The US auto makers are to blame.  Ever since the 50s, US cars have been known to be engineered in excess.  They are large gas-guzzlers that are often the butt of jokes among the Europeans and Japanese who refer to engineer compact and fuel efficient cars.

And for the last 20 years, the US industry has been basking on SUVs that just revived this penchant for excess. And now they are reaping the mess they’ve made for themselves. Minivans and SUVs are nice when the economy is great.  But they have not covered the lower market niches for fuel efficient vehicles.

And that’s where the Toyotas and the Mazdas and even the BMWs have explored to profitable conclusions.  Now, that the gas-guzzling fun market is drying up, where does that leave the US auto giants?