With the Detroit auto show opening, the schizophrenia of the domestic auto industry is on full display. Massive SUVs (which are selling), and compact hybrids, which are starting to, but far, far behind.
In another day and time, like 1975, when Congress mandated fuel efficiency in autos as being in the national interest, there would be talk of policies to encourage expansion of the hybrid market. Instead, we're waiting for $3 a gallon gas to make it happen.
From the Metro Times, one of the smarter sources of journalism in all of the Midwest.
"In a moment rife with symbolism, the profligate past and potential future took center stage when the North America International Auto Show opened to the media on Sunday.
For an industry in the throes of what many see as revolutionary change, the schizophrenia displayed in selecting the car and truck of the year couldn’t have been more perfect. There was the Chrysler 300C, selected North American Car of the Year by a panel of auto writers. A muscled-up sedan that’s powered by a V-8 Hemi, the car provides the sort of performance gearheads salivate over. And with a mileage rating of about 17 miles per gallon in the city, it and the other gas-guzzlers on display at the Cobo Center show represent a mind-set that fails to recognize economic and ecologic reality."
http://www.metrotimes.com/editorial/story.asp?id=7197