Thadeus Thornton III

What's an American Car These Days?

Yeah, at least we had some protection from the cheap, unsafe trucks that Thailand was preparing to dump on the US. Too bad we couldn't get some of that protection on Kia. 10 year warranty? Try and collect on that or even get parts in a reasonable time. Where is our consumer protection there?

What's an American Car These Days?

@ Tony Carlos

" >----- And the US government does the same for our auto industry. Try doing some research on USCAR and PNGV. These were government research projects aimed at funneling tax money directly into the Detroit auto makers (Japanese companies need not apply). The goal was to get them to produce high mileage cars. Ford, GM and Chrysler all produced the required concept car, cashed our check, and went back to building SUVs.
Toyota had wanted in, but once shuned by us, they went home and developed their hybrid drive system (which had started as a US concept!). " >

This is old news. And the Big 3 did produce many hi mpg vehicles. Where do you think Ford Focus and Chevrolet Cobalt XFE came from? And the Japanese jumped on the band wagon , or tried to, with big SUVs and pickup trucks. And yes, it was foolish for GM to sell it's electric vehicle/battery technology to an oil company and then on to Toyota. So isn't that proof that GM wanted clean and green electrics back in the early 90's? And who bought them? They had to do leases and that's what they got for being foresighted.
Also, the kind of protectionist support that goes on in Japan, Europe, and now especially China isn't near what US companies have benefited from. You folks just don't seem to get it. I guess it's ok to support the troops in dubious military ventures ( no disrespect intended and I am a vet), but when it comes to supporting American business and workers stomp on 'em hard. What an attitude.