Re: Hearsay

["Tom Harais" <tjhemh@domain.elided>]

Folks:

Although this idea of a "reborn Scout" might seem far fetched based on the
demise of the IH light line and the fact that Navistar builds HD trucks, if
you step back for a minute and look at the bigger picture, it might make
some sense.

What has been the biggest growing market for autos in the last ten years?

What vehicles have had the fastest growth in prices and yet the demand has
continued to grow?

What vehicles have the highest markup for the manufacturers - i.e. highest
gross margin?

What vehicles are so popular with John Q public, that even Cadillac,
Lincoln and Lexus have demanded and gotten their own versions of said
vehicles? And, such vehicles are way out of line for any of these luxury
marks.

If you answered 'SUVs' to all of the above, you've been noticing what is
going on in the automotive world. So, why wouldn't Navistar or
Volvo/Navistar or a joint venture of Navistar/Ford come up with thier own
version of the SUV and try to claim thier piece of that market? What if
Ford wants to "one-up" the competition and get a bigger share of the market
by working with a world renowned truck builder that had a reputation for
making bullet proof 4X4s? Didn't Chrysler buy Jeep for good reason at the
start of this SUV trend?

Tom H.