GM in China has 43 mile per gallon mini van, why not here?
On July 7, 2006, Mary-Sue Haliburton (http://www.pureenergysystems.com/about/personnel/Mary-SueHaliburton/) of PES Network Inc. writes:
I looked up the article mentioned below by this correspondent and found this paragraph:
“In China, the Wuling Sunshine (http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/003270.html) mini mini van is delivering around 43 miles per gallon in the city on a small, efficient combustion engine. Stripped of luxuries, it attracts avid fans. It’s ironic that GM can build and market this in China, but not in the U.S.”
GM builds the “Wuling Sunshine”, eh? So, what’s keeping it out of North America? (other than oil-baron governments and their self-serving policies… of course that wouldn’t be the reason…)
Here’s what the link on that vehicle’s name says:
“Ft’s a small van, running about $5,000 total in cost, and getting around 43 miles per gallon in the city. On sale since 2002, it’s among the most popular vehicles in the country, helping to push Wuling to the number one spot in the light vehicles market. The surprising part of the Wuling Sunshine story? The van was designed by General Motors, co-owner of Wuling since 2002 (http://www.gmchina.com/english/operations/wuling.htm).”
and
“One key question is whether GM will learn from its involvement with Wuling. Unfortunately, the early indicators aren’t good. According to today’s New York Times, the GM executive in China who conceived of and shepherded the Sunshine design “resigned” — the clear implication was that the resignation was not entirely willing — and there are signs that GM is looking to exert more control from Detroit over its wayward subsidiary in Liuzhou.”
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