Since I was very young, I have loved cars. I drive a Porsche in the summer and a four wheel drive Audi in the slick New England winters. I love these two cars -- they make my commuting hours bearable and sometimes fun. I often ponder the question -- If you ripped the Porsche shield off my 911 or the four Audi rings off my A8 and replaced them with a Ford oval, would I still drive the cars? You bet I would. The quality, design, history, feel, and experience would keep me happily in those cars, even if you put a Nash Rambler logo on their front hoods. Which roughly proves a point -- it's not the branding that's the problem with American cars, its the cars. Consumer Reports' research verifies this -- in the organization's five categories of 2008 cars and SUVs, none of the top five vehicles come from a domestic producer.

Why can't American companies build a great car? They are designing and manufacturing day in and day out, so what is preventing them from making something great?