I was mulling an "all the forces seem to be conspiring against Detroit" case Thursday when I spied, in the parking lot, a silver-and-black Dodge Challenger SRT8 powered by a 6.1-liter Hemi.
Now? Amid record oil prices, $4-a-gallon gas, semi-hysterical consumers swapping Ford F-150 pickups for Focus compacts, congressional leaders and the presumptive presidential nominees of both parties pushing global climate change legislation that would make any French legislator proud, California vowing to write its own emissions rules and a prevailing public mood that essentially equates big-block V-8s with a pack of unfiltered Camels?
Can't imagine why Detroit gets a bad rap, whatever the arcana of its individual product cycle plans. Perception is reality to folks outside the automotive bubble -- you know, the people who actually buy the stuff -- and the perception is that Detroit is pushing the wrong new metal for the times and losing a lot of money doing it because, well, it is.
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