U.S. Automakers

The U.S. Automakers are getting their butts handed to them. Toyota is expected to take the top notch for American auto sales in 2007. They are already getting very close in 2006.



While everyone speculates on why the automakers are losing market share, I suspect that it is mostly a function of style. American automakers have historically made some pretty ugly cars. The reliability is definitely better than some of the German automakers, but they just lack style. Meanwhile, Japanese autos are solidly built, with nice features and affordable prices. You can see that the major Japanese brands are solidly in the top of the J.D. Power Vehicle Reliability Ratings (defects per 1000 vehicles).