Scion/Toyota beat 'em to market. Again.
Posted on 07/04/2008 12:44:43 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
DETROIT, July 4 (UPI) -- A mini-car designed by the General Motors (NYSE:BGM) Corp. for Asia and Latin America may soon be available in U.S. showrooms, a company spokesman says.
GM spokesman Dee Allen said the automobile giant was reviewing its current sales plan in the United States following new demands in the domestic auto market because of soaring gasoline prices, The Detroit News said Friday.
"Everything is under review," Allen said. "Obviously, the market has been changing rather rapidly."
General Motors already used a 2007 New York auto show to unveil its new two-door hatchback, the 11 and a half feet long Chevrolet Beat.
The company's new focus on smaller cars comes as $4-a-gallon gas drives auto buyers away from larger vehicles like light trucks and SUVs, the News reported.
The newspaper said the U.S. automaker's share price fell once again Wednesday to $10 a share, the lowest General Motors shares have been in more than 50 years.
The drop in share price comes as the company's sales have decreased 16.3 percent in 2008, the News said.
C’mon...just get the Volt to us faster.
Scion/Toyota beat 'em to market. Again.
King Vanities wheelchair system is as big as that lil car.
I say bring it and bring it now, and build it here. I would drive a shoebox on local streets if it means I would save dollars on the gas bill. As far as interstate travel goes, I just dont feel safe in mini cars on them.
It is not as if GM does not have the manufacturing capability to get the vehicle built - they have HUGE plants in China and Brazil, where these mini-cars can be constructed and shipped, all without the UAW imprimatur.
Which means, that the UAW deal with the Generous Motors management dies with the current generation, and as they die off, the burden of the “lifetime” medical care gets lighter and lighter. GM is transformed into a totally global corporation, with no incentive to EVER return the manufacturing base to the US.
What the heck, the Chinese might even take more pride in building a quality product than even the Japanese. And they can do it cheaper, the advantage the Japanese traded on for years.
Those things are about the size of a coffin...how morbidly convenient.
I like that car, Darla rode in one and Spanky had to build his own to try to impress her. Great car and gets good mileage as long as your legs hold out.
I drive a car about that size, but it is prettier and it gets 37 mpg. It is a 1980, TR7 with 2.0 liter engine and 5 spd transmission. Old car, runs great, looks great and gets good mileage. I don't worry about getting hit in it because no matter what you drive you can kiss your a** goodbye if someone smacks you hard enough and I drive defensively anyway. If I do die, so what, I will sooner or later anyway, or do you actually think you are going to get out of life alive?
Toyota, Honda and Nissan targeted the SUV, mid size, luxury and truck markets, but they never forgot about the small car market. They continued to produce high quality vehicles for that segment and now they are ready to take advantage of the huge demand for small fuel efficient vehicles. A good example is Honda, which is going to boost their US bound production of the popular subcompact Fit from 60,000 units to 80,000 units for the 09 model.
I would hate to see any the US auto makers go under, but they have to make better decisions if they they expect to survive.
So how are they going to pass the safety tests to put these go-karts on the road?
In fact, I do expect to get out of life alive. :)
Should have been done TEN YEARS AGO.
Get with it, GM.
BMW Isetta (1950s)
Messerschmidt (1950s)
Peraves Ecomobiles, which are really motorcycles (Present)
So why aren’t those being sold in America?
Why are (all) the good ideas in autos/etc, all happening elsewhere?
While US automakers exist in seeming comas, building cars for 1960.
Many of the cars in that class (Honda Fit, Toyota Yaris) pass the tests quite easily.
It’s called “superior engineering” instead of “safety through more metal.”
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