Why American Car Companies Are Struggling
In a nutshell…
The [Ford] Taurus is one of the top-selling nameplates of all time, for any carmaker, with more than 200,000 purchased in 1986, its first year, and 1 million by 1989.
The nation was enamored of its aerodynamic design and innovative features such as a wrap-around dash with new controls that could be identified by feel, keeping the driver’s eyes on the road. By 1992, Ford was selling more than 420,000 a year. That made it the No. 1 sedan in the country, and analysts suggested the car had saved Ford from bankruptcy.
By the mid-1990s, however, Ford’s focus had shifted to highly profitable trucks and sport utility vehicles, and its redesign of the Taurus for the 1996 model year was a disaster. Not only was it widely regarded as unattractive, but also cheaply made, with Ford skimping on quality and features such as replacing modern disc brakes with outdated, but less expensive, drum brakes.
The next year, Taurus relinquished its sedan leadership to the Toyota Camry, which has held the position ever since…
Drum brakes. Drum brakes. I remember drum brakes. The Pinto had them and so did the two junkers that followed. Drums don’t last very long and they fade horribly because they can’t shed heat as well as discs. They just don’t have the stopping power. But Detroit would sell people cars with Flintstone brakes if Washington didn’t require cars to have brakes that actually work.
This model uses the most efficient and reliable braking system known to mankind…your own two feet. Consider that while walking we stop and go hundreds of times a day and yet our feet last an entire lifetime without needing to be replaced. Here at The Large American Car Company, we have gone back to the basics in order to bring you a car that not only uses the amazing power of the human foot to safely bring your car to a halt, but at a cost that is only slightly more expensive then last year’s model. Full loads no longer tax your brakes because the more passengers you carry, the more feet are available for stopping and the greater your stopping power! Dad, Mom, and all the kids can enjoy a far safer ride then in other vehicles equipped with antiquated mechanical braking systems…
They would do it. I remember how they hollered like their teeth were being pulled out when Washington told them to put seat belts in cars. And it’s not just the technical qualities of their cars that they allowed to suffer, but the aesthetic ones as well. Sit down in an American economy car and run your fingers over the plastic in the dash and the center console. Work the buttons, knobs and the shifter. Then do the same in a Honda or Toyota. The American car just feels cheaply made, the Honda and Toyota more solid to the touch. I don’t think the cost differential between the plastic they use in Japan and the plastic they use in most American cars is much, if any. It might even be the same basic kind of plastic. They’re just not thinking about the impression it makes on the buyer just to touch the finished product. That may seem trivial, but it’s the mindset and it’s ruining them.
