My Curious Life

About a month ago I got on my soapbox and made some suggestions about how Detroit needs to turn itself inside out and start anew.

Recently, though, I was reviewing concept designs and auto show prototypes from some of the big three U.S. auto makers (Chrysler, Ford and GM) and I’m feeling even more inclined to think that a newcomer to the industry is more likely to turn things around than an entrenched giant.

A couple of years ago Freeman Thomas, designer of the Audi TT and New Beetle, joined the ranks of Ford and there were several predictions that his design prowess could bring the company back from the brink. I had hopes that Ford would pull a miracle out of its hat with the hiring of Thomas, but alas, no. Instead, it seems to be pushing it’s more innovative designs into Europe and neglecting its U.S. audience and the growing need for smaller, more versatile and economical vehicles in the States. Ford’s U.S. auto designs are relatively stagnant, while Europe gets the Kuga and Mondeo and we in the U.S. get what? The Edge? The Flex?

Not surprisingly, Chrysler may be the one to actually make things happen for the U.S. auto market. It sounds like the privatization of Chrysler is bringing with it a new way of doing things. At least there are some tough decisions being made quickly at Chrysler, like paring down its lineup to reduce overlap, and a returning commitment to quality, even when this means taking an initial financial hit to do so. A glance at their current auto show vehicles still brings caution — there isn’t a lot of inspiring new design among the vehicles they’ve displayed so far. The Firepower is like a larger version of the Crossfire. The Imperial looks like a modernized K-car. The Nassau shows some promise as a smaller mid-size sedan, but takes a lot of design cues from existing Honda or Toyota models. Without something more exciting, Chrysler is doomed to repeat its recent past even with all its cost-cutting.

Lastly we come to poor, poor GM, whose almost complete and total dependence upon truck and SUV sales is contrasted by its relatively successful Flex Fuel vehicles. There seems to be an utter lack of anything inspiring coming from the GM fold, though. It’s all blocky and sharp edges.

With all this market turmoil, dissatisfaction with fuel economy, style and quality, I’m still anxious to see if some young upstart company will swoop in and come up with something inspired and take the U.S. market by storm. Now seems like the perfect time to do so. Otherwise, we might as well just ship our auto manufacturing to Asia with the rest of our goods. [Just watch out for a Chinese recall on carcinogenic parts.]