



Source: Business Week

Comments     Threshold


By Ringold on 8/1/2012 11:08:23 AM , Rating: 5
Foreign car manufacturers (Toyota, Honda specifically) already did that in the ways that, you know, people actually cared about. Driving around any parking lot for the last 20 years tells you that the auto-industry changed, and for the better, with Japanese auto's pushing forward with reliability and quality.

What people didn't care about was fuel efficiency. The Insight has been around since the late 90s I think, and never has been particularly popular. People cared more about the other stuff that's added hundreds of pounds to the weight of vehicles. Why would've they spent years solving a problem that only existed in the minds of environmentalist fringe groups? Why spend the money to "blaze the trail of innovation" that the Insight showed people didn't want to buy at the time? Simply because you think they should?

Unfortunately for them though, now the EPA's packed full of those environmentalists. Just don't pretend its the peoples will; money talks. Even in trucks, there's a reason the Ranger and Colorado have been dieing a slow death.. People dont want more fuel efficient, less expensive light trucks; they vote with their money on full-size Ram 1500s, F150s and Silverados.

But yes, we know that you're intellectually superior to everybody and America's companies should conform to your views and America's consumers should buy what you think they should buy.

By jeffkro on 8/2/2012 2:03:05 AM , Rating: 2
The ranger and Colorado were lagging because of poor design. Toyota sells tons of Tacoma's.

