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Originally Posted by
franksargent 
Are there
any seeds of truth to this rambling rant/screed/manifesto? I think not.
Domestic hybrids? What market share do these currently have? I'd be highly surprised if it was even 1% of overall hybrid sales. And what kind of hybrids do the big three offer? Expensive SUV's and upscale autos. And they can't even break 30 MPG.
I see you will take every opportunity to demonstrate your ridiculous arrogance. In this case you're dead wrong:
The Ford Escape is 3% of the market all by itself. Add to that the Mercury Mariner, Chevy Mailbu Hybrid and the SUV hybrids you love to despise, and you've got to be near 5%, AT LEAST. But hey, what's being 500% off between friends?
Oh, and those terrible, expensive luxury SUV hybrids you love to rip on are massive trucks that get 21-25 MPG instead of 10. I guess doubling gas mileage is no big deal.
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Blame the goobermint? How exactly is the goobermint at fault? Some bone fide non-partisan links are required to flush out this all too apparent bogus canard.
Are you actually saying that the government has not made the automakers' jobs difficult? Are you kidding? Here's a hint: Requiring 6 different regional gas blends. Here's another: California emissions standards.
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When did the new CAFE standards become law? 2007, 2008, or 2009? And they're phased in to boot. The first light duty truck CAFE standards were thrown out of court, because of the bogus auto industry's faux footprint CAFE standard. That original auto industry sponsored CAFE standard was so bogus that it was shot down in less than a year.
About all Detroit is good for is innovating XpenZive gaZ guZZlerZ! These three are about 0.56% innovation and 99.44% high margin sales. They all should be retooled to manufacturing mopeds.
I won't disagree they relied on high margin SUVs while gas was cheap and money was flowing like water. I mentioned this is one of my earlier posts. That said, you obviously know nothing about the technological development that say, GM engages in.
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Originally Posted by
e1618978
Honda, Toyta, GM, Chrysler and Ford all operate under the same set of rules - how come Toyota and Honda don't suck like GM, Chrysler and Ford? And how do you propose fixing the two main problems - labor costs 65% higher in the big three than at Toyota, and GM having 5 times as many dealerships as Toyota.
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Originally Posted by
vinea
How odd...are you saying that the CAFE and MPG requirements do not apply to Volkswagon and Toyota?
The CAFE and MPG requirements are good and should be tougher if you want energy independence.
I'll be happy to answer those points. First, we can't ignore the mistakes that the Big Three have made. I am not saying they haven't screwed up royally in some areas (notably, overall quality, pricing structure, reliance on cheap gas). That said, Toyota, Honda etcetera have not been playing on a level field. They've had access to a market with demand for autos and money to spend on them. They don't face stiff tariffs like the American companies do in Japan and elsewhere. They get incentives to bring jobs to the US by opening plants, further aiding their bottom lines. The foreign companies also don't have to deal with the crazy labor costs the Big Three do (something that needs to change).
So no, it's just about CAFE and MPG requirements. It's those changes coupled both with other disadvantages I've listed and the mistakes the industry has made.
BTW Toyota worked very hard to make their production interchangeable. You can make a minivan on the same line as a sedan. That way they can change production in a season and respond to customer demand. They did it all without a bailout
\
) just look around. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see things aren't good.
