Vin, seems to be that the US auto industry is run by a bunch of idiots.
We can make a great gas guzzler pick up truck, but when it comes to an inexpensive car we can't seem to get those together. The luxury car market is pretty much lost. Ford's Lincoln brand is floundering around without a rudder and can't figure out what to make so they simply take Ford products, plaster chrome and electronics on them and call them Lincolns. Cadillac has a niche, but can't really compete for the markets that were taken from them by M-B, BMW or Lexus.
Chevy used to be the car for everyman. Toyota has taken that slot with their Corolla.
We now have a lot of small imports coming in from Japan and Korea (Suzuki, Kia) that seem to be growing very rapidly in popularity. The small American cars simply suck and have no following. We had a decent small car in the Dodge Neon. The kids loved it, there were lots of aftermarket tuner parts. In base form it was economical, ran well and was reasonably popular. So they discontinued it and replaced it with a car that was bigger, weighs a lot more, costs a lot more, and doesn't seem to sell worth a crap.
If the Chinese can pass our emissions tests and safety standards, I expect they will do a lot of damage to an already devastated US industry.
I spent a lot of time driving different cars recently. I spent a week test driving a Mercedes C350, very fast, amazing handling, but too small. Ford Taurus (good size but a piece of crap in most other ways). VW's new Passat is a nice size, drives very well, and is priced between the MB and the Ford. Volvos S40 is too small, their S60 is very nice but no bargain. The S80 is even roomier and, while more expensive than the S60, is actually a better value for the money.
But what I could not find was any medium size car (the size of a Volvo S60, VW Passat, Nissan Maxima, etc) that has diesel engine. In fact the only diesel engine I could find was in a Mercedes, which I was not able to test drive because it was not in stock. That car, however, runs about $54,000. Not exactly in the same price range as the other cars (33% to 50% more than the others).
What I think the US really could use is a decent line of cars with hybrid or diesel engines. If Saturn would offer hybrid engines or diesel engines I think it would really sell.
Ford is banking on E-85. Seems like GM is doing the same. E-85 is about 30-cents a gallon lower than unleaded gas, and maybe a dime lower than diesel . . . but fuel economy goes down about 5 miles per gallon when using E-85 based on the use of the one guy I know who drive a lot and has a car capable of using it. He says typically doesn't use the E-85 fuel because his fuel economy drops too far.
