Re: Of Mice and Men

Posted by Mr.Pushbutton  On 2009/12/10 13:28:43

The Pacer, Gremlin, Granada and Monte Carlo had their audience, at that time in history, and the numbers on each are not small. You have to look at any car as an answer to a market that existed at the time. Look at Packards, for gosh sakes--a friend of mine said "Packards were great cars, the world just stopped making the kind of people who bought them", and to a large extent I think he was right.
Vipers are great, I just don't think everyone wants or needs or can handle a car that can acclerate that fast or handle like that. The more nimble the everyday car becomes the worse they are driven by average drivers (and below average) at high speed. Ford works hard at making their SUVs handle like cars, and I think that is not necessarily good. When a truck handled "like a truck" you drove it more conservative manner, now people drive them at 85 mph+ threading the needle through traffic. Halo cars like the Viper and Vette are good, makes a splash at introduction and lets family men dream, but you can't make your whole product line out of them. Chrysler tried from 2005 until the money was all gone.