Mayor of San Francisco has solution to Automotive Industry's Woes

[Savonarola]

San Francisco mayor blasts Big Three at conference
David Shepardson / Detroit News Washington Bureau
Washington -- San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom sharply criticized the performance of Detroit's Big Three today -- the latest in a long list of California critics.

"With respect to Detroit, it is not good enough to advance by 2012 an ambitious strategy of having 14 different models at GM of hybrids -- when hybrids are yesterday's technology," Newsom said at a conference here sponsored by Newsweek on the future of the auto industry.

He said automakers must move more quickly to plug-in hybrids, noting hybrids like the Toyota Prius have been on the market since 1997.

"We need a very dramatic shift in mentality of Detroit," Newsom said.

Hybrid sales have plunged in the face of sharply lower gasoline prices and still account for less than 3 percent of all U.S. auto sales.

He said the decision to fire General Motors Corp. chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner by the White House was the right one.

"I think (Rick) Wagoner did his best, but he drove the certain strategy," Newsom said. "Remember he's the one that killed the electric car. He's the one who did not adapt ... as quickly as he should."

In July 2006, Wagoner called his decision to kill GM's $1 billion EV1 program the worst decision of his tenure. "It didn't affect profitability, but it did affect image," he told Motor Trend.

California critics have ramped up their assessment of Detroit's performance as GM, Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC have been losing ground in California.

Detroit's Big Three saw its market share in the Golden State fall 4.7 percent to 32.4 percent. The Big Three had market share of 47.5 percent nationwide in 2008.

California has been pushing automakers through a series of regulations to do more to improve the efficiency of vehicles and to bring zero emission vehicles to market. California and 12 other states have sought permission from the EPA to cut vehicle emissions by 2016.

"We make these bets, and we've been proven right. We've fought the last eight years against the EPA," Newsom said.

He noted that Detroit's Big Three have vigorously opposed California's plan to cut emissions by 30 percent by 2016.

"Talk about shooting yourself in the foot. This is the same group of folks that spent billions of dollars over the years lobbying against seat belts, lobbying against rear view mirrors, lobbying against air bags and now lobbying against the one thing that will save them -- low carbon fuel standards," Newsom said, saying automakers were in danger of becoming a "fossil" without changing their ways.

"We've got to save this industry and that's why we need partnerships but we need to re-imagine," Newsom said.

Automakers, including foreign companies, have argued that California's standards would create an unworkable patchwork system, cost them billions and force them to stop selling some vehicles in some states as a result.

Newsom said the industry has to be reinvented, and he pointed to the many California electric vehicle start-up companies as examples of that change.

"We're going to have to dramatically re-imagine the automobile industry, and the problem is we're still stuck in this argument about how we can fail more efficiently," Newsom said.

He criticized the GM viability plan, noting that it sought $16.6 billion in additional U.S. government loans and another $6 billion in foreign government loans, on top of the $13.4 billion bailout GM's received to date. He called that strategy a recipe for a "slow death." He said the additional loans are "only going to buy us a little time."

The Obama administration has promised GM unspecified short-term aid for the next 60 days as GM revises and deepens its viability plan.

GM spokesman Kerry Christopher declined to comment on Newsom's remarks.

Sitting in the audience were two GM officials and Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm, who responded to Newsom's comments after the session.

"I think it's easy to talk about Detroit when you don't have to look into the eyes of workers who have been laid off," Granholm said. "This has got to be done in a way that respects the workers who are left holding the bag."

Thank you city official from California.  You've shown us a better way.   

[Faeelin]

"Be better!"

He's brilliant. Why is this man not God-Emperor of Earth, ushering in a millenium of prosperity?

[derspiess]

 

Cars that run on imagination : brilliant.

[HVC]

Isn't California going bankrupt or something? Should they be telling others how to run anything?

[Caliga]

Isn't this guy a total fucking space cadet?

[Savonarola]

Isn't this guy a total fucking space cadet?

No, that doesn't seem likely; he's from San Francisco.   

[garbon]

Isn't California going bankrupt or something? Should they be telling others how to run anything?

SF != CA

[DGuller]

"Be better!"

He's brilliant. Why is this man not God-Emperor of Earth, ushering in a millenium of prosperity?

What's wrong with being better?

[Martinus]

Isn't it pretty much de rigeur these days for big Western cities to have crazy mayors? It's like getting worked up over Ken Livingstone or Boris Johnston.

[Neil]

Isn't California going bankrupt or something? Should they be telling others how to run anything?

When it comes to mismanagement, who is more expert than a California politician?

Still, he does have a good point.  If GM's big plans are to try and compete in a market that the Japs invented a decade ago and continue to dominate, this will be ugly.

Still, I think that emissions and hybrids have less to do with falling market share in California than the mayor of Fag City would like.  I blame ricer fags.

[The Minsky Moment]

When it comes to mismanagement, who is more expert than a California politician?

How about  . . .  a Big 3 US automobile company.   

Yes making fun of a SF mayor is shooting fish in a barrel, but the sad thing is that a advocating a corporate strategy of transcendental meditation and singing kumbaya all day could not have yielded much worse results than what actually happened.

[Razgovory]

Isn't this guy a total fucking space cadet?

Your thinking of John Glenn.

[Sheilbh]

Isn't it pretty much de rigeur these days for big Western cities to have crazy mayors? It's like getting worked up over Ken Livingstone or Boris Johnston.

I think mad is an overstatement for Ken or Boris.  More like outspoken on subjects that aren't necessarily part of their brief.  And we can add Bertrand Delanoe to that list.  For Delanoe flying the Tibetan flag when the Olympic torch came through Paris, you have Ken announcing when there's a state visit by the Saudis that he'd like to see the house of Saud swinging from the lamp-posts.  Boris is more scatter-shot in his lines black people one day, gays the next, the people of Liverpool (which we'll never forgive or forget) and so on.

[Admiral Yi]

Reminds me a little of the 9/11 Commission Report.

[Neil]

the people of Liverpool (which we'll never forgive or forget) and so on.

He's the mayor of London.  Why wouldn't he disrespect Liverpool and the people therein?