Why is it that Vauxhall - Opel in Europe can make profits but that GM US cannot.
Why is it that Americans still drive around in V6 / V8 3-5 litre engined cars that don't produce anywhere near the power per litre that European cars do and still complain they don't get good "gas" mileage.
At last the US is starting to suffer high fuel prices. Maybe this is the motiviation required for you President to start reducing green house gases.
American cars have always been poor quality, bad handling, uneconomical piles of trash. Europeans laugh at the half hearthed attempts for US cars to gain any ground in the European market. Dire products such as the Chrysler Crossfire are a joke and Cadillac are just appaling. We don't get Pontiac or Buik and Chevrolets over here are rebadged Daewoo's that fall apart when you look at them.
Toyota have nowhere near the market share in Europe. Why? Because their cars are boring. Boring to drive and boring to look at (the Yaris is the exception but who wants to drive a microcar!). Nissan is the same. The only half decent Jap cars are Mazda (Ford) and Subaru.
So why doesn't GM do the sensible thing and build its European styled and designed cars in the US. Fast, economical, great looking and handling cars. The Diesels are fantastic. 150 BHP, 50 mpg+, refined and torquey, perfect mating to an automatic that everyone in the US insists on (why I have no idea! The new Astra and Vectras look great too with SX and SRi trims, 18" wheels and Irmshir bodykits.
Of coarse Rick wouldn't do this would he, being as no-one could admit that the Europeans understood the US market better than the Americans?
One more thing, why is it that the manufacturers are all trying to make gas (petrol) hybrids? What is the point. Just use Diesel engines or if you want to be really trick use a Diesel Hybrid for really impressive MPG. Peugeot are in the process of developing one now.
Rant over.
Tim