April 4, 2008

VIDEO: One Less Excuse for Being Late …

Nebojsa Nedeljkovic
OnStar Service Line Manager, Navigation

The “I got lost” excuse is getting harder and harder to assert with confidence these days. That’s because in-vehicle navigation is treading into new territory offering up options and services to make getting to your destination in a safe and timely fashion simpler than ever before. OnStar is at the forefront of all this with the recent announcement of three new navigation services: OnStar Destination Download, OnStar and eNav.

OnStar Destination Download enables OnStar subscribers with screen-based navigation systems to input their destination while on the go via the simple press of the OnStar blue button. And OnStar eNav allows subscribers with a Turn-by-Turn Navigation-capable vehicle to plan travel online at MapQuest.com and have those directions sent straight from their computer to their vehicle.

Each of these services comes at no additional cost to subscribers with the OnStar Directions and Connections plan. Visit OnStar.com for a complete list of GM vehicles equipped with these new technologies.

With or without a screen-based navigation system, OnStar offers even the most directionally challenged a system that meets their needs whether on the go or planning travel from in front of their computer. These new services offer subscribers safety, simplicity and convenience true to our guiding principle of enabling drivers to keep their hands on their wheel and eyes on the road at all times.

Check out the video below for a demo of each of OnStar’s new navigational offerings and to see for yourself why your excuses for being late are becoming fewer and farther between!

Posted by Editor at 2:42 PM
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April 3, 2008

Canada Catches Pontiac’s Vibe

By Tony LaRocca
Product Communications

We’ve been having some fun up here in Canada introducing the 2009 Pontiac Vibe in a very unique way to automotive journalists.

Starting back on March 24th in Montreal, and running the weeks of April 1st in Toronto and April 14th in Vancouver, the Catch the Vibe Challenge event features more than 90 Canadian journalists, bloggers and enthusiasts embarking on the ultimate road trip as they put their creativity and teamwork to the test in a quest to be the champions.

Their tools for the trip? An all-new 2009 Pontiac Vibe, a BlackBerry® Pearl™ 8130 smartphone from Bell and a special web site, catchthevibe.ca – three solutions to make every aspect of their challenge possible - any where, any time.

For this social media-ready road trip, the 2009 Vibe is the perfect car. Throughout the event, this sporty vehicle will be their office on the road and the BlackBerry® Pearl™ 8130 smartphones from Bell in each car will ensure they stay connected to the people and information they need to be successful. We know the Vibe is up to any challenge … are the teams? So far the results have been exciting.

Check out their progress on the site as our four teams work to earn points by completing in a number of daily challenge activities. You’ll see what’s going on through blog posts, Twitter updates, Flickr photos and YouTube videos that they post. As well, the teams’ daily challenges are posted for you to check out. In fact, you can put your expertise into the mix and help a team out with their challenges by e-mailing suggestions and tips to them along the way. And if you do, you could also win some great prizes.

Catch The Vibe is sure to be an adventure and a great way to introduce the 2009 Vibe to Canada. I’ve been excited to see what happens, and I hope you are, too.

Posted by Editor at 9:44 AM
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April 1, 2008

Help Chevy Help Autism Speaks

April is Autism Awareness Month. Here's a post detailing Chevrolet's efforts in support of Autism Speaks and how you can help. - Will Stewart, blog editor

By Jan Thomas
Chevrolet Communications

Last week we announced the Help Chevy Help Autism Speaks promotion where Chevy will donate up to $1 million when individuals can go to autismspeaks.org or chevy.com to take a free virtual test drive of the all-new Malibu. More details can be found in the press release.

Now I’ve done a lot of cool things in my job with GM. It’s definitely not a bad gig. But I’ve got to tell you, working on this Autism Speaks promotion has been one of my most rewarding projects, and it really touched me on a personal level as well. Here’s why.

Those who know me know about my Aunt Jane. She was developmentally disabled and lived with my family since my grandmother died more than 45 years ago … before I was even born. I grew up with Jane, and in a way, she was like a sibling to me rather than an aunt. We would swing together, sing church songs together, play with paper dolls and play school. Eventually I outgrew her … but she stayed the same.

Just last month, we lost Jane at the age of 75 after a brief illness. My mom and I were with her when she passed. And through her illness, death and the subsequent funeral, of course there was a lot of reflection on her life and what it meant.

One thing that really stuck with me was my mom saying it would have been interesting to know what was really wrong with her…if she was autistic or what her disorder was as she appeared normal at birth. And that saddened me because back in the time Jane was born and growing up, there was little known about development disorders, and limited resources for affected individuals and their families. Doctors didn’t know what to do with Jane. Teachers didn’t know what to do with Jane. It was something many people didn’t like to deal with or see. And in our case to this day, we don't know what her disorder was. So it was up to the family to make the best life they could for Jane and themselves. And while she played a unique and special role in our family and even community as everyone knew and loved Jane, if she had been born in today’s world with today’s resources, Jane would have been able to lead a more productive and more independent life.

That’s what has heartened me in learning more about Autism Speaks. There is hope. Part of the Autism Speaks mission is dedicated to funding global biomedical research into the causes, prevention, treatments, and cure for autism; to raising public awareness about autism and its effects on individuals, families, and society; and to bringing hope to all who deal with the hardships of this disorder.

While Autism Speaks is in its infancy, it is making strides…and we all can make a difference. Learn more about autism and the hope for a better future and a cure for this neurological disorder of which 1 in 150 children are diagnosed.

Facts about autism can be found here.

Posted by Editor at 10:18 AM
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February 15, 2008

OnStar Accepts John Lynker Award for Excellence in Responsible Design

By Bill Ball
Executive Director of Public Policy for OnStar

I am personally and professionally pleased that OnStar was recently honored with the 6th Annual John Lynker Award for Excellence in Responsible Design. On a personal level, I knew John Lynker, a two-time president of the Washington Automotive Press Association and an influential auto voice in the nation’s capital who passed away in 2002. We met when I led GM’s government relations office in the 1990s. John was highly regarded by the Washington automotive press corps and I was lucky to have benefited from both his insights and from his exceptional reporting of the auto industry.

Professionally, the Lynker award is an honor, because it’s the first time the award was presented to an auto service provider, rather than an auto manufacturer. I’m just guessing here, but perhaps this award is best signified by the number 93.

