The Detroit 3 Fall Below 50% Market Share

The decline and fall of the U.S. vehicle industry arrived at another ignominious milestone. Retail vehicle registrations tracked by R.L. Polk & Company for the first five months of 2006 (January through May) show that import brands make up a whopping 52.9 percent of all new vehicles registered.

The domestic brands of GM, Ford Motor Company (tm), and DCX's Chrysler arm made up a minority 47.10 percent share of retail registrations.

Only the cheapening of the storied Lincoln brand with the V8-less FWD "Mexican Mazda" Zephyr (soon to be dumped for the meaningless "MKZ" badge in 2007, prevented all of Ford's domestic brands from losing ground in a retail market which has actually EXPANDED by 0.4%. Nonetheless, FoMoCo's paucity of attractive automobiles led it to a 5.7 percent decline during the first five months of 2006 (over the already depressed 2005 numbers. As it is, FoMoCo is now a distant THIRD among producers competing for the U.S. market.

Meanwhile, Japanese invaders continued their cutthroat slaughter in the retail markets. Toyota's sales have blown up 12.5 percent over the same period in 2005. The Waltrip wantabes in the Toyopet camp now can boast of selling 163,226 units MORE than all of FoMoCo in the U.S. during the first five months of 2006. (Apparently 'Yoda is really starting to school 'lil Billy Skywalker (William Clay Ford, Jr.) in the auto business now) Honda's sales have skyrocketed 9.3 percent. And even Korean powerhouse Hyundai is capturing 5.7 percent more of the prize this year.

The glory isn't all limited to Asian invaders. German brands are tearing huge chunks out of America in the feeding frenzy. Volkswagen is on a Panzer blitz, up 14.5 percent. BMW is soaring to a lofty 8.9 percent increase.

The grim sales statistics suggest at least two things: First, more than half of all "Americans" apparently don't care if the U.S. vehicle industry survives. Second, the dying U.S. vehicle industry doesn't have sufficient product quality, value, performance, economy and diversity to attract a majority of "American" consumers.

A sad day indeed when Americans and their governments have so savaged Detroit that it's no longer competitive.

Not much of a "Way Forward," is it?

BAD DAY AT THE TRACKS FOR FOMOCO

Ford Motor Company's grossly underfunded motorsports operations appeared more hapless than usual in the withering July heat of Kent, Washington and Pocono, Pennsylvania on Sunday.

At the weekly NASCAR circus, Ford's handfull of Fusion "funnycar" teams failed to even post a top-10 finish.

Ford's sole highlight was when Roush Office Depot Fusion "funnycar" driver Carl Edwards took a cheap shot at the hiked hind-quarter of Tony Stewart's hideous orange "Chevrolet" "funnycar" in retaliation for an earlier Stewart fit.

NASCAR's often myopic officials, who apparently visited the eye doctor after ignoring Jeff Gordon's Chicagoland intentional "punt for victory," sidelined both Stewart and Edwards for a lap at different times as a penalty for "aggressive driving."

Sadly, that was about all of the belligerence seen from anyone wheeling one of the grossly disfigured Ford "funnycars" around the giant triangle in the Quaker State.

Out West, on the NHRA's mid-Summer "Western Swing," Ford's real Funny Cars flopped again.

None of John Force's phalanx of Mustang floppers made the finals for the second straight week. Force himself dropped early, and fell further behind in the season points championship. One Ford made the semis, only to wiggle its way to defeat in the uncharacteristic 100+ degree air at Seattle .

A Bob Glidden-wrenched car did get into the late rounds of Pro Stock. It was a Pontiac GTO.