Friday Car Blogging, or Please Stop Bashing American Cars

[chris_gerrib]

I'm a fan of American cars, especially GM. This is in large measure due to having my dad and two uncles each work 30+ years at GM.

In the last couple of decades, it's become fashionable to bash American automakers. Granted, in the 1970s and 1980s, quality was not Job One (apologies to Ford) but those days are gone.

It's also been fashionable to bash American cars for poor gas mileage. Except, all the American automakers have a full suite of gas-sipping vehicles. Nobody buys them, because Americans generally don't want small cars. That's why Toyota, Honda and others started making SUVs. Car companies are in the business of making money, which they do by selling what people want to buy.

Well, I think we need a change of fashion. Exhibit #243 for that case is the new Green Car of the Year, a Chevy Tahoe Hybrid. For folks keeping score at home, that's on top of GM's double win of Car and Truck of the Year.

I may be biased, but apparently I'm not crazy.

Comments

[j-cheney.livejournal.com]

I come from a Ford family. Although I drive a Volvo right now (which is Ford), I do share the feeling. American cars have gotten a bad rap, but they're getting better.

[jetfx.livejournal.com]

I've always found the American auto industry a passing interest, especially back in the 1950s and 60s when they made more than half the world's cars. Last Sunday, I attended a neat exhibit (http://www.agns.gov.ns.ca/halifax/index.html) at the local art gallery that showcased all this American car concept art from the 50s and 60s. It seems that the Space Age seemed to really influence car design.