Attending the New York Auto Show last April, I witnessed GM take the white sheets off three super-small cars; the Beat, the Trax, and the Groove. The plan was to introduce the three concepts and then let the people vote online for which one they liked best. GM would then throw that car into production and hey, power to the people! Guess what? The crazy-cool Beat won! Guess What? GM is putting the car into production everywhere but the States. Huh?
Yes, that’s right. General Motors is bypassing introducing a small, efficient vehicle here in favor of other markets. When questioned over this announcement at the 2007 LA Auto Show this week, Bob Lutz said all new GM vehicles are being designed for global markets with the ability to be built in either right or left hand drive configurations and meet all regulations. If this applies to the Beat, it could come to the U.S. if the market warrants it.
Some writers have said that GM’s move is smart in case those CAFE 35mpg standards come to fruition; but it sure would be more impressive for the automaker not to wait and just take the lead on this one. Time, legislation, or “market” forces will reveal all. Stay tuned.
via good clean tech
