“Look upon My Works, Ye Mighty!”
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John Burgess | Wednesday, May 13, 2009 |
Shelly’s poem Ozymandias is forced to mind when reading this piece from the Herald-Tribune of Sarasota, Florida. It makes perfect economic sense—cheap, useful cars with good gas mileage—but does it ever speak volumes about the inevitability of change…
Indian car company readies Sarasota showroom
Toni WhittSARASOTA COUNTY – While working for General Motors in the 1980s and early 1990s, Pawan Goenka discovered Americans’ passion for trucks and SUVs.
As president of the automotive sector for Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., based in Mumbai, India, Goenka is using that knowledge to bring India’s first trucks to the United States this year.
But Mahindra is not off-loading the stereotypical gas guzzler. The Mahindra trucks benefit from advanced emissions technology, making them more environmentally friendly. They also run on diesel and get about 30 miles per gallon.
A new brand — coming out just as GM struggles with solvency and Chrysler declares bankruptcy — and that new technology should create enough excitement to overcome dealers’ problems selling trucks and sports utility vehicles amid a recession and on the heels of last year’s gasoline spike, Goenka said.
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About the Author: Former US Foreign Service Officer serving predominantly in the Middle East. Probably best defined as an East Coast Conservative.
After studying at Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service, I worked in the private sector, in newspapers, advertising, and retail. I joined the US Information Agency in 1979, studied Arabic and French, and had assignments in Tunisia, Egypt, Syria, Bahrain, the UK, India, and two in Saudi Arabia.
I blog about Saudi Arabia, the importance of US-Saudi relations, and efforts toward reform in that country at Crossroads Arabia.
I believe that Saudi Arabia is of critical importance to the US, not only for oil, but for political, diplomatic, and strategic security reasons. It is far too important to leave to ignorant or ill-informed commentary.
I receive no Saudi funding for my work.
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And I'll bet they don't even have Obama imposing limits on their ad budget.
And I'll bet they don't even have Obama imposing limits on their ad budget.
I'll also bet they aren't being bailed out by our federal government...
Remember the Yugo?
I'll also bet they aren't being bailed out by our federal government...
I wouldn't make that bet, were I you, without investigating the question of the maker being owned by India's government and how much of our foreign aid went there. I don't know the answer myself, but these things are hardly ever quite as government independant as the US, for example, has been, traditionally.
And anyway, that wasn't the point. If this is the kind of competition Chrysler has up against it, explain to me how cutting their ad budget is going to help them compete.
