Word: gm
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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Many automen hope, of course, that the current move toward small size and fuel economy is a passing fancy. "People like big cars," says GM Chairman Richard Gerstenberg. "The bulk of the people who buy a car want comfort and convenience, and they are willing to pay for it." The history of the U.S. consumer lends that view considerable merit ?but a continuing energy crisis could change the taste of many buyers who might otherwise prefer a larger car. The automakers are acting as if that might happen; they are converting to small-car production as fast as they...
...Multiple-car ownership could spread beyond the one-third of American families that already own two or more vehicles, but the pattern will be different. "The more variety you have in small cars, the more people who have one car will want two," says GM's Gerstenberg. A small, unostentatious car will be the workhorse for commuting and shopping. The second vehicle could be any of a number of special-purpose types, depending on family habits and interests: a camper for vacations, a pickup truck for light hauling, a sports car for pleasure driving?perhaps even a large sedan...
...Where the hell is a better transit system for a city of 200,000 than a first-class bus system?"asks GM's Gerstenberg. The car manufacturers' self-interest is obvious?they are the big busmakers?but they have some convincing statistics. The auto has brought about such a gigantic demographic dispersion that only rubber wheels can effectively tie a metropolitan area together...
Buses cannot roam all over the place either, but they can reach many more points than a rail system can, and Detroit is now moving to upgrade bus transportation. GM, the nation's largest maker of city buses, is spending $32 million redesigning theirs to provide more comfortable seats, a smoother suspension, wider doors and better visibility for both driver and passengers. Chrysler and American Motors both have Government contracts to develop new buses...
...have just wrapped up new three-year pacts with the United Auto Workers that only marginally exceeded the Administration's guideline for wage hikes. These settlements may ease the spiraling labor costs that have contributed to rising car prices in the past. Moreover, Dunlop got from Ford and GM, the industry's price leaders, a pledge to limit wholesale price hikes on 1974 model cars and trucks to an average of $150. In the wake of that agreement, Ford boosted suggested retail prices on most of its cars by an average of $179 or 3.8%, while GM lifted...