As the Big Three Automakers go to the U.S. government with hat in hand Tuesday for a $25 billion dollar handout to save their companies, they have some surprising backers in their quest for money - environmentalists.
Why would the people who fought greenhouse gas emitting automobiles for so long possibly back the worst offenders now?
The answer isn't in the past but the future. Many are worried that the end of General Motors, Chrysler or Ford could also mean the end of the electric car, which the large manufacturers are finally starting to develop after years of resistance.
GM has invested more than a small fortune into its
Chevy Volt (top left), a vehicle that can travel up to 60 kilometres totally on battery power. Hybrids have also come into their own and there are fears that now that Detroit is finally paying attention to global warming and other climate concerns, the only ones with the big bucks to commit to research for better models will either be forced to stop - or disappear altogether.
General Motors claims it plans to protect its investment in the car, no matter what financial fallout follows. But flirting with bankruptcy and cutting $15 billion in costs is making many supporters of the initiative nervous.
The Volt is supposed to hit the marketplace sometime in 2010, but that's presuming there's still a GM around to introduce it.
Analyst Jacob Grose notes GM has 'bet the farm' on the Volt, but the economic uncertainty could delay it for years.
Many environmentalists are urging the U.S. government to tie any aid into a requirement that the companies receiving it will make more eco-friendly cars, arguing that not only does their economic survival depend on it, so does the very survival of the planet.
Photo credit: Ethan Miller/Getty Images