How can Toyota keep building new hybrid/electric vehicles and we need government intervention?

Question

Why not let GM and Ford adapt to the market place instead of all this talk of gas mileage legislation and forcing companies to comply? Whatever happened to free markets? Same with Ethanol. Toyota will force them to comply eventually. Or they'll die and we will all blame George Bush.

Answer 1

The US auto makers need to see what trends are in the market place and adapt their product. The government shouldn't have to intervene. If Toyota is more forward thinking then good for them.

Answer 2

MITI has been a strong moving force in Toyota's efforts, so there's been plenty of government involvement there. Add, too, the fact that health care is provided by the Japanese government, so a huge cost burden that exists for Detroit doesn't exist for Toyota (or Honda or Subaru or Isuzu or Mitsubishi).

You misunderstand the term "free market", as most people (probably 99%) do. "Free market" is a goal, a vision, a guiding principle - like "world peace". It's NOT a tactic or a strategy - rather, it's an ideal condition toward which we (consumers, business, and government) must work, but which is extraordinarily far away and, as a practical matter, not achievable in our lifetimes.

Answer 3

I agree but the only hybird vehicle that sells well is the Prius from Toyota , all others don't sell much at all because NONE of them are currently worth the extra $$$.

I think the Prius sells just because some of the enviro types out there think they are making a statement of some kind

Answer 4

ha ha, building hybrid cars and the manufacture of the nickle medal hydride batteries that power them cause more environmental damage and have a larger carbon footprint than building and driving an H2 for 300000 miles!

hybrid owners drive the same way they vote. they do what "feels" good rather than research their opinions.