Quote:
Originally Posted by dark-alias
I agree.
But foreign automakers especially the japanese, saw a profit in big, SUV's and trucks as well. Look at how many 4runners, pilots, pathfinders, xterras, and so on are out of the road. Detroit is not the only one that saw potential.
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That's true. But Japanese carmakers didn't neglect their bread and butter small cars. Corolla and Civic are in their 9 billionth season. At the same time, Toyota replaced Tercel with Echo, then Yaris, and even added a whole new brand of small cars (Scion). Honda came out with the Fit, tiny on the outside, huge on the inside. Nissan's Sentra grew bigger, so there's the new Versa to take its place.
Then there's the Prius. No government regulations demanded the hybrid. Toyota had the foresight to develop it 10 years ago and started to market it in the states 6 years ago. The electric car (EV1) failed miserably. Prius now has over 50% of the hybrid market by itself. Everyone else is playing catch up.
No amount of government regulations can change consumer behavior.
Nothing can stop the right product at the right time.
The Big 3 have been passive for the last 20 years in exploring new trends. That's why they're behind.