A Thing for Cars

image via Wikipedia

Our government just recently initiated a “Cash for Clunkers” program.  The bill had several aims.  It was to keep American automakers selling; it was to keep people at work and it was to give people the chance to drive a better car in an economy that has been hit hard with financial reversals.

Of course the program has not been without detractors, some people saying that it is set up so that car buyers will purchase from government-owned car companies, however, that is beside the point.

One of the great challenges right now is China.  We owe China a lot of money and they have chosen to take some of it in automobile technology.  Further our government has set up a co-op with Fiat.  And, Japanese cars have continued to be industry leaders.

The American automobile companies are trying to rebound from a bad economy, a problem with the banking industry and poor management; well not just poor management but in some cases almost criminal management.

Many people are seeing this type of situation for the first time but there was a time frame that mirrored today’s circumstances almost exactly and it started in 1960.

In 1960 we had a new president, John F. Kennedy.  He was not black like President Obama, he was Catholic.  It is hard to believe it but there had been no Catholic president before that time.  It is even harder to believe today because five Catholic people sit on the Supreme Court.

Just the same there were feelings of tension because the race between Kennedy and Richard Nixon was a very close one so there was division in the country.

The auto industry had been made up of several major companies like GM, Ford and Chrysler.  For the first time in the late 1950s they began to get major competition from foreign cars.

Perhaps the greatest challenger was the Volkswagen.  It was easy on gas and while it looked a little weird it became popular and is to this day.

In 1960 there was a major recession which is one reason Kennedy got elected.  Unions were concerned.  However unlike today, the car manufacturers tried to battle back.

The Plymouth division of the Chrysler Corporation created a car called the Valiant.  This car employed the “unibody” which was different than the regular “body on frame”.  Further it had other pluses like a 15-gallon gas tank for longer riding capabilities and a state-of-the-art hyper-pack engine.  It also had automatic torque-flite transmission.

The Valiant was more conservative than the Chevrolet Corvair but the point is that up until this time U.S. automakers always built new models from the standpoint “bigger is better.”  They finally condescended to meet the marketplace where it was than trying to bring the marketplace’s thinking where they wanted it to be.

This isn’t our first time through an automobile crisis and probably won’t be our last.  From now on however, it is sure to be global audience.