” … to reclaim a turf we had formally enjoyed (Vega, Pinto, etc) and since relinquished.”
Reclaim turf we enjoyed??
I just don’t see it.
No one I know ‘enjoyed’ cars like the Vega, Pinto, Gremlin, Pacer, Maverick, etc … These cars were Detroit’s wrong answer to the question posed by new imports such as Saabs, Datsuns, Mazdas, BMW 2002s and Volkswagon Beetles and Golfs … which were pretty decent cars in their day. The Detroit economy cars weren’t. But why not?
A big problem with Detroit is that for many decades, all they wanted to build were medium and large family sedans: large, soft but often clunky cars using 40s and 50s technology with various amounts of upholstery and chrome. Their culture centered around this idea. These were good, respectable cars bought by the typical American family: Mom, Dad and their 2.3 beautiful, blonde kids. The big three also produced trucks … honest, big work vehicles for hard working blue collar men … real MANLY men, not the emoting, metrosexual sissies of today.
What about other cars, like sports cars?
Well, those are bought mainly by arrogant, irresponsible young men. IF they survive and mature into a respectable family man, we’ll sell them a family sedan down the road. For now, let them zip around in those tiny, lightweight death traps … and probably kill themselves. There’s more money to be made mass producing bland family sedans than tiny snob-mobiles for people with short lives.
(Don’t forget that the Corvette was nearly killed off several times, the Thunderbird ‘matured’ into just another heavyweight family sedan and there were bigwigs in Detroit’s boardrooms that
loathed muscle cars and the car companies’ involvement in racing: Drag racing, NASCAR, etc …)
So, what about economy cars … like they have in Europe and Asia?
Ha! Those countries are all losers. That’s what they get for starting two world wars. Their economies are always on the brink of ruin … or socialism … which is about the same thing. It’s THEIR problem that they are designing their way of life around shoeboxes with wheels.
The gas crisis of the 70s was seen as a minor speed bump in the expressway devoted to the family sedan … and let later the big, heavier “cooler” SUV. (and low gas prices in the 80s and 90s fuel this perception) The automakers did feel compelled, however, to make economy cars starting in the 70s … which were affronts to the engineering gods. They were essentially large, obsolescent vehicles scaled down … and not surprisingly, that just didn’t work. Their heart just wasn’t into it. They produced these with a grudge against them. After all, no decent person would
want to drive little cars, they only do so out of necessity … until they can afford a ‘respectable’ car like a Caprice or LTD. With this mentality, they produced hundreds of thousands of lemons before they quit and began re-badging imports.
Fast forward to today, the Big 3 are
still scrambling to put together a small car that can compete with the companies they spent decades laughing at. With all their resources and global platforms available to them, they have a chance to finally succeed … but until then I’ll enjoy my 2006 Civic.
jamesqf seems to blame all of the problem on the Big 3 (as I have seemingly done above) but don’t forget, the car companies had willing partners in the ignorant, unthinking motoring public throughout all this. Plenty of blame to go around …