DETROIT has shown it has the chops to compete in the US passenger car market. Now it needs to show it can compete profitably.
High gasoline prices and changing consumer preferences are fundamentally altering the way the US car business works. The decades-old trend towards buying more pickups and sport-utility vehicles (SUVs) has reversed. In 2005, passenger cars made up just 46 per cent of the US light vehicle market, according to the US Commerce Department. In the first quarter of 2012, they accounted for a seasonally adjusted 53 per cent.
Source
Wall Street Journal