The Glory Seven

2023 Author: Eric Donovan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-08-25 09:36

GM is under particular pressure at the Detroit Motor Show. The ailing automaker is presenting seven new and, above all, smaller models - but Americans have different tastes.

By Thomas Flehmer

sleet and minus six degrees are all the rage when the first press conferences open the North American Motor Show 2009 in Detroit on Sunday. The climate in “Motor City” has been cold for a long time. Thanks to a US government loan of $ 13.4 billion, the auto giant General Motors was able to see the start of the year. As a patient in the intensive care unit, but still alive.

Deadline until the end of March

By the end of March, GM has to prove that you also have a plan for survival, in order to be able to leave your sickbed at some point.

The Opel parent has to provide initial proof at the traditionally first auto show of the year in the eleventh largest city in the USA.

In contrast to a few months ago in Los Angeles, where the GM stand was orphaned, a total of seven new models from Cadillac, Chevrolet, Buick and Saab adorn the showroom in the Cobo Center in Detroit. They are supposed to save the group from collapse like in 1960 Yul Brynner and his six cronies saved a Mexican village from being taken over by the bandits.

Save the American way

The seven innovations are characterized by a smaller stature and, above all, more economical engines. "At a time when the fuel economy of their vehicle is becoming more and more important to customers, the Equinox impresses with its low consumption," says Ed Peper of the crossover vehicle. The Vice President of Chevrolet North America is thus fulfilling the requirements for fuel-efficient and future-proof drives that GM was given in order to be prepared for the future.

However, the Americans still have a different relationship to economical engines than is the case in Europe. The two newly developed direct injection engines with variable valve control have a displacement of 2.4 liters and 182 hp in the four-cylinder, while the 3.0-liter six-cylinder houses 255 little horses under the bonnet. The consumption in the city is Chevrolet for both with 11.2 liters.

Crossover models as a compromise

For Europe these models would be inconceivable as a savior, but in America they set the direction. "When SUVs become affordable, Americans prefer to buy these models," says GM spokesman Andrew Marshall. Given the recent landslide-like drop in gasoline prices, it is therefore no wonder that Americans, who are also financially struggled, do not take into account any great opportunities for expensive future technologies.

In the dilemma between the low-consumption engines demanded by the government and the fuel extractors preferred by the citizens, GM is therefore relying on the so-called crossover models as a compromise - and very clearly. "Cars in America always stay bigger than in Europe, even if they get smaller," says Marshall.

Waiting for the volt

It is uncertain whether the Seven GM will secure the path to a glorious future. "If I knew that, I could make a lot of money," says Marshall. After all, they are “steps in the right direction”. The great savior is even more eagerly awaited - the Chevrolet Volt electric car. But for this, the Opel mother has to survive another cold winter. Because the real “Glorious Eighth” won't come until 2010. Late, maybe too late. The Mexican village couldn't have waited so long.