Re: More Thoughts About Automobiles
We need more of these cars on the road as long as they are safe.
The Japanese and now the Koreans entered the US market on a lowball. In the '60s Honda penetrated the US market with motorcycles of quality. In the '70s Honda's offering was a little box on wheels for $850 if memory serves. In the '80s Hyundai came to market with a $3750 offering, also way below the price of other new cars at the time. Yugo entered the market about the same time selling at $3990. No quality at all. It could not and did not last. Based on a Fiat design, no advantage there. Some Fiats were also junk. The big complaint on the Yugo, it was underpowered and the rear shock absorbers were connected directly to the wheel wells which gave out after a while letting the shocks push on through into the cab.
As you noted, there was a time in America when we produced a reliable, utilitarian vehicle. It could be counted on to get the dad to work and the family off on a long road trip in relative security. My dad drove a '47 Desoto for a long time. He picked it up in 1965 in pristine condition having been garaged for years. It was a cruiser, a beautiful, quiet vehicle with a backseat about as wide and deep as a modern limousine (short of a stretch).
I think there is a market for a simple car with vinyl seats and floors, no A/C, limited power but enough, no CD players, GPS, etc. Something to get a person to work and back. But everyone has to have the cushy, fast, ride with fancy wheels, a glorious paint job, etc. It doesn't matter that some cars cost what a house used to cost. I sold cars for a while. I can tell the difference between what people need for their own utility and well being, but most people go for image over utility and too hell with the financial hit on depreciation and monthly payments.
"Cash for Clunkers" did no one a service except the politicians who designed and bragged about the program.
I paid $65 for my first car. Found it in the newspaper. Took it off the showroom floor of the local Jag dealer. It was a Renault. I don't know what it was doing on the showroom floor of a Jaguar dealership, but it was cheap, had a rear engine, and I drove like a Porche until it blew up.
My next car was a Hillman. I drove it like it was an English Ford or a Mini Cooper only because both were made in England and were seen on the race circuits. Being young AND growing up in Daytona Beach leaves a fella with the idea that he, too, can or should be drive(ing) a race car.
I paid 50 of my hard-earned dollars for the Hillman. After it blew I switched to a motorcycle.
I spent my youth in the '50s and '60s. What a way to grow up and out!
Cars, Cars, Cars: US, Japanese, European and Korean!!
Nice recap Ted! I wanted to add a bit to it. After WWII, the allies restricted the large German car companies from making passenger cars for several years. This included Mercedes Benz, BMW and Auto Union. Because of this, some weird things happened. They were allowed to make motorcycles and BMW started selling motorscycles in the USA. Little 3 wheelers which looked at bit like cars but were classed as motorcycles appeared in the USA around 1959. The mighty BMW company had the famous or infamous BMW Isetta 600, driven by Steve Urkel in the sitcom, "Family Matters". Mighty Messerschmidt also brought a 3 wheeler to market as did Heinkel, maker of bombers in WWII.
I think Japan was controlled in a similar matter, no cars from Mitsubishi were allowed. Like the Germans, the Japanese were allowed to sell motorcycles.
VW was allowed to market the bug in the USA and started doing so in the early 50's. Seeing their success, Toyota entered the US market around 1957 very closely followed by Datsun (made by Nissan). At the time, the Japanese had a reputation for poor quality while American products had a very high reputation for quality. Probably most respected for quality was Germany, which was considered premium quality but the USA was rated right up there near Germany.
The British made mainly sports cars and they were not very reliable, at least in warm weather climates such as Southern Cal. The Italian products were mainly exotic sports cars. Italy was the bellweather for auto styling but their quality just was not there (Fiat = Fix It Again Tony). French cars had some weird but interesting styling while quality was quite decent.
Starting with the Toyota Celica model in the early 60's, Toyota began a push to up their quality while Nissan always stood for good quality. In a matter of a few years, the Japanese improved quality to German type levels for a lot less money. Honda, originally allowed only to build motorcycles, brought in their first passenger car in the late 60's. From the start, it was known for high quality and advanced features at a low price.
Hyundai, followed in Toyota's footsteps. Initially quality and design were poor to middling but the cars were extremely low priced and had decent features and sold fairly well. Hyundai fielded a mediocre line up that did okay for about 20 years. Their cars were okay but nothing special but the price was so low that they found a market.
About 5 or 6 years ago, Hyundai started to emphasize design and then out of nowhere, they started pushing engineering, quality and luxury. They took over the Kia brand as their low priced offering and upgraded it immensely. They still offerred a low price, though not as low as before. With their new formula, they have become sales leaders and sales have soared astronomically.
The Yugo was based on an older Fiat body and mechanical parts from a car produced from behind the Iron Curtain, the Wartburg or one of those Soviet Union type cars. The mechanicals were archaic and despite very attractive pricing, they did not have sufficient funds to produce and market a competitive car and quickly went out of business. I believe that John Delorean was involved with their fiasco.
For several decades, the Chrysler cars, Plymouth, Dodge, De Soto, Chrysler and Imperial were the highest quality and best riding US cars. That company was founded on engineering excellence by its founder, Walter P. Chrysler. GM was the style leader and also an innovater in engineering and their cars were also very well made. When Henry Ford's grandson took over Ford from his grandpa in the late 40's he reorganized Ford and made a major move to catch and pass GM which improved Ford's position immensely.
Styles and planned obsolescense, necessitating drastic annual model changes, were what the US industry was all about right after WWII. GM had the best designs, with Ford challenging them while Chryslers became stodgy looking. As a result, Chrysler dropped to a distant 3rd in the sales race. Chrysler responded and took styling leadership in 1957 but in so doing, their quality suffered. They traded one type of customer for another and did not gain any ground.
The Japanese proved one thing and that was that good engineering and excellent quality were the ultimate trump cards in selling automobiles in the USA. People would pay more for quality and if the best quality was available at a lower price, then sales would explode. A Mercedes cost way more than an American luxury car but wealthy people were more than happy to pay the added cost for superlative quality and engineering. VW proved that quality was king in the 50's and 60's and the Japanese proved it even stronger the mid 60's through to the present and now Hyundai has joined the party starting around 2005.
Finally the US companies have got the message. The quality of American cars is now quite high and as a result, the 3 USA companies are all experiencing somewhat of a comeback. Ford seems to be doing the best, GM is close behind and after several years of making low quality products, Chrysler is just now becomming very competitive again.
Lakey
I hope it lasts me for the rest of my life.
Her insurance co. didn't even question me. They just paid to have it fixed. I got the idea that maybe her insurance co was used to her doing this sort of thing. 
Some people just shouldn't be driving cars. 
It came off the back of the Cadillac lot in Lakeland, Florida where the ex-SO's father sold cars. I thought.... now there'sthe back lot to shop!