On a single recent day, 93 OnStar customers had vehicle crashes severe enough to trigger a call from the vehicle to the OnStar call center. Those calls carried precise location information about the crash and, in our latest vehicles, information about the severity of the crash. Our advisors were able to provide GPS location information to the first responders, which we know is a critical success factor in responding to any emergency. In just one day, we helped people in 93 vehicles during what was potentially one of the most critical moments of their lives.

But it’s not just about 93. It’s about 12, too.

Twelve years of continuous improvement of OnStar’s services. With each generation of hardware, we’ve endeavored to explore the edges of this new frontier that OnStar helped open in 1996, and in doing so, OnStar is helping GM and the public define what constitutes a great car or truck. This isn’t a science fair project – this is an ongoing daily service that is contributing to the well-being of folks on the roads in a variety of ways, from Automatic Crash Response to Turn-by-Turn Navigation and monthly diagnostic emails.

We at OnStar are very proud of this award, and we will use it as a reminder of where we’ve been, where we are today, and where we’re headed for the future.

Posted by Editor at 1:31 PM
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January 28, 2008

VIDEO: Project Driveway Families Announced

Check out this video from last week's press days at the Washington Auto Show where Project Driveway was launched. -Alicia Dorset, blog editor

Posted by Editor at 3:44 PM
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January 18, 2008

Institute Tested, Consumer Approved

By Joanne Krell
Director of Communications, Cadillac/HUMMER/Saab

Cadillac has made a lot of news in recent days, with a series of world premieres of new vehicles and the ongoing strength of the new 2008 CTS. Here's an important bit of news that you might have missed on the safety front. The CTS is a Top Safety Pick for 2008 by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).

This is a major achievement and comes from a trusted authority on automotive safety. The Top Safety Pick award goes only to vehicles that earn the highest rating in IIHS front, rear and side impact crash testing, and also feature electronic stability control to help drivers' ability to avoid crashes. CTS is one of only three luxury cars so honored.

As CTS earns accolades from critics and consumers — in the fourth quarter, sales were up about 60% for the ‘08 model compared to the ’07 model — the car can add Top Safety Pick to its growing list of positive claims. This is another landmark in Cadillac's ongoing renaissance. And as we showed with some of our recent world premieres, there's a lot to be excited about.

Posted by Editor at 12:04 PM
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January 13, 2008

The Next Generation of Ethanol

Press release: GM partners with Coskata to commercialize cellulosic ethanol

By Mary Beth Stanek
Director, Environment and Energy Policy and Commercialization

Ever since we started talking with Coskata Inc. seven months ago about partnering to help get their ethanol-making technology commercialized, I’ve been eager to hear what people would say when they heard some of the numbers around what Coskata says it can do:

• Produce a gallon of ethanol for less than a dollar, half the production cost of making gasoline
• Use less than a third of the water it takes to make ethanol today – and 79 times less than it takes to prepare a single chicken
• Reduce by as much as 84 percent the CO2 emissions compared with gasoline
• Create nearly eight times as much energy created as used

And make ethanol from renewable sources like agricultural waste and anything that has carbon in it. Yes, that includes garbage that goes to landfills today.

The statistics and claims are amazing – and they are backed up by several well-respected analyses. They also knock down nearly every criticism of today’s ethanol. We acknowledge that some of those criticisms have merit, but some have been wildly exaggerated.

This is an exciting time for ethanol. The Coskata technology is ready today – no invention time needed – and their first commercial plant is expected to be up and producing 50 million to 100 million gallons of ethanol a year by the end of 2010 or early 2011.

Let us know what you think.

So not only do we have a new Renewable Fuels Standard that calls for 36 billion gallons of biofuels a year by 2022, we have in our partnership with Coskata a company that thinks it can account for a significant amount of that production through its partnership business model.

GM is not in the fuel business, and we’re not likely to be building any ethanol plants, but we are eager to see Coskata succeed.

Posted by Editor at 11:46 AM
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November 30, 2007

E85 Questions Back Again

By Mary Beth Stanek
Director, Environment Energy and Safety Policy

Just back from Brazil where the price difference between a liter of alcohol and a liter of gasoline (containing 20% ethanol) was approximately 44% less for alcohol in Sao Paulo. For those of you interested in energy diversity in the U.S. I believe we can look to Brazil to see what the future may hold for us here and in other regions of the world. It will take a coordinated effort between business, government and consumers to increase E85 availability throughout the U.S. and we can make it happen but continuing to pursue a broad range of alternative fuels and policies that support energy diversity.

Know that GM produces more than 1 million FlexFuel products annually around the globe and have been doing so since 2000. GM has more than 3 million FlexFuel products in operation and our product lineup is expanding.

In the last series of blog comments there were a few questions about consumer purchasing decisions based on different fuel types. As you know, fuels contain different BTUs (British thermal Units) so the energy at a per-gallon basis is very different depending on type. Diesel, biodiesel, gasoline, gasoline with 10 percent ethanol and E85 (85% ethanol) all have different energy content and that effects range. Owning a FlexFuel vehicle allows owners to choose the type of fuel that makes the most sense to them based on fuel availability and economics. GM does not charge for FlexFuel capability and be sure to inquire about whether your vehicle has the feature before purchasing to ensure that you will have fuel choice. More stations are on the way with competitive priced E85. Also know our diesel vehicles can run with 5% biodiesel.

Consumers purchase vehicles using a broad consideration set that includes fuel economy, performance, safety, functionality, styling, etc. GM is a full line vehicle manufacturer and we offer more vehicles over 30 mpg than any other OEM and that includes a wide variety of product offerings. It is important to have choice.

One writer wanted to know more about the total ownership experience so that they could compare hybrids, FlexFuel vehicles and other offerings. The University of Texas Austin is developing a model in support of such comparisons. If you would like more information be sure to reach out to their engineering department.

Another writer suggested that ethanol facilities were running on coal. Most ethanol facilities are running on natural gas and are beginning to use biomass waste for energy at the facilities and/or fuel production. Coal is not the desired energy source for ethanol facilities.

That’s all for now. I hope that many of you were able to participate in the E85 Fall Kick Off Tour. We just wrapped up another seven-city tour and opened a number of new stations including new retailers in Atlanta and Tucson.

Posted by Editor at 2:12 PM
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November 20, 2007

VIDEO: Get to Know the 2009 Pontiac Vibes

The 2009 Pontiac Vibes were recently revealed in Detroit. Take a look at each model and let us know what you think. -Alicia Dorset, blog editor

The Vibe GT

The Base Vibe

Vibe AWD

Posted by Editor at 12:01 PM
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November 15, 2007

Surviving Crashes

By Ray Chess
VLE, GM Commercial Trucks and Vans

After hearing yet another news report about a fatal 15-passenger van rollover crash, I felt compelled to write this post. GM has always been committed to safety. In my role as Vehicle Line Executive for GM’s Commercial Trucks and Vans, I feel personally responsible for helping us live up to that commitment.

