As I was watching Fox News today I heard about how the US government is going to conrol/own 70% of GM, which will make General Motors control only 10% of itself (other 20% belongs to shareholders, I think). If the government takes control of GM, they'll likely cancel production on all cars that don't get 35mpg and replace them with cheap prius clones. What about big families who need big SUVs like the Yukon/XL, Tahoe/Suburban, and Escalade/ESV? Or people who like big luxury cars and don't care much about gas mileage when they're buying a $50,000 - $70,000 car? They'll be forced to buy from foreign auto makers to get cars like the ones the government might cancel, along with other americans. That will just give more power to foreign auto makers, which will definately slow things down if America wants to be the world's largest car producer.
The Cadillac Escalade is my all-time favorite vehicle, and arguably the best SUV on the market. If the governemt takes conrol of GM they'll likely cancel production of the Escalade
because it gets "terrible" gas mileage (12 city, 19 highway, compared to Obama's 35 mpg). While there is a hybrid version available, it costs $10,930 more and gets 20 mpg. Which falls far behind the 35 mpg Obama wants. Besides, only environmentalists with a lot of extra dough to spend would likely buy the hybrid version anyway.
If the government takes control of the American auto industry, we can say goodbye to SUVs and large cars and hello to golf-cart size vehicles made of extremely cheap components. These vehicles will likely be clones of the Nissan Versa. But seriously, buying new cars is overrated in my opinion. If you can't afford air conditioning and a radio, you can't afford a new car. You could probably get a used 2003 Cadillac Deville with heated leather seats in both rows, wood trim, all-digital display, and a good sound system for the same amount of money. (I know this because someone I know is selling a car like the one described.) Who wouldn't want that nice Cadillac over a Nissan that doesn't even have air conditioning and a radio?? While there are perks to buying a new car, like low mileage and a clean history report, these can be found in a used car. If the demand for cheap new cars goes down the demand for less-expensive used cars will go up, boosting the used-car industry also, which will make it easier for people to sell their used cars, which will make it easier for them to buy new cars.
