So recently American car makers have started to pull back their production of large trucks and evil gas guzzlers like the Hummer. I think its funny. Its sad too. So many American workers are going to lose jobs because of car maker executives making the same mistakes they made in the seventies. Of course since so many of their parts are made over seas or in other American countries it will have far reaching effects. And yes, a worker in Mexico is an American too, so the many workers there are affected as well.
Back in the 1970s American car makers spent a lot of time building very large vehicles. They were not efficient, but they were the style. When the oil problems happened back then they had huge losses. Honda and Toyota made huge gains in this time, setting them up to be the major car makers they are now in the US. Once again the American makers have focused on larger vehicles, SUVs this time, and once again oil prices have spiked, causing them to crash. Of course once again the foreign makers are ready to pounce again. They have been more efficient for a long time, and now they are ready again. At one point the only hybrid some of the American makers had was based on technology they borrowed from the foreign makers. They are getting better on some of their vehicles, but they are having to scramble to keep up. Making more ethanol vehicles doesn’t count. That’s just adding to a different problem, which is a whole other blog post.
In the end I’m sure it will work out, after the behemoth reacts and adjusts to the changing times. Unfortunately, a lot of people will be hurt, and foreign companies will get the gain.
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