Ryan Plesko

I’ve always been a car guy and last week I headed out to the Dallas Auto Show to check out the new stuff. I grew up in a General Motors family - my dad always drove a GM or Chevy truck and my mom had a Suburban and later an Oldsmobile and a Buick. I’ve always been a fan of domestic cars - I’ve owned a couple Jeeps, a Z-28, and a Trans Am.

It was easy to figure out why the domestic automakers are in such trouble. I was completely unimpressed with the domestic offerings. There was absolutely nothing from the big three (or their sub-brands) that seemed unique, forward thinking, or cool.

The Ford vehicles seemed dated and stale - I haven’t liked a Mustang since 1993, and the sedans and trucks were ho-hum. It’s like they started patterning all their cars after the Ford Taurus - generic and cheap.

The GM vehicles were a little better, but what should be the flagship sports car, the Cadillac XLR-V (which I’ve actually driven quite a bit), still lacks true bucket seats. What kind of sports car doesn’t have bucket seats?

I sat in the Dodge Challenger, a vehicle re-introduced in 2008, and it was impersonal, generic, and overpriced. For a vehicle that was not just updated, but completely restyled and re-introduced, you would expect something more up-to-date.

The domestic vehicles reminded me of recent Disney movies… nothing new - just sequels and remakes of past greats. Meanwhile, the foreign companies are producing well performing, innovative vehicles that are feature-rich, have well-thoughtout details, are fuel efficient, and affordable. BMW, a company known for luxury, is introducing fuel-efficient, timelessly styled (yet modern), affordable vehicles (at or below comparable domestic vehicles). Volkswagen is another company that continues to produce great, affordable vehicles (and also has a very strong following). Honda, a company known for innovation and vehicle longevity, had some beautiful models that were well styled, yet also affordable (the seats in the S2000 put the XLR to shame).

The only bright point from the domestic auto makers was the Dodge Zeo. It’s a concept of an all electric sports car with room for four and a range of 250 miles. I’m skeptical that it will be produced, but it was the only innovative thing I saw from GM, Ford, or Dodge.

The biggest disappointment came from Jeep, though. In the wake of the domestic automakers asking for billions of dollars in bailout money they are producing concept vehicles that “have no plans for production.” How much money was spent on developing a car that doesn’t seem to have any innovative features other than marketing appeal? I’m a fan of impractical cars (i’ve owned nothing but impractical cars), but this is ridiculous. Why should the tax payers pay for Jeep to produce toys and marketing gimmicks? Domestic automakers need to lose the traditional ways of thinking and move forward - be innovative or die.

The American public is not single-dimensional. It seems domestic automakers think that they can produce a vehicle that is fuel efficient, but lacks interior room, or an affordable vehicle that lacks style, or a “luxury” car that skips details. They’re losing customers because they refuse to move forward - refuse to open up and connect - refuse to be anything other than what they always have been.