General Desperation Motors

How desperate is once-mighty General Motors to get a piece of a red hot hybrid car and truck market it long ignored?

Desperate enough to put a fake plastic cover over a pushrod engine a few months ago to try to convince AutoWeek that it was testing a hybrid prototype, according to GM gadfly Robert Farago at the Truth About Cars blog.

And desperate enough that it dolled up its new Chevrolet Tahoe Dual-Mode Hybrid SUV on view this week at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit to make it look like it was ready for prime time. When a sticky beak (that Aussie slang for a nosy person) asked a GM rep to pop the hood, he refused, and before you could say “Bankruptcy Looms!” the vehicle had been removed from the show.