It’s not an obligation.”
The statement does make a lot of sense, as the government can always up the limit of fuel consumption for the cars made in the country, and will do so in the near future, but also needs to see GM and Chrysler release new and attractive vehicles for the consumers in order to generate a profit. Among those vehicles will, of course, be hybrids or electric models like the Chevrolet Volt.
Source: Reuteurs via Autoblog
