With the recent rash of recalls by American car makers, U.S. auto giant, Ford has announced an end to the production of their super-SUV, the Excursion.
Environmental groups had been vocal in their condemnation of the vehicle, which averages just 14 miles to the gallon. The Sierra Club has dubbed the vehicle the Ford Valdez, in "honor" of the Exxon Valdez oil spill off Alaska some years ago. Along with the Excursion, Ford has also decided to kill production of an unnamed midsize SUV as well as the Lincoln Aviator. Both the Excursion and the Aviator have seen sales drop 20% to 25%.
Other American carmakers as well are losing the fight against their Japanese rivals. Japan's Toyota is the first foreign maker to break the 'Top 3' in automobile sales in the United States, bumping Chrysler to #4. The appeal of premium fuel efficiency and extremely competitive prices has put the Japanese companies in the forefront, while American carmakers have been forced to cut costs and outsource just to keep up.
With environmental groups beginning to break barriers in the fight against the SUV, the race for hybrid models is in full swing, and all the automakers are in the heat.
Japanese cars have already released several hybrid models that have seen soaring sales. The Toyota Prius has been on backorder since its release, leaving non-Japanese makers in the dust. The only other manufacturer to have widely released hybrid cars successfully is Honda.
The Associated Press reports that GM and Daimler Chrysler have joined together to spark a hybrid industry in the United States. Signing, what they call a "Memorandum of Understanding," the two have agreed to work together until 2006. Their goal - To release hybrid versions of the Chevy Tahoe and GMC Yukon by 2007, and a hybrid version of the Dodge Durango soon after.
The movement towards a hybrid SUV has been in the works since the success of hybrid cars and the backlash against poor SUV gas mileage and high emissions. The Motley Fool reports that Ford could be the first American company to hit the market when it completes its R&D on a Hybrid Ford Escape.
Ford hoped the release of their new hybrid model Escape could capitalize on a PR snafu by Honda, when the release of their Accord hybrid was overshadowed by a recall on regular Accords. After Ford released their Escape hybrid, it soon found itself in the same choppy waters as Honda, when they were forced to recall the old fashioned gasoline powered Escape and Mazda Tribute. The Motley Fool speculates the recall will hurt Ford's Hybrid Escape sales, they report "it's entirely possible that Ford has just lost a good deal of its first-mover status in the hybrid SUV segment". The ensuing issues have given way for Toyota to take the upper hand in the hybrid SUV market, with hybrid versions of the Toyota Highlander and Lexus RX400H due for release in 2005.
According to The Philadelphia Inquirer, the Union of Concerned Scientists, a nearly 40-year-old environmental group reported that among the six largest car companies in the U.S. market, the top three environmentally friendly were Honda, Nissan, and Toyota, respectively. The issue of fuel emissions and economy is an issue all automakers have to face, but looking at the report the American Big Three have a steeper hill to climb if they want to catch up to their Japanese rivals.
With the recent rash of recalls by American car makers, U.S. auto giant, 
Other American carmakers as well are losing the fight against their Japanese rivals. Japan's 