It is a sad day for the US Auto industry. You did not have to be too smart to see it coming. Do you drive a Chevy or a Ford? Do you know anyone who does? Well, there you go. The US Auto industry has been dieing a slow death for 40 years. Is it a surprise that they are in "trouble" now?
As a kid my folks owned Fords. When we lived in Germany, my mom wanted a Mercedes to bring back to America. My Dad, bought a new 1963 Chevy. He ordered it and had it shipped to Germany from Detroit. It was cool to have a brand new American car driving on the Autobahn. The German cars were small and slow. We brought that Chevy back to Minnesota and it became my first car. It had a 283 cubic inch V-8 and a Three speed standard shirt. It was fast and fun to drive.
My first new car was a Volkswagen Bus. I bought it in 1971. It was a white pop top Camper Van. It was slow but very cool. VW Micro Buses were the cool cars for hippies and college kids. We camped in it and drove it all over the Midwest. My next car was a VW Convertible. It too was cool. During this period, in the early 70s, Ford, Chrysler and GM did not offer anything nearly as cool as the VWs. They had big station wagons, Impalas, Ford 500s, Dodge Chargers....but no Micro Buses or Bug convertibles.
The US Auto industry laughed at the German and Japanese cars being sold as small and slow. Then on October 15, 1973....just 35 years ago, OPEC decided to stop shipping oil to the United States because of our support for Israel. An oil and gasoline shortage began. There were long lines to get gas and stations with no gas to sell. Prices doubled. Suddenly, Volkswagens and Toyotas didn't look so stupid. Experts began to predict that the world would run out of gas by the year 2000, just 27 years away. Millions of Americans traded in their Fords and Chevy's for Datsun, Volkswagens, and Toyotas. The US auto industry was put on notice. Make better small fuel efficient cars, OR, lose the market.
What began as an "ipod event," the buying of "cool" import cars. Soon became a shift in consumer preference and the beginning of the end of the US Auto industry. Import car makers saw this trend and jumped on it with new and better cars. They not only got better mileage they had better warranties and more equipment. Import cars had FM radios and tape decks at no extra charge. They had four speed floor shifts and bucket seats were standard. The Hondas, Volkswagens, Datsuns and Toyotas were better cars at cheaper cost. Everybody knew this by 1980. Still the US Auto industry turned out crap for cars. The Vega, the Pinto, the Maverick, the Omni. None of these copy cat domestic cars even came close to the quality or performance of the imports.
People who bought these first imports moved up with these brands to the cars we have today. The Bug became the Rabbit and then the Jetta. The Civic, became the Accord and then the Acura. The Corolla became the Camry and then the Lexus. American Motors, the home of the Pacer, folded. Chrysler got a federal loan and made the K-Car. It was a flop. Little by little the US Auto makers gave away their market to the imports by not building quality smaller cars.
Today, I drive BMWs. They aren't cheap but they are small well made high performance cars. They come with a great warranty and good dealer network. My last American car was a Ford Mustang in 1985. It was fast but rattled and was load at speeds over 40. Our BMW 325 Convertible is faster, better made and quieter.
The US Auto industry needs to be allowed to fail. They had 30 years to fix the situation and they didn't do enough. They were out designed, out produced, and out marketed by the imports. To give the US Auto industry a "bail out" is like giving them a reward for fucking up. It's a mistake. Let them fail, reorganize and hope that one good car company survives to produce the better American cars of the future. Think about this: Germany a country the size of Texas, makes Mercedes, BMW, Volkswagen, Audi and Porsche. Japan, a country the size of California, makes Honda, Toyota, and Nissan. All of these bards are built in the US today.
As a kid my folks owned Fords. When we lived in Germany, my mom wanted a Mercedes to bring back to America. My Dad, bought a new 1963 Chevy. He ordered it and had it shipped to Germany from Detroit. It was cool to have a brand new American car driving on the Autobahn. The German cars were small and slow. We brought that Chevy back to Minnesota and it became my first car. It had a 283 cubic inch V-8 and a Three speed standard shirt. It was fast and fun to drive.
My first new car was a Volkswagen Bus. I bought it in 1971. It was a white pop top Camper Van. It was slow but very cool. VW Micro Buses were the cool cars for hippies and college kids. We camped in it and drove it all over the Midwest. My next car was a VW Convertible. It too was cool. During this period, in the early 70s, Ford, Chrysler and GM did not offer anything nearly as cool as the VWs. They had big station wagons, Impalas, Ford 500s, Dodge Chargers....but no Micro Buses or Bug convertibles.
The US Auto industry laughed at the German and Japanese cars being sold as small and slow. Then on October 15, 1973....just 35 years ago, OPEC decided to stop shipping oil to the United States because of our support for Israel. An oil and gasoline shortage began. There were long lines to get gas and stations with no gas to sell. Prices doubled. Suddenly, Volkswagens and Toyotas didn't look so stupid. Experts began to predict that the world would run out of gas by the year 2000, just 27 years away. Millions of Americans traded in their Fords and Chevy's for Datsun, Volkswagens, and Toyotas. The US auto industry was put on notice. Make better small fuel efficient cars, OR, lose the market.
What began as an "ipod event," the buying of "cool" import cars. Soon became a shift in consumer preference and the beginning of the end of the US Auto industry. Import car makers saw this trend and jumped on it with new and better cars. They not only got better mileage they had better warranties and more equipment. Import cars had FM radios and tape decks at no extra charge. They had four speed floor shifts and bucket seats were standard. The Hondas, Volkswagens, Datsuns and Toyotas were better cars at cheaper cost. Everybody knew this by 1980. Still the US Auto industry turned out crap for cars. The Vega, the Pinto, the Maverick, the Omni. None of these copy cat domestic cars even came close to the quality or performance of the imports.
People who bought these first imports moved up with these brands to the cars we have today. The Bug became the Rabbit and then the Jetta. The Civic, became the Accord and then the Acura. The Corolla became the Camry and then the Lexus. American Motors, the home of the Pacer, folded. Chrysler got a federal loan and made the K-Car. It was a flop. Little by little the US Auto makers gave away their market to the imports by not building quality smaller cars.
Today, I drive BMWs. They aren't cheap but they are small well made high performance cars. They come with a great warranty and good dealer network. My last American car was a Ford Mustang in 1985. It was fast but rattled and was load at speeds over 40. Our BMW 325 Convertible is faster, better made and quieter.
The US Auto industry needs to be allowed to fail. They had 30 years to fix the situation and they didn't do enough. They were out designed, out produced, and out marketed by the imports. To give the US Auto industry a "bail out" is like giving them a reward for fucking up. It's a mistake. Let them fail, reorganize and hope that one good car company survives to produce the better American cars of the future. Think about this: Germany a country the size of Texas, makes Mercedes, BMW, Volkswagen, Audi and Porsche. Japan, a country the size of California, makes Honda, Toyota, and Nissan. All of these bards are built in the US today.
No comments:
Post a Comment