Why is it that we feel the most alive when we are actually closest to the alternative?
Human nature, at least in the industrialized world, seems to include for many a perverse attraction with "the thrill," sending otherwise normal folk out to the local airport on the weekends to defy all laws of common sense (and some of physics) to enjoy a jolly afternoon of skydiving.
And while a great deal of adrenaline-prodding hobbies hinge on the notion of speed, (think the racing of any land, winged, or water craft, pretty much any air related event, or activities with "downhill" in their description), many do not. Like whitewater rafting, rock-climbing and sucking on the remains of the poisonous Fugu or Blowfish, for example.
Unfortunately the need for speed isn't limited to the personal level and has, in fact, become completely engrained in the professional and business worlds as well. In some cases, it defines entire industries. Superimpose "profits" or "share price" for speed, and we tap into a Pandora's box of misbehaviors, which may be good for sales in the short run or temporarily inflate a stock, but left unchecked, can have all the characteristics and consequences of an improperly-packed parachute.
At least at the personal level, the dangers of the pursuit are generally confined to yourself, or in the case of rafting, the rest of your crew. When companies live on the edge, however, all of the surrounding society feels the pain. Take GE's strategy during the 90's under the watch of Jack Welsh, for example. Culling the workforce by some 50's-60% did do wonders for productivity and ultimately led to exponential growth. But the costs to towns, company vendors, copycat employers and the Mohawk River in upstate New York were incalculable.
Another macro example might be bottled water, which has ballooned into a $35 billion dollar industry worldwide. Supposedly started by a couple of very enterprising Frenchmen in the 70's, consuming designer water has continually captured our fantasies and become a sign of status, while coincidentally being "Propel"-led by our society's thirst for convenience, apprehensive (terrorized) nature, and general laziness. North Americans enjoy the cleanest water anywhere in the world, yet as Americans we spend nearly $11,000 per minute ($8 billion per year) on something we already have, essentially for free.
As a matter of fact, for the price of a bottle of Evian, we could use about 1,000 gallons of tap water. It is also estimated that 9 out of 10 used water bottles end up as trash in landfills to the tune of about 30 million per day. The oil used to supply us with water bottles for a year (1.5 million barrels) is enough to power 100,000 vehicles over the same 365 days.
Note to Gordon Gecko: greed may not be so good.
So, when news was released this week about the introduction of General Motors' new line of GMT900 pickups, the question of whether or not GM was going to continue to be good by being so bad and profit off the environment quickly resurfaced.
Introduction of the pickups comes on the heels of the new GMT900 platform SUVs, which are by all accounts significantly better than the 800-generation and excellent vehicles in their own right. The rub is that shipments of the new Tahoe, for example, are down by 38% over last year. GM is in a footrace for PR as much as it is in design, as the opinion of their products remains equated with hulking gas guzzlers for which the fuel tax was named. As many journalists have commented, it is a bit like providing an answer to a question no one was asking, or entering a Shetland pony in the Westminster Dog Show.
The real question as to the success of the new trucks, and possibly GM as a whole, is whether or not CEO Rick Wagoner will have enough breath leftover to tout the fuel-saving merits of the GMT900s' GEN IV Vortec engines with variable valve timing, Active Fuel Management and E85 compatibility after he describes how the vehicles are, otherwise, completely new.
If it were me, I would probably start with the bit about the gas.
Without addressing the dreaded bio-association, the fact that the GMT900 line employs entirely redesigned braking, suspension systems, interiors/exteriors and could tow the devil himself out of Hades, will simply not matter.
Look for a new message out of Detroit as the new trucks start filling lots this fall. While their introduction may not be quite the automotive equivalent of scuba diving with sharks, public perception is a powerful thing and those who can wield it in their favor can get the public to buy anything.
Just think, it's this very skill that got us to drink water that makes you burp, and convinced us that Evian doesn't mean anything at all when spelled backwards.
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