Yesterday’s formal announcement by the Ford Motor Company, that they intended to follow Chevrolet’s lead and close numerous plants, lay off thousands of workers and re-focus it’s vehicle line up was a major hit and more are coming.
I had hoped that Ford’s redesigned Mustang and the new Ford Fusion would help them avoid the drastic cuts and restructuring suffered by Chevrolet.
In part, I felt Chevrolet speed along their inevitable cuts, by ending production of rear wheel drive coupes and sedans, killing off the Camaro and Firebird models, and relying heavily bulbous designs dressed up with clunky plastic body side moldings. In short, I thought Chevy’s design team spent too much time dropping LSD and staring up at the clouds for inspiration.
Seems Ford was unable to dodge the bullet as well. Now more autoworkers will join the unemployment lines. Those workers let go first are likely to be somewhat better off than the last to go. By the time they lay off the final employees included in these cuts, the marketplace will be flooded with unemployed auto workers.
And things are gonna get worse. Warming relations with China are resulting in Chinese autos soon to be imported to the U.S. I checked out a couple of these Chinese cars on the web. They are either as handsome or as ugly (depending on your tastes) as the vast majority of vehicles currently offered in the U.S. They offer everything from small economy cars to larger luxury vehicles. Most seem to be generously appointed with the latest electronic gadgets, and even with the import tariffs they should end up being fairly affordable.
It also looks like the Chinese have a secret weapon. A weapon likely to make a big splash in high school and college campuses parking lots across our country. The weapon; a “cute bomb”. I personally dislike “cute” cars, but from the large number of them I see on the road, I can’t discount their sales appeal.
I am referring to the Chery QQ. I did a double take when I saw this car. I recognized it. I had a little trouble placing it at first, but thanks to my kids taste in TV, it didn’t take long to figure it out. This car is a freaking Pokemon Pikachu look-alike. Sure to out cute the Mini Cooper, VW Beatle and Dodge Neon.
Could things possible get any worse? I really need to find an affordable 1970 Plymouth Fury GT, just to get the cartoonish face of the QQ out of my head.
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