Should GM, Ford, and Chrysler surrender the sedan market to Japan, Korea and Germany?

Much has been written the past few days in the wake of GM's plant closing announcement that the sedan market in the U.S. is on life-support. Hence these companies will focus efforts on other body designs (SUV's and Crossovers) and the promise of the new technologies (electric and autonomous). But let me be the devil's advocate for a minute and ask that sedan assembly in the U.S. should be continued.

First, Chrysler got out of the Chrysler 200 and Dart simply because the quality of those vehicles was so bad. But in driving around the streets of Dayton with my eyes open I still see plenty of sedans and coupes. And then look at some numbers I just pulled up from the internet:

Honda Accord -- 2017, 322,655. 2106 -- 345,225. Sales in U.S.
Honda Civic -- 2017, 377,286. 2016 -- 366,927.

Nissan Altima -- 2017 -- 254,996. 2016 -- 307, 380.
Nissan Sentra -- 2017 -- 218,451. 2016 -- 214,709.


Toyota Camry -- 2017 -- 387.081. 2016 -- 388,616.
Toyota Corolla/Matrix -- 308,695. 2016 -- 360.483.

These numbers just scratch the surface!  What if I add Kia, Hyundai, BMW, Mercedes, Accura, and Lexus to this list?

What I am suggesting here is that U.S. based manufacturers have bet on the SUV/Crossover as a long term consumer preference rather perhaps the fad it might be. And what if it is a fad? We know consumers can be quite fickle. And even if not, should Ford and GM surrender an important market segment so that short term profits are maximized, assuming oil supplies will remain steady and prices stable? The economy can change overnight and so can foreign externalities. In sum, we are surrendering to foreign competitors with potentially inordinate consequences for the long term.

GM has made bad decisions in the recent past. And American workers have paid a heavy price for those managerial missteps. And so has the country.