Everyone but honda gets smacked on the sales floor

[Arminius]

Ford can't make the new Focus fast enough, either, and it gets redesigned in 2010, I think. When I was walking (not driving) around Mexico this week I saw so many fantastic small cars made by Ford and GM. Too bad they aren't equipped for the US market. There would be a line out customers waiting to get in the door.

[ebacherville]

Originally Posted by trikkonceptz

They built an incredible pickup and launched it at a time when truck sales were declining, looking back it was a poor move timing wise, but no one could have predicted this downward economy to happen so quickly.

Ah i beg to differ , I saw this happening 2 years ago, thats was when i delved into veggie powered cars.. and i know many other prominent people that predicted this years out.. the writing was on the wall.

And just so you know , my prediction for the near future is pretty grim.. for what it worth.. get ready.. its going to be a bumpy ride.

[trikkonceptz]

Originally Posted by ebacherville

And just so you know , my prediction for the near future is pretty grim.. for what it worth.. get ready.. its going to be a bumpy ride.

Nah .. no need to call it grim, more like a renaissance, change is going to occur and many do not like it, those are the ones that will complain the most, in the end though we will all win if the vault of knowledge is opened and the development of new technology flourishes.

There will always be a need for large vehicles, what will end is the 22yr old driving around town in an escalade with 26" rims ... by himself.

[trikkonceptz]

Originally Posted by Arminius

Ford can't make the new Focus fast enough, either, and it gets redesigned in 2010, I think. When I was walking (not driving) around Mexico this week I saw so many fantastic small cars made by Ford and GM. Too bad they aren't equipped for the US market. There would be a line out customers waiting to get in the door.

Another thing to consider is Ford has set itself up as the #1 truck manufacturer in the country. For the past 20+ years its worked for them, all of a sudden this country is in need of more economy based vehicles for which Ford does not produce for the US other than Focus. So what I see is my Ford dealership, focusing on used car sales, (Subcompacts), in order to weigh out the storm until more economy based models show up on the horizon. Introducing the Festiva, will be a good first step, just not fast enough.

For the next couple of years, Honda, Toyota, & Hyundai may reign supreme until our fab three can produce a variety of quality sub compacts & hybrids.

[Ophbalance]

Wow... and I never would have thought Hyundai would reign supreme anywhere . I like my Elantra, but I loathe, with great passion and much cursing, their dealers.

[ebacherville]

Our Hyundai dealer was great , we had a bad valve spring or lifter, was ticking a bit , we took it in they gave us a rental and when we picked the car up they did a recall item (braced the window pillars for some safety recall) and washed and vacuumed the car, I was impressed as hell.. Id buy Hyundai's again.. but not for a while I'm setup pretty good now..

I really want to hook up a the scan gauge to the accent that i had (sold it to a buddy he still has it and gets 42mpg with no instrumentation) and see what I could pull out of it for MPG..

[jamesqf]

Originally Posted by trikkonceptz

Toyota may have stayed in the black to keep pace with Honda had it not taken a bath with Tundra sales, which dropped off 38%. They built an incredible pickup...

I have to differ: they built an oversize copy of the F150/250/350 form factor in order to compete head-on with the US automakers. They'd have done better to actually build a small pickup, like they did in the '70s, and fill an empty market niche. Why do you see so many '80s Toyota pickups on the road? (Besides the fact that they seem to last forever.) Because no one builds new pickups that size.

[Schwaebz]

still dont like hondas, there front wheel drive

[Schwaebz]

Originally Posted by jamesqf

I have to differ: they built an oversize copy of the F150/250/350 form factor in order to compete head-on with the US automakers. They'd have done better to actually build a small pickup, like they did in the '70s, and fill an empty market niche. Why do you see so many '80s Toyota pickups on the road? (Besides the fact that they seem to last forever.) Because no one builds new pickups that size.

the ford rsanger is close to the size of the told toyotas, but i still see your point

[fshagan]

Honda tried to enter the bigger car market ... good luck that they failed (anyone remember the Ridgeline truck?)

There's about a three year development cycle for new vehicles, so they have to bet long term. What we are seeing in the marketplace right now is unusual behavior that will not last forever.

People concerned about getting a higher mileage car are flooding the marketplace because of the dramatically higher gas prices. That population of people MIGHT grow if gas prices rise, but we are certain that it will shrink dramatically if gas drops back down to $2.50 a gallon. Oil at $80 a barrel could happen again, as the higher prices encourage more oil exploration.

As much as we might like to think the rush to higher mileage cars is out of some kind of altruistic motive, it is due mainly to higher gas prices. If they fall, so does the demand for high mileage cars.

In addition, the population that is resigned to driving low mileage cars will still need to replace their vehicles at some point; they should be buying now when prices are low, but that's not how human psychology works. When gas prices stabilize a bit they will buy another truck at a higher price.