Detroit Removes Head from ... Sand; Acknowledges Reality of High Gas Prices

TOLEDO, Ohio, Aug. 28 -— The Chrysler Group, which is more dependant on sales of heavy, gas-guzzling monstrosities than any other Detroit automaker, said Monday that it expected gasoline prices to remain at ridiculously high levels for the rest of the decade.

The comments by Thomas W. LaSorda, Chrysler'’s chief executive, are the first time a Detroit automaker has formally admitted that it is screwed. They also signal a recognition that the industry may have to start selling the same fuel efficient vehicles, also known as cars, in America that it sells everywhere else in the world.

If Chrysler’s assumptions are correct, it means that Detroit's near terms sales volume will continue to drop through the floor. According to Mr. LaSorda, "at this point we're just hoping that all of Toyota's senior executives drop dead of massive heart attacks or fugu-related poisonings because that's about the only way we'll survive the next five years."

Analyst Jesse Toprak said the Detroit auto companies had been delusional. “They saw high gas prices as a temporary phenomenon,” instead of the inevitable result of a whole bunch of gas-guzzlers guzzling lots of gas.