Sedan, Less Than $20,000. Sedan, $20,000-$30,000. Sedan, $30,000-$40,000. Luxury Sedan. SUV, Less Than $30,000. SUV, More Than $30,000. Pickup Truck. Minivan. Green Car. Fun To Drive.*
These are the 10 flavors of cars assessed by Consumer Reports (“TopPicks2006,” April 2006). The winners are …
10 of 10.
Japanese.
All.
Detroit has a problem. Pensions? Healthcare costs? Screwed-up parts makers? Or: Cars no one gives a S%^& about?
Your call.
Carol Loomis, a brilliant Fortune writer and researcher of many years’ standing, wrote a b-i-g cover story on GM (“The Tragedy of GM”) in the mag’s 20 February issue. From the cover, in part: “The company remains so central to the economy, so sprawling in its reach, that going into Chapter 11 would be ominous almost beyond contemplation.”
Sorry, Carol, I respectfully disagree. Don’t get me wrong, I pine for dislocated GM workers. (Fordies, too.) However, I fret much more about Intel’s recent, minuscule decline in sales than GM’s problems. Could be wrong. But I don’t think so. We really do have a “new economy”—and, to some extent, the faster we can get over the “old economy” the better off we’ll be.
*FYI, the “Fun To Drive” winner was the Subaru Impreza WRX/STi.