A majority of fatalities in 15-passenger rollover crashes are the result of individuals failing to be properly buckled up. Proper belt use has been identified by just about everyone as a primary way to reduce injuries in a crash. GM’s 12- and 15-passenger vans, the 2008 Chevrolet Express and GMC Savana, provide a three-point safety belt in every seating position. The LATCH system eases the installation of child safety seats at different positions throughout the van.

GM has added a number of safety enhancements to the 2008 Chevrolet Express and the GMC Savana, to give them the most comprehensive standard safety package ever in a GM full-size passenger van:

• An electronic stability control system, called StabiliTrak, is standard. This proven safety technology helps a driver maintain vehicle control during certain difficult driving conditions, such as ice, snow, gravel, wet pavement and uneven road surfaces, as well as in emergency lane changes or avoidance maneuvers.
  
• A Tire Pressure Monitoring System is standard. It helps address over- or under-inflation of tires — a leading cause of rollover crashes.
  
• Standard rollover-enabled head curtain side impact airbags. Combined with properly worn safety belts, outboard occupants are better protected in side impacts and slower-developing rollover crashes, which are relatively rare but account for about a third of highway deaths. Dual front air bags are also standard.
  
• Another standard feature is a new technology called Enhanced Technology Glass. It is located in the rearmost windows of our 12- and 15-passenger vans. This three-layer special glass is designed to help reduce the risk of occupant ejection during a crash. This type of technology is often used to make windows in large building hurricane-proof, and is the first application in a motor vehicle.

A lot of work went into developing and engineering the 2008 Express and Savana. Some of these safety features are not required, but we felt they were features that our customers deserved to have.

Finally, if you take away only one message from reading this post, remember this: buckle up. Every time and on every trip. Failing to do so is costing the highest price of all — the loss of precious lives.

Posted by Editor at 10:43 AM
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October 29, 2007

DARPA: Making Robots Meaningful

By Larry Burns
Vice President, Research & Development and Strategic Planning

When I was growing up, a lot of young people, including me, were fascinated with Isaac Asimov’s robot books and the idea that robots could become a part of everyday life.

As time has gone by, the field of robotics has been developing largely unnoticed. While many of us have been focused on other major events in our lives – college, marriage, family and work – robots have been quietly making inroads into the world we inhabit.

Today, we even have robot vacuum cleaners and robot dogs. And, while these things are fascinating, they are unlikely to impact our lives in any significant way.

Yet right now, a competition is taking place in California that promises to make robots meaningful and pushes us closer to the world of robotics we imagined as youngsters. Sponsored by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the Urban Challenge involves college and university teams from all over the world competing to demonstrate the capabilities of their own unique robots, or, in the words of the official challenge, “autonomous ground vehicles conducting simulated military supply missions in a mock urban area.”

What this means is that the vehicles in this competition are driverless; they have essentially been turned into robots. During the competition, they must navigate a 60-mile course under simulated traffic conditions without intervention from human operators. They must be able to negotiate busy intersections, obey traffic signals, and deal with merging traffic and obstacles on the roadway – autonomously.

GM is proud to be partnering with one of the teams in the Urban Challenge – the Carnegie Mellon University Tartan Racing Team. This team has transformed a Chevrolet Tahoe into a robot named “Boss” after GM research founder Charles F. (“Boss”) Kettering. Boss is an automated driving machine equipped with radars, lasers and cameras for driving assessment and computer software to replace the human driver.

The implications of the development of robots like this are staggering. From increased safety to the alleviation of traffic congestion to the potential for self-driving vehicles on public roads, the possibilities are endless. GM sees competitions like the DARPA Urban Challenge as moving us closer to fulfilling our vision to build the automobile of the future – vehicles that address the challenges we face every day and that are sustainable in terms of energy, the environment, safety, and congestion.

The things we learn from the DARPA Urban Challenge are far more valuable than the prize itself. And we hope that the advances we make because of it will inspire young people who are growing up today imagining the future.

Posted by Editor at 9:48 AM
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October 22, 2007

Checking Back

By Mary Beth Stanek
Director, Environment Energy and Safety Policy

Thanks to all of you for your comments regarding my ethanol myth piece that was posted awhile back.

I especially want to thank Gary for all of his analysis shared with readers. He is right about keeping the dialogue going and we will do our best at this end to post in a more timely manner.

For this round, let’s get to some of the comments, then talk a bit more on what we are doing at GM to promote biofuels.

There were a number of comments about net energy balance, researchers and their study parameters. As you know from our posts, we do support the Department of Energy work at Argonne National Labs because they evaluated a number of studies and identified what many believe to be a reasonable set of input and output data. We viewed the Argonne parameters as being more in line with true input and output variables. I do agree that researchers on this subject are using varied inputs and outputs. By and large, the majority researchers on this subject view corn ethanol production as having a positive net energy balance. I would encourage everyone to look at a couple of reports including Dr. Michael Wang’s net energy balance report. I would also encourage a quick review of Science from Jan. 27, 2006, to look at their findings as well.

Several bloggers wrote about the rising costs of food and feed. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has a great deal of information on this subject and I encourage everyone to reach out to USDA to inquire about these issues. We did, and found that prices are increasing at about the rate of inflation. The price of a bushel of corn spiked in February 2006, and it was mostly a fear of a lower carryover in the annual corn production, which typically is about 1 billion bushels. You know from following the Chicago Board of Trade that prices have fallen significantly since that time. In fact, the corn harvest in 2007 was the largest in 75 years and 26 percent larger than 2006, according to the USDA. We can meet our food, feed, fuel, export requirements and carryover figures very easily and that supports normalized bushel pricing.

It is also worth mentioning that worldwide demand for dairy and beef products are contributing more to increased food and feed prices than ethanol production. It should also be noted that cattle co-located near ethanol facilities benefit from affordable high-protein distillers grain for feed, which is a byproduct of ethanol production. Collocation keeps prices down for both food and fuel production. There are several articles on global demand as the world economy continues to grow and the use of ethanol byproducts for animal feed and can be found through regular search engines.

