Transparency Hops in the Back Seat

General Motors tries to Keep the EPA from Stealing Its Lunch
(Image Credits: A&M Flims)

It seems that GM's CEO, Fritz Henderson, had better grow some eyes in the back of his head; he's going to be spending a lot of time backpedaling. After issuing a statement several days ago on the Chevrolet Volt being potentially commercially unviable (after previously making it the centerpiece of GM's comeback from the brink), Mr. Henderson has now had to do a bit more reversing. After claiming (by a mystical, magical, opaque (re: not transparent) formula) that the Volt would be rated at 230 MPG (get it?), the General has had its magic carpet pulled out from under it by the EPA: the EPA has not tested a Volt. This is like that scene in The Breakfast Club (RIP J. Hughes, enjoy the High School in the Sky) where Judd Nelson and Anthony Michael Hall are talking with Molly Ringwald and AMH accidentally, but not accidentally, hints that he and MR are secretly having nocturnal discourses. Did GM seriously think that they could make outlandish fuel economy claims and have everyone just take it? Does their hubris still run so deep that they can actually believe they are one of the most trusted institutions in America? Making bold claims can show boldness. However, making unsubstantiated and bold claims is plainly foolish.