Oorgo

Like a duck on a frozen pond

Ok that's not the greatest analogy, but that's pretty much my opinion of GM these days. They're like this giant duck that has migrated to the same pond it's gone for years and years, but over last couple it was frozen, or freezing but it still kept coming back. Sooner or later that duck will die, frozen and chattering, stuck to the pond, not because it was old, but because it couldn't see what was going on. GM is about to close 9 Facilities and eliminate 30,000 jobs, partly because the car market is a tough one these days, and partly because it's too blind to see the train speeding at them called End of Oil.

Instead of spending the past 10 or more years looking into vehicles that conserve gas, and are easier on Mother Earth, they've focused on the almighty SUV and researched ways to make them bigger and more powerful. It makes sense in the monetary short term because hey! SUV's are popular, expensive and somehow a sign of affluence!. Pretty friggin' short sighted, even for a car company, especially one that used to be fighting for top slot. Recent reports have even estimated a 30 - 40 % chance that within the next 2 years GM will file for bankruptcy.

I suppose a positive side to them tanking would be the fire it would light under competitions asses to rethink and retool their organization. This planet really can't sustain us in our current consumptive addiction, and the air will soon no longer sustain our poisonous exhaust. This isn't a choice, it's a reality no matter who you are, where you live, no barrier for rich and poor in gas prices or availability, other than I'm sure some people are hoarding stockpiles underground somewhere, such is our nature. You also have to breathe the same air as I do, as there isn't some fancy barrier seperating the rich air from the poor air. A quick turnaround is the only thing that will save the affluent from paying for oxygen on the street from little black boxes, while the poor folk's blackened spittle is coughed up onto the sidewalk.

Am I a reactionary? I don't think so. Back in 1988 I read Whitley Striebers "Nature's End", a fictional story about the inevitable collapse of our ecosystem. Every day I see one or two things out of the book come to life: in the news, in the world around me, in the air. I originally didn't want to have kids because of the bleak future I thought think we have, but my wife said to me "What if this child found the key to save millions?". You never do know, but god damn does it make me mad when I see companies with their heads up their asses and so distant from reality.

Ok, so I strayed from the topic a bit, it's late.

Posted by Oorgo at November 22, 2005 07:59 PM Permalink - Category: Rant | TrackBack