I personally think the rental-car-like blandness of American cars will be the death of the US-owned auto industry, like what has happened in Great Brittan. British Leyland was once the number two auto maker in the world but problems with quality and perpetually striking union labor eventually killed it. For those who do not know, they produced cars under the following makes: Triumph, MG, Jaguar, Rover, Range Rover, Woolsley, Mini (yes, it was it's own name at one time), Morris, Riley, Jensen, Daimler, Austin-Healey and a few others I can't remember right now ( Reliant?). Some of these brands went away, some were included in the short-lived Rover group, but none are owned by British interests any more. Mini went to BMW, Land Rover and Jaguar to Ford and one I think even went to the Chinese ( MG?). I hate to say it, but GM could go the same way unless they can get their act together. Very few cars they make have any appeal ( Saturn Sky, Pontiac Solstice, Chevy Corvette) other than as rentals and transportation appliances. Much of what they have made for the last 20+ years looks like it was designed by a committee looking to neither impress nor offend anyone. In the process they created cars that appealed to no one. Meanwhile, like in Great Brittan, Japanese companies have built factories here and started selling higher quality cars at competitive prices. Now, most people trust Toyotas and Hondas more than Chevys and Fords. It will take many years of making much better cars for Americans to turn back to American cars, but by then it may be too late. China is set to enter our market soon with cars priced lower than Korean cars. If they can quickly get their act together like Hyundai has, it may be all over.