I was pleased to see a comment about the need to grow the E85 infrastructure. I believe it can be done by bringing business and government together to make it happen. GM has worked with several ethanol producers and fuel retailers to help find grant funds and to co-market E85 stations. To date, we have programs in 14 states and have some role in introducing 270 new E85 pumps that are helping to target for reduced CO2 and less use of fossil fuel. One writer indicated that lived 50 miles away from the nearest E85 station. You can be confident that more E85 fuel will be available in the remaining months of 2007 and throughout 2008 now that United Laboratories (UL) has approved dispensing equipment. Even during this time, businesses and governments have been working to nearly double the number of stations offering E85 since just last year.

Another writer wondered whether we were basing our comments on biased sources. At GM, we focus on obtaining information from credible sources including federal agencies, national laboratories and research institutions. GM itself has been working on biofuels for more than 25 years and has research labs and partnerships worldwide, especially in the area of biomass. Our scientists have a vast network of information linked with known leaders in this field.

Ethanol does reduce fossil fuel use when blended at high levels such as E85. Ethanol is renewable in that it does come from bio materials. Increasingly we will see ethanol from cellulose, which is also bio-based.

There was a very good comment posted about how much ethanol can offset fossil fuel use in the United States. The U.S. consumes about 140 billion gallons of transportation energy annually. That is forecasted to grow to 180 billion gallons of energy a year in 2030. We need to reduce our use through a variety of methods including vehicle efficiency, driving behavior (loads, acceleration, etc.), advanced technologies such as two-mode hybrids, fuel cell vehicles and biofuels. We worked cooperatively with the University of Toronto, and we believe that as much as 30 percent of the energy needed for transportation in the 2020 timeframe can be provided by biomass-based biofuels. This can only happen if we continue support research that is focused on sustainable biofuels.

A quick comment on tractors. We don’t build them, but we do know that other engines manufacturers are very active in this space assessing and increasing biofuel use.

Lastly, our team has been out in cities near you promoting E85. We just wrapped up the very successful E85 Days of Summer Tour, which generated more than 24 million media impressions in the seven cities we visited in seven weeks. We are now out on the road with the E85 Fall Kickoff. We began in Pittsburgh and will be in three Wisconsin cities this week. Our other stops include Atlanta, Denver, Tucson, and Phoenix. We have been meeting with consumers, legislators, media and educators. The response has been great. Where possible, we are activating new stations and supporting existing E85 infrastructure.

Thanks for writing.

Make sure to check back with Donna McLallen, too.

Posted by Editor at 12:58 PM
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October 12, 2007

Driven to Safety

By Chet Huber
President, OnStar

This week, OnStar announced a new technology – Stolen Vehicle Slowdown – which has the capability to slow down stolen Model Year 2009 GM vehicles at the request of the vehicle’s owner and with the help of law enforcement. As a 35-year GM employee, I am so proud to be able to work for a company that truly cares about the safety and well-being of not only their drivers, but all drivers on the road.

We cannot ignore the numbers when it comes to safety. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, there are more than 30,000 police pursuits each year. It is estimated that 12,000 of the chases end in property damage, 7,500 in personal injuries and 300 in fatalities. NHTSA has praised technologies like OnStar’s Stolen Vehicle Slowdown for having the potential to help make our roads better, our passengers more protected and our drivers safer.

OnStar currently responds to 700-800 Stolen Vehicle Location Assistance requests each month. We believe Stolen Vehicle Slowdown is an important next step toward helping to reduce police chases involving stolen vehicles, which is why we are working with several public safety organizations including the Fraternal Order of the Police, International Association of Fire Chiefs, National Emergency Number Association (NENA), and the Association of Public Safety Communications Officials (APCO) to ensure that the proper processes are in place to use the technology effectively.

Here’s how OnStar’s Stolen Vehicle Slowdown technology works:

• Once the OnStar subscriber reports their vehicle stolen to law enforcement, they can call OnStar and request Stolen Vehicle Location Assistance. OnStar will confirm the subscriber has not opted out of the Stolen Vehicle Slowdown service.
  
• OnStar will use real-time GPS technology to attempt to pinpoint the exact location of the stolen vehicle and provide this information to law enforcement to help them recover the vehicle.
  
• When law enforcement has established a clear line of sight of the stolen vehicle and confirms that it is safe to slow the vehicle down, law enforcement may request OnStar to slow it down remotely.
  
• Safeguards will be in place to ensure that the correct vehicle is slowed down.
  
• OnStar then sends a remote signal to the vehicle that interacts with the Powertrain system to reduce engine power which will slow the vehicle down gradually.

OnStar Stolen Vehicle Slowdown is not intended to, in any way, infringe on our subscriber’s privacy. After 11 years and 80 million customer interactions to date, we have demonstrated that we take our subscribers’ privacy seriously. We believe that Stolen Vehicle Slowdown will have great societal benefit, but we do understand that due to privacy concerns, some drivers will not want this service on their vehicle. OnStar will have an opt-out option where subscribers can simply press their blue OnStar button and ask to have the service disabled from their vehicle. The rest of the OnStar services will not be affected. If they want the Stolen Vehicle Slowdown service re-enabled, they can visit their local GM dealership so that a re-enablement procedure can be performed. Through our market research, though, 95 percent of OnStar’s subscribers have told us that they would like this technology on their vehicles – because they do not want their vehicles to be used as instruments of harm.

This is not a science project to us. Developing Stolen Vehicle Slowdown was a unique collaboration across the GM enterprise especially with the GM Powertrain team. This project may have started out as an idea sketched out over hundreds of post-it notes on our office walls, but I am thrilled to say that it is now a reality. GM will make this technology available on nearly 1.7 million Model Year 2009 vehicles, 60 percent of which are Chevys.

Posted by Editor at 11:43 AM
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October 1, 2007

Recycling 7,300 Tons of Waste

By Ray Tessier, Group Director
GM Worldwide Facilities Group , Global Environmental Services

What does a manufacturing plant do with more than 7,300 tons of waste?

GM’s Baltimore Transmission Plant recycles, reuses and converts to energy that amount of waste each year – all the waste it produces from its normal business operations. Recently, Baltimore Transmission was given the designation of “landfill-free,” a title we’re proud of.

Considering the size of the plant – 400 employees make 189,000 transmissions a year – it’s a significant accomplishment achieved by only a few manufacturing plants in the U.S. And when you figure that the average American generates 4.5 pounds of waste each day, over half of which ends up in a landfill, this is a significant amount.

