A few months ago, people cried over the treatment of ‘Government Motors’ and its bailouts and eventual bankruptcy filing, while conspiracy theorists predicted the company would be a government entity within the private business sector.  While many of those claims are still on their way to being proven false, the idea that GM would grow stale or would fail even with government intervention seem to be way off the mark.  GM has needed a change in its public image, that much anyone can agree on.  In many ways, GM needed not years of gradual improvement, but something so significant and earth shattering that it broke the hanging cloud of doubt over General Motors and its smaller companies and would renew interest in the struggling automaker.


The Volt was a much needed jolt to that cause.

For a long time, GM was known for its gas guzzling SUV’s and going all out with the luxury features in Cadillac, a questionable tactic of canceling heritage lines in Chevrolet and of course, owning way more brands than the average automobile conglomerate.

Hummer was the car so big and hungry, it looked for smaller compacts to eat for lunch.

Cadillac was a brand that oozed title and station, that those who owned them and had not a single accomplishment to their name still felt like a million bucks (or about $50,000, depreciating value with time).

Pontiac seemed like the idea of someone that manufactured generic brands, simply taking Chevy frames and throwing them into a new wrapper.

Buick marketed to a small demographic of those too old to see five feet in front of them, so they needed a boat built for the road to protect them on their 45-minute drive three miles down the road to pick up a bottle of Maalox.

Then there of course was Chevy, who made the questionable decision of derailing the Camaro years ago, only to bring it back at the same time of the bankruptcy filing.

There are other brands that were part of the umbrella of GM, and all can be detailed as these have, showing that there have been some marketing and production missteps that set the stage for the grand collapse.  GM got too big for its britches, and all it took was a sickness, like the recession we’ve faced, to shake the foundation of what was once called “too big to fail.”

The Volt takes all that bad press and spins it into a positive light, showing that not only did GM promise to make a more energy efficient vehicle, but that it can still do so on an accelerated time table and still hold the values of the modern driver high.  

Americans love leg room, arm room, butt room, and other room necessary space considerations for our either fear of claustrophobia or the love of fast food.

All while throwing them into a vehicle that can get an estimated 230 miles per gallon.  The real mileage will vary tremendously with the driver, but the impact of the statement has been made.  Millions have read, heard and discussed this now anticipated car, and the response has been pretty positive from consumers and one of high school trash talking, as Nissan had done with a twitter update after the Chevy announcement.

If GM can follow through, and if it plays its cards right, the American auto industry may be looking forward to a bright future.