In his latest rant, Forbes
columnist Jerry Flint questions the design strategies of Ford Motor Co. and General Motors. He thinks their
global-strategies for new models will fail, as much of it is based on slapping domestic badges on their European
models... not unlike what the companies did with the Contour/Mystique and Catera. This philosophy even extends to
trucks, usually considered the last bastion for the domestic automakers: GM developed the Chevrolet Colorado and GMC
Canyon from one of its trucks marketed in Thailand.
But Americans don’t want European cars from
American automakers, according to Flint... they want 'American' cars. And they're getting them from foreign automakers.
The blatantly big and bold Chrysler 300 and Dodge Magnum were developed by German-owned Chrysler. The Tacoma pickup had
been developed by Toyota for the American market from scratch and, Flint points out, currently outsells the above
trucks two to one.
With all the new vehicles rolling out of Detroit in the coming years, though, does
Flint's still have merit? Or is he right on target?
[Source: The Car Connection]