Part of the challenge in reaching landfill-free status is finding uses for recyclable materials. Today, even the tiniest scrap of trash is put to beneficial reuse. Take a look at some of the ways we’re using these materials:

• Wood pallets that are used to deliver some of the plant’s supplies have an interesting after-life. Two Baltimore-area fire departments use the pallets to teach their cadets how to put out fires. Some of the pallets are even shredded for use as mulch.
  
• GM foundries that produce engine and transmission components recycle aluminum.
  
• Used oil is reconditioned for use as a manufacturing fuel additive.

But this is only part of the story. Another part of Baltimore Transmission’s achievement is invisible – it’s waste that simply isn’t there anymore.

Like all GM manufacturing facilities across the world, Baltimore Transmission focuses first on eliminating waste, and then on recycling waste that cannot be avoided. Our most recent data for our global facilities over a five-year period shows we reduced our generation of waste by more than 23 percent, while increasing our recycling rate by more than 4 percent.

We understand that anything that leaves our plants that isn’t a part of a car or truck is waste. Waste is not only bad for the environment; it’s bad for our business. As landfill-deposited waste decomposes, it emits greenhouse gases, contributing to global climate change. It also adds unnecessary costs to our business.

Baltimore Transmission is the eighth GM facility in the world to reach landfill-free status, and it won’t be the last. Our facilities across the globe are continuing to squeeze out waste, and are seeking out and helping to develop the needed recycling infrastructure. Today, GM facilities around the world recycle on average about 86 percent of the waste they generate. It won’t be long before more GM plants reach a level where they send less waste to landfills than the typical American consumer does."

Related

Turning Waste Into Valuable Resources

GM Is Free... Landfill-Free, That Is

Posted by Editor at 1:26 PM
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September 20, 2007

Introducing HCCI Technology

By Susan Garavaglia
External Communications Manager

Recently, GM demonstrated a fuel-saving engine technology that I think has real potential to reduce our nation’s dependence on oil.

It’s called HCCI, which is shorthand for Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition engine, and we think it will improve fuel economy, when combined with other advanced fuel savings technologies, by about 15 percent.

With HCCI, a variety of advanced engine technologies combine to allow for lower temperature fuel burning, which is more complete and more efficient and cuts vehicle emissions. It also cuts the amount of heat energy that is lost with traditional combustion. HCCI creates the same level of power as a traditional engine system, but it uses less fuel to create that power.

If you are a diesel fan, this probably sounds really familiar to you. Similar technology has long been used in diesel engines, but this is one of first times it has been brought to the gasoline engine. Now that we have the tools to make this technology real, we’re moving forward as quickly as we can.

Beyond the efficiency gains, there are other advantages to HCCI, too. It doesn’t require special exhaust systems, it’s adaptable to conventional gasoline engines and it can be used with E85 fuel. In short, we don’t need to design a brand new engine platform to effectively use HCCI. It can enhance much of what we already have.

We believe HCCI will become an important fuel-saving technology in our drive to reduce our nation’s dependence on oil. We’re continuing to perfect the interaction of HCCI with other elements like direct injection, variable valve timing and Active Fuel Management to maximize the potential benefits, which means we haven’t put HCCI into production yet. But we’re working hard to reach that goal to make it part of our future portfolio.

I’m interested in what you think about HCCI. I know it’s far from the only solution to our dependence on oil — and it certainly isn’t the only solution GM is working on — but it’s the one I’ve been working on lately. That makes it pretty important to me.

Posted by Editor at 1:46 PM
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August 24, 2007

E85 “Mythbusting”

By Mary Beth Stanek
Director, Environment Energy and Safety Policy

There has been a lot of fervor in the press lately over E85, with plenty of rhetoric meant to discourage consumer confidence in this renewable fuel. So, please allow me to do a little “mythbusting” on the subject of E85.

Fact: If all of the E-85 capable vehicles on the road today — including those that GM, Ford, and Chrysler have already committed to produce over the next 10 years — were to run on E-85, we could displace 22 billion gallons of gasoline annually.

And if all manufacturers made the same commitment, we could increase the savings to 37 billion gallons of gasoline annually. That’s more than quadruple the savings that a 4 percent per year CAFE increase would achieve … and, very importantly, enough to actually reduce America’s oil consumption by more than 10 percent versus today’s levels, and CO2 emissions, as well.

Here are a few of myths out there on E85, and truth provided by experts.

Food vs. Fuel — Using corn for ethanol takes away from those supplies that could be used for human food or animal feed, and increases overall food prices.
Not true. Each year there is an average 1 billion bushel corn surplus. This will be true for 2007. In response to greater demand, farmers planted the largest corn crop since 1944 and corn prices already are coming down in response. Additionally, ethanol production yields co-products including distillers grain, a high-protein animal feed. The relatively small increases in food prices in 2007 have been attributed to increased energy costs (oil cost). (source: USDA and National Corn Grower’s Association (NCGA))

The increased use of corn to produce ethanol in the U.S. has caused increased prices of tortillas in Mexico. — White corn in Mexico is protected with a tariff against U.S. corn. The tortilla crisis was a result of speculation, not real world corn prices. (Source: USDA and NCGA)

Milk prices are rising due to increased corn price — Milk prices are set by a formula under regional Milk Marketing Orders, the main component of which is supply and demand of dry milk powder, whey powder and cheddar cheese. The regional MMO sets the price bottlers must pay farmers for milk. The prices are high now, thanks to a supply shortfall driven by global trends, including dairy policies in Europe, a long-term drought in Australia, growing demand for milk powder in Asia and the rapid growth of cheese consumption in the United States. Those trends have raised the base price of milk paid to California dairy farmers.
(Source: Renewable Fuels Association (RFA), USDA, USGAO)

Net Energy – It takes more energy to make a gallon of ethanol than that gallon delivers. — False. Current research prepared by Argonne National Laboratory (a U.S. Department of Energy Laboratory), indicates a 34% gain in the overall energy input/output equation for the corn-to-ethanol process. That is, if 100 BTUs of energy is used to plant corn, harvest the crop, transport it, etc., 138 BTUs of energy is available in the fuel ethanol. Corn has a positive energy return and future cellulosic biomass will be even better.

