Take care of home first

I'm tired of hearing and reading about Detroit not building cars that Americans want; no wonder sales are down.

[Whiskey Tango Foxtrot]

Gas guzzlers aren't just bad for the environment, they're also bad for national security. We send a lot of petro dollars to countries that don't like us very much.

I agree with the LTE writer about the quality of American cars, it's excellent. Everyone is entitled to drive whatever they want. But any concerns about American car quality is generally unfounded and typically regurgitated from what someone heard someone else say. To those that say their foreign car is made here in America, keep in mind that the profits go to the home country.

[Max]

"SUVs were not a response to consumer demand. They were created and marketed by Detroit to the naive American consumers."

I agree with Ms. Horvath. The above quote, and many similar types of propaganda that regularly appear in major media are intended to manipulate the US automobile industry and American consumers to follow a politically biased environmental agenda. SUVs sold because Americans wanted them. For proof look at the sales of Toyota 4Runners, Sequoias, Land Cruisers, and the complete lineup of SUVs from Nissan, Honda, Accura, and Mazda. But we never read about them in the major media, just the low end economy models.

If Detroit fails, the primary cause won't be be the major media, but they will definitely get credit for doing their fair share.

[algore]

And now they are considering taxing the mileage you drive because of more fuel efficient cars results in fewer taxes to our oppressive government.

[no longer in florida]

Max wrote:

"SUVs were not a response to consumer demand. They were created and marketed by Detroit to the naive American consumers."
I agree with Ms. Horvath. The above quote, and many similar types of propaganda that regularly appear in major media are intended to manipulate the US automobile industry and American consumers to follow a politically biased environmental agenda. SUVs sold because Americans wanted them. For proof look at the sales of Toyota 4Runners, Sequoias, Land Cruisers, and the complete lineup of SUVs from Nissan, Honda, Accura, and Mazda. But we never read about them in the major media, just the low end economy models.
If Detroit fails, the primary cause won't be be the major media, but they will definitely get credit for doing their fair share.

There really was a reason the SUV was developed by the auto industry and it turned out better than the industry ever thought it would. The reason was simple as it had to do with the CAFE average. What was the SUV? It was the replacement of the stationwagon, but could be counted as a truck instead of a car for the CAFE average, even though it was designed to carry people and not really act as a truck.

[Max]

no longer in florida wrote:

<quoted text>
There really was a reason the SUV was developed by the auto industry and it turned out better than the industry ever thought it would. The reason was simple as it had to do with the CAFE average. What was the SUV? It was the replacement of the stationwagon, but could be counted as a truck instead of a car for the CAFE average, even though it was designed to carry people and not really act as a truck.

I'm quite aware of the origin of the SUV. It doesn't change anything about the laws of supply and demand that have propelled SUV sales for several years, so the claim that American consumers were somehow duped by Detroit is simply silly.

BTW the CAFE standard is one of many poorly crafted pieces of legislation by the US Congress.

[Jeffrey Kusel]

If things were as bad as Detroit claims, they wouldn't still be trying to sell their cars for 35 grand. Every year, the cost of the same model goes up two grand, for a few more e-toys on the dash. It's like Circuit City giving twenty percent off on a bankruptcy sale! Then say new merchandise is arriving daily from the warehouses they cried would be empty before Christmas. If it's so bad for you, think about how bad it is for the average Joe. Drop the price, start extending credit again from the bailout money like it was intended for, and don't listen to soccer dad defending his gas hog as necessary.