Tired of automaker deception

I'm really tired of the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturer's deceptions and distortions. While I realize that is the role of lobbyist organizations, such as the Alliance, I've still had enough.

"We do not have control over the miles people drive, population growth, increasing congestion, commuting distances and other factors that cause fuel use to increase," said Eron Shosteck, spokesman for the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers in Washington.

Yes, but you do have the ability to offer fuel efficient and emission's reducing technology. Obviously, the technology behind hybrid cars proves this is possible.

It's too expensive, the Alliance would counter.

Really? How expensive was 911, the first war in Iraq, the second war in Iraq, Afghanistan and the War on terror? All of these incidents are a direct result of American foreign oil dependency.

But consumers want big vehicles and horsepower, the Alliance responds from its Big 3 arm.

Really? Why have the Big 3, for decades, lost marketshare to companies selling mostly small cars and sedans?

The truth is fuel inefficient vehicles, particularly trucks and SUVs, were a buoy for the Big 3 because of ridiculous profit margins - sometimes as much as $10,000 or more on some vehicles. In reality, the Big 3 have not been able to compete in the quality, fuel efficient technology market.

Judging by hybrid vehicles, they still can't compete. Yes, Ford offers the Escape hybrid, but Ford was years behind Toyota in developing hybrid technology, and it will take years for Ford to offer a large number of hybrid vehicles.

Nonetheless, let's get back to consumer wants and automaker responsibility and affordability. Not long ago, it was reported that GM spends more on marketing every year than Toyota spent creating the Prius hybrid production line.

That's right, GM could have developed fuel efficient, emission reducing hybrid technology, but it chose to spend that money on marketing the fuel inefficient, pollution-causing virtues of large trucks and SUVs.

Companies like GM and Ford marketed the concept that trucks and SUVs were an expression of American freedom, while providing safety.

Safety, such as the rollover scandal? Freedom, such as 2 Iraq wars?

The Alliance is the purveyor of lies and the ramifications of those lies are becoming too big to go left unchallenged. How many American GI's have to die to protect the incompetence of the American auto industry and their well financed cronies in Washington?

Issues such as pollution and fuel efficiency should have been addressed and acted upon decades ago for national security and economic reasons.

Now there are no more excuses left. American automakers and the American Congress have proven time and time again that money, not American citizens, is the only thing that counts.