Well, whattaya know! After all these years, General Motors, once the world’s largest manufacturer of automobiles and trucks, has conceded the fact that it and other American auto builders have permitted the Japanese and European automakers to seize the lead in sales with their smaller models that save on gasoline and run much farther on a gallon of gas!
For years, many observers, including this writer, have been pleading with the American auto industry to meet the foreign opposition by building small cars that use much less fuel. Now, with gasoline prices soaring everywhere in the world, GM has finally seen the light and ordered closure of four of its SUV and pickup plants so it can concentrate on producimg small vehicles to meet the foreign opposition.
But is it too late? Toyota, Honda, Nissan, and other foreign automakers have taken over the lead in sales in the U.S. and elsewhere — and the new, small models planned by GM, Ford, and Chrysler won’t start appearing on the market until 2010. It will take a miracle for Detroit to catch up with the foreigners.
At the same time, auto plants have been closing by the dozen for lack of sales, while the foreign builders have stepped up their construction of new plants in America. It’s been a crazy turn-around for the nation’s auto industry, but the makers have only themselves to blame for sticking with the auto behemoths, their high cost, and their low gas mileage.
Call it a case of super-greed — greed reflected in the extremely high cost of the many gas guzzlers GM, Ford, and Chrysler have been building but failing to sell in recent years. The sad irony is that the Detroit auto moguls didn’t see the light when the Hondas, Toyotas, and Nissans began selling like hotcakes across America more than three decades ago.
Although the foreign builders of auto plants and autos in the U.S. will help take up some of the slack, many thousands of jobs are being lost in GM, Ford, and Chrysler plants. The Associated Press reported that 70 of these plants have already closed and that 149,000 jobs have been eliminated, as a result.
One of the more cheerful announcements of the day came from GM. The AP said the company has on its drawing board production of a Chevrolet Volt plug-in electric car, which GM plans to unveil in 2010. Fully charged, the Volt “could drive about 40 miles without using gasoline! Its ultimate range could be 150 miles.”!
Bring it on! It’s cars like the Volt that could eventually save the American auto industry from a total collapse. I believe that if the nation’s drivers could be offered something like the Volt or even a gas-using car that rivals the Hondas, Toyotas, et al, the people will bring about a revolutionary trend that would once again make American-made cars the most popular in the world.
The long-sagging Detroit story is truly a deep mystery to me and so many other observers. For years, American drivers tried to make their wishes known. They did it by switching to the new, gas-saving cars that were introduced to America 30 and 40 years ago. But the Detroit automakers misunderstood the new trend and refused to meet the new demand for small, gas-saving vehicles.
I should know. My wife and I have been buying Toyotas and Hondas for nearly 30 years and not only enjoying the saving at the gas pump but the much longer rides, as well.