What a week in the newsroom. GM announces it might kill Hummer or sell it to the Indians, also states that the GMT-900 will last beyond its 2012 life cycle and that future trucks may be unibody-based. Next we hear GMC might be on the chopping block as well. During this same time, Ford announces production cuts, possible employee cuts and a 2-month delay on the ’09 F-150 along with the first month since 1991 that the F-150 was not the best selling vehicle. Read on…

This must be the most tumultuous time in modern automotive history, where skyrocketing fuel prices (thank you Gore, liberals, speculators, and Eco-Nazis) is either revolutionizing the American automotive industry – or destroying it.

You’d think by all the recent press on the Big 3’s focus to more fuel efficient, smaller vehicles that there is no truck market left. Or that the needs of American consumers have changed so dramatically in a couple of months that a unibody pickup or the death of body on frame is an appropriate response. I can understand the truck market shrinking, and I am all about getting further on a gallon of gas – but don’t forget our need for capability and function. Trust me, there still is a need, there still are buyers, and 4x4 trucks are still profitable.

Do these companies realize there is more than one kind of buyer than a potential Prius owner? Do they realize real men still need to saddle up in the morning and need a real truck to do real work? Just because fuel prices have shot up does not change how rutted or muddy that road is, or how much equipment needs to be carried through to the job site. We still need rigs that can tow trailers and stand up to the abused on the trail. Has the whole world gone mad?

My fear is that a knee-jerk reaction will forever change the face of our industry, where the only real trucks will be made by foreign companies like Mahindra or Tata, and the American companies will be forced, through legislation, labor contracts, and legacy costs out of the truck, and possibly vehicle, manufacturing business.  If there is a time to protect American manufacturing and American jobs, the time is now. Right when we are on the cusp of some of what could potentially be the most impressive crop of factory 4x4s of all time we hear next-gen H3 might be dead, H4 shelved, Raptor on the rocks after being green-lighted, etc…

All I can say is that I hope someone that is levelheaded and who can resist the temptation for knee jerk reactions is the one finalizing the decisions. Vehicles that makes sense in our market can be successful, there are plenty of active Americans who need the capability to hit the trail to camp, fish, kayak, hike, off-road, rock climb, ride bikes, etc. The key in keeping our segment alive is good marketing – marketing to the core audience. And if a company kills off a vehicle because of how they feel it will be perceived should fire their marketing department immediately and start over. There is a reason no one in the mainstream questions the mission of the FJ Cruiser or Jeep Wrangler, or crucifies GM over the fuel economy of ZR-1 or Chrysler over the Challenger SRT-8. The worlds shouldn’t dissolve at the seams because of limited production enthusiast vehicles.

I feel every brand needs a halo vehicle. Without these vehicles, and with employee layoffs, in many cases the heart and soul of the products disappears, making the  passion and excitement around the brand nonexistent. If this is the direction we are headed, we are in serious trouble my friends. Could it mean the beginning of the death of an automaker, or at least the end of American ownership in its automakers?

And what happens if a carmaker goes under in America? You think the economy is bad now, just wait and see what happens if a whole car company files for bankruptcy or completely goes dark. I am not sure that the people calling for the death and over regulation of the car industry realize just how intertwined it is throughout the American economy.

All I can suggest for now is patience on the part of the manufacturers, not to over compensate for today’s fickle market, and to my readers – if you are in the market for a new vehicle give American designed and made vehicles a consideration by voting for American workers and industry with your pocketbooks.

With the ways things are going, this could be the heyday of new four wheeling vehicles, and it could be gone before we know it.

--Sean P. Holman
Tech Editor – Four Wheeler Magazine