M1M

SUV Makers Feel the Heat of Higher Oil Prices

I would have to agree that the SUV is one of the dumbest ideas to ever hit the marketplace. I had the equivalent of one in the 80's when my kids were small. It was called a station wagon and had a 4 cyl engine.

GM and Ford also have not been blessed with the smartest CEO's ever to grace the planet, especially GM. A CEO is paid to have vision and these guys are blind. It took until May for GM to admit the SUV and large truck market was permanently disabled. They did nothing to balance the risk with gas prices, spent cash on bad investments like Hummer and SAAB...

But, GM has some levers to pull. They have a decent set of cars in China that would fit perfectly in this market. And, they have good engineering and the ability to engineer their way out of this mess. It's the top management that is the problem. In GM's case, they have paid top dollar to a CEO that has delivered nothing but losses,rapid decline in market share (even when SUV's were selling), arrogantly dismissed help (Kekorian), and cancelled efficient car design in order to double the bet on large gas-consuming vehicles. As long as that situation remains, I don't have too much hope for them...