In response to yesterday’s blog post about U.S. automakers falling behind the foreign car market, an anonymous IMT reader sent us a lengthy, seemingly stream-of-consciousness editorial. Here it is published.

There are so many POTENTIAL problems with Ford and General Motors that if they can’t figure it out, we certainly won’t be able to.

Just to scratch the surface…

a) Manufacturing capability and efficiency is a plus, not a panacea. It doesn’t matter if it’s hand-built by experienced craftsmen or if an assembly line pukes hundreds of them per hour. If it’s not a product that’s wanted by the public — for whatever reason — it’s not going to sell. Period. End of story. Manufacturing can build a great — or horrible — car well.

b) Supply chain efficiency is a plus, also not a panacea. Why have GM and Ford been caught with their pants down, vis a vis large SUVs? Even some movies are focused-grouped to death BEFORE production starts. In the case of GM and Ford, where are the focus groups? If they’re there, were the participants just screwing with them? Where’s the market intelligence? (Is the DoD doing market intel for GM on the side?). OK, now they’re likely salivating that gas prices have dropped and they can move more stockpiled behemoths. Once the midterms are over, however, we’ll again be pushing 4 bucks a gallon. Doesn’t take market intel to know see this coming. One last thing: don’t put too much faith in focus groups. Send some GM and Ford marketers, managers, and engineers out into the field. No hoopla, no tablet PCs, no clipboards, no Blackberries. Go to a NOPI event. Go to a freakin’ shopping mall. Hang out in the parking lot after an IndyCar race. TALK TO PEOPLE.

c) Perception vs. reality: Quality. Toyota, Honda, and Nissan are perceived as creating a quality product. In my very limited example, however, I’ll go with GM. My wife’s Acura started falling apart after 100,000 miles — window regulators, exhaust, struts, electrical problems — just as a start. My GM ‘beater’ of the same era is about to hit 140,000 and nothing’s falling off of it. BUT…Acura is perceived by most to be ‘high quality.’ At the time of sale, no doubt it is. Personally, I don’t care if the door gaps are a little off. Will the car last? Will it take abuse (with maintenance)? That’s quality to me. (And man, those Acura replacement part prices are just completely insane.)

d) Perception vs. Reality: Design. Most of GM’s engine designs are still using pushrods. I was a hater on this topic, too…until the GM beater with the ubiquitous 3.8 Corporate pushrod engine…in a 3,600-lb package that actually pulls 30 mpg highway. I’ve been looking at numbers lately. VERY few asian cars (some with 4-bangers, by the way) can match that performance and economy, even with several-year more advanced technology, variable valve timing and intake runners, DOHCs and a whole lotta valves. Point here is, at the time of sale, the folks pushing the Asian cars can tout technical superiority — and people buy it. Is GM lagging? With a new, 400-hp Corvette rated at like 28 mpg highway, something’s working, and working well — but the public doesn’t know it. Why don’t they know it? Really, incredibly, truly, demonstrably bad PR.

e) Luxury/Quality spin-offs. It worked with Infiniti, it worked with Lexus, it worked with Acura. It failed miserably years ago with Ford’s Merkur. Ya know what? You’ve got better, proven business models now, folks. Try it again.

f) READ THE STINKIN’ MARKET. BUILD A DECENT SMALL CAR for those who want them. They don’t have to be boring. Look at the new Civic Si. Does small, nimble, fast, efficient have to be boring? Hell no. That thing’s drop-dead gorgeous in terms of both looks and substance. But here’s GM’s legacy. They’ve never built a small car well, going from the Cavalier back to the Vega all the way back (perceptually) to the Corvair. You’ve had several DECADES to get over this hump, folks. Do it, already. Fire people. Raid Honda and Toyota. It’s not rocket science.

I do have a job, so enough of this rant. Don’t forget to tip your waitpersons…

Editor’s Note: Toyota announced an ambitious plan yesterday to boost global sales to 9.8 million vehicles in 2008 — driving home its success as troubled U.S. rivals close plants and scale back production. Toyota already surpassed Ford as the world’s No. 2 automaker in annual global vehicle sales in 2003. This latest plan shows Toyota is readying to overtake GM as No. 1.