I agree in part Innuendo but it is not as simple as that though is it? I would like to see a more balanced dollar too, but I can't see it happening for a while yet.

The car companies will keep getting Govt. assistance because the supplementary industries associated with making local cars will also be affected by a total shut down and too many people (voters) will be out of work. Our biggest problem is Australia's unbalanced free trade agreement with a number of manufacturing countries that can dump cheap cars here without paying tariffs, yet our cars going overseas get slugged huge amounts of taxes to protect their industries.

The Aussie car industry has never really been a big exporter, not on the scale of the US and Asia anyway so exports for us were and are just cream. It's the Mum's and Dad's that buy cars here are opting for better optioned and cheaper variants. In general teen girls are driving hatches and little 4 cylinders, teen boys want to get into the ricers, families are buying family movers (and there are a heap to choose from).

I don't know the solution, but we all see the problem I hope that it does turn around though.