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http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/2/AmericanFlag.jpg "Without global platforms, it would be hard to imagine any of the domestic players being competitive going forward" (http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20090714/AUTO01/907140358/1148/auto01/Big+Three+hope+for+profits+in+small+cars)

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/2010_Ford_Fiesta_Movement.jpgBryce G. Hoffman - DETROITNEWS (http://www.detroitnews.com) - July 2, 2009

They won't be family cars, yet 80% of Americans communte to work alone, yet some will complain about the size --Ed.

Faced with tough new federal fuel economy standards and the prospect of rising gasoline prices, Detroit's automobile manufacturers will soon be pushing small vehicles in a big way.

Ford Motor Co. is scheduled to launch the Ford Fiesta subcompact by the end of the year -- the first in a series of new small cars from Europe that will soon make up a big portion of its U.S. fleet. Next year, General Motors Co. plans to introduce the compact Chevrolet Cruze, with even smaller vehicles such as the Chevy Spark set to follow. And Chrysler Group LLC, now run by Italy's Fiat SpA, is counting on the diminutive Fiat 500 to reverse its fortunes.

Producing and selling small cars profitably in the United States has proved an elusive goal for Detroit's three automakers in the past. They promise this time will be different. ... http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20090714/AUTO01/907140358/1148/auto01/Big+Three+hope+for+profits+in+small+cars

Hope is all they have...they don't know how to make them right...save for Ford of course.

A very interesting article. I hope the author has it right and that Americans are increasing willing to buy small cars with good features, economy and technology. I have some doubt, but I'm a cynical old goat ;-)

And here lies the contradiction they still fail to see:

"To make money off a small car, it has to be a low-cost car," Munro said. "If you don't go in and reduce the number of parts, you're never going to hit your cost targets."

He believes American consumers are now willing to pay more for a small car that is big on features, comfort and mileage.

A small vehicle has to be low cost, but people are now willing to pay for the bells and whistles on a small car. Am I the only one seeing this clash?

Munro (and the vast majority of the car buying public) equate luxury vehicle to big vehicle.
What's wrong with a Fiesta sized luxury vehicle?!? It's time for people to get out of the big=luxury mindset.

It looks like Detroit has finally been cajoled into making small cars like they should have been all along.

I predict the bigger problem is convincing the driving public to accept small cars.

We known Bob Lutz loves fast cars....may I suggest GM work on an answer to the Mini Cooper?

Americans have complained "It's too small!" - we need American compacts the size of the Ford Escort to address that.

The public is needs to forget "one size fits all" and buy a commuter, then buy a family vehicle, maybe less often.

Americans WILL buy premium priced small cars IF they are premium in quality and features. I think the fact that the mini, the smart fortwo, the fit, and the scions have done well proves that. We want a well engineered and well made car that doesn't feel cheap. We don't want cobalts. I think the Fiesta and the fiat 500 will do well. There is a good chance that i will sell my xB to get a 500 if they become available here.

It's like eating at Olive Garden or eating at the local Italian restaurant. The chain gives you a giant portion of mediocre-tasting food, while the local place tastes a lot better with a smaller portion.

We've been brainwashed into the "bigger is better" philosophy for so long. You can spend that $20k on a mediocre larger car or a fantastic small car. I'd gladly smart-size my car if I could afford it.

It's like eating at Olive Garden or eating at the local Italian restaurant. The chain gives you a giant portion of mediocre-tasting food, while the local place tastes a lot better with a smaller portion...

I've been spoiled by (really) small towns. The local eateries serve more food, better food, and at a cheaper price.

I've been spoiled by (really) small towns. The local eateries serve more food, better food, and at a cheaper price.Likewise, I've been spoiled by big cities (the actual cities, not their suburbs) for the exact same reason.

The restaurant business is a tough one. Mom and pop places make it work by working hard and keeping their overhead low. I don't think there's a lot of economy of scale to be had, so the only way to make corporate chains really work is by cutting corners IMO.

Back to cars -- I do think a lot of consumers want to see more content in small cars than has often been the case in the past. You'll still have the people who want the stripped-down base Versa or Aveo, but most consumers "trading down" in size are going to want most of the amenities they've grown accustomed to. Honda figured that out, and equipped the base Fit with more content than the base Civic. VW does very well selling Golfs and Jettas that are appointed as nicely as Accords or Camrys and have good cargo capacity but smaller passenger compartments than Civics or Corollas. And look how popular the Nav option is on the HCH.

In the past the Detroit 3 have tried to appeal to a wide range of content demand by offering bazillions of different option packages on the same vehicle, but I'm not sure that model is going to work so well. No one is going to want to pay $25k for a Cobalt no matter how you load it up. Years ago GM gutted the power of its multiple brands with "badge engineering", stripping out all but the most superficial differences between cars based on the same platform.

What I think these guys should do is use their different brands to distinguish big differences in content. The Cobalt would still be a basic, entry level compact; Buick should offer a much more nicely appointed version, but somewhere in between the Chevy and the pimped out version Cadillac might offer, using the same platform to keep costs down but with bigger differences between the brands than they currently do. In terms of hybridization, they might offer the Cobalt with a cheazy BAS option, and then offer a 2mode option on the more upscale Buick version. Overall this is similar to the 2-tier model (Honda/Acura, Nissan/Infiniti, Toyota/Lexus) used by the Japanese automakers, but with a middle tier in between. The smallest cars probably wouldn't have the top level, but the midsizes would. Ford could do the same thing with Ford/Mercury/Lincoln. Chrysler, if it continues to exist, could emulate the lower 2 tiers of the same strategy with Dodge/Chrysler branding.

In the past the Detroit 3 have tried to appeal to a wide range of content demand by offering bazillions of different option packages on the same vehicle, but I'm not sure that model is going to work so well. No one is going to want to pay $25k for a Cobalt no matter how you load it up. Y.

Interestingly enough, Chrysler tried something in the late 80's to buck this trend. The Omni/Horizon twins were avaialable in hundreds of different configurations. Loaded up ones were actually pushing the $10K price barrier by 1986. So Chrysler came up with a different method. The cut the base price over $700, to $5499. They made almost $700 of formerly optional equipment standard. They cut the option list to just a few things, like AC. Automatic, and a radio upgrade. They were called the Omni and Horizon 'america', and they sold a ton of them. It costs a lot of money to offer all those options, so eliminating that cost factor results in better cars for less money. Scion did something similar when they came to market. Well equipped small cars with almost zero factory options, but lots of content for a good price.

Back to cars -- I do think a lot of consumers want to see more content in small cars than has often been the case in the past. You'll still have the people who want the stripped-down base Versa or Aveo, but most consumers "trading down" in size are going to want most of the amenities they've grown accustomed to. Honda figured that out, and equipped the base Fit with more content than the base Civic. VW does very well selling Golfs and Jettas that are appointed as nicely as Accords or Camrys and have good cargo capacity but smaller passenger compartments than Civics or Corollas. And look how popular the Nav option is on the HCH...

My point exactly. GM and Chrysler just don't seem to get it (and Ford not much either, though they are getting there).