> Ok, so you refute some of my possibilities. Do you have any idea why > we don't have them? If it is true that customers want them or it is > recognized that they would want them, and their are no impediments in > law to selling them then surely there are enough salesmen out their to > figure it out and sell them.
I agree with you in principle, but I think that the conservative and risk-averse monoculture within US auto companies is the largest factor at work. As long as gas was cheap, they convinced themselves that Americans would never buy small, but well designed cars from Europe, even though the Japanese were eating their lunch with smaller cars. I don't know a lot about the business end itself, but I suspect it takes a good bit of capital to start selling a new car line in the US. Mini was able to ride the coat tails of BMW and Smart had buzz. Fiat (Fix It Again Tony!), which used to be in the US market, and could conceivably leverage their investment in Chrysler to sell their cars here again. But you also would need to have parts suppliers, certified mechanics, etc. I don't blame US car companies for manufacturing and selling what was in demand, but they do bear the blame for not being smarter and having a more diverse model lineup, or at least being prepared for when things changed. ************************************************************************* ** List info, subscription management, list rules, archives, privacy ** ** policy, calmness, a member map, and more at http://www.cguys.org/ ** *************************************************************************
