As a native Detroiter, it's sad to see the "Big Three" now reduced to the "Detroit Three," traveling to Washington, hat in hand, fighting for their very survival. But the predicament they find themselves in and the story that continues to unfold is really one of their own making...and one they've been writing for years.
There was a time when their automobiles were distinctive, the styling superb. People couldn't wait until the new cars were unveiled every fall. My uncles and many of their fellow black factory workers throughout the city jokingly referred to October 13 as the "first national Negro holiday," because that's when the new Cadillacs hit the showrooms. None of them went to work that day; they were all in the showrooms instead. So what happened? Why is there not that same excitement and anticipation about Detroit's cars today? The Pontiac Chieftains and Oldsmobile 98s that allowed families to comfortably travel down the highway between the northern industrial cities to which they had migrated and the southern states from which they had come are no longer to be found.
More later...
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What did happen?
ReplyDeleteI am glad you chose write this story, it is a great story and a different perspective for any I, and I would hazard to guess most people, have heard.
ReplyDeleteI drove Cadillac Fleetwoods for 20 years but when they started to look like Chevrolets I quit. Not that there was anything wrong with Chevy, but why pay for a Cadillac.
Here is the real punch line, GM, Ford, Chrysler, all say they had to make the cars more like the efficient imports, my last Fleetwood had an NorthStar Engine and got better fuel mileage, in town and on the road than either of the imports I have purchased since, and before you ask, it was not a fluke I have heard a number of people say the same thing.
Did they stand up and say, we are fuel efficient and have beautiful lines! Did they advertise to the assets they had that the imports did not? Did they set the record straight that you could have luxury and efficiency without giving up the look?
No they chose to follow like sheep what they determined was the trend and instead of innovation they settled for mimicking the competition, and did not even do that all that well. They forgot all about the consumer, customer service, retained value........ all pit falls on a sure road to ruin.
Thank you for letting me vent.