I was encouraged recently to read that for the first time in years, Ford's quarterly US auto sales were better than Toyotas. The reason was reported to be the stunning success of the new Ford Fusion Hybrid model, that has been reviewed as the "best hybrid car to date". Thinking we finally had a victory for US auto-makers - I was then disappointed to find out that this new super-car from Ford was actually made in Mexico.
On top of that there are the reports that the new, smaller diesel engines that were due to be released in F150 trucks have been delayed or even cancelled due to "the lower price of gasoline" in recent months. This is exactly the kind of short-term thinking that has gotten the US auto industry in big trouble as it is constantly playing catch-up to the more forward-thinking Japanese companies. Anyone that knows anything about the history of oil and oil politics knows that inevitably gas prices will continue to climb - if not this year or the next then certainly in the not-so-distant future. Will Ford be ready? Doesn't seem so.
So when Toyota produces that domestically built, diesel Tundra, are we going to buy it and feel good about the decision? I would.
Locally we have just lost our GM and Chrylser dealers. We live in an isolated small city that is the hub of a rural area that stretches well over a hundred miles in every direction. I guess this is the end of GM and Fiat trucks being used on farms and ranches.
Here's an opportunity for Ford to assert itself as the premier US auto maker but can it see the opportunity through? Unfortunately with the company being run by the same short-sighted executives that have ruined American industry over the last 20 years, I highly doubt it.
On top of that there are the reports that the new, smaller diesel engines that were due to be released in F150 trucks have been delayed or even cancelled due to "the lower price of gasoline" in recent months. This is exactly the kind of short-term thinking that has gotten the US auto industry in big trouble as it is constantly playing catch-up to the more forward-thinking Japanese companies. Anyone that knows anything about the history of oil and oil politics knows that inevitably gas prices will continue to climb - if not this year or the next then certainly in the not-so-distant future. Will Ford be ready? Doesn't seem so.
So when Toyota produces that domestically built, diesel Tundra, are we going to buy it and feel good about the decision? I would.
Locally we have just lost our GM and Chrylser dealers. We live in an isolated small city that is the hub of a rural area that stretches well over a hundred miles in every direction. I guess this is the end of GM and Fiat trucks being used on farms and ranches.
Here's an opportunity for Ford to assert itself as the premier US auto maker but can it see the opportunity through? Unfortunately with the company being run by the same short-sighted executives that have ruined American industry over the last 20 years, I highly doubt it.