They walked away for the same reason the Prius plant won’t be built...market. There was no market at the time...They obviously reconsidered because they now have some really nice cars coming...I want the Surge. The nice thing about these cars is they do not have to be plugged in...a very small engine recharges the battery. This is good for the electrical grid which needs serious updating and the pocket book. Those plug in batteries cost 1000’s to replace.
They are not the last to market either...except for the Prius which was a cult car and did not sell well. Insiders know that Japan did all the R&D on the Prius...they deny it, but we know the truth. Thus Toyota could put out a car that would not sell particularly well and cost a fortune to manufacture. GM did not have the luxury of a government subsidy. They began a serious turn to gas economy in late 2003...we have hybrid Tahoes for example among others. GM cars get great gas mileage in general and they beat the foreign cars at this...have to because of Cafe. GM has incredible battery technology and will build the plant to produce these batteries in the US...they may very well supply the competition-including the transplants. Wouldn’t that be a hoot.
Problem is they had all the experience to know that gas wouldn’t stay cheap forever and there would again be a market for gas sippers. And the timing turned out as comical as possible. 2004 they make the announcement they’re all about SUVs and full-sized pickups, and months later gas prices start going up, and they don’t come back down until November 2008. The classic Detroit 3 mistake, they embrace the hogs just in time for gas to go up.
GM is the last to market, everybody else already has stuff out. And they turned AWAY from fuel economy in 2004, because the gas hogs have a higher profit margin.