AutoMOTIVE 5 - (Page 17)

cowger.qxd 24/11/06 10:16 am Page 17 subsiding. In fact, I think the competition will continue to different to those in the US. When you're focused on nitric increase. oxides and particulates, it's very different from going after The cost of healthcare is an emotive issue in the US and greenhouse gases. Meanwhile, we are continuing to look is seen by some observers to be a millstone round the at better and more efficient diesel engines but we will manufacturers' necks. Most other industrialised nations require some environmental or emission requirement with which the US competes do not have the same changes somewhere. problem. In the US, we're spending about 16 percent of Rick Wagoner stated some three years ago at the our GDP on healthcare, says Cowger. This is a fairly Detroit Auto Show that we would provide a portfolio of inefficient way to spend your GDP, particularly when the hybrids, he continues. This portfolio was first led by the next closest industrialised nation is in single digits. There Silverado and we now have the Saturn Greenline hybrid. are two fundamental problem areas. Firstly, the basic We plan to continue to roll out hybrids in mid-size cars structure of our healthcare and, secondly, its inefficiency. over the next several years. Then, of course, we've got In a non-inflationary environment such as we've had in ethanol vehicles in Brazil and flex fuel vehicles that run on the US over the last several years, healthcare costs have var ying degrees of alcohol mixed with gasoline or gone up double digits. That in itself argues that the ethanol. In order to make the flex fuel vehicles a success, system is inherently inefficient and needs an overhaul. We we need two things: the refineries to make this fuel and did manage to negotiate an agreement with the UAW last the pumps to distribute it. I think you'll see incentives to year which is projected to reduce GM's retiree healthcare try to get that infrastructure going, which will not only liabilities by about $15 billion and cut the healthcare make it available but will start to mitigate the cost. expense by around $3 billion on an accounting basis. That Finally, we think that fuel cell technology will equates to a cash savings of about $1 billion each year. eventually be very commercial in the market place, he There is still a lot more that needs to be done on all adds. It may start in fleets and it may start in controlled fronts, he continues. You know far more about your environments. There are a couple of things to be solved, Chevrolet Silverado than you do about the surgeon who's but the efficiency and the power density of the stack are about to perform open-heart surgery on you. I believe we getting to the point where they can be packaged quite will find a uniquely American solution to healthcare, but it nicely. The cost is volume related. As with any new will take participation from all parties to find the efficient, technology, the cost of development is astronomically affordable way to provide it over the long haul. higher than it is when it's in full production. As the industry faces ever-increasing oil prices and a Because of GM's reach and size, we agree with the use requirement to produce more environmentally-friendly of all of these technologies, says Cowger. We believe that vehicles, how is GM set to react to the changing as a manufacturer, we need to provide a basket of automotive world? GM in the US market has more cars propulsion so that the consumer can reach down and that get over 30 miles to the gallon than any other grab the one they need, whatever the fuel price is in their manufacturer, says Cowger proudly. It's something we've market, the emissions requirement or anything else. That's been focused on for a long time. We have improved the what we're working towards. efficiency of the internal combustion engine by over 120 During our meeting, Gary Cowger said he lives by the percent in the last 30 years. That's just for cars. For trucks, title of Andrew Groves' book, `Only the Paranoid Survive.' it's about 80 percent. In Europe, diesels are 50 percent of There has been plenty of reason for GM to become the market and the performance is fabulous. GM makes paranoid over the last few years, but the signs of revival some two million diesels a year. This is a market and a are there, and the road ahead seems less rocky than it did a while ago. a technology that we think is very important. The problem is that the emission requirements in Europe are very 17 

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AutoMOTIVE 5

Editors Note
News
Here For The Long Haul
Halewood. Rebirth of a Car Plant
Safety First
Focus on Flexibility
A Prophet Without Honour?
Chrysler Cuts It Four Ways
A MINI For All Reasons
Porsche Plans Continuous Logistics Improvement
Flawless, Consistent Execution
Ford's European Supplier Parks Deliver Lean Manufacturing Efficiencies
Cheap and Cheerful
Onwards and Upwards
Schrader and Siemens Electronics Assembly Systems Take the Pressure
No Faults Forward
A Long Way From Wheelbarrows and Bath Tubs
A New Era in US/Japanese Cooperation
A Dialogue of the Deaf

AutoMOTIVE 5

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