Rhode Island is one of those New England states with regular mill fires. Every now and then, someone torches the abandoned husk of a once-mighty factory, an eerie edifice from a bygone era nestled by the river of some obscure town. Even after they burn, often in spectacular fashion, the mills don't fall down. Back in the early part of the last century, construction technology was relatively crude, and amazingly robust. Post-conflagration, you're left with relics no less profound than Europe's abandoned cathedrals. The mill walls stand tall; the scope and scale of what was remains obvious. Of course, these days, the mill fire victims are bulldozed into oblivion, so that insurance companies and land developers may be satisfied. As I watched this video of a Chevrolet plant smokestack crumpling to the ground in Muncie, Indiana, it angered me that a confederacy of dunces has allowed the American automobile industry– the American automobile industry– to "escape" to Mexico, South Korean, Australia, Belgium and elsewhere. Unlike the mill fires, this local landmark falls to the ground like a prize-fighter who walked into a vicious right hook. And here, there are no remains. Only a pile of bricks to remove. It is the silence of this finale that scares me. To my eyes, it symbolizes the fact that The Big 2.8 and their legion of American workers are dying with a whimper, not a bang. [thanks to John for the link]
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One of the things that keeps me coming back here (there’s more than one, of course) is that TTAC shares my concern, dismay, heartbreak, oh I could go on and on, over the downfall of the American automobile industry and its being a microcosm(sp?) of America as a whole. On one hand it is totally understandable that an industry in a position of being able to sell every POS it could make without incrimination for years could become complacent. On the other hand…
Since that last sentence, I’ve written and re-written thoughts on how this happened and how it could have, should have, been prevented. But, of course, such an endeavor could never be addressed here in the comments section, let alone in even an 800 word editorial. It’s just sad. I think I know where it went wrong. But ultimately it just has.
Amen. It makes me sad and, at the same time, angry that the beancounters, committees, and Bob Lutzes of the world are still given their golden parachutes while the auto industry implodes around them. The endless spin, the constant excuses, the increasingly common outsourcing, closing of factories, dying “domestic” (I use the term loosely, given the aforementioned outsourcing) market share, the elimination of car line after car line, and the lackluster replacements (along with the constant pronouncements that, “THIS time, we’ll really be able to compete!! Honest!!”) were old a decade ago. The fact that it continues unchanged to this day is frightening. It’s unfair. They’ve basically given away our industry and market at a wholesale price and then cried that they can’t compete any longer. Failure after failure after failure, even when the product is nearly up to snuff (Lincoln LS, Oldsmobile Aurora, Ford Ranger, Chrysler 300, the list goes on and on). Meanwhile, consumers are flocking elsewhere.
Will the domestics be playing to a niche audience in another decade?
The big question Detroit’s decline always raises for me: is this all a metaphor for the decline of America as a reality as well as an idea and an ideal? While I hope not, the Persian, Athenian and Roman falls, among many, are ripe with similarities. Hell, I guess even the dinosaurs qualify. The inability to respond to changing environments due to size, inertia, hubris (insert your cause here) all are possible explanations. What I wonder is: is it too late to stop and reverse the decay?
sic transit gloria mundae
One of the things that keeps me coming back here (there’s more than one, of course) is that TTAC shares my concern, dismay, heartbreak, oh I could go on and on, over the downfall of the American automobile industry and its being a microcosm(sp?) of America as a whole.
This is one of the same reasons I keep coming back also. It’s somewhat alarming how the rest of American and the media as a whole completely ignore whats happening and how it mirrors the American decline. Like everyone is running around with blinders in denial or they just don’t care. It’s going to make for some great books in the future and lessons in school. Sad and worry some.
AS someone who loves old New England mills, RF’s account was very moving.
I think part of the problem was the lack of anti-trust. Had there been more competition, had the companies all been kept smaller, there might have been more competition, earlier, and the US companies might have remained more adaptive and less sclerotic.
I think more generally, corporate power has hurt the auto companies. In an idealized free market economy, the companies are all supposed to be too small to affect the market, which means, in part, too small to be able to exert political clout. The big 2.8 have for years been exerting political clout in an effort to avoid having to think about the quality of their vehicles, how well they meet consumers’ needs and desires, etc.
My fantasy is that the purveyors of new automotive technologies, Tesla, or more probably, some other upstart, will ultimately come up with something that can replace current technology, and that the big 2.8 will be forced to change direction very suddenly, or go out to business, to be succeeded by these upstarts. Because I think they are far too sclerotic to lead us into the new automotive order. I’m not sure that’s bad, if there are Americans who can start new companies that can lead the way.
@WillBodine: I’m going to quibble with something you said not because its’ important to your argument, which I otherwise agree with, but because I know a bit about the dinosaur extinction, and I care about that stuff. I’m not sure the dinosaurs qualify. They were very well adapted to the environment that existed on earth before the meteor hit what is now the Gulf of Mexico, and numerous volcanoes began blowing their tops–events which I suspect were triggered by the meteor hit. The Big 3 were not so well adapted even in the ’60s and ’70s, before the big changes in the world economy got going in a big way.
The decline of the US auto industry no longer bothers me (and I live in MI). I don’t see it as a foreshadowing of the fall of the country.
Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Hyudai, etc. are able to build cars here – cars people want. They are able to pay attention to the market, and are able to improve their product consistantly.
GM, Ford and Chrysler are not willing to pay attention to the market. They don’t improve product as consistantly as the transplants.
All that is happening is the US auto industry is changing owners. People from Japan and Korea who are able to engineer and able to use resources efficiently are taking over.
The only sad part of the American companies decline is that it’s primarily a matter of will. They’d rather throw money on the hood than take the time to engineer a class leader. On those rare occassions when they produce a class leader, they just rest, and let it be overtaken by the competition. It’s really hard to have any sympathy for people who just wont try.
Dynamic, I agree with your post 100%.
To ME, the US auto industry is alive and well–it’s just that the transplants are now running the show.
The imports are building HERE, employing AMERICANS, and satisfying consumers. In my area, the traditional domestic car is now–for lack of a better word–FOREIGN!
Add to this the fact that the domestics are now importing design, technology, parts, and it comes down to: “Who are you going to buy your import from?”
Powerful and moving words, Mr. Farago. Thank you.