On 21 Apr 2021 at 17:50, (-Phil-) via EV wrote: > Complain all you want, but unless you fire up your own company and start > selling a compelling solution that people want it doesn't matter. "They" sure > aren't!
Funny, that's exactly how the Japanese automakers got their feet in the door here in the 1970s. Is the US's best selling sedan today a Chevy or Ford? No it is not. It's a Toyota. That would have been unimaginable in 1965. When the middle eastern oil producers shut off the spigot in 1973, what high MPG cars was Detroit building? Ford Pintos and Chevy Vegas. If you're not familiar with them, look them up. You'll understand what happened next. Toyota and Nissan/Datsun had decades of experience building good, reliable, small, fuel efficient cars. Their dealers were tacking hundreds of dollars in additional profit onto their cars' MSRP, bluntly listed on the window stickers as "ADM" (Additional Dealer Markup). Nevertheless, as each car rolled off the transport, the sales manager rang up the next eager buyer on the waiting list. They also advertised them liberally. For example, Nissan put up billboards on major highways reading "Datsun Saves - about a gallon a day." Now the major automakers - this time including the Japanese - have left the bottom end of the market wide open. No more are they offering small, efficient, low-cost vehicles to capture brand loyalty from young people in their first jobs. So who will fill that gap? I expect that Chinese and Indian automakers will repeat the Japanese manufacturers' 1970s success, with both EVs and small ICEVs. If they can deliver decent quality vehicles like the Japanese did back then, they will own a piece of the market - one that could easily grow in the future. Of course the US could also follow the European model, and put a thumb on the scale for EVs and fuel efficient ICEVs through legislation and taxes. But we probably won't. David Roden, EVDL moderator & general lackey To reach me, don't reply to this message; I won't get it. Use my offlist address here : http://evdl.org/help/index.html#supt = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Our jobs are not supposed to bring us enlightenment. They are supposed to bring us money and stolen office supplies. If we are going to perform any ritual at work, let it be to invite a demon into the sacred circle to smite our enemy, Liz in Human Resources. - Jessa Crispin = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = _______________________________________________ Address messages to ev@lists.evdl.org No other addresses in TO and CC fields UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub ARCHIVE: http://www.evdl.org/archive/ LIST INFO: http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org
