After years of turmoil, things suddenly look bright for General Motors. The world's largest carmaker kicked off 2007 with a slew of positive news. First, it won the "Car and Truck of the Year" awards at the North American International Auto Show, for the first time in its history, beating its bete noire, Toyota. While its Saturn Aura emerged as the top car model, ahead of Toyota Camry which ruled the US car market for eight years; the Chevrolet Silverado, one of the GM's biggest money-spinners, won the "Truck of the Year" award. "The aura is an important step in our ongoing product revitalization plan, and this award is proof that our efforts are paying off," said a top company official. This was the first time that a car from GM's stable got the top honors, thereby ending a lull of almost a decade since its Corvette model won this award in 1998. Many dubbed it as a promising re-emergence for GM, which could be bad news for rivals, particularly the other two of the Big Three: Ford and Chrysler. "After GM's near brush with death, they got their act together and become a more formidable force. That's more dangerous for the other domestics than the international automakers," David Cole, Chairman of the Center for Automotive Research, told CNN in an interview. And the Detroit major is moving fast to extend its dominance over the US markets. In order to strengthen its presence in the hybrid vehicles market where Toyota's Prius rules the roost, GM recently launched its first car with electric motor in its Chevrolet Volt Sedan, though it is years away from hitting the market. "Taken together, the Volt's debut and the car and truck award signal that GM is beginning to reap the benefits of a turnaround plan that includes massive job cuts and plant closures," stated Aaron Bragman, Automobile Analyst, Global Insight, as quoted on MSNBC website. Absolutely so, as its fabulous achievement at the Detroit show now proves to plug the gap with its Asian rivals.
|
