National Post by Arturo Elias, President, General Motors of Canada

GM celebrated its 100th anniversary on September 16, not so much by looking backward as by focusing on what’s next.

While we’ve all heard about the challenges for manufacturers in the current slowdown in the United States, GM is looking to the future with considerable confidence.

We do so knowing three important things:  First, by all accounts GM is making the best cars and trucks in our history - in fact, leading the industry in many new-vehicle award categories.  Second, we know our future will be about advanced vehicle technology leadership - and there again GM leads with breakthrough innovations like the Chevrolet Volt electric car that is slated to start production in 2010.  And, third, we know GM is not just here to stay, we plan to build upon our global sales growth leadership in China, Russia, latin America - and right here in Canada where GM sells far more cars and trucks than any of our competitors.

Across North merica, we are increasing production to meet the surge in demand for our broad range of fuel efficient small cars.  In Canada, we are shifting production toward mid-sized fuel-efficient cars and fuel-efficient crossovers.

GM Canada has announced that our Oshawa, On., plant will be building the first hybrid car to be produced in Canada in 2011.  And to support the transformation to more fuel-efficient vehicles, the Oshawa-based Engineering Centre is rapidly transitioning to R&D on future electric vehicle systems.  This new role builds on the centre’s existing capability in alternative fuels and fuel-cell vehicle engineering.

The most exciting new move toward reducing our dependence on fossil fuels is the Chevrolet Volt, a car that will truly redefine the urban driving experience.

The Chevrolet Volt is leading a new era of electrification of the automobile by creating a new class of vehicle known as the E-REV (Extended-Range Electric Vehicle).

The Volt uses electricity to move the wheels at all times and speeds.  For trips up to 65 kilometres, the Volt is powered only by electricity stored in its 16-kWh lithium-ion battery.  When the battery’s energy is depleted, a gasoline/E85-powered engine generator seamlessly provides electricity to power the Volt’s electric drive unit while simultaneously sustaining the charge of the battery.  This mode of operation extends the range of the Volt for several hundred additional kilometres.

The Volt is generating great excitement and enthusiasm in our industry.  In fact, Volt Nation, an independent Web site out of the United States (gm-volt.com), currently has nearly 40,000 people in 70 different countries queued up and waiting to purchase a new Chevy Volt.  In addition to the Volt, GM is producing the best and most fuel efficient vehicles in our 100-year history.  In fact, GM offers more cars and crossovers that achieve better than 7L/100km on the highway, like the Chevrolet Malibu, Pontiac Vibe and Saturn Astra, more than any other automaker.

Our new cars and crossovers including the Chevrolet Aveo, the Pontiac G8 and the Buick Enclave have attracted great media reviews and convinced a lot of people, including some of our harshest critics, that GM is back.

The European-designed Saturn Astra was named Best New Small Car by the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada, the Chevrolet Malibu was named the North American Car of the Year, and the Cadillac CTS was named the 2008 Motor Trend Car of the Year.  Climate change and fuel economy are issues that continue to shape the future of the auto industry.

In addition to offering more green choices than any other automaker, we continue to take a leadership role in developing vehicles that can be powered by alternative sources of energy at affordable prices.

GM has more hybrids than any other automaker, offering eight different hybrid models by the end of 2008, including the affordable Chevrolet Malibu hybrid and Saturn Vue and Aura Green Lines.  In addition to hybrid technology, one of the exciting opportunities to reduce greenhouse gases comes from ethanol which can replace gasoline in blends of up to 85%.  Our fleet of “Flex Fuel” bio-fuel vehicles is designed to run on either gasoline or ethanol fuel blends containing up to 85% ethanol (E85).  Switching to E85 fuel can enable drivers to reduce their lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions by more than 45%.

GM has also brought to market Active Fuel Management (AFM), a fuel-saving technology that deactivates half the engine cylinders when they are not needed, decreasing fuel consumption by up to 12%.  AFM is particularly effective for highway driving, which is great news for everyone who spends time traveling on our many highways.

Moving forward, GM will continue to focus on developing industry-leading vehicles that offer high quality and unique features at competitive prices.

Through cutting-edge technology,