Another issue, of course, is the product mix of the American carmakers (which doesn't blunt Nate Silver's point, but is at least another contributory factor). B

Another issue, of course, is the product mix of the American carmakers (which doesn't blunt Nate Silver's point, but is at least another contributory factor). Basically, the American car companies bet the farm on SUVs in the '90s in the way Japanese manufacturers simply didn't. It's a shorter-term concern - bad tactics, rather than bad strategy - but it won't have helped. I wrote about this yesterday (complete with the underlying data from the Bureau of Transportation Studies: quick disclaimer, this is a project of the startup I'm part of)- http://byline.timetric.com/2009/03/30/kick-out-the-traffic-jams-motown-and-the-fall-of-the-big-three-carmakers/ http://byline.timetric.com/2009/03/30/kick-out-the-traffic-j...