Are American Auto Makers Deaf, Dumb and Blind
John Crossen
2008-05-21 10:56:29
American Auto makers have always confused me, but in today's world with soaring gas prices, concerns about congestion abounding and the pollutants we are putting into the air, they just amaze me. They still cannot make a car that competes with the Asian or European models. They remind me of the big dumb jock from high school, remember him. He was good for something at one point in time, but now what good is he?Recently Edmunds.com published a story about the top 10 most efficient 4-door cars available, based on EPA fuel economy numbers and guess what? Not one car from an American manufacturer made the list! With gas prices on the never-ending rise, they still pump out SUV after SUV. In addition, they pump out trucks that are miserable on gas mileage, I know; I own a Dodge Ram. It is apparently clear that foreign automakers understand the current state of affairs and the pulse of the car-buying world.
Do American car companies just not care about what we consumers want?
There are a couple of domestic hybrids out there, such as the Ford Escape, Saturn Vue, and Chevy Silverado. But these are SUVs not cars. What, do they not care or are they just so arrogant that they think we will keep supporting them as is? Everyday we hear support America. Well come on Detroit, give us something to support. My Ford Taurus was a mess, so bad I gave it away. My Toyota Sienna is a dream. Runs great, gets great gas mileage and has a company that provides great service behind it. The only reason the Japanese have a stranglehold on the hybrid car market is because the American manufacturers just don't seem to care. Oh yes, the Chevy Malibu Hybrid debuts this year. Yippie, but wait, the Malibu Hybrid will get only 27 MPG average. That is absolutely hilarious. My friend's Nissan Sentra, which is 9 years old, tops that number; it gets 31 MPG. My Hyundai Elantra, which is 7 years old, gets 36 MPG. Ford, forget about it, nothing, zip, no hybrid cars, just the Escape hybrid SUV, which gets 32 MPG. So 9 out of the 10 most fuel-efficient sedans come from Japanese auto makers. The tenth comes from Kia. Kia, a subsidiary of Hyundai. Of course the reigning champions are still the Civic hybrid, the Prius hybrid, and the Camry hybrid and the most interesting thing is that 6 of the 10 most fuel-efficient 4-door cars are not hybrids at all. They are small gasoline powered cars, such as the Corolla.
So what is it Detroit. Are you deaf, dumb and blind or just arrogant? Your call.