Detroit, Mich. — One more glaring error (doesn’t anyone fact-check at the New York Times?) in Thomas Friedman’s “How to Fix a Flat” column today about a federal bailout for Detroit automakers.
As a condition for the bailout, Friedman demands that “any car company that gets taxpayer money must demonstrate a plan for transforming every vehicle in its fleet to a hybrid-electric engine with flex-fuel capability, so its entire fleet can also run on next generation cellulosic ethanol.”
There is already an auto company that does this. In addition to sedans, it offers hybrid models in even its largest SUVs. This company is also the industry’s largest investor in cellulosic ethanol production, and every model it makes is flex-fuel capable.
This company’s name? General Motors. Obviously, there’s more to profitability than being green.