Our last 2 American auto makers have been going through some hard times in the last few years. Pension obligations and recently Ford announced some HUGE losses.

So what can we expect in the coming years for these 2 companies??? Will they become history along with the Model "A" & Studebaker??? Or is there hope for an eventual revival???

How GM and Ford Failed

Apparently, it's all to do with the product. The cars (and now trucks) just aren't as good as the competition. However, even if Ford and GM now focused on and sank money into designing a better product, they'd only be playing catch-up.

In the comments section to that article, Fiat is given as an example of a car-maker that managed to turn itself around by straightening out its bureaucracy (is that so?). It's also suggested that the car-makers who can come up with real alternatives to oil-power are going to be the future winners.

They have a lot to overcome. Toyota and Honda have become very well known for their reliability, quality, and fuel efficiency.

GM has become well known for fuel hogging vehicles and completely screwing customers with unreliable parts and service.

My last car was a Nissan and it cost me $300 in service over 100,000 miles. I don't think there is a GM owner that didn't have a warranty that can say the same.

The culture of Detroit needs to go in my opinion. The enormity of the business has made it so unlikely that anyone behaves with cost consciousness that it's sickening. From the individual employees to the CEO... it's messed up.

Apparently, part of the trade talks currently being held between South Korea and the US involves lowering South Korea's emission standards so that larger US cars can be sold there. For some reason, ordinary South Koreans don't like this idea.