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DONT'T YOU THINK YOUR COMMENT"GUSHING BLOOD" A LITTLE EXTREME LET'S GIVE THE AMERICAN AUTO INDUSTRY A LITTLE SLACK

One thing Doug, you may know a great deal about finance, but you don't know a damn thing about cars.
Hybrids popular at present -24,000 & up. Fuel economy 40-60 mpg.
Euro small cars - well under 20,000. Get 70-75 mpg.
It take 2-3 years to develop a car platform to get from design,test and production.
What is already existing in Europe circumvents this problem and Ford should be able to get these into the U.S. Market in 6 months or less.
GM has the same capability.
GM has the Opel Corsa - 75mpg, it's a 3 cyl diesel. No rabbit, but it will go 70 and they probably can sell this under 15,000. The main reason that these vehicles have not been part of the U.S. structure is that the public did not want them. They small. They don't do 0-60 in 6 sec. or less. They shoe box size. They also very small profit margin.
Need any more reasons?

Sounds like a little bashing instead of an informative article. Shortie?

I am asking America to take another look at GM and Ford as well as asking UAW to please shut up for the next 10 years or so ... GM and Ford already have plenty on the plates to deal with UAW strikes as America can and must take market share back from Tokyo. It is a great opporunity for shareholders right now and UAW can think and act like shareholders for a change....If UAW doesnt start buying GM and Ford stock, then I dont see any reason for keeping their plants open here in U. S . of America!! Comprehende!
7-20-2008 @ 1:24AM
gumbo koontz said...
Remember the recent TV clip of an emergency patient lying on the floor for hours while staffers ignored the patient. This is the same thing with GM and Ford as car buyers are ignoring them and buying Toyotas and Nissans. Yes GM and Ford were stupid for producing too many SUVs and PickUps, but they are swearing never again this time on. It is just the inertia of the public that is so slow to turn. Hybrids is still a small niche and we are still buying regular models that GM and Ford are making , too. Soon enough, America will be the next emergency patient lying on the floor while the world ignores America, Doug?

Well doug, better late than never!!FMC can sell those euro models here in large enough #s to turn a good profit. They must however act quickly to offset the $$ losses from pick up & suv sales declines.The margins are slim on these cars, however, they can & must become a mainstay for future revenues for FMC if they plan to compete vs the asian competition, which will intensify in years ahead, especially if gas prices stay high or go higher!!!

For those of you who are new to this blogsite you have just experienced the typical slanted article by this guy. If the topic is Ford he will look past any positive news and try to spin the topic into negativity. His spin this time is that since these Euro models are not hybrids they won't fare well in the U.S. market. He completely ignores the fact that these are the same models that over in Europe have pretty much run the Prius out of the market. He also fails to acknowledge that Ford will have hybrid versions of both the Fusion and Milan in January when the models are re-designed. These models will be less constrained by battery and transmission shortages that have limited the Escape to 25-30K per year. And these will be "real" hybrids that will move these cars to the upper thirties in mpg, maybe 40 mpg city. That is something that no other mid-size hybrid is currently capable of. And no the Prius is not mid-sized. It is considerably smaller than these two vehicles.

Hey Lindblad,
You need to do some more research before telling us all about the wonderful car of Europe. First, those minicars, with the high mileage diesels are not what Ford is looking to produce here. No one can build a business case for them in the US at this point. If you read the actual WSJ article, instead of relying on McIntyre and/or making your own guesses, you'd know the models being considered are the midsized Mondeo to replace our Mexican Fusion, and the modern version of the Focus (we are now getting an 8 year old model).
BTW, no one develops a new platform and gets in into production in 2-3 years. And Ford won't get these Euro models here in 6 months, either.