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The American car: exciting, or extinct?

In a fight for survival. U.S. automakers look for ways to revive customers' loyalty.

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published January 22, 2007

Americans have a bias against cars made by U.S. automakers, and the problem for Detroit is changing perceptions that often don't match reality.

Those questioned in an Associated Press poll said they have more faith in Japanese-made cars than in vehicles produced by Detroit's Big Three. But General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and the Chrysler Group are going back to the future in their uphill effort to again inspire consumer loyalty and regain market share.

What is the American auto industry doing to reclaim its evaporating support?

The industry is returning to the types of autos that gave it a sense of "swagger and attitude in the 1960s," said John Wolkonowicz, an auto industry analyst.

And the mood of U.S. auto industry leaders? "They're tearing their hair out," said Wolkonowicz, who works at Global Insight, an economic research and consulting company. "It's more of a problem of perception than reality. The problem started in the late 1960s and early 1970s."

Back then, a teenager's first set of wheels probably was something like a 10-year-old American-made car. The replacement might have been a new Japanese compact, a more reliable performer with better gas mileage. As the Japanese began offering luxury models, that brand loyalty grew stronger.

But several poll findings could offer encouragement for U.S. automakers:

- Only 17 percent of current or potential car owners in the poll say they prefer to buy foreign cars.

- Support for buying American cars increases with age, but six in 10 of those 30 or younger said they were open to buying foreign cars or American cars.

Auto industry analysts say many people have the perception that cars made overseas are built better than American cars. But the performance of American-made cars is now very close to those made in Japan and higher than many cars made in Europe, they said. Foreign cars do have an advantage in resale value, however.

[Last modified January 21, 2007, 09:23:31]