qw

Who's Cashing In on All Those Clunkers?

Agree, in this day and age, not many vehicles manufactured by any auto makers are truly 100% domestic, but profits made by GM and Ford stay in the US versus going overseas for Toyota, Honda, etc.

For model year 2008, 85% of vehicles sold by Ford in the US were assembled in the US versus 46% by Toyota.
Also, domestic content of Ford vehicles in 2008 was 70% versus 41% for Toyota.

Similar statistics exist for GM where 84% of vehicles sold were assembled here and had 75 % US content.

Ford: Positioned to Lead Growth Segments of Auto Industry

With quantum quality improvements and the above technological additions, Ford's present and upcoming offerings puts it in a leadership position when the market comes back .........

Auto Manufacturers Should Take Cue from Computer Industry

Another simplistic approach to a complex problem from an an apparently ignorant columnist.

Toyota: An All-Electric Car by 2012

Without a US energy Policy, all these electric and hybrids will have no acceptance if gas stays at $3 or so. Note the Prius lost 53% in December. Obviously, Toyota did not see the $1.50 gas prices coming, just like the domestics did not see the $4 gas coming.
Also, battery pack replacement costs predicted for hybrids/electrics is in the neighborhood of $5 to $10,000. How many consumers are going to pay that kind of money for a 5 to 6 year old vehicle, to continue using the elecrical portion of the powertrain?
Many will just revert to the gas engine as their sole powertrain at that juncture.

A Modest Proposal For The U.S. Auto Industry: Stop Building Cars

djjkfn56, very good observations.
Detroit has made mistakes in the past but has been competing for years with one hand tied behind their back, when you consider the govt support for their competitors from Japan and Korea and being shut off from the Japanese and Korean markets through unreasonable govt interventions. Also do not forget the games these countries play with currency manupilations, which is common knowledge but the US is unwilling to call them on the carpet for.
Finally, I get tired of hearing these so called wall street types saying that Detroit does not build vehicles that Americans want . In reality, that is precisely what Detroit has done and Toyota and Honda had joined the frenzy by building full size trucks and SUVs to meet the American consumer's demands. The US consumer, until the $4/gallon gasoline crisis, was not interested in fuel economy, and if the US had an energy policy that forced consumer's to purchase energy efficient vehicles, ala Asia and Europe, the domestic industry would have been well served.