Why the American Automobile Industry is in Trouble
The American auto industry was in pretty bad shape a few years back, and still would be if not for government bailouts and drastic slashes. How did this come to pass? There are several reasons:
While all cars, regardless of origin of manufacture, are far more reliable than they were even a decade ago, a fact remains. The very best domestic brands still don't fare as well as their foreign counterparts. All one needs to do to confirm this is to visit any independent auto repair facility such as a brake and muffler shop and look at the odometers of the vehicles in service. An American-made car that shows over 200,000 miles is about as rare as a total solar eclipse. Conversley, vehicles built in Japan and Europe will easily rack that amount up and even more. There is a reason that the average car owner in Europe will keep his or her car for about 20 years while Americans typically trade every 4-5 years.
Cars built in the US simply don't last as long as the imports. Typical domestic components will wear out faster.This is why used imports cars cost more and also explains why parts are more expensive. In short, you get what you pay for. For the past two ot three decades, the buying public has increasingly been made aware of this. As a result, sales of popular imported brands, particularly those originating in Japan and now even South Korea have further cannibalized domestic sales.
Fuel prices in the US were bound to go up eventually. In light of this, sales of highly-profitable gargantuan trucks and SUV's have declined. Those who once regarded these types of vehicles as cool are now beginning to realize that paying their mortgages and keeping food in their bellies is of higher priority. Therefore, many have reconsidered their choices in transportation. Instead of getting that $60,000 Suburban that gets 10 miles per gallon, they've decided to buy cars at half that price that get three times the fuel economy to boot.
The American Autoworker Unions got way too big and powerful, and their demands nearly drove their employers into bankruptcy. Both General Motors and Chrysler had to resort to government bailouts to climb out of a financial mess. Ford avoided this assistance, but at the cost of selling off virtually all of their subsidiary companies.
If the automakers didn't have to pay someone $60.00 an hour to spot-weld a couple of pieces of steel together repetitively for eight hours a day, John Q Public would likely still be paying about $8000-$10,000 for a new car like it was some 30 years ago. As a consequence, many who remain loyal to American makes are buying preowned vehicles.
As for the remainder who continue to prefer foreign-built makes, they want something with a proven track record that is going to last. Why take a gamble on some "new and improved" domestic brand when it's already well-known that a Toyota or Volkswagen will routinely go 250,000-300,000 miles?
