>>> >>>>> Every time the government passes a law it makes it harder for American
>>>>> companies to compete in, and out side of the country, and it ends up
>>>>> costing the consumer more money. In the process the government take
>>>>> more of YOUR money to the point the average working man is now in the
>>>>> 28% income tax bracket, not the 15% he was in just fifteen years ago.
>>>>> What really gets me is why the hell did we ever allow the "Citizen
>>>>> Legislators the people will elect" to pass a law to give themselves a
>>>>> pension after only eight years in office?
>>>>>
>>>> I don't know aout that.
>>>> The word out of Detroit is that
>>>> it's union entitlements that are killing the US auto industry. >>>>
>>>>
>>> Are the unions designing these gas guzzlers?
>>> One minute people are saying they don't like the cars and that is the
>>> problem. The next minute people are saying it is union wages.
>>
>> That is one of the biggest problems. When gas was cheap, people loved
>> there SUV's. They would buy a 7,000 pound SUV, to go grocery shopping
>> in, and they loved every second of it. They praised the Big 3 for making
>> such luxurious SUV's, with such powerful engines, and such nice rides.
>> They filled up the tank, and laughed all the way back to the supermarket,
>> not caring in the slightest how much it cost to fill it. But, after gas
>> sky-rocketed, they start bitching at GM because there Escalade doesn't
>> get 40MPG like a Prius.
>
> Exactly, it is the fickleness of the US consumer. Car companies can't turn
> on a dime but at the same time should have been aware there was a
> potential problem ahead if oil prices changed.
> Not sure why they can't just put smaller engines in the trucks like they
> did in the 70s. People will buy what they can afford and learn to live
> with the reduced horsepower.
Actually, for people who either need a truck, or want one bad enough that they are going to buy one no matter what, the Chevy Silverado is better on fuel then any other equally sized truck out there. They even offer it with a 4.3 liter engine. But, even with gas prices at there highest a few months ago, the Ford F-150 and Chevy Silverado are the #'s 1 and 2 selling vehicles. Not just trucks. Vehicles altogether. I think people have pretty much proven that they are going to purchase whatever they want, regardless of fuel cost's, and it is my opinion that that is how it should be. I don't give a rat's ass that a Prius will get 50 MPG. I think they are ugly cars, and I wouldn't own one if I were paid to. People need to stop bitching about the "gas guzzling SUV's and trucks". The fact is, if everyone hated SUV's and trucks as much as some like to think, they wouldn't be top sellers. Sure, SUV's have taken a huge sales decline (in all auto manufactures), but like I said, the #1 and #2 selling vehicles right now are both trucks.