Liberal Talk Radio

The P-I Editorial Board wonders why Detroit won’t sell Americans the awesome small cars they’re selling in Europe and Asia. I wonder the same thing.

Detroit often claims that they can’t make money selling small cars. They make huge profits on trucks, but often lose money selling small cars. Ford loses $3,000 on every Focus it sells in North America. They sell them just to meet their fuel economy obligations, but they don’t really advertise them and they certainly don’t really want you to buy them.

So, naturally, you would think that in Europe, where no one buys SUVs, Ford would be hemorrhaging cash, right? Wrong. Europe is one of the company’s most profitable markets. GM also makes money by the boatload in Europe. How the hell is this possible? The weak dollar? Labor costs? Health care? I have no idea.