Most liked posts in thread: Interesting take on supply chain management...

If we don’t, we might as well just turn over the keys to U.S. auto industry to the Japanese, Chinese and European auto makers the next time U.S. fuel starts heading past $4 per gallon.

Haven't we mostly done that already?

We do have the new Fiesta coming online, but other than that are there currently any domestic made high mileage cars?

The Fusion hybrid and Cruz will be here next year, I know - but that's it right?

Wonder how many of those will be sold compared to Honda Insight, Nissan Leafs and the biggy - Toyota Prius?

All the other small 4 cyl higher fuel mileage cars are already coming from Japan, China, Korea and Europe right?

 

The American auto industry needs to pull their heads out of that dark place and start making cars people want... After the bailout and all the issues that were brought up in regards to it, and they are still pumping out the same crap they were prior to the collapse.

Chevy was all about the Volt and then -- NOTHING.

Why they can't get it together is beyond me. :frown2:

 

I think Ford has bet the house on the fact that gas is going to go up, and they will be pretty well placed product wise if it takes a leap, they also have embraced the idea of smaller engines with forced induction pretty solidly, much like Chrysler did in the early 80's.....

 

I sure hope Fords forced induction small displacement engines are better than that carp Chrysler had in the 80's.

 

Agreed about Ford, they are positioning themselves well and planning much more strategically than the others.

 

There are fish out there take offense to that!

 

:lol:

Mark

 

My point was that Chrysler actually had a lot of success with their turbo engines, they put them in everything from the smallest little Sundance to the largest Caravan - and they introduced water cooled turbos to the mass market.

Unfortunately the electronics of the time weren't quite up to where they needed to be, but like Matt says - things are much better now.

I like that Ford has taken this direction and I hope it continues. It's interesting that at the same time as Ford is introducing it's turbo 4 and 6 cyl engines, it brings back the 5.0 in the Mustang too.

Personally, I prefer a small, lightweight, powerful 4 cyl to a big lump tho..

 

Well, I didn't mean lump in a derogatory way, just that it's a massively big motor, especially when you add a supercharger on top - it takes up a lot of real estate!

One reason I'm constantly impressed with what GM has done with the ubiquitous small block is the package size has remained pretty tiny compared to an OHC V-8 like Ford is using.

The Ford motor may have more upside potential, but really - how much power and torque do you need in a Mustang?

 

Dave, I'll have to respectfully disagree with the statement that Chrysler was successful with those turbo'd turds of the 80's. They sold them to poor unsuspecting customers, & generated loads of work for their dealers service departments. Well on second though they generated a lot of money with the turbo turds. I think of SAAB as an innovator of turbo power not Chrysler.

Hey Matt, a friend of mine had a multiair Fiat in the late 70's. Every metal panel had multi see through rust holes.

 

I think it was more a cultural difference. So many of us started driving our parent giant Buicks, Fords and Chevy's and found ti was easy to fix what we broke when out having a bit to much fun on a Sat night. We were often not really exposed to the Fiats, Alfas and other European "daily drivers" that we didn;t know what to do with them. Unless we had parents or friends with one of them foreign cars we just had no exposure.

By the time next generations came along these cars were all but gone from our roads.

 

Living in the rust belt Fiat's around here turned to a pile of rust before the drive line wore out. I agree they were fine driving machines & I had fun in a 124 Spyder & X1/9. There seemed to be no support infrastructure around here for them. Yes they are easy targets, man you have to love FixItAgainTony... Here is the best plate ever!