Word: gm
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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DETROIT: General Motors this fall will become the first domestic automaker to mass-market an electric car. GM president Jack Smith unveiled the two-seater EV-1 Thursday at the Los Angeles Auto show. Detroit bureau chief William McWhirter reports that the EV-1 is an update of the Impact prototype that has been in development for the past decade: "This is not so much a technological breakthrough as it is a political coup by Jack Smith that caught the entire industry off guard. It may be a sign that GM is ready to shake off some of its marketing...
TIME's Michael Lemonick, who last year test drove a similar model built by Ford, reports: "The electric cars drive and feel very much like a regular car. The acceleration is good, and it handles the same. But it's a bit of a stretch to say, as GM claims, that it's quieter than a regular car. At startup and slow speeds, that's certainly true. The electric motor is almost silent. But at normal driving speeds, most of the noise you hear in a car comes from the road and wind, so it sounds pretty much the same...
...title on New Year's Day, General Motors CEO Jack Smith told TIME's William McWhirter and a small group of automotive journalists that he expected the company to see a second consecutive year of profits in the North America. "This was a chance for him to emphasize that GM's financial recovery was not a fluke, and that he's fairly confident that he's returend the company to a much sounder operating structure than it's had in some time," says McWhirter. Smith, whose low-key management style has earned him the nickname "stealth chairman" in Detroit circles...
...simply not fair to burden people's health to improve the sales of automobiles." But Detroit bureau chief William McWhirter says that the fine, the second-largest levied on a manufacturer under the Clean Air Act, appears to be for a comparatively minor infraction: "The recalls are aimed at GM's Northstar Engines, which everyone views as the gemstones of GM technology and possibly the best V-8 engines made in the world. They are available only in the priciest Cadillacs. Unlike the controversial gas tanks exploding in truck pickup collisions a few years ago, no deaths, personal injuries...
TIME's William McWhirter says that a reported deal between General Motors Corp. and the Chinese government to build a GM plant in China has vast potential for huge auto sales in the largely untapped Chinese market. But, he adds, it also brings to light tremendous risks as the auto giant prepares to go into business with the unpredictable Chinese. "Remember, the Chinese still write their own trade laws," says McWhirter. "It is more than just putting up a car plant. This partnership will require GM to share a great deal of technological expertise. A real concern is that...