Thoughts on the U.S. Auto Industry

U.S. automakers have had the capacity to build fuel efficient cars for at least a decade. I know this for a fact, because a decade ago I was in Germany, driving around in a marvelously fuel efficient, decently sized 4-door sedan made by Ford yet not available anywhere in the U.S. I don't remember exactly, but at that time, fuel over there was running about the equivalent of $3.50/gallon (mind you, this was for 97 or 98 octane, also not available in the U.S.), and yet running this car cost no more than running my smaller volvo on less than $1.00/gallon gas in the U.S.

So, what's the problem? Why haven't these U.S. branded cars made by U.S. companies been made available in the U.S? If being the Emperor of Rome and the vast Holy Roman Empire had given me any power other than to write bitter sentiments, I'd be asking everyone with ANY authority, "What the effing eff were you effing idiot effers thinking?" The expletives would not be modified, though. Nor would the glare of doom.

From what I've been able to glean, there is some reason fuel efficient cars were sold by U.S. companies in Europe but not here. While I'd like to suspect Big Oil had something to do with it, or the markup on 7 mpg SUVs, I am quite sure that there's more to the story than this.

If I had an investigative team that was not made up solely of curious Siamese cats of varying ages and levels of intelligence, I'd get to the bottom of this. Someone with an ACTUAL investigative team (and I don't mean some corrupt "news" agency) should. I want unbiased truth.

In fact, as Holy Roman Empress, I DEMAND unbiased truth, not filtered by anyone's personal views or experiences. I d0n't want the damn shadow on the cave wall. I want the ideal chair. Aristotle and Plato - BITE ME! (and don't be offended if I like it)