Quote Originally Posted by tonybelding View Post
Yeah, but look at where you live.

Here in Texas, I can assure you, the Big Three still have a very large presence.
Yes. This is true. The last time I visited Houston to see friends, they were rather abashed to be the only people on the block driving a (half) European car -- a Ford-made Volvo. Most everyone else had a domestic SUV.

Cars are aspirational. My dad grew up in Los Angeles. When he was a child, his money-no-object dream car was a Cadillac. Somewhere between his time and mine, it changed. In my youth, I had my eye on a European car, perhaps a BMW M3 or a Porsche 911. I wonder what today's children dream about? Somehow I don't think it's a Cadillac, or much of anything else domestic, but I could be wrong.

Tesla Motor's most brilliant long-term business strategy may be that they entered the market at the high-end. The high-end makes the car line aspirational, and helps sell the low end.