How will the Auto Industry adapt to higher oil prices?

It seems like right down the line, each manufacturer has been hit in some way. Ford is cutting way back on their line of trucks. Toyota was hit hard by not having enough small cars ready to roll. The list goes on. Chrysler is in trouble.

So my question is this, do the car companies simply build a car that gets better gas mileage(60mpg or greater)? I know those little fucking weasels can do it if they want to. Or, do they simply continue to build smaller cars that get about the same mileage and sprinkle in some hybrids to try and fool people?

Auto Industry/Big Oil/Politicians all in bed together. Whose gonna blink first as the auto industry sales plummet?

What I can't understand is that IF the auto companies and the oil companies are in bed together, how come the auto companies can't make any money but the oil companies make money hand over fist? If I was an auto exec, I would vow to rid myself of the oil industry and take control of my own destiny - forget relying on oil companies to deliver the fuel necessary for my car, I'd take a bold step and create a car that relies on something else. I know it would take a while for the infrastructure to catch up, but trust me if we could find a car that doesn't rely on fossil fuels and make it reasonably inexpensive, especially in light of possibly making the car much cheaper to own due to readily available fuels, we'd be all over it in minutes and gool ol American know-how and entreprenership would take over from there. There just has to be a better way than giving our money to people who hate us.

I personally do not have much faith with the braintrust sitting in Detroit's boardrooms these days.

If the auto industry wants to survive they will have to come up with something and fast.

yellowman said:

What I can't understand is that IF the auto companies and the oil companies are in bed together, how come the auto companies can't make any money but the oil companies make money hand over fist? If I was an auto exec, I would vow to rid myself of the oil industry and take control of my own destiny - forget relying on oil companies to deliver the fuel necessary for my car, I'd take a bold step and create a car that relies on something else. I know it would take a while for the infrastructure to catch up, but trust me if we could find a car that doesn't rely on fossil fuels and make it reasonably inexpensive, especially in light of possibly making the car much cheaper to own due to readily available fuels, we'd be all over it in minutes and gool ol American know-how and entreprenership would take over from there. There just has to be a better way than giving our money to people who hate us.

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1st off i hope nobody really belives that nobody is trying to do just that...from car manufacturers to retirees in their garage ppl have been trying to do this for many years....It just isnt that easy. I hate to be the bearer of bad news but oil is the way to go .

#2..we wouldnt have to get all our oil from ppl who hate us if our govt would allow oil companies to make money getting our own oil out of the ground..You want to know who hates us? Al Gore and his crowd hate us......

#3...1 more .....They bitch about Exxon/Mobil making SOOOOOOOOOO much money and ofcourse Obama wants to bring down oil prices by taking another slice of their pie...Well do tell, Has Obama Hussien looked at a list of the most profitable oil companies in the world?
Because on that list of say the top 15, Exxon is #14 and only about 5 companies on that list are even American companies meaning ofcourse his "Windfall profits tax" will do NOTHING AT ALL but drive OUR prices up even further while drasticlly reducing our supply...See those other 9 companies on the list dont need to sell to countries with a windfall profits tax. there are plenty of other customers elsewhere...

But what they really want is to bring us to a halt, where we are all begging for affordable gas then in an "emergency" move designed to "help us" they will TAKE OVER ALL DOMESTIC OIL COMPANIES and federalize them, the same way they are determined to federalize the health care industry....THIS IS THE PLAN OF HOPE AND CHANGE BOYS. Complete Govt control....Enjoy

If fuel efficiency is so hard...why as of 2007 were there only 2 cars for sale in the US that would get you 40 mpg...while Europe had a 113?

In Europe, cars on average get 40 mpg, compared with 20.4 mpg for U.S. cars.

It's easier to deal with higher gas prices if you can buy cars that will use the gas more efficiently

Electric, Electric/Gas hybrids are on there way. Hydrogen will probably take awhile.


http://www.teslamotors.com/
http://www.fiskerautomotive.com/
http://www.think.no/

kingbill said:

If fuel efficiency is so hard...why as of 2007 were there only 2 cars for sale in the US that would get you 40 mpg...while Europe had a 113?

In Europe, cars on average get 40 mpg, compared with 20.4 mpg for U.S. cars.

It's easier to deal with higher gas prices if you can buy cars that will use the gas more efficiently

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All this shit is a racket... The man is trying to hold us down. Eff him.

oldirtyku said:

All this shit is a racket... The man is trying to hold us down. Eff him.

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Exactly...F the man...

When ur in europe living in a country the size of Rhode Island driving around in a Yugo might be o.k.
we're NOT europe and we dont have to live like Nigerians .

By the way have you heard the U.N. wants to have the U.S. take 1 day a week and SHUT DOWN every form of energy there is for that 1 day a week?
Its "just to make it fair"
Seems like ive heard somebody else use that line before...

ProPokerPlayer said:

When ur in europe living in a country the size of Rhode Island driving around in a Yugo might be o.k.
we're NOT europe and we dont have to live like Nigerians .

By the way have you heard the U.N. wants to have the U.S. take 1 day a week and SHUT DOWN every form of energy there is for that 1 day a week?
Its "just to make it fair"
Seems like ive heard somebody else use that line before...

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I thought the thing with the US was choice? Give the people the choice to drive Yugos and live like Nigerians...I friend of mine works for Mercedes and they can' meet the demand for the Smart Car here in Vancouver...Give people the options that are there...

Very interesting about what the UN wants to do...would love to see a link for that...