a paradigm shift ....warning..not skate related (at first glance!)

[skategeezer]

Imagine being in Detroit in 1960 something...
"there's no market for these small rustbuckets"

then fast forward to the 70's...
"we will continue down our proven path"

then to the 80's and 90's
"customers want BIG...we will continue to give them BIG!

and now....this announcement



General Motors boss Rick Wagoner insists the US company will not give up its position as the world's top automaker without a fight.

Speaking ahead of this weekend's press opening of the North American International Auto Show, the GM chairman and chief executive said he was well aware of the seemingly unstoppable threat posed by Japan's Toyota.

"I like being number one, and I think our people take pride in it. So it's not something we're going to sit back and let somebody else pass us," Wagoner told reporters on Friday.
"We're going to have to fight for every sale and do it in way that is consistent with building the enterprise," he said.
"If as a result of that we get passed, it won't be a happy day for me. But I've lost basketball games before, and as a result of that you get ready, you learn and go back and play the next day," said Wagoner, who played college basketball at North Carolina's Duke University in the early 1970s.

"We're going to fight to keep the position, and if we lose, we're going to fight to get it back."
Last month, Toyota said it planned to make 9.42 million vehicles worldwide this year. That would exceed the 9.18 million GM expected to have made in 2006. This year, GM's production looks likely to fall with the company, like its Detroit rival Ford, laying off thousands of workers and shuttering plants.

[EBasil]

Michael, you just don't get it, do you? Imports are ruining our sport and aren't core. Toyota killed the K-Car, and true North American Patriots will never forgive them...

[dkj]

That new Camaro looks boss.
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[Mile_High_Mark]

Originally Posted by dkj

That new Camaro looks boss.
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Indeed. Although having worked indirectly with the US auto industry, I can't say I'd be willing to throw my ducats their way.

[dkj]

Originally Posted by Mile_High_Mark

Indeed. Although having worked indirectly with the US auto industry, I can't say I'd be willing to throw my ducats their way.

Wait'll you drive their cars, it gets even worse!
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[Skinart]

The same attitude all but killed Moog and did kill Arp in the 80's. They stopped innovating and
Roland, Korg and Yamaha etc, just took over with exciting offerings like the M1 and the DX7,
and a bunch of other stuff in-between.

[HerBDerb]

Eh, doesn't bother me. I highly dislike a good 95% of modern cars anyway.

[wefunk]

the same is true to german automakers like vw, bmw, mercedes benz, etc. who simply are too arrogant to see the signs of the times, who just overslept things like soot particle filters.
toyota and honda are cutting edge with innovative and reliable motor engineering.
i don´t want a vw that makes me visit the garage every other month with electronics problems.

my next car will most likely be a toyota corolla verso d-cat (cleanest diesel engine with friggin 130kw/177hp and 400nm torque).
(hmm .. just checked ... they don´t sell it in the USA?!)



i think related to the skate industry this just shows again how companies now have to pay for their arrogance and underestimation of market dynamics.
the buyers are not THAT stupid that they continue to buy big names just because the were used to. sooner or later they will and want to buy value or cutting edge technology (or both).

[Xgecko]

Well the big problem in the USA is that oil company politics force the auto industry to stay with gas while the rest of the world builds diesel. My personal car/suv is a Liberty CRD and at the moment I'm rocking an A4 AvantiTDI (rental) down in Cadiz but until the US gets in line with the rest of the world and drives diesel their auto industry is gonna continue to crash. DC is the only one that seems to be stable and that do to MB and Detroit Diesel.

[EBasil]

Originally Posted by wefunk

my next car will most likely be a toyota corolla verso d-cat (cleanest diesel engine with friggin 130kw/177hp and 400nm torque).
(hmm .. just checked ... they don´t sell it in the USA?!)

In the USA, that car is marketed as the Toyota Matrix and the Pontiac Vibe, but neither are available with the diesel motor, which did not pass emissions standards here.

[chicagolongboards]

I thought that the diesel fuel sold in the USA isn't as clean as it is in Europe, and that was why the cars running on it here aren't as clean as their European counterparts.

[wefunk]

Originally Posted by EBasil

In the USA, that car is marketed as the Toyota Matrix and the Pontiac Vibe, but neither are available with the diesel motor, which did not pass emissions standards here.

WHAT??? (I smell some serious oil lobbying here.)
The D-CAT ist hands down one of the cleanest engines EVER built. It is 80% below the margins of the firm EURO4 emission standard and will easily match the coming EURO5 standard. Not only has it the most effective soot particle filter on the market but also significantly reduces NOx. It´s CO2 output is on par with the 1.8l VVT-i gas engine.

(but maybe Toyota´s other (D-4D) commonrail diesel isn´t as clean).

anyway ... THE cleanest cars are also a Toyota and a Honda -- those with hybrid engines which are not exactly lame (but the car design is).