Once upon a time. the American automobile industry was the jewel in the crown of American industry. Crash Course: The American Automobile Industry’s Road From Glory To Disaster by Paul Ingrassia is the story of how and why this industrial jewel turned into an economic calamity.
There were problems way back, but they started to become noticeable in the sixties. One problem was a new consumer movement, exemplified by Ralph Nader’s 1965 book, Unsafe at Any Speed. Nader’s account of safety problems in the Chevy Corvair as well as other well publicized safety issues cascaded in later years, giving potential buyers the idea that Detroit was not capable of doing anything right.
Then there was the matter of fuel efficiency. After the Arab oil embargo of 1973, good mileage suddenly became a selling point. On mileage, though, American companies could not compete. Others who could, namely the Japanese, were able to use this shortcoming to gain an edge in the American auto market. Problems of price and quality soon followed.
In theory, these were all problems that could be dealt with. They weren’t, though.
One reason was American management. Even in their years of decline, there were plenty of capable managers running American auto companies. The problem was the corporate culture in which they had to function. For the most part the boldness and imagination of the Henry Fords and the Alfred Sloans of the industry was long gone. What replaced it was a complacent and bureaucratic corporate culture that was proof against even the best efforts of the most gifted managers. Results were secondary; the process became the goal.
Then there were the unions. For decades, since its organizing drives of the late 1930s, the United Auto Workers Union enjoyed a reputation as one of the nations most progressive labor organizations. It was. The catch was that, as time moved on, the union came to share (and even co-develop) the rigid, insular corporate culture of the auto companies. Moreover, neither the union nor management were ever able to put their shared flaws and mutual hostility behind them. The result was a labor force that, living in it’s own alternate reality, did its level best to kill the goose that laid the golden eggs.
All of this is well and lucidly described in Crash Course. Reading Mr. Ingrassia’s book is like watching a train wreck — both horrifying and fascinating at the same time.