An article on CNN.com discussed American consumers’ thoughts on the US auto industry. Buried amongst the common sense calls for scrutiny and accountability in exchange for a bailout, and details of the benefits of buying American, there was this nugget:
By buying foreign cars, "You might as well be laying off the American autoworkers yourself and handing their paychecks to those foreign automakers personally," says Diaz.
The American auto industry can be turned around if top executives renew their focus on quality construction and better materials, says Diaz.
"I believe Americans want cars to be as durable as they were 20 years ago. No cutting corners."
Mr Diaz, I would suggest you think about that for a moment. American cars in 1989 were pretty much garbage. Poorly assembled, unappealing, unreliable dreck. Of course there were exceptions, but come on! Yeah I sure miss the good old days of cruising around in an opulent, well built Chevy Beretta. Or perhaps my old Dodge Omni with its high quality Philippine carburetor and corrosion induced passenger compartment ventialtion is more to your taste.
But hey, maybe chronic rust and engines that barely run are your idea of durability.
In my opinion it is just the last few years that Detroit has started getting some things right. Don’t get me wrong, the big three have all screwed up big time. Going all in on the SUV craze (created by their own marketing, not actual market need) proved to be a potentially fatal gambit. But they are actually producing some very good, reasonably priced cars nowdays that are very reliable. And heck, some of them actually look good too! They didn't get into the mess they are in now by making unreliable cars, they got here by making vehicles that most people do not want to buy.
