Conservative Donnybrook

The 2009 Geneva Motor Show is underway, and if the pictures are any indication, there was much to tantalize the eyes of car enthusiasts. Meanwhile, General Motors released a statement today that without further infusions of cash from the federal government, it is doubtful whether they will remain viable as a going concern.

I might suggest that they look at what some of their competitors are doing and ask themselves if they are anywhere close to providing the same sort of a product to their customers. Take for example this concept unveiled by Italian car designer Italdesign-Giugiaro who has teamed up with the venerable Frazer-Nash.

You probably wouldn’t guess it from looking at the photo, but the Namir (Arabic for Tiger) is a hybrid car. It gets 39km per liter of fuel or about 91.7 miles per gallon. It has a 50-liter tank (13.2 gallon) that gives the vehicle a range of 1950km on a tank of fuel or an astounding 1200 miles per fill up. You will have to stop to pee before you have to stop for gas. Along the way, you will enjoy the thrill that comes from commanding a 370hp powerplant with a top speed of around 187 mph while emitting less than 96.5 grams (0.213 pounds) of carbon dioxide per mile.

General Motors, on the other hand, offers this.

The Chevy Volt is a hybrid car designed to run up to 40 miles on a single charge of its batteries without using any gasoline or emitting any CO2. Once the batteries are exhausted, the Volt can be driven on E85 fuel from which it extracts 50 mpg for a combined maximum range of 640 miles. The Volt boasts a top speed of 120mph (for a limited time) and will arrive at 60mph from a standstill in an achingly slow 8.5 to 9 seconds. That, my friends, is not exactly sprightly. I’m not sure what that translates to in terms of horsepower, but I wager to say that it is significantly less than the Namir’s 370hp. Given the complete dearth of power, the most surprising thing about this vehicle is that it is not a Chrysler product.

When one sees what GM’s competitors are doing, it can hardly be described as mysterious why General Motors is struggling to maintain its hold on the automotive market and why it stands before the taxpayers with its hand outthrust asking “Brother, can you spare a dime?” Or $30 billion.