US Auto Post-mortem

The future of any company hinges on who you have running those companies and what they are doing.

It was clear to me that the US auto manufacturers were going down. In the 1960s, GM, Ford and Chrysler were the “big three”. They were hamstrung by the UAW and showed no signs of wanting to recover. Auto executives were muscle car oriented and blindsided on the rising price of gasoline and improved quality of foreign competitors; they just went along for the ride.

In 1960, gasoline was 19.9 cents a gallon, new cars were

$2,000, used cars ranged from $100 to $600. Most cars had bad paint, lasted 100,000 miles, got 10 mpg and rusted.

90% of US consumers bought US cars, but 10% liked foreign cars. The VW Beetle, VW van, MG, Triumph, Austin and Jaguar convertibles were around.

By 1970, gasoline was 36 cents a gallon, new cars were $3,000, used cars ranged from $300 to $1000. Most cars still had bad paint, lasted 100,000 miles and got 10 mpg and rusted. Foreign car market share was 20%.

By 1980, gasoline was $1.19 a gallon, new cars were $12,000, used cars ranged from $300 to $1000. Foreign car market share in the US was 30%. Japanese cars dominated US auto sales.

By 2000, gasoline was $1.51 a gallon, new cars were $20,000, used cars ranged from $1,000 to $6,000. Foreign car market share in the US was 50%. Japanese and German cars dominated US auto sales. In 2000 Toyota introduced the Prius Hybrid with 60 mpg. The 2005 Prius redesign was a hit.

By 2010, gasoline was $2.79 a gallon, new cars were $25,000, used cars ranged from $3,000 to $12,000. Foreign car market share in the US was 60%. Japanese, German and South Korean cars dominated. Gasoline prices peaked at $3.64 in 2012.

Now in 2018, Chrysler belongs to Fiat, GM is struggling and Ford has gone overseas and has invested $1 billion in driverless car technology. All we can do is say “oh what a feeling, Toyota”.

In 1959 I bought my mom’s faded blue 1946 Plymouth for $100, shaved the front and painted it emerald green. I called it the “green latrine” and drove it to high school, to college and to work. It died in 1962. I bought a 1956 Chevy in 1962 for $750 and traded it in for a 1965 Buick for $2,000 that lasted until 1969, I should have kept the Chevy. I bought an Oldsmobile for $3,000. In 1974, I bought a Spitfire 2 seat convertible to get 30 mpg for $2,700 and my wife junked her 1954 Chevy and she used the Olds. I sold the Spitfire in 1979 for $2,700.

In 1983, I bought a 1979 Cadillac and drove Cadillacs until 2005 when we traded our Cadillacs in on 2 Toyota Prius Hybrids.

Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader