Cartopia
In 1999, Honda released the Honda Insight – the first hybrid-driven automobile available for mass market consumption in the United States. This was followed in 2000 with the Toyota Prius, the first four-door sedan.
These success stories were followed up with the Honda Civic and the Prius II in 2004 which won “Car of the Year†honors.
Late in 2004, The U.S. automobile industry finally catches on…sort of. Five years after foreign competitors beat them to the market, the U.S. auto industry finally releases a hybrid vehicle – and of course, it’s an SUV.
What is wrong with American car companies?
What is it that makes them think a car consuming more gasoline is what the consumers are demanding?
Perhaps American oil companies enjoy watching SUV after SUV roll off of the assembly line, but these gigantic gas-guzzling monstrosities do nothing for the American people other than use up more of our limited natural resources. These road-hogging behemoths waste more fuel, more oil, more metal, more rubber, more everything – and the American consumer pays MORE for these vehicles up-front so they can continue to pay MORE at the fuel pump and everywhere else…
The logic here is flawed and while American oil companies gleefully run to the bank with record-setting historic wads of money, the American auto industry is taking it in the eye like Clubber Lang – in the re-match.
It is time for American auto industry to stop trying to screw over the consumer and start mass-marketing and selling hybrid cars. And since they can’t figure it out, the government is stepping in an helping by offering tax breaks for hybrids.
It’s wonderful that we live in a place where politicians scream about free handouts to the impoverished and at the same time freely subsidize large corporations with tax breaks for their products.
Friday, January 13 5:41 pm
The car show that just wrapped up had a ton of SUVs and I don’t understand why they continue to push these things… aparantly people keep buying them, but I sure-as-hell am not and not many of the poeple I know.
Sunday, January 15 2:11 pm
It is simple: demand. There is still a strong demand for such vehicles in this country. Gasoline is cheap, even when it gets to $3.00 a gallon, it is still cheap. Sure, hybrids are gaining popularity, but look at the hybrid share of the automobile market. It is a drip.
And the demand isn’t there to justify spending the money to retool manufacturing lines in the plant. Don’t get me wrong, Detroit is investing in research, but Detroit has never thought about the long term, especially when it cuts into short-term profits.
Plus, hybrids are expensive to manufacture.
A person who is buying a hybrid is not concerned with room and performance, so a hybrid is a real solution to their needs, as long as they can afford it. A SUV or truck was never even an option for them. So Detroit isn’t losing customers there. The Japanese have never been a major player in the truck market, so it knew its only chance was trumping Detroit with the hybrids. Japan had nothing to lose.
Me? I drag trailers, dirt bike, sheetrock, etc., all over the place. I need performance, even though I would love to own a hybrid.
Tuesday, January 17 11:27 am
I don’t disagree that gasoline is cheap - but there is a ripple effect across the board when the lowest common denominator increases costs.
Americans should be demanding hybrids trucks that out-perform the non-hybrid trucks. Impossible? I doubt it. There is merely no incentive for making fuel efficient vehicles.
This is how SUVs got started in the first place - since they were a new vehicle and did not fall into the “car” category, rather they were classified as “light trucks” the car companies were able to avoid making them comply with fuel economy standards even though the most SUVs were NEVER intended for off-road use.
Perhaps the American car companies are just too smart - why spend money to innovate when the government - Republicans AND Democrats - will eventually subsidize your research anyway?
Thursday, January 19 10:17 pm
I don’t want hybrids, I want free-energy. I’ll settle for hydrogen, but I think a good 5 billion dollars put into the right research could come up with unlimited free energy.
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