GM has been riddled with chronic shortsightedness since the '60s.
It failed to notice Volkswagen's invasion in that decade, which exposed the big three's weakness: small cars. VW cracked it, and Toyota, Honda, and the rest squeezed in. Then they used statistical quality control to improve quality until they surpassed the big three.
The big three surrendered the small car market, and then the midsize market. Instead, they pursued big trucks, and developed an inspired scheme to sell cargo and utility vehicles to families. Which worked fine, generating big profits, until gas prices shot up.
schweb said:
For example, if a car company was truly thinking about alternative fuels, their entire line would be running as hybrids or more. Toyota only has the Prius. So yes, I would claim it to be a half-hearted attempt. Toyota only got lucky because of the recent oil crisis. I doubt they planned it that way.
Prius, Highlander hybrid, Lexus RX400 hybrid, and the upcoming Camry hybrid, with plans for a hybrid option on every model within the decade...
Honda, meanwhile, has the Insight, Civic hybrid, Accord hybrid, with a natural gas Civic set to go into full production this year, and like (much larger) GM, has hydrogen prototypes on the road as a test.