It is worth noting that in fact, gasoline has a negative net energy of .87, meaning it takes 13 percent more energy to produce than it delivers. (Source: ANL)

Not enough land — There is not enough farmland to support the amount of corn needed to produce significant amounts of ethanol. We’d have to clear cut forests to get more land. — There are more than 300 million acres of active cropland in the U.S. In 2007, approximately 90 million acres of corn was planted. Only about 5 percent of corn is for human consumption. The rest is for feed, fuel and export. Also, corn yields double every generation through technology, so our farmers are getting better at growing more on less land. (Source: USDA). In the future, marginal lands will be used as biomass becomes the preferred feedstock and a smaller percentage of land will be needed

Never enough ethanol – We could not create enough ethanol in the U.S. to significantly offset the use of fossil fuels. Studies, including two by the DOE and USDA, have proven we can produce 60-90 billion gallons, on an energy equivalent basis, and potentially offset fossil fuel use by 30% or more by 2030.

Water Waste – Significant growth in the production of ethanol will stress available water supplies in local/regional municipalities. — This is an issue, but a manageable one. Ethanol production is water intensive, but technology is improving. It used to take 5 gallons of water to make a gallon of E85 ethanol. Today, it takes about two to three gallons. Ethanol facilities recycle some of water in the process. Gasoline also uses water in production. Technology improvements and better recycling techniques will improve the process. Proper permitting will help prevent issues from arising in local areas. (Source: Clean Fuels Development Coalition and Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy)

Carcinogens – Use of E85 ethanol will lead to increased smog and health effects. — This assertion has no basis in fact. There was a study published by Stanford University that indicated that E85 was no better or worse than gas. The media misinterpreted the study. The actual study inputs have been questioned by a number of key people, including the Natural Resource Defense Council who have asked for a blue ribbon review.

The potential of bio-fuels like E-85 to significantly displace petroleum is within our grasp today. GM already has more than 2 million E85-equipped vehicles on the road … but they are not being fully utilized because of constraints on supply and distribution.

What are your thoughts on E85? How can we better promote E85 and help consumers understand the positive benefits of bio-fuels?

I look forward to hearing from you.

Posted by Editor at 3:55 PM
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August 21, 2007

Ethanol: My Final Words

By Donna McLallen
GM Assistant Regional Manager, PR/Communications

I love the line in Once Upon A Time In Mexico where Johnny Depp asks, “Are you a Mexi-can or a Mexi-can’t?”

The delivery of that question and its context within the plot line made me laugh. But strangely, it also made me think. Am I an Ameri-can or an Ameri-can’t? Do I live my life with a can-do spirit? Am I part of the solution, or part of the problem?

Of course, there’s much more to my soul-searching than I’ll go into here, but after some reflection, I came to this conclusion: Not only am I an Ameri-can, but I also work for an Ameri-can company, GM.

General Motors is nearing 100 years as a global automotive leader. Few people today remember that in 1942, GM converted 100 percent of its production to the war effort, delivering more than $12.3 billion in material for Allied support. (I’ve been told that $12.3 billion would equate to $30 trillion these days.)

That’s Ameri-can spirit, if I ever heard of any, and that Ameri-can-ism is alive and well at GM today — among the company’s leaders and its workers, like me. I’ve seen it not only in the action GM takes when disaster strikes — like the company’s overwhelming response when hurricanes Rita and Katrina pummeled the Gulf Coast, just to name one example of personal relevance to me — but also in the ongoing, day-to-day business priorities, like finding ways to take automobiles completely out of the environmental debate.

GM is a corporation of people working together toward common goals, so forgive me when I, as one of those people, become a bit offended when our motives for promoting ethanol are questioned. The many flaws of CAFE would be another topic of debate altogether, and I can’t speak to the motivation of every GM employee, but I can say — with much certainty — that our intentions in promoting ethanol as a cleaner burning, renewable fuel are noble.

Now when I first posted about ethanol, I must admit, I was not passionate about it. But I am now.

I’m not a professional blogger or even a recreational blogger, and I’ve spent much more time studying, promoting and defending ethanol than I ever dreamed probable, but seeing how the anti-ethanol forces are mobilized and relentless in their inconclusive and largely baseless arguments, it makes me want to rush out and buy a FlexFuel Chevy Impala today.

I guess the thing that bothers me most about the anti-ethanol constituency is their Ameri-can’t attitude. They’re quick to point out flaws, but offer no solutions.

Currently my GM focus is shifting to other business priorities, like the roll out of new ’08 models, including our new, full-size hybrid SUVs built here in Texas. So, I wanted to bring closure to my participation in the ethanol debate here by refuting some of the most prevalent anti-ethanol arguments.

Here are the facts:

1. Using corn for ethanol does NOT significantly increase overall food prices. There are many other factors at work.
   
2. Using corn for ethanol does NOT deplete supplies of animal feed. In fact, one of the byproducts of ethanol production is animal feed.
   
3. Ethanol production does NOT result in a negative net energy balance. More studies claim a positive net energy balance from ethanol production than a negative one, plus four of the six studies in recent years claiming a negative net energy balance were authored by the same researcher.
   
4. There IS enough land for crops used to produce ethanol.
   
5. All aspects of farming are improving. Controlled pesticide use, better land management and bio technologies will help maintain the ecological balance of increased crops to produce ethanol.
   
6. We are already well on our way to a robust cellulosic ethanol industry.
   
7. The use of E85 does indeed reduce C02 emissions as well as hydrocarbons and NOx.
   
8. The increased use of corn to produce ethanol in the U.S. has not caused prices of tortillas to rise in Mexico. White corn in Mexico is protected with a tariff against U.S. corn.
   
9. Ethanol IS a renewable fuel. Those who say it isn’t are just muddying the water, as we like to say in the South.
   
10. We’ve already acknowledged a decrease in fuel efficiency when using ethanol instead of gasoline, but drivers who fuel exclusively with E85 have told me that the difference is such that they don’t mind.

If GM were advocating that all vehicles run solely on ethanol, then I could understand opposition to our E85 promotion. But we’re simply advocating E85 as an alternative that consumers can take advantage of today to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and our nation’s dependence on foreign oil. Our FlexFuel vehicles run on both gasoline and E85, so that consumers have a choice in what fuel they use. Plus, we’re continuing to harness GM’s Ameri-can-do spirit to develop better hybrids, electric vehicles and cars propelled by hydrogen fuel cells.

Since I began this post with a movie reference, it’s only fitting that I close with another. To those who question GM’s motives on the fuel issue and other matters of public policy, I ask you to remember this: We are the Autobots, not the Decepticons.

We are the Ameri-cans, not the Ameri-can’ts. Our nation can reduce greenhouse gases and its dependency on foreign oil, and ethanol can help. But it will take Ameri-cans to lead the way.

