US Automakers Still Don't Get It

The 2010 Ford Edge




As I was reading the Sunday paper, I had a look at the car section and they featured a 2010 Ford Edge. This car is a crossover and before the economy tanked, the major US Automakers were betting the farm on this class of car. Since big, honking SUV's were getting a bad rap, the Detroit Three thought they could continue their profit paradigm by foisting these crossovers upon the public.

Crossovers like the Ford Edge simply do not make a whole lot of sense and are impractical. The MSRP BEGINS at $27,000 and goes up from there. The bad news is that the mileage rating is 18 per gallon in the city and 25 on the freeway. Vehicles had better fuel economy 25 years ago and there simply is no excuse for these abysmal figures. If you need the seating and cargo space, a minivan makes more sense than these crossovers.

It will be interesting to see the latest sales figures that will account for the CARS program. The Ford Edge has a similar fuel economy to most of the clunkers that qualify, meaning that a consumer would be lucky to even get a $3,500 rebate for their trade in.

What do you think? Do crossovers make sense or should auto manufacturers offer vehicels that are more fuel efficient? Would you purchase a vehicle like the Edge? We need hybrid and alternate energy vehicles that get 40 mpg in the city, not 18 mpg.