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Zeke Zeke is online now
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Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Long Beach CA, the sewer by the sea.
Posts: 38,293
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sooner or later View Post
A lot of reasons.

Worldwide sales have been flat sijce 2015.

Cost of ownership is too damn expensive.

As far as US manufactures go they were their own worst enemy. My simplified take.

After WW2 we were the only ones left with a manufacturing base. The only competition was from the guys down the street in Detroit. For the most part the public wanted bigger land yachts so Detroit supplied them. Quality only meant meeting the crappy quality of the guy next door.

Then the world turned upside down with the oil embargo. Fuel shortages and higher fuel prices sent the consumer looking for an economy car. Detroit didn't have any so VW, Nissan, and others stepped up to the plate. Japan took a lead in quality by embracing Deming and his continuous improvement/spc to improve product. And it worked.

Detroit countered with the Pinto, Vega, Gremlin, etc. Didn't quite work out.

And it has been downhill ever since.
There have been some good products but not the majority of all products were as good. Therefore, you are correct, just not acknowledging that which has been good.

Trucks and full size SUV's are out of control and I think Detroit is gonna pay hell for that sooner or later. The situation today reminds me of the huge chrome barges of the 60's and 70's.

Who was it that said something long the lines of 'Those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it'? I think a few have used the thought in various form.
Old 07-22-2019, 04:27 PM
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