No one could have forseen these gas prices.. ???? HUH??

[MagneticGrayIndy]

In a USAToday article on GM's plummeting sales, there's a bit about how maybe they should have been building smaller cars but no one could have seen these gas prices a year ago...

"You could say they should have built these smaller cars and more fuel-efficient cars, but nobody saw these gas prices coming a year ago," Conway says. "You can't create a car to deal with $5 gas in one year. The guys who had those cars kind of lucked out."

(Conway is from a Detroit restructuring company)

Are they out of their minds???? We've been talking for how many years about the overall supply of oil decreasing and the world's overall demand skyrocketing.?. The world saw it coming. Toyota saw it coming. Every PRIUS owner saw it coming.

To say the guys who had these cars (read: toyota, honda, EVERY european company w/ high mileage diesels) kind of lucked out is absurd. They did NOT luck out.. they've been building these kind of cars for DECADES.

I, for one, have been very aware since the first Gulf War that we would more than likely see increasing gasoline prices throughout the rest of my lifetime. They STILL don't get it do they???

GM, FORD, CHRYSLER had better get their acts together... losing all those manufacturing jobs would be devasting to our already hurting economy.. Get with it guys!! Read the writing on the wall.. and floor.. and windows.. and ceiling.. and floating in the air around you!!! America wants better built cars with decent resale and GOOD fuel economy!! Don't keep advertising how you have over 30 models that get 30mpg.. (read: only becuase you have WAY too many models to begin with, and that's ONLY highway mileage.. and 30 ISN'T GOOD MILEAGE!)

[NYPrius1]

This sounds as bad as Condi Rice saying Noone could have forseen people flying into buildings.

[orracle]

Shoot, when we had the gas lines in 1973 it was clear that someday the chickens would come home to roost.

Not only have they come home in flocks but they are laying eggs!

[MagneticGrayIndy]

Originally Posted by orracle

Shoot, when we had the gas lines in 1973 it was clear that someday the chickens would come home to roost.

Not only have they come home in flocks but they are laying eggs!

I was just a pup when that happened.. but I do remember it. I guess the idea that gas isn't going to be here forever has always been ingrained in me (even though I clearly remember it being well below $1/gal)!

I honestly don't see it ever being below $4/gal (for extended periods) again... nowhere to go but up. I sooooo want an electric car! I've been researching the bejesus out of conversions!

[rsforkner]

Originally Posted by MagneticGrayIndy

I was just a pup when that happened.. but I do remember it. I guess the idea that gas isn't going to be here forever has always been ingrained in me (even though I clearly remember it being well below $1/gal)!

I honestly don't see it ever being below $4/gal (for extended periods) again... nowhere to go but up. I sooooo want an electric car! I've been researching the bejesus out of conversions!

OK, you forced me...

When I was a teenager, aka 1960, there would be "gas wars" around town. They would last from a few days to a couple of weeks. We could get gas at $0.10 per gallon.

We would put 50 cents worth in the tank and cruse around all evening in a muscle car. We would drive from one end of town to the other and back looking for friends (and girls ).

Bob

[Barcelona Red]

The domestic carmakers were making a lot of money selling SUVs and now the party's over. They really were good at convincing many that urban assault vehicles were necessary in this scary world.
I bought mine in April and it was the perfect time! Now i look at the ads from the dealer I bought it from and there are no more Prius ads like "20 package 2 at this price, 33 package 6 at this price" etc.

[tasker109]

when we decided to buy "baby blue", gas was flirting with 3.50. we crunched our savings numbers on that figure and included 3.00 in case prices dropped. that was in march and we have not had one minute of buyers remorse. it has been our habit to buy a new car when we got 6 or 7 years into the last one. so it was basically time for new wheels. so many talk about "the break even point" on purchasing a prius but i think the stats have to be much better for it than purchasing a new car with a gasoline engine. with a standard purchase, you drive off the sales lot and you have a used car that is worth 20-25 per cent less than an hour ago. i personally believe that if we wanted to sell the prius now, at 3 months old, we could get more than we paid for it. you cant say that about too many purchases.

[SuperDave]

Originally Posted by MagneticGrayIndy

I was just a pup when that happened.. but I do remember it. I guess the idea that gas isn't going to be here forever has always been ingrained in me (even though I clearly remember it being well below $1/gal)!

I honestly don't see it ever being below $4/gal (for extended periods) again... nowhere to go but up. I sooooo want an electric car! I've been researching the bejesus out of conversions!

MGI I am with you all the way. I too am looking into EVERY option to get something electric going. I would love to be free from this oil madness.

[Zythryn]

"No one could have seen these prices..."

Sounds like Baghdad Bob found a new job

[Flying White Dutchman]

ford already got small cars
only need to start selling them in the us