No, G.M. hasn't endorsed a Green Party candidate in Oshawa, but they have announced that the Oshawa facility will begin building hybrid Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickup trucks during the spring or summer of 2008.
It appears that G.M. has heated up the hybrid rivalry with rival Ford, who earlier announced plans for assembling hybrid versions of the Ford Edge and Lincoln MKX cross-over utility vehicles in Oakville by 2010.
This seems to be a smart move. First of all, it keeps unionized jobs in North American auto towns. Fuel efficient vehicles, especially hybrids, are becoming increasingly popular with consumers as they have better fuel economy and reduce emissions. Secondly, the big three have been losing ground to non-unionized, offshore imports, which often have better fuel efficiency than traditional North American vehicles. Hopefully this will allow G.M. and Ford to keep a higher market share and will encourage consumers to buy domestic, which will ultimately help to keep manufacturing jobs in southern Ontario.
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