Wednesday, March 29. 2006

Asleep at the Wheel

Posted by Diane C. in Business at 18:59
From Asia Times Online: Japan's Auto Success Fuels U.S. Trade Alarm

It seems the U.S. auto industry is in for more upheavals. Toyota should overtake General Motors as the world's no. 1 auto-maker sometime this year. The reason...GM turned its nose up at hybrids until last year. GM has teamed up with Daimler Chrysler in a last ditch effort to catch up with the Japanese. Now you often hear health care costs as the reason for the woes of General Motors and Ford. Or it's the unions, pensions, and government regulations. Think about it. Toyota cars sold in the U.S. are made in the U.S. Japanese auto makers have to contend with the same problems that the U. S. automakers do. 

The problem is fuel prices and the realization by the car buying public that cheap oil is never coming back. But as gas prices went up, up, up, GM and Ford ignored the pump price and their stock went down, down, down. But consumers didn't stop buying cars. They just started buying more fuel efficient cars...

But when the announcement comes...watch the pundits blame everything, but the fact that GM is ten years behind on fuel efficiency research and development.

Is anyone ready for a remake of Gung Ho?
The auto industry is not the usual isntitobvious topic...but I spent seventeen years in the parts industry and some of it in R&D testing.


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