RELATED

The Ethanol Debate

E85 Days of Summer Tour Kicks Off

Posted by Editor at 11:00 AM
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August 14, 2007

The Ethanol Debate

By Donna McLallen
GM Assistant Regional Manager, PR/Communications

Thanks for your feedback. Hopefully this will answer some of your questions.

I think everyone on GM’s E85 team is aware of the current challenges facing widespread acceptance of the fuel. But unlike ethanol’s opponents, we believe that negatives associated with ethanol use and production can be overcome.

We also do not necessarily believe ethanol to be THE absolute solution to a fossil fuel shortage, global warming or America’s dependence on foreign oil. However, it is a solution that is available today, and I like to think that GM believes in giving the American public a choice in what they use to fuel their vehicles.

It is true that GM research shows a 15-20 percent loss of fuel economy with E85 versus gasoline, but E85 remains an economic benefit to the customer, as long as it remains sufficiently cheaper than gasoline. Also, FlexFuel vehicle owners are seeing added benefits of reduced greenhouse gas emissions and the satisfaction of not having to depend on foreign oil.

During the first stops of the E85 Days of Summer Tour, I had the opportunity to speak with FlexFuel vehicle owners in Dallas, Houston, San Antonio and Austin. These were drivers of GM vehicles, as well as Fords, Chryslers and Nissans. Of the drivers who fuel exclusively with E85, their reasons were:

• It’s cheaper
• I’m not depending on foreign oil
• My vehicle seems to perform better
• I’m helping the environment
• I don’t see a big fuel economy difference between E85 and gasoline

Some owners I met insisted that E85 performs just as efficiently in their vehicles as gasoline. We know there is a slight decrease and assume that when added to top off a tank that already contains some gasoline, that the decrease is even smaller. Others acknowledged a slight decrease in fuel economy, but said the benefits of E85, especially cost, outweighed any loss in fuel efficiency. That’s the important part. People are willing to sacrifice a little to make a difference. It’s easier to throw paper and plastic in a garbage can than to separate it in a recycling bin, but environmentally conscious people are willing to do a little extra to help.

I must admit that I am just learning the ins and outs of ethanol production, but oil and gas production is part of my family heritage. I know that gasoline production is a negative energy process that is environmentally invasive, and I know firsthand that it is a process that can be toxic not only to the environment, but to refinery workers, as well.

As for ethanol production, it seems that there is research on both sides of the fence as to whether the process has a positive or negative energy return. Research by Argonne National Laboratory indicates a 34 percent energy gain in the overall corn-to-ethanol equation, but there have been several studies showing negative total energy. I was interested to discover recently that four of the six most recent studies critical of the total energy used in ethanol production were all authored by the same researcher.

And it seems that lots of people are jumping on the that argument corn-based ethanol will deplete the food base, but my own investigation into that issue and talks with Texas corn growers has convinced me that just is not true. This year, as in years past, the U.S. will see a market surplus of 1 billion bushels of corn. Plus, ethanol will soon be made in the U.S. from non-food sources, such as switch grass, so I don’t think anyone is in danger of starving because of a lack of corn anytime soon.

What is the true reason I am pushing FlexFuel? Because I believe that Americans deserve the freedom of choice to drive whatever vehicle they choose in the most economical, environmentally friendly and safest manner possible. I also believe in a cleaner-burning fuel that is safer for the environment and the people who produce it.

My father was born to an oil-and-gas family and worked at a Louisiana refinery for more than 40 years. I remember many conversations with him regarding cars and fuel. I also remember him saying that there wouldn’t be anything wrong with running vehicles on ethanol, if automakers would build them that way.

I wish that I could ask him for input on the ethanol debate, but I can’t. He died in 2004 from cancer, likely caused from long-term exposure to the petrochemicals he used to help make gasoline.

Posted by Editor at 4:30 PM
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July 27, 2007

E85 Days of Summer Tour Kicks Off

By Donna McLallen
GM Assistant Regional Manager, PR/Communications

In a city built on the petroleum industry, promoting an alternative fuel source is lightly regarded to say the least, but that challenge didn’t stop our GM team from educating Houstonians on the benefits of E85 ethanol one consumer at a time.

This week, GM and Chevy kicked off its E85 Days of Summer campaign in Houston, a seven-city tour to promote the use of E85 ethanol and help dispel misconceptions surrounding the fuel.  A media forum and Chevy-dealer meeting on July 24 was followed by two more days of promotional activities, including an 85-cents-per-gallon E85 ethanol fuel giveaway at a local Kroger station and consumer events during two Houston Astros games.

Our efforts were eye-opening, and also showed how much work still needs to be done to bring E85 into the public consciousness.

Some observations from the first week of activities:

It was great to confirm that the FlexFuel option weighed heavily on several buyers’ decisions when it came time to purchase their vehicle, regardless of pump proximity.  Several FlexFuel vehicle owners at the Kroger fuel pump promotion said they drive FlexFuel SUVs because of the available cargo space and/or the ability to transport large families.  By driving a vehicle that uses renewable fuel, they felt they were doing their part to help the environment and the nation.  They fuel up with E85 whenever possible and see only positives in the renewable fuel.  The message was clear from our small sample of Houston consumers – make E85 more available and convenient.

However, even in these days of high fuel costs, our drastically-slashed pump prices and our message – that ethanol is a clean, domestic, renewable and cost-effective alternative to gasoline – was a hard sale.  We generated a modest amount of media interest from several radio stations and print publications such as the Houston Chronicle and Houston Business Journal, but it will take much work for E85 ethanol advocates to combat some of the widespread perceptions and misconceptions about the fuel.

Luckily for GM, we have partners that share our mission when it comes to E85 and are helping us along the way. In Texas, those partners are organizations, such as Clean Fuels USA, the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council and Texas Corn Producers, as well as retailers, such as Kroger.

The video is a pretty good snapshot of what all E85 ethanol advocates face every day throughout the country as we move forward to San Antonio and Austin next week…

Posted by Editor at 12:15 PM
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July 20, 2007

Where To See the Volt in Washington

The Chevy Volt will be stationed in Washington for the next several days. Here's where you can see it:

July 21 5-10 p.m.	Wolf Trap	1645 Trap Rd., Vienna, VA, 22182
July 22 Noon-3 p.m.	Outside RFK Stadium, front entrance	2400 E. Capitol St., SE, Washington, DC, 20003
July 23 5:45 a.m.-8:30 p.m.	Outside Union Station	50 Massachusetts Ave., NE, Washington, DC 20002
July 24 7-10:30 a.m.	Capitol Hill, east front	Washington, DC

For the rest of us outside of the Washington area, we'll be posting photos on Flickr soon.

