GM sending hybrid Escalade to China
In the face of rising fuel costs and environmental concerns, GM has realized that China, the world's fastest growing auto market, is in dire need of hybrid vehicles of different shapes and sizes. Hence, amidst the re-announcement of the launch of the Buick Lacrosse (which GM is touting as China's first hybrid since it is built there as opposed to the Prius which is merely assembled in China) in July, GM China's vice president for sales, Joseph Liu, let slip that the company would also introduce the hybrid version of the Cadillac Escalade (pictured above) sometime next year. No price tag was mentioned.
According to the AP story, Liu also said that GM will follow that up with an "all-electric" car as early as 2010. Although it's not exactly "all-electric" since it has a gas engine, we assumes he means the Volt (or maybe Flextreme), which GM is currently developing.
Gallery: 2009 Cadillac Escalade Hybrid
[Source: Associated Press via Mlive.com]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Jack S. 2:36AM (4/21/2008)
Isn't this kind of like the approach that cigarette companies used? Shrinking market in the west, so lets get the Chinese hooked.
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Whopper 10:15AM (4/21/2008)
"Isn't this kind of like the approach that cigarette companies used? Shrinking market in the west, so lets get the Chinese hooked."
Yeah Jack, everything is a conspiracy. I have absolutely no sympathy for smokers - I was one. No one twisted my arm to start smoking and I stopped when I decided it was unhealthy. The Chinese have a free will in that regard and can avoid smoking too. Take responsibility for your actions.
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KarenRei 2:55PM (4/21/2008)
Whopper: it's not that simple. In the case of tobacco, cigarette companies have found a number of third-world markets resistant to allowing cigarette imports. They need the third world to offset their decline in the west. A common tactic has been to help organize and fund smugging of cigarettes into the country to establish a market. Then they lobby the government to legalize smoking since so many citizens are already doing it and the government isn't getting the money from taxes it would be able to otherwise. Example:
http://www.globalink.org/en/smuggling.shtml
(section: "The role of the tobacco industry")
The tobacco companies spent *decades* doing what the coal companies and Exxon-Mobil are doing today -- paying any scientist willing to sell out to deliberately falsify data or come up with any legit distortion that portrays the effects of smoking in a good light. Even when they knew that their products were killing people, and openly talked about that fact in their private meetings. It's through this that they earned their nasty reputation that they have today. They also deliberately targetted minors while testifying under oath that they were doing no such thing.
No, nobody made you start or made you stop. But they manipulated the circumstances extensively that led to you being in a situation where you would be encouraged to start and tried to keep you (and others like you) from knowing or believing the harm that smoking caused which could be avoided if you stopped.
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Throwback 3:12PM (4/21/2008)
So in other words it's not your fault. Does personal responsibility have no place in this world?
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M. Simon 5:44PM (4/21/2008)
A nice little bit on schizophrenics and tobacco:
http://www.classicalvalues.com/archives/2007/08/post_439.html
It is medicine for them
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Whopper 10:52AM (4/22/2008)
Come on Karen, human beings are blessed with a will that they can choose to exercise, or not. Guns, knives and cigarettes don't kill people, people do through the use or missuse of them. Cell phones don't kill people but a lady driving an SUV while talking on one nearly got me on my motorcycle a few weeks ago. The affects of smoking are patently obvious without the government babysitting you and telling you it is bad.
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