Date:         Wed, 18 May 2005 08:06:24 -0600
Reply-To:     jimt <camper@TACTICAL-BUS.INFO>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         jimt <camper@TACTICAL-BUS.INFO>
Subject:      Re: Trouble at the SUV corral: NVC
Comments: To: Jim Felder <felder@KNOLOGY.NET>
In-Reply-To:  <4b68a81daabf579904d3201f38daf37b@knology.net>
Content-type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"

Another thing that hurt GM bad was Toyotas new truck lines for the last two
years.  Analysts cant say why but almost every truck sold by toyota was one
less for GM.  In the same truck market Ford stayed fairly stable.  GM in
recent years has been betting on trucks and lost.
jimt

On 5/17/05 10:23 PM, "Jim Felder" <felder@KNOLOGY.NET> wrote:

> I think that pumping out SUV slowed to a trickle last week when both GM
> and Ford were downgraded to junk bond status in a largely symbolic
> recognition of a sad situation that's been going on for some time. SUV
> sales are off 15 percent for last quarter and both those companies bet
> the farm on SUVs. Toyota reported SUVs sales down similar to the
> American manufacturers sales, but profits were up because they produce
> a more diversified product line.
>
> You just can't imagine that the US auto industry would make such a
> whopping stupid mistake again (like they did a generation ago) and hand
> over market share to the japanese AGAIN, but they did it. The looming
> problem is that the US carmakers have little else but SUVs to sell,
> having pathologically neglected the development of efficient cars.
>
>
>
>
>
> Jim
>
>
>
>>> N.A. Automakers are still pumping out
>>> SUVs like there is no tomorrow and N.A.  consumers still buy them and
>>> pickups that we don't need.
>
>