-- Christopher Barger, Director, Global Communications Technology

Posted by Editor at 2:10 PM
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July 18, 2007

Greening Our Buildings

Take a look at this video showing GM's dedication (such as the efforts being made at Lansing Delta Township) to making sure its facilities are working toward a healthier environment. -Alicia Dorset, blog editor

Posted by Editor at 5:02 PM
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July 9, 2007

Stay Tuned

By Christopher Barger
Director, GM Global Communications Technology

Hi everyone,

You may notice a little bit less content here on the GM blogs, especially here on FYI, this week. That's because we've entered "summer shutdown" — a two-week period where our plants are shut down and most of our employees are off enjoying the summer holiday season with their families. We had a decent bullpen of posts from people ready to go for this week (stuff they'd written recently and that we can post in order), but for the past week and this week there will be a lot fewer GM people around — so it's obviously harder to get new posts if fewer people are here to write them!

We do have some posts lined up and some folks are still around, so the blog won't go completely dark. But if you notice less activity on our sites between now and mid-July, don't think we're losing interest or forgot about you; we're just enjoying summer. Which I hope all of you do, too.

For our U.S. friends, I hope you enjoyed the 4th of July; for everyone else, enjoy the nice weather and we'll catch up soon!

Posted by Editor at 8:45 AM
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June 29, 2007

A Grand Opening

By Beth Lowery
Vice President, GM Environment and Energy

This is a blog post about a fuel pump opening. Stay with me, because it’s a bigger deal than it might sound.

E85, in case you didn’t know, is an alternative fuel made up of 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline. GM has already built more than two million FlexFuel vehicles that run on E85 ethanol – and there’s more on the way. (FlexFuel vehicles are just one of the things we’re doing at GM to help reduce America’s dependence on petroleum.)

So what’s the big deal about an E85 pump opening, you might ask?

We’ve been working with a number of companies who are building the supply infrastructure that will make getting E85 easier than ever. Yesterday’s event was one step further toward that goal. We’ve teamed with VeraSun Energy (a leading supplier of ethanol) and a local retailer to open a new VE85 – that’s VeraSun’s branded E85 ethanol - pump at the Georgetown Chevron in Washington, D.C. It’s the first ethanol pump within city limits that is open to the public.

That’s not all. Enterprise Rent-A-Car joined us yesterday, and announced that their main rental location in the District – just three miles from the Georgetown Chevron station - is now officially an “E85/FlexFuel branch.” They’re offering 50 GM FlexFuel vehicles for rent that are stocked with information on the benefits of E85 ethanol and the location of the Georgetown Chevron station.

These ongoing partnerships with fuel suppliers and retailers are an important part of the process of market acceptance – to get the benefits of an E85-capable vehicle, you obviously have to be able to get E85! — and yesterday’s announcements in Washington brought us closer to getting the infrastructure needed around the country.

Carlos Horcasitas, Chairman and CEO of Mid-Atlantic Petroleum Properties, and May-May A. Horcasitas Vice Chair & CFO, the station owners, went all out for this event, even repainting the entire station in the days before the opening.

And the spiffing up of the station wasn’t in vain. A host of dignitaries attended and spoke at the opening, including representatives from the District, the U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Agriculture and me, representing GM.

Yes, there were lots of speeches. (No, I’m not going to recount all of them!) But events like this help to raise awareness about the advantages of ethanol:

• It can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions
  
• It helps reduce our dependence on petroleum and creates alternatives for our nation’s energy supply
  
• It can help improve vehicle performance, because E85 has a higher octane rating than gasoline
  
• It supports the domestic agriculture industry (from corn to cellulosic)
  
• GM’s E85 FlexFuel vehicles always allow the choice of using ethanol or gasoline, even allowing mixing in the same tank
  
• It is a renewable fuel, unlike gasoline.

You might have heard the argument that production of ethanol will threaten the domestic corn industry by driving up prices and diverting corn from food to ethanol. We’ve heard it too. But the thing is… it’s simply not true.

According to the Iowa Corn web site, the production of ethanol from corn uses only the starch of the corn kernel. All of the valuable protein, minerals and nutrients remain once the ethanol has been produced. For example, one bushel of corn produces about 2.7 gallons of ethanol, 11.4 pounds of gluten feed (20% protein), 3 pounds of gluten meal (60% protein) and 1.6 pounds of corn oil.

So what can you do? Find out where E85 ethanol stations are located near you: go to www.e85refueling.com or just press your blue OnStar button and your advisor will tell you where to find one. To find a list of GM’s E85-capable vehicles, check out www.livegreengoyellow.com.

Our commitment to alternatives to petroleum extends beyond GM and includes suppliers, retailers and drivers of Flex Fuel vehicles from all over the country. This is one of the most rewarding programs I’m involved with. Increasing the use of ethanol – and building the infrastructure to support it – is one of many steps we can take to create a greener future in our own communities. What do you think?

Posted by Editor at 9:52 AM
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June 26, 2007

Listening to the Experts

By Alicia Dorset
Blog Editor

It was a full house at the Power Center on the University of Michigan’s Ann Arbor campus when members of the automotive world joined forces to discuss a topic on everyone’s minds right now — alternative-fuel cars.

Recently, I had a chance to attend TechKnow: Alternative Fuel Cars, and I’m glad I did. I sat among engineers and students, local residents and environmental activists. We all had the same question: How will we successfully reduce our dependency on foreign oil?

GM’s Larry Burns was just one of the panelists that evening; he was joined by Chuck Gulash (Vice President of Research and Materials Engineering for Toyota), Nancy Gioia (Director of Sustainable Mobility Technologies and Hybrid Vehicle Programs for Ford), and David Cole (Chairman for the Center for Automotive Research). With varying members of the auto industry represented, I knew we were in for a good discussion.

Each member of the panel began with a quick overview of what their respective company is currently trying to do to bring more alternative-fuel cars to the market. Larry discussed some familiar names that we’ve written about here on FYI and over on FastLane — the Volt, the Equinox, and the Sequel. Larry talked about how each vehicle varies from the next, but I was glad to hear him talk about the bigger picture 151; that we need to diversify our energy sources. While cars like the Volt will change the way we drive in the future, Larry’s points reminded all of us in the audience just how fragile our current energy situation really is.