[nascarnation]

If fuel prices stay low, the industry is gonna be in a real dilemma. They are investing tons of capital to design and develop vehicles to meet the (very high) govt mandated fuel economy levels.

And people are wanting to buy pickups and SUVs.

[taildragger]

Which will put them in the same dilemma they were in years ago to meet CAFE. Import a GEO Metro or Fiesta to meet CAFE and offset the pickups, or add even more high-tech to get the SUV's and Pickups get much higher mileage on their own. I spoke with an Auto Body gnome the other day and they decided not to spend the capital to become a center to fix the new Aluminum Bodied Ford pickups. The number they fixed per year didn't make sense with the capital outlay.

So do we end up with Mild-Hybrid / Aluminum / Carbon-Fiber pickups that no one can work on just to Satisfy Lear-Deeders unobtainium mandates that are making a freakin' pickup as sophisticated as a Formula one racer?

It is beyond Kelly Johnson's " 80% rule " ( look it up ) and we are so far into the curve of not being cost effective it isn't even funny....