The American Auto Industry: Still Stuck in its Ways
General Motors
announced this weekend that it is going to pause production of the Chevy Volt
due to lower than expected sales. Matt
Stevens of the Los Angeles Times reports
that
The
automaker informed employees at its Detroit Hamtramck plant Friday afternoon
that they would be without work for five weeks — from March 19 to April 23. The
move comes despite a jump in sales of the car in February. GM sold 1,023 Volts
last month, compared with 603 in January.
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| "Is that a Ferrari?" -something you'll never hear someone say when looking at a Chevy Volt |
While the Volt is
certainly a major departure from the huge SUV’s that GM was pushing during the
early 2000’s, the American auto industry still isn’t doing enough to produce
efficient cars that are appealing to a mass audience. The main competitor to the Volt is the
Japanese-made Nissan Leaf. According to Consumer
Reports, the Leaf is $8,000 cheaper and gets 106 miles per gallon, compared
to the Volt’s 99. The Volt has a better
range for trips, but it is clear that America isn’t leading the industry when
it comes to gas-efficient cars.
When you think of
hybrids, you still think of the Toyota Prius and the Honda Civic Hybrid before
you think of the Cadillac
Escalade Hybrid. And your thoughts
of the Escalade Hybrid are probably followed by subsequent laughter. While the foreign car companies are thinking
of ways to reimagine the way we drive, the American companies are trying to
figure out ways to make our gluttonous SUV’s get 10 miles per gallon instead of
5.
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| America's finest automobile: The Cadillac Escalade Hybrid |
It will take a solid
year of $4.50/gallon gas for Americans to demand that their companies make any
real changes. Detroit proved that they could
sell anything when they wrongly
convinced us that SUV’s are safe. Maybe
if they produced a half-decent electric car, they could convince us once again
to change our automotive lifestyles.
I recently have been seeing a lot of car commercials integrating new technology advancements that resemble those we see in smart phone devices, computers and video games. Marketing seems to be trying extremely hard to make their brands USP luxury, but as you mention American's are not only wanting but needing affordability and reliability. I agree that a major breakthrough with automotives that addresses things like fuel efficiency may be the only way for the industry to convince us to change our automotive lifestyles.
ReplyDeleteYou're right that the success American car industry is up in the air. Last week I paid $4.50/gallon in Los Angeles and that was up from last week when I filled up. I'm concerned, like you, that America is loosing the game with automobiles. And it's hurting a lot of people. Looking down the road, I'm concerned for our country and what higher gas dependency means for our later generations. I think the issue of gas-efficiency for our new automobiles should be at the top of the list when when the presidential candidates are making all sorts of promises this fall.
ReplyDeletePeople always talk about supporting American-made products. While I hear those people blabbering, I do not care what they have to say, especially when it comes to cars. The cars made by many American dealers are absolute shit, and I can say this from personal experience. They break down, need constant repair, and guzzle an extreme amount of gas. Seriously, I think they were made to break down so you have to buy another. I think part of the reason why the sales of American-made autos are down is because people associate American-made autos with sub-par quality, especially when compared to autos made overseas, e.g., Honda and Nissan.
ReplyDeleteEven though they hold this stigma, I do not believe that American-made dealers are shit out of luck. What they need to do is lead the revolution of gas-efficient cars. Furthermore, these gas-efficient cars need to be built to last. If American dealers can do this, I think they can fix their reputation and have much higher sales.
Yeah, America is stuck in its ways. The original reason for making cars run on gasoline rather than electricity (because they could've gone either way from the beginning) was that the manufacturers wanted the parts to run down quicker, which happens when gasoline is running the car as opposed to the cleaner version, electricity. When parts break down more, the manufacturers get to sell more parts. And eventually more cars. It's always about the money. If Nissan, Toyota, Honda, and Hyundai can make cheaper, better cars then they will win over consumers. The market will fix itslef eventually, or at least that's what should happen if American car companies aren't too stubborn and greedy.
ReplyDeleteWell, even though America is still stuck in there ways in terms of making ineffecient cars, there is still a market for them especially from those who like to buy those big trucks to fill there great big egos. American cars and their big engines are for a certain type of people, those who live in the country and need to go off roading, I can see the purpose in buying those big trucks. But if your in the middle of west LA trudging along in your Chevrolet Suburban along the 405 during rush hour. I beleive it would save you more money, time and energy to walk then burn gas in the "rush hour parking lot" that is the 405. And it would get you in good shape too.
ReplyDeleteI would like to see a movement toward buying used cars. The culture in America is that everything you own has to be the most recent model of its kind, because for some odd reason if you don't you'll be left behind. This is just a mentality created by these major corporations and people totally eat it up. I'm sure you have heard the argument against hybrid cars that holds that on a basic level, hybrid cars are just more consumption of natural resources made to produce them. Meanwhile, as people continue to live beyond their means and buy the newest of everything, the relatively "older" models are neglected and seen as obsolete.
ReplyDeleteThere is a similar phenomenon in the world of fashion. Instead of buying quality clothing that will last years if not a lifetime, major companies like H&M, Walmart,Uniqlo etc, etc, have you convinced that buying more often will appease your insatiable appetite. These companies totally capitalize on the mindset of progression and change, and I don't hold it against them. In fact I think it's completely genius on their part. They are able to manufacture the idea and then manufacture the product you will buy over and over again. There shouldn't be such a mad dash to buy hybrid now that we already have so many working cars. It should be a something that is certainly phased in but we shouldn't be so quick to applaud people when they are driving a hybrid car. Again, it's this issue of quality over quantity and quality is going to win every time.
Well I can't say I didn't see this one coming. Electric cars are far too expensive for how little luxury they come with. Yes you save on gas but come on, unless you are driving around in a Tesla, your electric car is UGLY. The people who can afford electric cars probably are going to spend the money on a car that has more features and looks sexier on the road. Of course you have the liberal hippies up in San Fran who would choose otherwise but let's be real here. The bigger market is in comfort and style. Maybe in order to increase popularity of these cars and to get a reliance off of gas, manufacturers need to take some luxury and throw it in there with the electricity. Make it work, GM!
ReplyDelete