Now as this is just an educated guess I do believe that some sort of scenario will play out very close to this. With the decrease in safety from the foreign manufacturers I think people are starting to wake up.

A lot of my customers are very safety orientated and really are impressed by Ford's intitiative in the segment.

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I hope they're correct.

Yeah but Ford and Volkswagon?

I agree that was a bit off there... and I don't think I would want to be acquiring Volkswagon right now. They've been having some "issues" for the past few years with reliability.

Thats just a made up story...not sure how it helps the US automakers...

Really? What clued you in? Maybe that the author stated it was the year 2015? :jester:

Sorry, I'm just yanking your chain a bit....

i just thought it was a dumb article...

I agree. Analysts give GM a 30% chance of following Delphi into bankruptcy. Not good. To survive until 2015 the Big Three have to market fuel efficient cars, not trucks, and they have to be appealing enough to buy. As the cost of gas escalates, SUV's and truck sales take a nosedive. Any auto maker who bets the farm on sales of these things (uh, does F-150 ring any bells?) is going to take a major sales and profits hit, and you didn't need to be a rocket scientist to see this coming.

They don't have to be rocket ships. Let's face it, the performance car market is a small fraction of overall sales, but they need a few hot models to bring customers in to the showrooms before they buy a bread and butter sedan.

Ford and VW? Why not? VW has everything form the Golf and GTI to the Phaeton. Wisely, they've stayed out of the truck market. I think both brands would benefit from a merger like this, but I've never heard any rumors so I think it's wishful thinking by the author.

And to go back to the original post about safety, I totally disagree. There are a few aberrant vehicles out there that aren't up to par when it comes to safety but that will change for the better soon. The marketplace is a cruel mistress and cars that don't measure up don't stick around very long. I give you Yugo as only example. For those of you who think that safety is paramount in the minds of consumers, I give you the history of Volvo. Enough said. You guys can do your own research on this topic.

Ford did say that by 2010 half of their vehicles will be hybrids. So I think we can still have big Trucks and SUVs, but with better gas mileage. For example, Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra, both hybrids, can get 18/21 mileage which is pretty good for a 5.3L V8 vehicle (just for comparison, my 4.6L V8 F-150 can get 12/18).

OK. I have never understood trucks as an everyday driver. When I have needed one, I have either called a friend who had one or I rented one. But why someone would a truck as a daily driver is beyond me.

And I have never understood the SUV frenzy. Most never go off road and they have limited cargo carrying capacity. Call me simple, call me stupid, but I just don't get it.

Hybrids may be the answer, and a long way down the road there may may be an even better solution. We need one.

Meanwhile I continue to walk to work.

I don't use my truck for everyday driving (curently have 550 miles), I have Mustang for that. I bought it because I was gettying tired of renting and borrowing trucks every time I needed it. I would also rather drive SUV than Minivan. They both have pretty much the same seating capacity.

Ford should stay away from VW because VW is in bad financial shape; Ford doesn't need any more financial drains than they already have:

VW Says US Operations In Crisis