Quote:
Originally Posted by redforever
Now that was not all the fault of the automakers, basically they were just responding to the demand at the time. And no one can deny that in North America, SUVs were and to some extent, still are, king of the hill. The problem that arose is the automakers never responded quickly enough when the demand for smaller, more fuel efficient cars arose.
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They responded to the demand of a certain segment of the vehicle buying public and basicly put all thier eggs in one basket. For years Ford ignored the small fuel efficent vehicle rolling in and out half hearted efforts that never survived. Pickups and SUV's dominated the lots and for a period of time made Ford money. Oil started to rise dramaticly and they were left scrambling. The Fusion and the Focus are the latest models to attract the small car buyer, however they entered the market too late as the Japanese had solidified it's base of buyers with consistantly good quality products.