During a public appearance last Friday at the Economic Club of Washington, the chief executive officer of General Motors, Dan Akerson, slammed the Toyota Prius, calling the best-selling hybrid a “geek-mobile” that he wouldn’t own or drive. The outlandish comment by Akerson, who recently took the helm at GM, could be construed as a remark that’s aimed at turning the attention away from Toyota’s hybrid and towards the Chevrolet Volt, but his words certainly won’t sit well with the millions of current Prius owners.
Akerson’s shot at the Prius rang out like this:
Akerson’s shot at the Prius rang out like this:
We commonly refer to the geek-mobile as the Prius. And I wouldn’t be caught dead in a Prius.
GM’s CEO then turned his attention to the Volt, stating, “This actually looks good.”
Akerson’s blunt comment, directed at a rival manufacturer, is common in the industry, but rarely is the world’s best-selling hybrid the target of such negativity. Maybe Akerson’s speech was meant to show that GM is – after accepting a government bailout, emerging from bankruptcy and losing the position of the world’s top automaker to Toyota – ready to duke it out and go toe-to-toe with its competitors once again, but why pick on the Prius? A geek-mobile? Call it what you want GM, it’s still hugely popular.
[Source: Christian Science Monitor]
