A pillar of President Obama’s 2012 strategy is that his administration saved Detroit carmakers and, by extension, American manufacturing. So how come the same administration is forcing Detroit to make more of their least-competitive vehicles?
Driven by global-warming zeal, Washington greens are forcing up the price of oil by strangling U.S. oil exploration while at the same time forcing Detroit to make smaller cars to meet fanciful federal mpg standards — even as foreign automakers dominate the small car market.
“In a troubling sign for Detroit, import brands appear to be winning over the new generation of American car buyers, people between the ages of 18 and 27,” reports Christine Tierney in the Detroit News. “This group, known as Generation Y or ‘Millennials,’ is showing an even greater preference for Asian brands than the Gen X consumers before them.”
“The car brands with the biggest proportion of Gen Y buyers were Japanese, South Korean and German,” according to a study by TrueCar.com, continues the News. “The only U.S. model in the top 10 (is) the Ford Focus Coupe.”
Nothing from GM or Chrysler, where U.S. taxpayers hold considerable equity..
The small car numbers are no surprise. Foreign carmakers’ econoboxes have been in demand in their home countries for decades due to high gas taxes. In the low-gas price U.S., by contrast, American automakers clean up on high-margin pickups and SUVs — consistently trouncing Toyota and Honda’s entries into the market.
So naturally, Obama’s energy policy disadvantages the very vehicles that are best for Detroit’s bottom line. With friends like these, who needs enemies?