Car Talk by J. B. Griffin III.

Lately, there has been a lot of realigning and repositioning of some industry giants, namely the big three auto makers in the USA. While some of this represents  necessary adjustments that take place
from time to time a lot of it, I am convinced, is being done deliberately

(by them) to make the big three look weaker than they really are. Take, for example, the recently much discussed loss of market share by GM. The way it is presented and blown up for the media you would think that GM is a relic of the past.  That if you were to see a GM product on the street it must be some kind of a unique antique and that almost every car sold in America is a Toyota or a Honda.  Yet, if you examine the real sales figures for last year you will find that a full 27% of vehicles sold last year were GM products. That's 1 of every 4 cars sold!

I know Toyota is making serious gains in the market. Right now, they are in second place. Some of that can be attributed to their aggressive marketing and sales force, but most of it is because Ford and Chrysler are going through some major, and I mean major, changes which has

them giving up a lot of  ground and market share for now while they shift manufacturing overseas and rid themselves of the twin burdens of the unionized workforce and a bunch of retirees who are draining the companies' resources dry. (I guess the government really is the only entity who can pay a 45 year old to sit at home the rest of his life and draw full pay with full medical benefits!) By the way, GM is doing the

same thing as Ford and Chrysler, they just have enough money to maintain their status quo in the market while they do
it.

The thing is, and this is what I really want to convey to you in this article, don't count the American companies out of the picture forever for a number of reasons. One, they still have the best brains in the business working for them. Two, the Japanese can undo their own success, often right on the heels of achieving it! Let's take Toyota for an example: Everyone loves the Camry, the Avalon and the Corolla, right? Obviously, because they sell by the millions. This same company, though, will just as

quickly lay an egg. How about the Tercel, the Starlet or my all time favorite Toyota turkey, the clunky over-priced Cressida. Their last bomb, the under-achieving Echo, was dropped just recently. Now, in what could be a deadly mistake, they have decided to convert their highly profitable Lexus line into all hybrid models. Is that smart? No, not even if it is successful. It is too risky to take a proven winner and turn it over to a gamble, but I have observed that to be the way of the Japanese mind. What makes sense to us doesn't always make sense to them. In fact, it is not too far-fetched to imagine that their recent run of successful styling, as it appeals to the American public, is purely coincidental and is very little of their own doing. Is that being critical of them? No, they are Japanese and we are Americans and there are major differences between the two cultures. So don't sell off your American automaker stocks just yet. Once all the new factories are on-line in China there will be a new day dawning in the automarket, but as a parting question, does anyone see any danger in having all the world's goods made by one giant evil superpower? Nah, I didn't think so.

JB Griffin owns and operates JB's Auto Sales and Service in Evensville, Tennessee. You may see him weekly on the WDEF-TV News 12 Morning Show every Tuesday at 7:10 a.m. where he will answer your car care questions live and on air. Visit him on the web at:  www.500overcost.com
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