Gm Bankruptcy!

[gts4diehard]

Just shows what happens when you focus on the fast bucks from the easy sellers (big suvs etc), and not on the future. It's a crazy situation because if you look at the car range GM makes, they have access to a huge range of vehicles, including small economical cars (from their Euro brands etc) and it makes no sense that they didn't make the most of it! There are a few car makers in trouble but not to the extent of GM and Chrysler, just shows how mismanaged the company was.

[kralster]

its no surprise to me and ford & dodge/chrysler will be next IMO.

The world wide market demands fuel economy, efficiency, minimal environmental impact and minimum safety standards well beyond the crap of yester year. While GM and Ford, Dodge and all those other companies like such continue to build massive bulky over compensating statements of size, that chew juice like its goin out of fashion, struggle to meet 1996 emmissions standards and offer the drivers/ occupants very little in terms of safety (they assume they are biggest therefore safest hahahaha), they will continue to struggle to sell cars. Globally they cant compete and in their own countries the imports keep invading with status and value for money.

Sadly the economy is linked to it in many ways right down to locally so many will suffer on front page news.

Funny how the countries that ratified kyoto quickly and jumped on the efficient bandwagon early are now making the biggest profits.

Pig headed american attitudes will see them and their monstorous freedom buckets with their constantly empty trays banished to the land of the rednecks for use in trailers and jerry springer settlements in no time. Seriously did they forget that they are just one country??? I just hope our aussie economy can sling over to it's asian connection before we sink with the ship.

Ford have great expertise in making small cars, ford are fine compared to the others.

[chris_32]

keep them as they are look hot!

[bozodos]

Yeah you have a point Scathing, I assume you're talking about the oil "crisis" in the late 70's?

When you think about it like that, things have kind have come around full circle again - like how in the early 70's all those muscle cars ie the Hemi 'Cuda with its 26L/100km fuel consumption ruled the roads, then around 1973 when emissions requirements and in 1978(?) when the price of oil rose drastically and yeah you started to see companies like Chevrolet start to offer 4 cylinder econoboxes, then when things stabilised, power, fuel consumption and engine size all started to rise again.

[scathing]

Yeah you have a point Scathing, I assume you're talking about the oil "crisis" in the late 70's?

Actually, I was referring to last year. Sure, the economy was in the toilet and people stopped buying new cars, but within the cars sold there was a shift away from the ratio of big cars finding homes in the USA.

Since the price of fuel has dropped since that massive spike, bigger cars are moving off dealership floors again.

I remember reading an article, that I now can't find, suggesting that Obama increase fuel tax in the USA to inflate the price of fuel. It would direct Americans to buy fuel efficient vehicles again, and provide a source of income in a time when the US economy is doing so badly.

Adding tax on something as dear to an American as fuel would probably be political suicide, though.

Edited June 3, 2009 by scathing

[kralster]

Americans hate tax full stop more than any other people in the world.

[rexjacky]

Americans hate tax full stop more than any other people in the world.

lol ... so true

[flipz86]

jas-25t is spot on its called chapter 11 not as bad as bankruptcy but pretty close they will still be able to trade

[R32_fiend]

Painful, but had to happen really. So far behind most brands in terms of fuel efficient modern cars (dare i say boring cars?) But yeah, Toyota are spanking them at the moment