Professional Auto Pundits

I'm obviously not the only person to have an opinion about the state of the auto industry, and its major role players. There are quite a few columnists and journalists out there who serve up their musings on the auto industry, either from a macro industry perspective or simply reviewing the latest product. I have my favorites, and I have some who I think would be better off writing about toasters. Let's start with the faves: The most credible person who writes about the state of the industry is Forbes' Jerry Flint. He has no illusions about the hypercompetitive nature of the industry, and is usually dead-on about what he thinks works or doesn't. A very seasoned veteran of the industry since the 1950s, he knows that the Japanese and Koreans are doing a helluva job building good cars, and doing it profitably. Unlike some other writers (who I'll call out later), he doesn't fall into the trap of blind Japan-worship or paint hopelessly bleak scenarios about the fate of the Detroit-based automakers. When the Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon first came out in 2004, he was the first person to say that they were underwhelming and inadequate for the U.S. market, singling out the decision to employ a 5-cylinder engine as the top-of-the-line powertrain choice as a foolish compromise to global markets. At the time, I thought he was being too harsh, but as Toyota, Dodge, and Nissan roll out some high-powered V-6 and even V-8 midsizers, the GM strategy looks even more foolish. I think he's one of the few auto writers out there that cares about the fate of the U.S. industry, while giving credit where credit is due. That's a heckuva balancing act, but it's all the more impressive if you're saying something that's worth listening to. Next up: Warren Brown of the Washington Post