[quote=Rt.66]The Japanese Gov. funded a large part of Toyota’s Prius development.
I’d say foreign Govs. Embarrassed the US Gov. by protecting, funding and nurturing their automakers to the point at which we find our manufacturers in the predicament we are in today.
People, you cannot disagree that our very own manufacturers have been put at a distinct disadvantage for decades. Everything else is just looking for a reason by looking past the reason.
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I always find it interesting when people say this. The US government gave approximately $1 billion to the Big 3 for diesel hybrid development during the Clinton Adminstration (and around $500 million for hydrogen during the Bush years), with additional money going to other auto related fields for the same programs. However, the government also passed stricter laws against diesel, thereby nullifying the use of such vehicles. How ironic is that.
I would suspect companies like Ford and Chrysler would have much less knowledge of hybrid without this program (as GM had EV1).
“The Clinton administration has given $1.4 billion over the last five years to national laboratories, universities, auto parts manufacturers and Detroit automakers to help in the building of a few experimental models.”
“For one thing, the Big Three have all focused on diesel-electric hybrid cars. Yet federal and state environmental regulators have just adopted new rules for tailpipe emissions that will make it very difficult after 2003 to sell automobiles with diesel engines. Meanwhile, Honda Motor and Toyota Motor, operating with much smaller government subsidies, have already begun mass production of small high-mileage cars that combine gasoline engines and electric motors, leaving Detroit scrambling to catch up.”
In any case, the cars from Germany, Japan, and the US are somewhat different, and that is part of the reason people chose different cars. German cars are more likely to handle tighter/firm and ride more sporty, while US cars are more luxury ride based with less feel of the road, while Japanese cars are closer to German cars but less costly. So someone used to a responsive, sporty car is likely to go with something like BMW or a less expensive Toyota.
This article about the new Buick even points this out:
