As a child of the 50s and 60s I was obsessed with cars. I filled notebooks with drawings of how I thought they should look. The highlight of my year was going to the Indianapolis Auto Show with my dad. Back then, “foreign cars” were odd, small, and to my thinking, not very appealing.
Through my adulthood I’ve always bought American cars (except for that one kind-of-regrettable Saab.) My 1984 Mustang Turbo convertible was probably my favorite, and driving it solo across country with our dog Lola for company was sublime.
It makes me sad to see the state of the big three today. In September I thought about buying a new Ford Focus, but when I went to the dealer to take a closer look I discovered they are just a shadow of the original models, of which we’ve owned two: dumbed down styling, a reduced choice of body types, and little, if any improvement in mileage. They scream “bland!” so I walked away.
I hope the government rescues the car companies so they can try again. I want them to succeed. I want to buy their products—just not the ones they’re offering now.
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3 comments:
I love to drive.
And US car makers made some great cars. That was a long time ago.
I think the american automakers have had their chance. The US auto industry needs to be reinvented. And I don't believe that the current leadership has the slightest idea how to make that happen.
It will be painful but I actually think that a reinvention, which has been needed for about twenty years will bring fresh thinking.
I drive a VW Jetta 1998 that gets better gas milage than most conventional cars today. My 1986 Toyota truck kicks ass.
So what was it that both of these companies go right then that we need to revisit today?
Will we save the banks, auto, and the airlines again and again?
Re: the American car companies, I am very disappointed by Bob Lutz’ comments about his “rights” with regard to an opinion he professed about global warming being “a crock of shit.” We both have the “right” to our opinions, but his ill-considered opinion and others like it have weighed heavily on this planet for far too long. What has happened to integrity? He claims a right to a personal opinion that might be separate from his professional one. But, his opinions (right, wrong, or ill-considered) have major consequences on all of us. Many members of the corporate elite rail against the American public school system that can’t produce critical thinkers (and high science and math scores) while participating in the most cynical campaign against the scientific method ever! If General Motors had spent just a fraction of the money on alternative fuel automobile development that they did hiring scientists to plant stories in the media (which were designed to create doubt in the minds of consumers), we might be getting better returns on our investments these days. But the truth was never something any of them sought. They sought to deride environmentalists, labeling them tree-huggers. They sought profit only—and that’s still the case. They will lie, steal, cheat and obfuscate to maintain their obscenely large paychecks. I guess they think it’s their “right.” I’m boycotting GM now—my next car will be built by a company whose leaders have integrity and guts! I wish it would be an American one.
M.
Here's a liitle piece on the auto industry.
http://unpredictablethoughts.com/2008/12/10/mini-e-an-electric-car-for-me/
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